State Farm is the largest insurer out there, based on US market share among national insurers, according to the Insurance Information Institute. This carrier services all 50 states and Washington DC, in addition to a handful of provinces in Canada. But is the quality of its auto insurance policies commensurate with its sheer size? That’s what we’re here to determine.
In addition to its wide availability and multiple insurance products, State Farm offers affordable rates, sometimes hundreds of dollars lower than the national average. If you’re looking to buy your first policy or to switch carriers, State Farm is a worthy contender.
In this article
Here’s our review of State Farm for 2022.
Like
- Great price for coverage
- High customer satisfaction scores
- Discount for young drivers
- Rideshare insurance for Lyft and Uber drivers
- High customer satisfaction with shopping experience
Don’t Like
- Currently isn’t selling new policies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island
- No gap insurance
- Qualifying for accident forgiveness is burdensome
Pros of State Farm car insurance
State Farm’s customers are extremely happy with the service the carrier provides based on high customer-satisfaction scores in J.D. Power Surveys (more on that below). With lower-than-average rates, this insurer could save you money. State Farm also has a robust list of discounts, from a telematics program to a discount specifically geared toward young drivers.
In addition, you can pick up home, renters, boat, motorcycle and motorhome insurance and bundle them for additional savings.
Cons of State Farm car insurance
While State Farm has a robust list of coverage options, it doesn’t have them all. For example, the carrier doesn’t offer gap insurance, which could be beneficial if you’re leasing or financing your vehicle. Gap coverage helps you pay in the event an accident leaves your car badly damaged or totaled, covering the difference between your vehicle’s market value and the amount you owe on it.
Moreover, while the carrier has active policies in all 50 states, it currently isn’t offering new policies in Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
Another drawback of signing up with State Farm is that it’s difficult to get accident forgiveness on your policy. To qualify for State Farm’s accident forgiveness, you must be both a State Farm customer and accident-free for nine years. This is particularly burdensome if you’re a young driver and haven’t had much time behind the wheel. For comparison, Geico offers accident forgiveness after five years without an accident — or you can purchase the feature outright. Progressive’s policies also automatically come with “small accident forgiveness” that covers claims up to $500.
State Farm car insurance cost
Whether you have a clean driving history or you’re adding a teen driver to your policy, signing a policy with State Farm could save you money, as the carrier’s costs are hundreds of dollars below the national average. With State Farm, the average annual premium for full coverage premium according to Bankrate is $1,561 — $210 under the national average.
State Farm premium prices
| State Farm average annual full-coverage premium | National average annual full-coverage premium | |
|---|---|---|
| Clean driving history | $1,561 | $1,771 |
| Speeding ticket | $1,590* | $2,138 |
| Adding a teen driver | $2,077* | $3,852 |
*Rates from 2021
State Farm coverage options
State Farm offers just about every major coverage type you might need for an auto policy. Here are some of them:
- Bodily injury liability protection: This coverage pays for injuries to others that were caused by the policyholder or by additional drivers listed on the policy. Bodily injury liability protection is required in most states.
- Property damage liability protection: This coverage pays for damage that policyholders cause to another’s property. Most prominently, this applies to other cars, but it can also include other personal property like fences or mailboxes. Property damage liability is required in most US states.
- Personal injury protection: This coverage pays for the medical costs and lost wages of the driver and passengers of the policyholder’s car if injury occurs, up to the policy’s limits, regardless of fault. PIP may also include coverage for funeral expenses and essential services, like child care or dog-walking, that you may be unable to perform due to physical injuries. PIP is required in 14 states.
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist coverage: This coverage pays for your and your passengers’ medical expenses up to the policy’s limits when an uninsured or underinsured motorist causes an accident. Insurance carriers are required to offer this coverage in all states, but the consumer may have the option to decline the coverage. Uninsured motorist property damage is available in some states to help cover repairs to your vehicle if damaged by an uninsured driver.
- Medical payments: Similar to PIP coverage, medical payments help cover the medical costs of the policyholder and their passengers up to the policy limit, regardless of fault. However, unlike PIP, medical payments doesn’t cover lost wages or essential services. Med Pay is an optional coverage in most states, but required in a few states.
- Collision coverage: This coverage pays for damage to your vehicle in an accident resulting from a collision between your car and another car or object.
- Comprehensive coverage: This coverage pays for damage to your car caused by an event other than collision. This includes theft, fire, flood, hail and vandalism.
- Rideshare coverage: This coverage is essential if you’re working for rideshare companies such as Uber or Lyft. In fact, your personal auto policy probably won’t cover you while you’re using this service, meaning you must purchase this coverage to be protected. Though rideshare companies have insurance policies that cover you somewhat, they do leave gaps that leave you without insurance protection. That’s where rideshare coverage comes in to fill those gaps. For example, while your rideshare app is on, but before you pick a passenger up, your rideshare company’s insurance policy will only include bodily injury and property damage liability insurance. It’s not until you pick a passenger up that a rideshare company’s policy will pick up the tab for damage done to your car. But with rideshare insurance, you’ll be covered the entire time you work.
State Farm discounts
State Farm has a robust list of discounts. Here are some notable ones:
- Drive Safe and Save*: 10% discount for signing up, up to 30% to 50% discount over time
- Steer Clear Safe Driver: Up to 20% discount
- Multiple auto: Up to 25% discount
- Bundling: 5% to 20% discount
- Defensive driving course: 5% discount
- Good driver: 10% discount
- Accident-free for three, six and 10 years: 15%, 20% and 25% discount, respectively
*Not available in California, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Customer satisfaction and complaints
Customers are generally very satisfied with State Farm’s services. The carrier scored 892 out of 1,000, compared with an industry average of 880, according to a J.D. Power survey. And customers are also particularly happy with their digital shopping experience at State Farm when looking for a quote, ranking third for in this category in J.D. Power’s Digital Experience Survey.
Along with high customer satisfaction levels, State Farm touts a low number of complaints nationally. The carrier is indexed at 0.67 by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (1.00 is the industry average; 2.00 index would mean a company gets twice the complaints.)
State Farm customer satisfaction and complaints scoring 2022
| A.M. Best | A++ |
|---|---|
| J.D. Power Auto Claims Satisfaction | 881 out of 1,000 |
| NAIC Complaint Index | 0.67 |
Telematics program
State Farm’s telematics program, Drive Safe and Save, monitors how much and how safely you drive. You get an initial discount just for enrolling in the program, and you could save as much as 30% off your bill based on your driving behaviors. There are two ways to participate in the program: You can sign up and use State Farm’s smartphone app, or if you have a 2020 or newer Ford or Lincoln vehicle, you can use your FordPass or Lincoln Way app to connect to this program.
Other features we like
Beyond its stellar car insurance coverage options, State Farm has many other insurance products (including boat, home, motorcycle and motorhome). If you wanted, you could bring all of your policies under one roof and simplify the entire process.
CNET reviews insurance carriers and products by exhaustively comparing them across set criteria. For auto insurance, we examine average annual premium rates for full coverage, consumer complaints, collision repair scores, the carrier’s financial strength, auto claims satisfaction and overall customer satisfaction. Our data comes from a multitude of sources.
Auto insurance rates come from Bankrate, which gathers data using Quadrant Information Services. We also use both J.D. Power annual surveys that collect data on customer auto claims satisfaction and overall customer satisfaction.
Consumer complaints are taken from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which collects consumer complaints across states, indexing complaints on a scale that takes into account the industry average. We collect the financial strength rating of each carrier from the A.M. Best Rating. Lastly, we collected collision repair scores from the Crash Network Insurer Report Card, which collects data from collision repair professionals, including mechanics, to gauge the quality of collision claims service from insurance carriers.
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The editorial content on this page is based solely on objective, independent assessments by our writers and is not influenced by advertising or partnerships. It has not been provided or commissioned by any third party. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products or services offered by our partners.
