Farmers is an insurance company that offers several insurance products, including auto insurance coverage. Farmers is a well-established company in the auto insurance field. It offers many discounts and extensive coverage and receives high marks for its auto claims process.
That said, Farmers doesn’t offer auto insurance in every state, and the overall satisfaction ratings leave a bit to be desired.
Find details about Farmers’ coverage and discounts, as well as how to get an insurance quote, in this Farmers auto insurance review. This can help you decide whether it makes sense for you to sign up for a policy.
Farmers auto insurance: Is it worth it?
Pros | Cons |
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Our verdict: Farmers Insurance is an established insurance provider that offers many coverage options and discounts. It can be a good option if you qualify for some of its many discounts, but other car insurance companies have higher customer satisfaction ratings. |
What is Farmers?
Farmers Insurance Group is an insurance provider that offers a variety of different insurance products, including car insurance, homeowners insurance, life insurance, business insurance, and more. Farmers was founded in 1928 by John Tyler and Thomas Leavey in Los Angeles, California, to provide quality insurance products at affordable prices.
Over the years, Farmers went from a one-room office in downtown Los Angeles to one of the largest insurance companies in the U.S. Farmers provides more than 19 million individual insurance policies across all 50 states with the help of about 21,000 employees.
Note
Although Farmers offer one or more types of insurance products in all 50 states, its auto insurance is only available in 42 states.Farmers has an “A” rating with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and an “A-” financial rating with the credit rating agency AM Best. Farmers also has a high score on the J.D. Power 2021 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, ranking fifth among major auto insurance providers.
However, Farmer’s overall customer satisfaction lagged behind. The insurer ranked 10th on the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, below the industry average.
Year founded | 1928 |
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Discounts available |
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Availability | All states except Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and West Virginia |
What insurance does Farmers offer?
Farmers offers a variety of insurance products, primarily across the four main categories of vehicle, home, life, and business. But you can also find policies for pet insurance, trailer insurance, and more.
Note that Farmers doesn’t offer all of its insurance products in every state. But Farmers car insurance is available in 42 out of 50 states.
Farmers auto insurance coverage options
Farmers provides many essential insurance coverages, including:
- Liability coverage: Helps cover the cost of injuries to others and any property damage if you’re at fault for an accident. Liability coverage is required in most states.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Helps cover your losses from accidents caused by a driver who has no insurance or doesn’t have enough insurance coverage to cover your losses.
- Medical payments: Helps pay the cost of needed medical care for you and your passengers following a car accident, regardless of who was at fault.
- Personal injury protection (PIP): Helps cover the cost of your injury, rehabilitation, and any lost wages due to a car accident.
Farmers also offers vehicle-related coverage that includes:
- Collision insurance: Helps cover damages to your vehicle from collisions with other vehicles, objects, and animals. This coverage is optional unless your vehicle is financed or leased.
- Comprehensive insurance: Helps cover many non-collision damages to your vehicle. This often includes damage from hail, wind, theft, vandalism, and more. This is optional coverage as long as your vehicle isn’t financed or leased.
- Guaranteed Value: Pays out a predetermined amount if a car accident totals your vehicle.
- Customized equipment insurance: Helps cover the cost to repair or replace customized or aftermarket equipment. Customized equipment coverage is available only if you already have collision and comprehensive coverage.
- Glass deductible buyback: Helps cover windshield repair or replacement with a $100 deductible.
- Full windshield and glass coverage: Helps cover windshield repair and replacement with no out-of-pocket costs.
- Spare parts coverage: Helps cover the replacement cost for spare parts up to $750.
- Original equipment manufacturer (OEM): Helps cover the cost of only using original factory parts for eligible car repairs. Your vehicle must be 10 years old or less.
- New car replacement coverage: Helps cover the cost of replacing your car with a new vehicle that’s the same make and model. This type of coverage is available if your car has less than 24,000 miles and is totaled within the first two model years.
You can also add several more protections to your policy with Farmers, including:
- Towing and roadside service: Helps provide 24/7 roadside assistance for towing, tire changing, lockouts, and more.
- Rental car reimbursement: Helps cover the cost of a rental vehicle for up to 30 days while yours is being repaired.
- Rideshare insurance: Helps protect you while you drive for a rideshare service such as Uber or Lyft during periods when the company’s insurance policy isn’t in effect. This is often the case when you don’t have an active passenger.
- Loss of use insurance: Provides you a flat sum to be used for transportation while your car is being repaired. Transportation can include car rentals, taxis, public transit, and more.
- Personal umbrella insurance: Provides additional umbrella liability coverage on top of your existing liability policy.
Other Farmers insurance products
Farmers offers several insurance products in addition to traditional auto coverage. These products fall within the three main categories of vehicle, home, and life policies.
Vehicle | Home | Life |
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Farmers provides opportunities to bundle some of their different insurance policies, which is typically a way to earn a discount on your premiums. For example, you can bundle an auto insurance policy with a home, life, umbrella, small business, or specialty policy.
Additional insurance policies Farmers offers are:
Business | Other |
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Farmers auto insurance: How cheap is it?
The cost of Farmers auto insurance depends on where you live, what discounts (if any) you qualify for, and how clean your driving record is, among other factors.
How to find discounts
Discounts are often one of the best ways to save money on car insurance. Farmers offers many types of auto insurance discounts, though its availability varies by state and insurance policy.
Several discounts relate to the safety of you, your passengers, and your vehicle, including:
- Safe driver discount: You can get this discount for having good driving habits in the form of a clean driving record.
- Mature/defensive/senior driver discount: You can qualify for this discount if you’re over 55 and completed a state-approved safe driver training program in the past three years.
- Accident forgiveness: You can qualify for this forgiveness, which isn’t technically a discount, when you complete three years of coverage with Farmers without getting in an at-fault accident. This forgiveness means that your insurance premium will not increase following one at-fault accident.
- Anti-lock brakes discount: You may get this discount if your car has factory-installed anti-lock brakes.
- Anti-theft discount: You can earn this discount when you have eligible anti-theft devices installed in your vehicle.
- Daytime running lights discount: You can get this discount for having daytime running headlights.
- Passive restraint discount: You may get this discount when your car has airbags or automatic seatbelts.
- Homing device discount: You can receive this discount when you have a Farmers-approved car tracking system.
- VIN etching discount: You can have this discount when your vehicle identification number is etched on your windshield and other Farmers-required areas.
- Signal app discount: You can use the Signal app to monitor your driving behavior, and you may get a discount. To use the app, you first need to install it on your smartphone and activate it with a link from Farmers. Practicing safe driving behaviors while using the app may qualify you for a discount at your next renewal, but risky driving behaviors may result in a rate increase.
Farmers also provides some discounts for young and student drivers, including:
- Distant student discount: You can receive this discount if you live at least 100 miles away from home for school and don’t regularly use the insured car.
- Good student discount: You may get this discount if you have a 3.0 or better GPA, be on the Dean’s List or Honor Roll, be in the top 20% of your class, or be in the top 20% on standardized testing for the good student discount.
- Youthful driver discount: You can have this discount if you have a listed driver (child or grandchild) in the household who’s under 25 and meets other eligibility requirements.
If you get more than one insurance policy from Farmers, you may also qualify for a bundling discount:
- Multi-line discount: You can get this bundling or a multi-policy discount when you have multiple insurance policies with Farmers. The policies you can bundle with auto insurance include home, life, umbrella, small business, and specialty insurance.
- Multi-car discount: You can qualify for this discount by insuring more than one car with Farmers.
Some Farmers discounts are based on your payment options and history:
- Good payer discount: You may earn this discount if you didn’t get charged late fees in the previous 12 months.
- ePolicy discount: You can get this discount by enrolling in ePolicy and accepting the Go Paperless terms and conditions.
- Electronic funds transfer (EFT) discount: You may get this discount by setting up automatic monthly payments through your online Farmers account.
- Pay-in-full discount: You can qualify for this discount if you pay your premium in full at the start of a policy term.
Additional Farmers discounts include:
- Affinity discount: You can earn this discount if you’re a member of a certain organization or association, including U.S. military groups.
- Shared family car discount: You can get this discount if you have more active drivers than vehicles in the household, including one single driver up to the age of 20.
- On-your-own discount: You may qualify for this discount if you’re a previous driver on a Farmers policy that split from a household, is under 29, and has a new Farmers policy.
- Homeowner discount: You can have this discount if the policyholder owns a residence. The residence doesn’t have to be insured by Farmers.
- Alternative fuel discount: You can receive this discount if you have any vehicle powered by any non-gasoline-only method, including hybrid and electric. This car insurance discount is only available in California.
How to maximize savings
There are many factors that affect car insurance rates, including things that are hard to change, such as your age or your assigned birth gender. Other factors can be easier to control, such as your vehicle type and how often you use it.
For example, driving a standard sedan may require less insurance coverage than driving a sports car. Putting less than the average miles on your vehicle yearly may save you money on your car insurance premiums.
Here are a few more ways to help maximize your car insurance savings:
- Improve your credit score. Car insurance companies often check your credit score to help determine their potential insurance liability. You can often pay lower premiums if you have a good credit score.
- Check for discounts: Major car insurance providers such as Farmers offer many different types of discounts. Find out what’s available in your area to see whether you can qualify for some savings.
- Be a safe driver. Auto insurance companies look for safe driving habits when they consider your insurance premium. That’s why you may qualify for a safe driver discount if you practice defensive driving habits and tend to avoid car accidents.
- Opt for lower coverage. Car insurers enable you to choose your coverage as long as it is above your state limit. Consider striking a balance between getting the coverage you need and saving money on your premiums. You may not need the highest coverage available, and selecting lower coverage will likely lower your rates.
- Get a higher deductible. Auto insurers also enable you to choose a higher deductible that can lower your monthly premiums.
How to get an insurance quote from Farmers auto insurance
Farmers makes it easy to figure out how to get car insurance. You can get an auto insurance quote from Farmers by visiting the Farmers website or calling 1-800-974-6755.
It’s often quicker to go through the online quote process rather than to talk to a Farmers insurance agent over the phone. But you may prefer talking to an agent if you have specific questions about coverage or discounts.
Farmers works with more than 48,000 independent agents nationwide, giving you access to local agents that have more knowledge about what’s available in your area.
Here’s how to get an online auto insurance quote from Farmers:
1. Head to Farmers.com and select Auto from the dropdown menu. Enter your ZIP code and choose to Get a Quote.
2. Enter required personal information such as your first and last name and complete address.
3. Add the vehicles you want to include on your policy and enter their information, including the VIN, vehicle year, make, model, and type.
4. Add information for all drivers that will be on the policy. This includes first and last name, date of birth, gender, marriage status, and more.
5. Enter your contact information, including an email address and phone number.
6. Check to see whether you’re eligible for any discounts.
7. Continue to see your automatic car insurance quote. You can adjust your car insurance coverage, types, and amounts. You can also buy the policy at this step or save your quote and finish it later.
The online quote should take about 10 minutes on average, especially if you already have all the information you need on hand.
Farmers auto insurance FAQs
Does Farmers auto insurance have a good reputation?
Farmers auto insurance generally has a good reputation as an established U.S. insurance provider. Farmers Insurance has an “A” rating with the Better Business Bureau and an “A-” rating for financial strength from AM Best.
Is Farmers auto insurance good at paying claims?
Farmers auto insurance is one of the best companies at paying claims, according to a 2021 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study by J.D. Power. Farmers ranked fifth out of 18 insurance providers for customer satisfaction with the auto insurance claims process.
What company owns Farmers insurance?
Farmers Insurance is owned by Zurich Insurance Group, a global insurance company that is headquartered in Switzerland. Zurich offers a range of insurance products in more than 210 countries and territories and has around 56,000 employees. Zurich acquired Farmers Insurance in 1998.
Bottom line
Farmers Insurance is an established and trusted insurance provider that’s been around for more than 90 years. You can expect Farmers to offer competitive rates on products and services, including several discounts when available and if you qualify.
However, Farmers car insurance doesn’t operate in every state and it may not always provide the lowest premiums or the best overall customer satisfaction. Comparing insurance premiums with other auto insurance companies such as GEICO, Nationwide, and State Farm can help you find the most affordable one. Check out our list of the best car insurance companies to learn more.
Methodology
FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include insurance cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.