State Farm Car Insurance Review

COVID-19 Assistance

In response to the financial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, State Farm says it’s working to reduce premium costs in every state by an average of 11% for a total of $2.2 billion in rate cuts. These lower rates will be reflected when customers renew their policies.

State Farm is also returning dividends to customers, with a 25% credit to the premium (for the period between March 20 and May 31, 2020), or about $20 per vehicle. It’s for any State Farm insured with a policy in force during the March–May period. However, it will be applied as a credit to your future payment, so some customers may not see the credit until they renew. If you choose not to renew your policy, contact State Farm to determine how to receive your refund.  

State Farm Car Insurance Coverage

State Farm customers have access to the following types of auto insurance coverage:

• Bodily injury liability and property damage liability.
• Collision 
• Comprehensive
• Personal injury protection (PIP)
• Medical payments 
• Uninsured and underinsured motorists

Other coverage that may be available, depending your your location: 

• Car rental reimbursement and travel expenses (must have collision or comprehensive)
• Roadside assistance 
• Ridesharing coverage 

State Farm Car Insurance Costs

Insurers offer unique rates depending upon individual factors, including your driving record, location, age, your vehicle and how you use it (business, personal only), typical mileage, credit-based insurance score, and other factors that can vary between U.S. states. The amount of insurance coverage you want to purchase also impacts your premium. 

Unfortunately, because State Farm requires either an SSN or a driver’s license number as part of its quote process, we were unable to get a quote for this review. 

State Farm Car Insurance Discounts

State Farm offers a number of discounts that can help to reduce the cost of premiums:

• Youth discounts: Good student (up to 25%), driver training (for drivers under 21), Steer Clear Program (for drivers under 25; up to 15%), student away from home 
• Loyalty discounts: Multi-policy (up to 17%), multi-car (up to 20%)
• Safety discounts: Accident-free history, good driving, Drive Safe & Save mobile app (up to 25%), defensive driving course, 
• Vehicle discounts: Vehicle made in 1994 or after (up to 40% on medical-related coverage), passive restraint (up to 40% on medical-related coverage), anti-theft

State Farm Car Insurance Availability

State Farm is available in 48 states and the District of Columbia, and you can locate one of the 19,200 agents working near you. It is not currently giving quotes to new customers in Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

How to Get a State Farm Car Insurance Quote

Potential customers can generate a quote online, by calling 844-803-1572 to speak to a State Farm representative, or by contacting a local agent. A free online quote isn’t available unless you supply your social security number or a driver’s license. 

You also can’t generate online quotes if you have more than four vehicles or drivers, or a car that isn’t listed in the vehicle type, such as a motorcycle or snowmobile.

How to File a Claim with State Farm

State Farm offers several options for filing a claim. You can file online, file using the State Farm mobile app, call your State Farm agent directly, or call 800-SF-CLAIM (800-732-5246), which is staffed 24/7. You can also sign up for text and email notifications for claim updates. 

Once you’ve filed your claim, State Farm will review the details, assess the damage, and potentially contact you for more information and to discuss next steps. From there, you will get an estimate that will need to be approved and the repairs authorized. State Farm will either pay the repair shop directly or reimburse you with a deposit to your bank account or via a check in the mail. You can track the claim online to monitor where you are in the process.

State Farm Customer Service

Overall satisfaction

In the 2020 J.D. Power Auto Insurance Satisfaction Study, State Farm ranked highly on the East Coast, particularly in New York, New England, and the Mid-Atlantic regions.

State Farm is available in all regions of the U.S., and earned an average customer satisfaction index score of 838 points out of 1,000, slightly above the 833-point nationwide industry average.

Claims 

The 2019 J.D. Power Auto Claims Satisfaction Study ranks State Farm 5th out of 23 auto insurers, or “about average.”

Most State Farm complaints in 2019 concerned claim handling, specifically delays and claim denials, followed by adjuster handling, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). According to NAIC’s complaint index, State Farm earned a 0.69 complaint index score in 2019, a bit better than the industry average of 1.0. However, it did receive more complaints in 2019 compared to 2018 (0.57) and 2017 (0.52)

Digital Service

In digital service, State Farm ranked #14 out of 19 in another J.D. Power survey —not great. For digital shopping, State Farm ranked #13 out of 22. However, the overall quote-to-purchase shopping experience leaves customers somewhat satisfied, as State Farm is #3 out of 8 large insurers in the J.D. Power U.S. Insurance Shopping Survey. 

Financial Stability

The financial stability of an insurer is an important consideration when choosing an auto insurance company, since you want to feel confident that your insurer will be able to pay out any claims you may make. AM Best rates insurers on financial strength, and State Farm enjoys a rating of A++, indicating that it has a superior ability to meet its ongoing insurance obligations.

Other Insurance Provided by State Farm

Though State Farm got its start as an auto insurer, it has expanded to offer 25 different types of insurance policies, including:

• Motorcycle 
• Boat 
• Off-road vehicles including snowmobiles, ATVs, golf carts
• Motorhome/RV 
• Sports car 
• Classic and antique car
• Commercial vehicle insurance

As well as: 

• Homeowners, renters, and condominium insurance
• Health, disability and life insurance
• Small business insurance
• Identity restoration insurance 
• Pet medical insurance

Compare Other Car Insurance Reviews

Comparison shopping for insurance is a necessary part of finding the right policy for your needs. Generating multiple quotes is the best way to find the right insurance carrier that offers you the best value for your particular auto insurance needs. If you get a State Farm quote, you might want to compare it to quotes from:

• Allstate
• GEICO
• USAA

Methodology

The Balance strives to give consumers unbiased, comprehensive reviews of auto insurance providers. To ensure that our content helps you make the right insurance decision for your needs, we review each insurance provider’s coverage options, discounts, customer service and satisfaction, and financial stability. 

While we were unable to get a quote from State Farm for this review, we usually look at the cost of a basic policy for a Ford Explorer—one of the most popular cars in the U.S., but not so popular that it’s among the most stolen cars and therefore, more expensive to insure. Our fictional applicants live in a residential suburb of Minneapolis. Insurance premiums in suburbs generally tend to be between the higher rates in urban areas and lower premiums in rural regions. We chose Minnesota because it has about average exposure to severe weather incidents (it has snow, but no hurricanes or tornadoes) and its rates are in the middle of the pack compared to other states. 

To give an idea of the range of premiums available to different risk profiles, we generally get quotes for a middle-aged woman with a clean driving record and a young male with a couple of accidents. Your situation may be quite different, but our quote is not meant to cover every kind of situation, but rather give a sample of what premiums could be with this provider. We use the same profile for every car insurance provider we review, to give the best chance of comparing providers’ costs across the board.

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