The Best Auto Insurance for Veterans

In 1922, 25 Army officers came together to insure one another’s vehicles, thus creating USAA. In the century since then, the organization has grown into one of the top auto insurance providers and the only one that serves military members, veterans, and their families specifically.

USAA has a lot to offer its customers, including the lowest rates on the market and a wide range of financial services to choose from. In addition to auto insurance, USAA offers home, health, life, and small business insurance.

Insurance Savings

USAA has the lowest annual average insurance rate by several hundred dollars. Not only that, but the company offers a variety of auto insurance discounts for having a clean driving record, maintaining good grades, garaging your car on a military installation, and more. According to USAA’s website, the average member saves $725 on their annual premium when switching to USAA for auto insurance based on data collected from new customers who saved by switching to USAA between July 2021 and June 2023.¹

While USAA offers savings for military members, veterans, and their families, it doesn’t actually offer a veteran discount. However, the company’s lower rates beat out any discount that its competitors offer, meaning you’re still likely to save money.

Coverage for Children

If your children have become adults and are starting to pay for their own auto insurance policies (hallelujah!), then they can benefit from your USAA policy, even if they don’t follow in your footsteps and serve. USAA covers not only veterans, but also their spouses, children, and stepchildren. You can pass your USAA membership on, and your children or stepchildren can save up to 10 percent with a legacy discount. As long as they’re under 25 and have no major driving violations within the past few years, they are eligible.

Many Financial Services

USAA is a great option for those who want all of their financial services in one place. When you become a USAA member, you have access to a wide variety of services, including insurance, bank accounts, credit cards, investment accounts, and retirement accounts. Additionally, you’ll have access to personalized financial advice, financial readiness tools, and other resources that can help veterans and their families manage their money.

To take advantage of these financial services, including USAA’s car insurance coverage, you’ll need to become a member. The good news is that becoming a member is easy and free. As long as you’re a military member, veteran, pre-commissioned officer, or a family member, you can sign up for membership online.

Though Farmers rates are on the higher side compared to the other companies on our list, the company has a special discount for veterans, as well as a nice bundling discount for purchasing another type of insurance policy along with auto, like home or life. If you’re a veteran who owns their home, Farmers is a good option for homeowners insurance in particular, earning an above average score from J.D. Power for property claims satisfaction.²

Bundling Options

Chances are, car insurance isn’t your only insurance. Rather, you might need other types of insurance to protect your home, family, or even your business. Farmers offers the following types of insurance policies in addition to auto:

• Business
• Boat
• Condo
• Homeowners
• Landlord
• Life
• Motorcycle
• Off-road vehicle
• Pet
• Renters
• Umbrella

Save money by bundling multiple policies with Farmers, in addition to your veteran discount.

User-Friendly Mobile App

You’re driving and get pulled over. The police officer asks you for proof of insurance, but where is it?

With Farmers, you can show your insurance ID card through its mobile app, Farmers Mobile, which is available for both iOS and Android devices. Currently, the app has a 4.6 Android rating and a 4.8 iOS rating. Aside from showing your proof of insurance, use your mobile app to do the following:

• View your policy documents, including your policy declarations page
• Change your payment methods
• Contact your agent
• Get quotes for coverage
• Pay your premium
• Request roadside assistance
• Submit a claim
• Track the status of a claim

Discounts for Veterans and Seniors

Farmers offers discounts not only for veterans who have been honorably discharged from the military, but also any retired military members, active duty members, or active reserves members. Plus, if you’re over 55, you can save money by completing a state-approved defensive driver training. The discount will last three years, and the exact amount you can save varies by state (and not every state offers the discount). Still, Farmers offers a lot of savings for veterans, senior veterans in particular.

Liberty Mutual is the auto insurance company on our list that has been in business the longest, dating back to 1912. Today, the company operates in 30 countries and provides auto insurance, property insurance, business insurance, life insurance, and more.

Savings and Resources for Veterans

If you’re a military veteran, you can save up to 10 percent on your premium with Liberty Mutual. The company’s military discount applies to active, retired, and reserved members of the U.S. Armed Forces.

However, Liberty Mutual’s military discount isn’t the only way the company serves current and former military members. On top of that, the company has special employee programs and benefits for current and former military members.

Many Coverage Options

Liberty Mutual has the best lineup of coverage options of any company on our list. First, the company has all of the coverage options you’d expect of any insurance carrier, including liability, collision, comprehensive, medical payments, and uninsured motorist coverage.

Additionally, Liberty Mutual offers coverage options that not all providers offer, such as the following:

• Deductible fund: You can opt in to pay an extra premium on your collision insurance to reduce your deductible by $100 per year.
• Lifetime repair guarantee: With this coverage, Liberty Mutual makes repair arrangements on your behalf rather than you having to make them yourself.
• New-car replacement: If your car is totaled in the first year, Liberty Mutual will pay you the full amount rather than the depreciated amount.
• Better-car replacement: If your car is totaled, Liberty Mutual will pay you enough to buy a model that’s one year newer.
• Teacher car insurance: This coverage provides extra coverage for vandalism, collisions, stolen supplies, and more.

Excellent Discounts

Liberty Mutual has one of the largest lists of discounts of any company on our list. First, the company offers many of the discounts you would find with other carriers, such as bundling discounts, safe driving discounts, and automatic payment discounts.

But the company offers plenty of other discounts. You can save by being a homeowner, regardless of whether you have bundled your homeowners and auto insurance policies. You can save by shopping for insurance before your current policy expires, having a GPA of B or better, having a child away at school, signing up for paperless billing, and more.

Similar to other companies, Liberty Mutual offers a program drivers can opt in to to save called RightTrack. RightTrack allows Liberty Mutual to track your driving habits and reward you for being a safe driver. You’ll get a discount just for opting in to the program, as well as another one if you show you’re a safe driver.

Sometimes, it’s true that bigger is better. GEICO is one of the largest car insurance providers in the U.S., insuring 28 million vehicles. It has the largest claims reserve of any auto insurer, with over $11 billion to pay claims across all of its insurance offerings.³ That means that if you have a claim, GEICO will be able to cover it, which is the purpose of an insurance provider in the first place. After USAA, GEICO has the second-lowest rates for veterans among our top picks.

Designed With Veterans in Mind

GEICO’s car insurance has discounts for veterans, as well as for those affiliated with certain military organizations. Enjoy a discount of up to 15 percent, or more if you’re a federal employee as well as a veteran. That’s the highest discount for veterans of any provider on our list.

Wide Coverages

Of course, GEICO offers the typical coverages: liability, medical payments/personal injury protection, uninsured motorist, collision, and comprehensive, to name a few. But it also offers a few services that not every provider offers:

• Roadside assistance: Bundle your roadside assistance and your car insurance with GEICO. Help is available 24/7 if you need a tow, a jump-start, fuel delivery, or lockout service. And the best part? The cost starts at only $14 annually per car, making GEICO’s roadside assistance quite the steal.
• Rental reimbursement: If your car is being repaired under a covered claim, GEICO’s rental reimbursement coverage could pay you up to $25 a day, up to $750 per claim, for a rental car. That way, you won’t have to ask your family members for rides. Plus, if you use Enterprise as your rental car company, GEICO can bill it directly so you never have to wait for reimbursement.
• Personal umbrella: For the most protection, we recommend personal umbrella insurance. This coverage would kick in in case you face losses that exceed the limits of your other coverages. For example, if someone sues you after a car accident, umbrella insurance could pay for the costs of the lawsuit, except in New Hampshire and New York.
• Classic car: Do you have a Ferrari, a car made before 1979, or a classic military vehicle? If so, consider GEICO as your classic car insurer. Check with your agent to make sure it is eligible, and then you can settle on an agreed value, which won’t depreciate if you have a claim.
• Mexico coverage: Most likely, you’ve traveled in your military career. If that same wanderlust is still with you, you can use your GEICO insurance, through a separate tourist policy, if you drive to Mexico. Regular car insurance will cover you in the U.S. only, but whether you’re going to Mexico for a short time or an extended period, you can get insurance plus roadside assistance from GEICO. Choose from daily, six-month, or annual policies.

Array of Discounts

Aside from the veteran discount, you can stack discounts to save money. Here’s what GEICO has to offer: