Farmers vs. USAA

Which car insurance do consumers say is best?

While USAA is only an insurance option for a select group of people — active and former military members and their families — USAA is still the fifth largest car insurer in the country. For those eligible for USAA, it’s important to weigh your options before settling on an insurance company.

If you’re looking for another large insurance company, Farmers Insurance is among the companies that fit the bill. With 3.3% of the market, Farmers ranks as the sixth-largest car insurer in the United States. But how do consumers feel about Farmers and USAA?

In the overviews and tables below, we outline more information about Farmers Insurance and USAA, along with the consumer ratings for things like customer service, claims service and price of the two companies.

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How do Farmers and USAA car insurance rates compare?

Which car insurance company offers cheaper car insurance rates, Farmers or USAA? While the rates the companies offer will vary by person and location, we've gathered average national rates to provide a comparison of Farmers and USAA.

In the table below, compare the average national car insurance rates for Farmers and USAA for three different driver profiles for males and females. Keep in mind these are only national averages for a certain profile. Your car insurance rates will differ from these depending on where you live, your unique driver profile and your coverages, among other things.

Driver profile	Farmers average rates	USAA average rates
Male teen	$3,513	$1,092
Male adult	$1,491	$1,120
Male senior	$1,168	$811

Driver profile	Farmers average rates	USAA average rates
Female teen	$3,285	$1,023
Female adult	$1,537	$1,106
Female senior	$1,085	$806

To determine the average national rates for male and female drivers for Farmers and USAA, we created three driver profiles for both males and females and got rates for drivers for each profile. The profiles for male and female drivers were an 18-year-old teen with state minimum coverages and fair credit; a 35-year-old single adult with 100/300/50 liability limits in addition to full coverage with $500 deductibles for collision and comprehensive, a good credit score and one driving violation in the last three years; and a 65-year-old driver with 100/300/50 liability limits in addition to full coverage with $500 deductibles for collision and comprehensive, a good credit score and no driving violations in the last three years. Additionally, we averaged the rates in each state we had data for that company. Rate data is provided by Quadrant Information Services.

Farmers Insurance overview

Farmers Insurance, based in Los Angeles, California, operates through a large network of more than 48,000 exclusive and independent agents. In addition to car insurance, Farmers Insurance also sells homeowners, renters, life, business and many other lines of insurance. In fact, one of the ways policyholders can save on their insurance premiums is by insuring multiple products, such as a car and home, with Farmers Insurance.

Unlike USAA, Farmers Insurance has a program designed to give its policyholders a way to prove they are good drivers. Farmers Insurance has a program called Signal, which tracks and monitors your driving habits, including your phone use, heavy braking, excessive speed, the number of miles driven and the time of day you drive. Though this program isn’t available in all states (ask a Farmers agent or check the Farmers website to see if you’re eligible), it can be a great way to earn a cheaper car insurance rate.

Farmers Insurance also has optional coverage for drivers who are afraid their rates will jump after an at-fault accident. If you’ve remained accident-free in the past, but have an at-fault accident, Farmers Insurance will forgive one accident for every three years you drive without an accident.

Another add-on coverage that’s growing in popularity is rideshare coverage. While companies such as Uber and Lyft offer some insurance coverage, most insurers exclude personal coverage when you’re driving for a transportation network company (TNC), such as Uber or Lyft. But in order to fill in those gaps, companies like Farmers Insurance have now begun offering rideshare insurance as an optional coverage.

Interested in learning more about additional coverage options through Farmers Insurance? You can find a full list of Farmers Insurance’s optional coverages here.

Read Farmers Insurance reveiws

USAA Overview

USAA has been serving military members and military families since 1922. Today, it serves millions of members with its diversified group of financial services companies, including car insurance.

Active and former military members are eligible to buy insurance through USAA, which is highly rated among the Clearsurance community. In fact, USAA was rated as the top car insurance company for 2019 as well as the best homeowners and best renters insurance company for 2019. However, the company offers a wide range of other insurance policies, and some are sold through third parties.

USAA policyholders enjoy a wide variety of auto insurance discounts including safe driver discount (for having a good driving record), driver training discount, defensive driving discount, good student discount, multi-vehicle discount, family discount, discount on comprehensive coverage when you garage your vehicle in the military base as well as multi-policy discount.

Among the ways that USAA tries to help good drivers who are loyal to USAA save money is its accident forgiveness policy. If you go five straight years with USAA accident-free, then your auto insurance premium won’t increase after one at-fault accident. And in select states, you may purchase this additional feature.

Driving for Uber, Lyft or a similar company? USAA offers rideshare insurance to help cover the gaps between your personal insurance policy and the coverage provided by the transportation network company you’re driving for. USAA advertises you can obtain this additional coverage for as little as $6 more per month.

Optional coverage offered by USAA includes: roadside assistance and rental reimbursement.

Many USAA policyholders applaud the company for its excellent customer service. You can learn more about how USAA stacks up against Farmers Insurance by comparing the consumer ratings of the two companies in the table below.

Read USAA reveiws