American Family vs. GEICO: Best Auto Insurance for 2023
In our American Family vs. GEICO auto insurance guide, we compare the two companies' average rates based on age, driving record, and credit score. Both companies have competitive rates; however, American Family is a better choice than GEICO for drivers with speeding tickets, accidents, DUIs, and fluctuating credit scores. Come here to compare rates from multiple auto insurance companies close to home.
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Rachael Brennan
Licensed Insurance Agent
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states. After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health in...
Licensed Insurance Agent
UPDATED: Jun 20, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We partner with top insurance providers. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.
UPDATED: Jun 20, 2022
It’s all about you. We want to help you make the right coverage choices.
Advertiser Disclosure: We strive to help you make confident insurance decisions. Comparison shopping should be easy. We partner with top insurance providers. This doesn’t influence our content. Our opinions are our own.
On This Page
- Both American Family and Geico have excellent customer satisfaction ratings and minimal customer complaints.
- Geico has the best financial strength rating from A.M. Best.
- American Family has lower rates for drivers with a speeding ticket, accident, or DUI.
- Overall, Geico has cheaper car insurance rates than American Family — but it’s only by a small amount.
- Geico has more discounts than American Family.
This American Family vs. Geico auto insurance guide will provide a wide variety of auto insurance coverage options when analyzing rates according to your unique qualities like your age, gender, marital status, driving record, and credit score.
We also include external ratings from the most trustworthy agencies and compare American Family and Geico auto insurance discounts, coverage types, and usage-based insurance programs.
This review covers Geico insurance and American Family Insurance, not American Family Care, which is an urgent care facility.
Continue reading to compare American Family insurance and Geico insurance rates and more, or enter your ZIP code to find affordable auto insurance rates from local auto insurance companies in your area.
American Family vs Geico Auto Insurance: which is cheaper based on age?
The older we get, the more practice we have while driving. In calculating auto insurance rates, providers use age as one of the most significant variables.
In most states, it is legal to base auto insurance premiums on marital status and gender; some have banned it, however. Let’s compare auto insurance rates for American Family and Geico based on age, gender, and marital status.
Age, Gender, and Marital Status | American Family Average Annual Rates | Geico Average Annual Rates |
---|---|---|
Single 17-year-old female | $5,997 | $5,654 |
Single 17-year-old male | $8,131 | $6,279 |
Single 25-year-old female | $2,289 | $2,379 |
Single 25-year-old male | $2,695 | $2,263 |
Married 35-year-old female | $2,203 | $2,303 |
Married 35-year-old male | $2,224 | $2,312 |
Married 60-year-old female | $2,203 | $2,303 |
Married 60-year-old male | $2,224 | $2,312 |
The majority of car insurance companies will charge high rates for male drivers, especially teens. Surprisingly though, Geico quotes for teen males are 23 percent cheaper than American Family’s rates. Additionally, rates for teen females are 6 percent cheaper than American Family’s.
Car insurance rates for single 25-year-old males are 16 percent cheaper with Geico than American Family. Geico is definitely the best choice over American Family if you have a young driver in your family.
American Family and Geico car insurance rates are competitive for other age and gender categories.
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American Family vs Geico Auto Insurance: which is cheaper based on driving record?
No matter what insurer you use, speeding tickets, auto accidents, or DUIs on your driving record will increase your auto insurance premiums and you become a higher risk driver.
Driving Record | American Family Average Annual Rates | Geico Average Annual Rates |
---|---|---|
Clean record | $2,694 | $2,146 |
With one speeding violation | $3,026 | $2,645 |
With one accident | $3,723 | $3,193 |
With one DUI | $4,330 | $4,876 |
American Family’s car insurance rates are about $500 higher than Geico’s car insurance rates for drivers with a speeding ticket or accident on their record. However, American Family is more lenient on drivers that have a DUI on their record.
Geico auto insurance rates increase more drastically as a driver gets more serious charges. This could be because Geico was originally for government employees, so, naturally, there are greater penalties for breaking laws.
In fact, when compared to a driver with a clean record, drivers that choose Geico will have rates that increase by 50 percent if they cause an accident, and drivers with Geico that get a DUI will pay well over double that of a driver with a clean record.
American Family vs Geico Auto Insurance: which is cheaper based on credit score?
If you undergo some sort of financial trauma, such as incurring medical debt or going through a divorce, a good credit score will drop in a matter of months.
It is legal for auto insurance providers to base premiums on your credit score in most states; however, some outlaw it along with gender and marital status dependent rates.
Auto insurance providers justify using your credit score to decide your rates because of the premise that people with higher credit scores are more responsible and that, overall, are less likely to file a claim.
Let’s take a look at how American Family and Geico consider your rates based on your credit score.
Credit History Summary | American Family Average Annual Rates | Geico Average Annual Rates |
---|---|---|
Good Credit (670-739) | $2,692 | $2,435 |
Fair Credit Score (580-669) | $3,170 | $2,987 |
Poor Credit Score (300-579) | $4,468 | $4,260 |
Overall, based on credit score, Geico car insurance rates are cheaper than American Family’s car insurance rates. However, Geico is more punitive when it comes to the difference in rates for a driver with a not-so-great credit history.
Geico rates increase by 23 to 75 percent for those with a fair or poor credit score. American Family rates increase by only 18 to 66 percent.
Geico is a better option, initially, if you have bad credit. However, if you go with Geico, expect your rates to skyrocket if you experience financial trauma.
Before you judge the rates of these two companies based on credit score alone, learn about the specifications of your state’s minimum car insurance requirements and compare rates from a number of companies. Hopefully, if you have bad credit, you live in a state that has outlawed basing rates on credit scores.
Does American Family or Geico have better auto insurance discounts?
Discounts from car insurance providers vary widely, and they are typically focused on the principles and ideology of a company. That’s why, particularly if you have a poor driving record or a low credit score, it pays to shop around. Discounts can help counter high costs.
Discounts | American Family Discounts Offered (Percentage) | Geico Discounts Offered (Percentage) |
---|---|---|
Anti-lock Brakes | N/A | 5 |
Anti-Theft | N/A | 25 |
Claim Free | N/A | 26 |
Daytime Running Lights | N/A | 1 |
Defensive Driver | 10 | N/A |
Driving Device/App | 40 | N/A |
Emergency Deployment | N/A | 25 |
Federal Employee | N/A | 8 |
Good Student | N/A | 15 |
Military | N/A | 15 |
Multiple Policies | N/A | 10 |
Multiple Vehicles | N/A | 25 |
Passive Restraint | 30 | 40 |
Safe Driver | N/A | 15 |
Seat Belt Use | N/A | 15 |
Vehicle Recovery | N/A | 25 |
Geico’s best discounts are for anti-theft devices, vehicle recovery, being claim-free, insuring multiple vehicles, and if you are in the military and are urgently deployed.
There are two discounts American Family has that Geico does not: completing a defensive driving course and utilizing their mobile driving app or device.
If you do choose American Family, be sure to use your American Family insurance login to review discounts regularly. Companies are always offering promotions — even to current customers.
The discounts provided by auto insurance providers also target particular categories of drivers, so be sure to inquire if there are any extra discounts when you get your American Family and Geico auto insurance quotes.
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What types of auto insurance coverages are offered by American Family and Geico?
Since both American Family and Geico are two of the 10 companies that make up the majority of the auto insurance market share, they have the means to provide a broader range of coverages for auto insurance that go beyond the six standard coverages mentioned below.
Before buying either one, make sure you understand your options in auto insurance coverage:
- Liability auto insurance coverage – bodily injury and property damage
- Comprehensive auto insurance coverage
- Collision auto insurance coverage
- Uninsured/Underinsured auto insurance coverage
- Medical Payments (MedPay) auto insurance coverage – particularly important in states that require no-fault auto insurance
- Personal Injury Protection (PIP) auto insurance coverage
Be sure to take a closer look at any specialty coverages such as rental reimbursement, roadside assistance, guaranteed auto protection (GAP), mechanical breakdown, and recreational vehicles such as ATVs or boats.
Does American Family or Geico have better auto insurance mobile apps?
In the last decade or so, usage-based auto insurance has become an individualized standard, and all of the larger auto insurance providers have a driving app you can install into your car or uses telematic mechanisms in your smartphone.
If you choose the usage-based auto insurance option with Geico or American Family, care should be taken in driving safely because your rates may depend on it.
A more general app is also offered by major auto insurance providers to allow you to access your policy, make adjustments, and pay your bill. Usually, in both the general app and the driving app, your American Family login or Geico login would be the same.
Read more about each of these companies’ usage-based auto insurance programs in our American Family auto insurance review and our Geico auto insurance review.
How do American Family and Geico auto insurance compare in financial strength and customer satisfaction?
It is a major financial commitment to buy car insurance, so you want to be sure you are choosing the right company that will have your back when you need it.
Before you make your decision, the financial strength of a company, consumer satisfaction with the claims process, and customer concerns should all be considered.
Insight into these factors is provided by the following three agencies:
A.M. Best scores companies based on their ability to meet their ongoing insurance obligations such as balancing premiums collected and claims paid. The highest score A.M. Best awards is Superior A++.
https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm collects annual data from its subscribers regarding customer satisfaction of the American Family claims process and the Geico claims process, step by step. In their 2017 survey, 27 insurance companies were rated, and scores ranged between 86 to 96.
And the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) calculates a complaint ratio based on total number of customers against total number of complaints. In 2017, the national average complaint ratio was 1. The lower the ratio, the better.
Let’s take a closer look at ratings from credible third-party agencies for American Family and Geico.
Rating Agency | American Family | Geico |
---|---|---|
AM Best Rating | A | A++ |
Consumer Reports | 89 | 89 |
NAIC Company Complaint Ratio | 0.79 | 0.68 |
NAIC Total Complaints | 73 | 333 |
Both American Family and Geico have positive feedback from customers that go through the claims process. Geico customer service is also rated highly. Both companies also do well with managing customer complaints.
Also, both companies have great financial strength ratings. Geico holds the highest rating possible from A.M. Best.
Ready to buy auto insurance? When you’re not sure which company to choose, you can always use our FREE comparison tool to compare auto insurance quotes from the auto insurance companies in your area.
Enter your ZIP code below to compare auto insurance rates.
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Rachael Brennan
Licensed Insurance Agent
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states. After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health in...
Licensed Insurance Agent
Editorial Guidelines: We are a free online resource for anyone interested in learning more about auto insurance. Our goal is to be an objective, third-party resource for everything auto insurance related. We update our site regularly, and all content is reviewed by auto insurance experts.