Nationwide Auto Insurance Review [2024]: Good Discounts + Coverage, Tricky Sign-Up

Nationwide has an impressive lineup of auto insurance options, perks, and discounts available to drivers. The problem is trying to figure out if Nationwide will insure you or if you will be diverted to a partner. Since its online quote generator prompts you to call an agent or connect with a partner, it’s tough to figure out if Nationwide can save you money on your own.

If Nationwide is available in your area, I suggest checking out its usage-based insurance (UBI), which ranked number 1 by the 2024 J.D. Power customer satisfaction study. Nationwide claims that drivers who use the UBI program can save up to 40% with safe driving practices — one of the largest discounts I’ve seen offered by an insurance company.

On the surface, Nationwide offers premium auto insurance coverage compared to other car insurance companies. Not only does it provide almost every type of policy imaginable, but it also has coverage options not typically seen, such as GAP insurance, reduced deductibles, and key replacement.

That said, Nationwide underperformed in the J.D. Power 2024 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, ranking below average in overall customer satisfaction in almost every region it operates in. The only area Nationwide scored highly in was the North Central region, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Here, it received 688 out of 1,000 compared to a regional average of 652. But Nationwide may provide a better claims process than it does an overall customer experience. It ranked 4th in the J.D. Power 2024 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, with a score of 728 — surpassing GEICO, Allstate, Progressive, and Liberty Mutual.

How we evaluate products

To analyze Nationwide for an honest review, I compared the company with top competitors, including GEICO, Farmers, and Allstate. Here are a few specific factors I considered:

• Availability: I considered exactly how many states Nationwide provides coverage in. Both GEICO and Allstate offer car insurance coverage in all states, for example. Nationwide is available in 46 states, more than Farmers' 42-state coverage.
• Customer satisfaction: I looked at Nationwide's performance in third-party consumer sentiment studies. Nationwide scored higher than many of its primary competitors in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Claims Satisfaction Study, as well as in the 2024 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study. However, it fared much worse in the 2024 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. It has an AM Best rating of A (excellent), lower than other companies’ “superior” ratings.
• Discounts: I analyzed Nationwide’s pricing from the perspective of available discounts. As far as these go, Nationwide does not offer the most, but it does offer a wide range, including more unique discounts and perks not found at its competitors.

Nationwide pros and cons

Who is Nationwide a good option for?

Nationwide is a good choice for drivers who want extra coverage for just-in-case incidents, such as losing your key or needing to rush your pet to the vet after a crash. Nationwide accounts for these situations and a host of others, with policy add-ons you don’t often see in car insurance. (However, many are available as loyalty perks, so you’ll need to stick with Nationwide to qualify.)

Nationwide is also a good choice for drivers who want to see their insurance costs go down over time. With its Vanishing Deductible option, for instance, your deductible decreases $100 each year you remain claim-free (up to $500). The provider also offers many other discounts.

Additionally, Nationwide covers vehicles not typically covered by car insurance companies, such as snowmobiles, golf carts, scooters, and mopeds.

Year founded	1926
Types of coverage	Bodily injury liability Property damage liability Personal injury protection (PIP) Uninsured/underinsured motorist protection Medical payments Collision Comprehensive Towing and labor Rental car expense GAP coverage Accident forgiveness Vanishing deductible Roadside assistance Total loss deductible waiver
Discounts available	Multi-policy Anti-theft Defensive driving SmartRide SmartMiles Safe driver Accident-free Automatic payments Good student Go paperless
Where you can use it	Online at Nationwide.com Mobile app for Android, iPhone, and iPad
Customer support	Visit Nationwide.com to file a claim, pay your bill, or start a quote. To finalize a quote or only get an auto quote, you’ll need to contact an agent at 1-888-891-0153 File a claim 24/7: 1-800-421-3535 Customer Service: ​​ 1-877-669-6877 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday
Availability	All U.S. states and Washington D.C., except Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Louisiana.

What auto insurance does Nationwide offer?

The type of insurance and policy amounts available with Nationwide vary based on your state’s laws, but you can add extra coverage options to protect you and your family.

Nationwide car insurance is available in 46 states and Washington, D.C. It does not sell auto insurance policies in Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Louisiana.

Other insurance products

Additionally, Nationwide offers other types of insurance products, which you can bundle with an auto policy for additional savings, including:

• Vehicle: Get coverage for more than just a car with motorcycle, ATV, RV, scooter, snowmobile, and golf cart insurance.
• Property: Along with homeowners insurance, Nationwide offers renters and condo insurance.
• Personal: Choose from umbrella insurance, life insurance, long-term care insurance, pet insurance, and more.
• Business: Nationwide offers a wide range of business insurance options, including Businessowners Policy (BOP), workers’ compensation, and more.

Nationwide also partners with third-party insurance carriers to sell classic car insurance, wedding insurance, and even flood insurance. Outside of insurance, Nationwide offers investment options, such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). This is unusual for a car insurance company.

How much does Nationwide auto insurance cost?

Unfortunately, there’s no way to put the cost of Nationwide auto insurance simply. Getting a Nationwide quote online was frustrating because no ZIP code I tried provided answers. Here are some messages I received:

• California ZIP code: “Nationwide online quotes are not currently available in California,” and a prompt to its partner Insurify.
• Georgia ZIP code: “Online quoting is unavailable in your area, please contact a local agent for a quote or let us help you find other providers.”
• North Carolina ZIP code: “Can we talk? We want to help. Right now, we can't give you a quote online.”
• Idaho ZIP code: I went through the whole quote process, answering 15 pages of questions, only to be asked to call an agent for the quote. Though they did give me a price range for two other companies.

It doesn’t look good when a car insurance company tries to send you to its partners rather than give you a quote. This is a common practice for lead generators, such as QuoteWizard, that are designed to give you quotes from multiple providers through one marketplace.

How to find discounts

Nationwide offers the following discounts that may lower your car insurance costs, although availability may vary by state law.

Discount type	How to get it	Savings
Multi-policy discount	Bundling home and auto insurance (or another combination of policies, such as auto and renters insurance or auto, home, and life insurance)	An average of $646
SmartMiles	Choosing the pay-per-miles program for a flexible monthly rate determined by miles driven	Varies
SmartRide	Choosing the usage-based insurance program to measure how safely you drive	Up to 40%
Multi-car discount	Get coverage for more than one vehicle	Up to 20%
Good student discount	Be a student between 16 and 24 and maintain a B average or higher	Varies
Accident-free discount	Remain free from at-fault accidents and major violations for five years	Up to 10%
Defensive driving discount	Be over 55 and complete a state-approved safety course (in addition to having no at-fault accidents for 35 months)	About 5%
Automatic payment	Set up automatic payments	Up to 3% (one-time)
Pay in full	Pay your bill all at once	Up to 6%
Anti-theft devices	Have factory-installed anti-theft deterrents or devices installed after purchase	Varies

In addition to its discounts, Nationwide customers may be eligible for loyalty perks. Some of these include:

• Car key replacement
• Pet injury coverage
• Fender bender forgiveness
• Special deductible provision
• Auto repair network

More on the usage-based insurance option

We’ll get into more ways to save with Nationwide next, but one of the best is to take advantage of its SmartRide rewards safe-driving program. The SmartRide program starts with having a plug-in device installed in your car. This device measures your driving according to four factors:

• Miles driven
• Fast acceleration
• Hard braking
• Night driving (between 12 a.m. and 5 a.m.)

The less activity the device finds in each of these categories, the safer your driving is considered and more likely you are to get a discount. This differs from the accident-free discount because it focuses on your everyday driving rather than your claims (or lack thereof).

During the quote process, I landed on a page that said enrolling would save me 15%, with the opportunity to earn up to 40% in all. Additionally, Nationwide said that most drivers earn a discount in 80 days of practicing safe driving behavior.

How to maximize savings

Along with using car insurance saving strategies such as raising your deductible or reducing coverage on an older car, here are specific ways to save with a Nationwide policy:

Use the On Your Side review

Nationwide gives drivers free policy reviews every year. While the intent might be to upsell you on more coverage, it could also let you know if you’re paying for more coverage than you need or missing out on a discount.

Minimize your claims

The Vanishing Deductible add-on coverage lowers your deductible by up to $100 every year you don’t make a claim (up to $500). This means that if you avoid making claims for five years and then have an accident, you won’t need to pay the $500 deductible for your coverage to kick in.

While you can’t control whether you have an accident, you could decide whether smaller claims — like minor damage to your bumper or a cosmetic scratch — are worth making.

How to get an insurance quote from Nationwide

Skip the online quote process on Nationwide’s website and look for a local agent instead. This Nationwide state search tool connects you to every agent in your state, so you don’t have to waste time filling out a form that leads nowhere.

To get the most accurate quote with your agent, be prepared with the following:

• Drivers’ information: Name, address, marital status, license number, and age of license for each driver.
• Vehicle information: Each car’s year, make, model, body style, and if it is financed, leased, or owned. You will also need the vehicle identification number (VIN).
• Driving history: Details about past accidents or tickets on any driver’s record.

FAQs

Bottom line

Nationwide insurance may be a good option for you if you want to pick from multiple standard and specialty policies. It offers a long list of discounts, though not quite as many as some competitors, such as Farmers or GEICO.

As you search for car insurance, I recommend including Nationwide in the mix of quotes you compare, although you may find better car insurance rates with one of its competitors. Other potential downsides I’d keep an eye out for are the quote process and customer service.