American Family vs. Nationwide: Best Auto Insurance for 2021
When comparing American Family vs. Nationwide auto insurance, it's best to look at pricing, discounts, and company reviews. Both companies offer comparable rates, but Nationwide car insurance rates are slightly cheaper. Both companies offer many auto insurance discounts, but Nationwide offers more and is far more well-reviewed than American Family insurance.
- Both auto insurance companies are on the cheaper side in terms of the main insurers, but Nationwide is slightly cheaper than American Family
- Both companies offer a wide array of discounts, but Nationwide insurance offers more
- Nationwide is more well-reviewed than American Family by companies such as A.M. Best and the Better Business Bureau
Are you looking for a new insurance company? Auto insurance comparison is a complicated process, and we're focusing on American Family vs. Nationwide auto insurance to make it easier.
If you'd like to learn more about American Family, we suggest reading our American Family review. Both reviews cover American Family Insurance and not American Care, which is an emergency clinic.
Type your ZIP code into our free tool above to find affordable auto insurance quotes in your area.
We can't promise you'll find quotes for Nationwide retirement rates, or Nationwide pet insurance premiums, but you'll find the best local insurance companies in your area.
Let's get back to Nationwide vs. American Family insurance and find out which company is best in 2021.
American Family vs. Nationwide: Which is cheaper?
When you begin comparing insurers, you probably want to start with what is most important: pricing. Let's take a look at a table that will show the average annual premiums not just for American Family and Nationwide, but for all of the main insurers.
Company | Average Annual Rates |
---|---|
USAA | $2,539.87 |
GEICO | $3,213.97 |
State Farm | $3,269.80 |
American Family | $3,544.37 |
Nationwide | $3,449.80 |
Progressive | $4,018.46 |
Farmers | $4,166.22 |
Travelers | $4,462.02 |
Allstate | $4,896.81 |
Liberty Mutual | $6,058.57 |
As you can see, of the 10 insurers shown, American Family is cheaper than five of its competitors: Progressive, Farmers, Travelers, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual.
Nationwide, however, is cheaper than American Family, Progressive, Farmers, Travelers, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual. American Family and Nationwide are very close in terms of price.
Nationwide auto insurance rates are about $95 cheaper than American Family annually.
So, Nationwide wins in terms of pricing, but barely. If you'd like to learn more about Nationwide, be sure to read our Nationwide company review.
American Family vs. Nationwide: Which has better discounts?
If you get anything out of this, let it be the importance of discounts. When you are speaking to your assigned insurance representative, don't be afraid to ask about which discounts you might apply for.
If you stack up discounts, you'll watch your premiums dissipate. Let's take a look at a table that shows a vast amount of discounts offered by these big insurers.
Discounts | 21st Century Discounts Offered | AAA Discounts Offered | Allstate Discounts Offered | American Family Discounts Offered | Ameriprise Discounts Offered | Amica Discounts Offered | Country Financial Discounts Offered | Esurance Discounts Offered | Farmers Discounts Offered | Geico Discounts Offered | Liberty Mutual Discounts Offered | MetLife Discounts Offered | Nationwide Discounts Offered | Progressive Discounts Offered |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adaptive Cruise Control | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Adaptive Headlights | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Anti-lock Brakes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Anti-Theft | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Claim Free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Continuous Coverage | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
Daytime Running Lights | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Defensive Driver | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Distant Student | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Driver's Ed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Driving Device/App | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Early Signing | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Electronic Stability Control | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Emergency Deployment | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Engaged Couple | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Family Legacy | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Family Plan | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Farm Vehicle | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Fast 5 | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Federal Employee | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Forward Collision Warning | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Full Payment | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Further Education | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Garaging/Storing | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Good Credit | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Good Student | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Green Vehicle | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Homeowner | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Lane Departure Warning | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Life Insurance | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Low Mileage | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Loyalty | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Married | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Membership/Group | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Military | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Military Garaging | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Multiple Drivers | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Multiple Policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Multiple Vehicles | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
New Address | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
New Customer/New Plan | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No |
New Graduate | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Newer Vehicle | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No |
Newly Licensed | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Newlyweds | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Non-Smoker/Non-Drinker | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Occasional Operator | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Occupation | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
On Time Payments | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Online Shopper | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Paperless Documents | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Paperless/Auto Billing | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Passive Restraint | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Recent Retirees | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Renter | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
Roadside Assistance | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Safe Driver | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Seat Belt Use | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
Senior Driver | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes“ | No | No |
Stable Residence | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Students & Alumni | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Switching Provider | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Utility Vehicle | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Vehicle Recovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
VIN Etching | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Volunteer | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
Young Driver | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Of the 67 discounts shown, American Family offers 27 and Nationwide offers 35.
What's great about these discounts is that they're for many different things. There are discounts for driving safely, paying your bills on time, having safety features in your vehicle, etc.
So again, while it's close, Nationwide wins in terms of discounts.
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American Family vs. Nationwide: Which is available in more states?
When you compare car insurance companies you're going to notice some company names pop up more frequently than others. This is because companies like American Family and Nationwide have spent years in the insurance business building a client base and expanding.
Some companies, like Allstate, are available in all 50 states. How about American Family? They operate in 17 states:
- Arizona
- Kansas
- Ohio
- Minnesota
- Oregon
- Idaho
- Colorado
- Missouri
- South Dakota
- Illinois
- Nebraska
- Utah
- Indiana
- Nevada
- Wisconsin
- Iowa
- North Dakota
Do you live in one of these states and want American Family insurance coverage? If so, you're in luck.
How many states does Nationwide write in? Nationwide operates in all but four states. These are Alaska, Hawaii, Louisiana, and Massachusetts.
American Family vs. Nationwide: Which has better ratings?
When you compare insurers, one last thing to look for is the company ratings from organizations such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and A.M. Best.
A.M. Best's rating system is taken quite seriously by insurers because it can either make or break how much business they receive. What's even better is the fact they have Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings to instill confidence in regards to the companies' futures.
A.M. Best's rating scale ranges from A++ all the way down to D. Currently, American Family has a rating of A from A.M. Best. How did Nationwide do? A.M. Best gave Nationwide an even better rating of A+ (Superior).
In terms of Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating, Nationwide received a score of aa- (Superior), which is the second-highest rating after only AAA. American Family, however, only received a rating of A+ (Excellent) which is still great but a notch below Nationwide.
The BBB's model is comparable but only goes up to A+. American Family currently has a rating of A and is not accredited by the BBB.
How did Nationwide do with the BBB? Nationwide did much better than American Family in terms of the BBB. Not only are they accredited, but it also has the highest rating of A+.
In short, you have two great choices here, but Nationwide is the clear winner. Before you buy auto insurance, get started with free affordable quotes from local companies by typing your ZIP code below.