Pros
- Offers annual, semi-annual or monthly payment options.
- Can pay in person or online.
- Local agents are available.
Cons
- Slow claims processing times.
American Family Insurance Review Summary
American Family Insurance is a good insurance company, earning a 3.9/5 rating from WalletHub editors and solid scores from organizations like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and J.D. Power. American Family is known for offering insurance coverage for cars and other vehicles, including motorcycles, ATVs, RVs, snowmobiles and even boats, but the company offers property, life and flood insurance policies, too. Credit monitoring services and identity protection plans are also available.
In the sections below, learn more about American Family Insurance, including its coverage options and discounts, as well as how the company compares against other major auto insurers and where it's lacking.
Summary: American Family Scores by Review Category
| Category | Score |
|---|---|
| American Family Quotes / Pricing | 20/30 |
| Customer Service & Reviews | 17.5/30 |
| American Family Financial Stability | 10/10 |
| American Family Claims Process | 15/15 |
| American Family Types of Insurance and Additional Services Offered | 5/5 |
| American Family Discounts | 5/5 |
| American Family Transparency | 5/5 |
| OVERALL | 77.5/100 |
Now that you’re familiar with how American Family scores in each of our review categories, let’s see how it compares to top competitors in a handful of key areas. Hopefully, this will help you find the best insurance company for your needs.
American Family Car Insurance Pricing
Category Rating: 58% (17.5 out of 30)
American Family received a score of 20/30 in the cost portion of this review, as its premiums rank in the third quartile among the cheapest major car insurance providers that WalletHub evaluated. Learn more about WalletHub’s Methodology.
American Family Customer Service & Reviews
Category Rating: 83% (25 out of 30)
- Reviews on WalletHub: 3.4/5
- J.D. Power: 3.3/5
- NAIC: 1.71
- BBB: A+
When it comes to consumer reviews, American Family received a good score compared to its top competitors. While the company is touted by some for its affordable rates and personalized customer service, others have complained about a poor claims handling process overall, including unsatisfactory settlement offers and delayed claims payments. Also, American Family’s NAIC rating is 1.71, which indicates customer reviews are positive overall.
American Family's Financial Stability
Category Rating: 100% (10 out of 10)
- AM Best: A
- S&P: A-
- Moody’s: A2
American Family Insurance is on firm financial footing, having earned A ratings from AM Best (one of the nation’s leading credit rating agencies for the insurance industry), as well as S&P and Moody’s.
American Family Claims
Category Rating: 100% (15 out of 15)
American Family lets you file a claim any time on their website or the MyAmFam mobile app. The company also offers a 24/7 claims support phone line, at 800-MYAMFAM (800-692-6326). American Family’s accessibility earned it the highest score possible in this category, per WalletHub’s grading criteria.
Learn more about American Family's claims process.
American Family’s Types of Insurance
Category Rating: 100% (5 out of 5)
- Auto insurance
- Homeowners insurance
- Business insurance
- RV & Camper Insurance
- ATV Insurance
- Health insurance
- Identity protection
- Motorcycle insurance
- Renters insurance
- Travel insurance
- Umbrella insurance
- Workers compensation
- Car Insurance
- Motorcycle Insurance
- Boat Insurance
- Snowmobile Insurance
American Family offers many types of insurance options, including property, health, and umbrella policies, as well as discounts for bundling policies, so the company got the highest score possible in this category. Below, we’ll dig deeper into what American Family has to offer as a car insurance provider.
American Family offers all the major auto insurance coverage options required by states, including bodily injury liability, property damage liability, uninsured/underinsured motorist, collision, and comprehensive. The company also offers a few extra coverage options to round out their basic policies.
Supplemental American Family Car Insurance Coverage Options:
- Emergency Road Service: Covers certain emergency roadside services 24/7, including towing, mechanical repair, fuel delivery, jump-starts, tire repairs, and locksmith services.
- Rental Reimbursement: Covers rental, rideshare and other transportation service costs while your car is in the repair shop due to an accident.
- Accident Forgiveness: Keeps your rate from going up if you have an accident.
- Rideshare Driver Coverage: Covers you while you’re working for a rideshare company.
While American Family’s supplemental coverage options may all seem necessary, drivers should only add what makes sense for their personal situation, driving habits and budget. The same goes for the few specialty insurance options that American Family offers, too.
Specialty Types of American Family Car Insurance Policies:
- American Family Commercial Auto Insurance for individuals who need protection for their business vehicles. Types of vehicles include cars, pickup trucks, vans, trailers, and more.
- American Family Gap Coverage for individuals who want to protect their investment in a financed/leased vehicle. It covers the difference between the amount you owe on the car and the total cost to replace it with a new one.
- American Family Classic Car Insurance for antique and vintage vehicles (typically more than 20 years old).
American Family insures motorcycles, boats, snowmobiles, RVs, and other recreational vehicles, too. However, the availability and details of these coverage options vary by state.
American Family Discounts
Category Rating: 100% (5 out of 5)
- Multi-policy discount
- Multi product discount
- Loyalty discount
- Early bird discount
- Steer into Savings discount
- Auto safety equipment discount
- Defensive driver discount
- Good driving discount
- Low mileage discount
- Pay-How-You-Drive Safe Driving Program discount
- Good student
- Away at school discount
- Young volunteer discount
- Generational discount
- Auto pay discount
- Customer full pay discount
- Paperless discount
American Family Insurance offers more than 15 discounts, as well as up to 30% off when you bundle multiple policies, which earned the company the highest score possible in this category.
Auto insurance customers can also get up to 20% off their bill for their safe driving habits when they use KnowYourDrive, American Family’s usage-based car insurance program. However, eligibility criteria for all of these savings opportunities vary by state.
American Family Transparency
Category Rating: 100% (5 out of 5)
You can find all important information on the American Family website quickly and easily, so the company gets full marks in the transparency department. You can also chat with agents online Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. (CST), or call a live representative at 800-MYAMFAM (800-692-6326) 24/7 to get more information.
Bottom Line
American Family is a good insurance company for people who want a lot of insurance options for their vehicles, properties, businesses, and health. American Family also has an extensive list of discounts for customers to take advantage of. So, even though there’s room for improvement in the customer service department, American Family deserves a spot on every auto insurance shopper’s list of companies to consider.
American Family Car Insurance vs Competitors
| Insurer | American Family | Geico | Farmers | State Farm |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Average Premium* | $1,278 per year | $810 per year | $2,978 per year | $978 per year |
| Number of Car Insurance Discounts | 17 | 23 | 22 | 16 |
| Offers Home Insurance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Complaints Score (lower is best) | 1.71 | 0.81 | 0.71 | 1.35 |
| Editor’s Rating | 3.9 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 3.8 |
*Complaints Score represents the company's overall NAIC rating. Car insurance-specific rating may differ.
*Average annual premiums are based on a variety of driver profiles. Individuals premiums may differ, but these rates illustrate how costs from these insurers typically compare. Learn more about how these rates were calculated in the methodology section below.
For more car insurance research, check out WalletHub’s Cheap Car Insurance Study. And if you have experience with American Family that you think might help other consumers, you can also write an American Family Insurance review.
Video: Amercan Family Insurance Review
Methodology
In order to provide fair, helpful reviews of insurance companies such as American Family that can lead consumers to the best insurance coverage for their needs, WalletHub rates each insurance company in seven major categories: Cost, Insurance Types, Customer Service & Reviews, Discounts, Claims, Financial Stability and Transparency. Below, you can find an overview of what each section in our scoring rubric entails.
- The “Cost” section includes information about how expensive the insurance policies are. American Family’s average premiums and quartile rankings are based on data from Illinois, one of the largest states American Family operates in. Rate information is provided by Quadrant Information Services. Individual rates will be different.
- The “Insurance Types” section examines what types of insurance policies the company offers.
- The “Customer Service & Reviews” section measures the insurance company’s reputation as well user reviews and information from watchdog organizations.
- The “Discounts” section examines how many and what types of discounts the company offers. It also takes into consideration whether or not there are discounts for bundling policies.
- The “Claims” section examines the ways in which customers can make claims with the policy. It considers whether or not customers can make claims by phone or online, as well as whether or not the company has a 24/7 support line.
- The “Financial Stability” section considers the company’s status with credit rating agencies A.M. Best, S&P and Moody’s.
- The “Transparency” section measures how clearly the insurer discloses key information on its website.
The final score takes these seven categories into account and reflects how close an insurance company is to WalletHub’s definition of a 5-star insurer. For more information, please read WalletHub’s full insurance company methodology.
Ask the Experts
In order to gain more insight into American Family Insurance, WalletHub turned to a panel of experts. Click on the pictures of the experts below to read their bios and responses to the following questions:
- What should consumers know when considering a mutual insurance company such as American Family?
- What do you think American Family needs to change in order to stay competitive in the future?
Ask the Experts
MBA, Instructor of Business Administration, Lindsey Wilson College
Read More
Ph.D., Visiting Assistant Professor, Economics Department, Whittier College
Read More
Ed.D., Associate Professor of Instruction, Academic Director of the Business Management BBA Program, Department of Management, Fox School of Business, Temple University
Read More
MBA, MISM, Honors College Director & Business and Computer Information Systems Instructor, Coahoma Community College
Read More
Assistant Professor of Business, Carson-Newman University
Read More
Professor of Economics and Finance, College of Business, Anderson University
Read More
WalletHub experts are widely quoted. Contact our media team to schedule an interview.