Founded in 1925, Erie has continued to focus on affordability and exceptional customer service — two of the reasons we put it on our best car insurance companies list.
We like Erie’s Rate Lock® feature, which allows you to keep your rates from changing, even after filing a claim. And that full coverage comes with lots of perks, including accident forgiveness, windshield repair, locksmith service and coverage for pets injured in a covered accident.
Erie’s biggest drawback, however, is its availability: Auto policies are only issued in 12 states and Washington, D.C.
Erie Auto Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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App available
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Policy highlights
Erie offers full and minimum coverage auto insurance, with accident forgiveness and coverage for pets standard with comprehensive or collision policies. Erie Auto Plus includes increased coverage limits, a diminishing deductible and a death benefit of up to $10,000. Other add-ons include roadside assistance, rate lock and rideshare insurance.
Pros
- Affordable premiums
- High customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power
- Quotes available online
Cons
- Only available in 12 states and Washington, D.C.
- Can’t buy a policy online
- Fewer discounts than competitors
Erie car insurance: Pros and cons
Pros
- Highly rated by J.D. Power for customer satisfaction and claims
- Premiums are almost 30% below average
- Rate Lock® feature means your premium won’t change even after filing a claim
Cons
- Only available in 12 states and Washington, D.C.
- Can’t buy a policy online
- Fewer discounts compared to national insurers
Types of Erie car insurance
Basic coverage
Full coverage is typically required if you’re financing or leasing.
- Liability: The minimum car insurance allowed in most states, liability pays for damages and expenses if you or someone else driving your car is at fault for an accident.
- Collision coverage: Pays to repair or replace your vehicle after an accident.
- Comprehensive coverage: Pays for damages or losses not caused by a collision, including theft, weather damage or hitting an animal.
Erie’s Xtra Protection Features are automatically included with comprehensive or collision coverage.
- Accident forgiveness: After three claims-free years, your rates won’t go up after your first at-fault accident.
- Locksmith service: Erie reimburses up to $75 if you lock your keys in the car and need to call a locksmith.
- Personal belongings: Up to $350 for property damaged in a covered event and not insured by another policy.
- Pet coverage: If your pet is hurt in a covered accident in your car, Erie will cover vet costs up to $500 per animal.
- Travel coverage: Up to $75 per passenger for food, lodging and other expenses if your car is undrivable after a covered event and you aren’t close to home
- Windshield repair: Erie will waive the comprehensive deductible if you repair rather than replace a damaged windshield.
Additional coverage
These policies are required in some states and optional in others
- Personal injury protection (PIP) insurance: Also known as no-fault insurance, PIP covers medical bills, lost wages, child care and even funeral costs.
- Medical payments insurance: Covers medical bills for you, your passengers and any pedestrians, regardless of fault.
- Gap insurance: Pays the difference between your car’s actual cash value and the balance of your loan or lease if the vehicle is totaled or stolen. Erie’s Auto Security benefit offers different levels of coverage depending on the age of your vehicle.
- Uninsured/underinsured motorist insurance: Covers repairs and medical bills if you are in an accident with a driver with little or no insurance.
Add-ons
Erie offers a variety of optional endorsements policyholders can buy.
- Erie Auto Plus: This package includes increased coverage limits, a diminishing deductible up to a maximum reduction of $500., additional transportation expenses if your car is undrivable, waived deductibles and a death benefit of up to $10,000.
- Erie Rate Lock: Even if you file a claim, your rates won’t change unless you add or remove a vehicle or driver from your policy or change your address or where you usually park.
- Rental reimbursement: Covers the cost of a rental car if your vehicle is totaled or in the shop for covered repairs
- Roadside assistance: 24/7 help with towing, flats, jump-starts, unlocking doors and delivering fuel
- Rideshare insurance: Erie offers additional liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage if you’re driving for a transportation network company like Uber or Lyft.
Erie car insurance discounts
Erie offers a variety of discounts. Not all discounts are available in all states, however, and some discounts cannot be combined.
- Advance quote discount: Save when you sign your policy at least eight days before it becomes effective.
- Bundling discount: Erie’s multi-policy discount can earn you up to 25% off when you combine auto and home insurance.
- College student discount: Get a lower rate if you have a student on your policy who is away from home and not driving for at least nine months out of the year.
- Driving training discount: Save if you have a young driver who completes an approved defensive driving course.
- Pay-in-full discount: Get a reduction if you pay your annual premium in one lump sum.
- Safety features: Factory-installed safety features, like anti-lock brakes, airbags and anti-theft devices
- Vehicle storage: Erie offers a reduced usage discount in most states if you store your vehicle in a garage for at least 90 days
- Youthful driver discount: Available to drivers under age 21 who are unmarried and live at home
- Youthful driver longevity discount: Young drivers who get their own insurance may get a credit for consecutive years on their parents’ Erie policy.
- YourTurn: Telematics program that assesses your driving behavior, with gift cards or Visa prepaid cards as rewards for safe driving.
Find the right car insurance
Erie customer service
Erie also earned an A+ from the Better Business Bureau and has fewer complaints about auto insurance than expected for a company its size, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
While you can get a rate quote online, unlike other insurers, you must talk with an Erie agent to purchase a policy. (The Erie website will direct you to an agent in your area.)
You can file claims online through the Erie mobile app or website. Claims support is also available 24 hours a day at 800-367-3743 or you can contact your agent directly during business hours.
For billing, payment or policy questions, customer service is available at 800-458-0811 from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 430 p.m. on Saturdays. There is also an online chat feature on the Erie website available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Other types of Erie insurance
Erie offers a variety of insurance products, including
- Homeowners insurance
- Renters insurance
- Business insurance
- RV insurance
- Life insurance
- Flood insurance
- Identity theft insurance
According to Erie, policyholders can save up to 25% when they bundle home and auto insurance.
How does Erie compare to other car insurance companies?
Here’s how Erie stacks up against two leaders in the auto insurance space.
| Erie | Amica | Allstate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Availability | 12 states | 49 states (not Hawaii) | All 50 states |
| Customer satisfaction | Excellent | Excellent | Below average |
| Accident forgiveness | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Pay-per-mile | No | No | Yes |
| Best for | Great customer service | Coverage options | Discounts |
Erie vs. Amica
Both Amica and Erie are solid bets for customer service, with high rankings from J.D. Power, fewer complaints than their competitors and top grades from the Better Business Bureau.
Amica Auto Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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App available
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Policy highlights
Amica offers full and minimum coverage auto insurance, with add-ons accident forgiveness and new car replacement. The Platinum Choice® Auto plan includes new car replacement, credit monitoring and rental coverage with no daily limit.
Pros
- High customer satisfaction ratings from J.D. Power
- Bundling home and auto can save you up to 30%
- Drivers in some states are eligible for dividends
Cons
- More higher-than-average rates for most driver types
- Switching from 12-month policies to 6-month
One area where Erie comes out ahead is price: Rates for most types of drivers are significantly lower than Amica.
Erie also has a telematics program, which Amica doesn’t: You can earn gift cards by letting the YourTurn app track your driving behavior.
Read on: Our review of Amica car insurance
Erie vs. Allstate
Erie’s average premiums are much lower than Allstate’s, especially for drivers with at-fault accidents or speeding tickets on their record.
Both companies have discounts of up to 25% for bundling, but Allstate has more discounts overall — including for going paperless, having a new car or being a student with a B+ GPA.
Allstate Auto Insurance
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Cost
The best way to estimate your costs is to request a quote
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App available
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Policy highlights
Allstate offers full coverage auto insurance in all 50 states, with add-ons like accident forgiveness, rideshare insurance and protection for custom parts and equipment. Allstate’s MileWise pay-per-mile plan can save infrequent drivers up to 40% over a traditional policy.
Pros
- Highly rated for claims processing by J.D. Power.
- Up to 25% off with Allstate’s Drivewise telematics app
- Pay-per-mile insurance in 18 states.
- Rideshare insurance available
Cons
- Rates are higher than competitors, especially for high-risk drivers
- Rated below average for overall customer satisfaction in most regions
And both have telematics programs, but while you can earn up to 25% off with Allstate’s Drivewise™ app, Erie’s YouTurn rewards safe drivers with Visa prepaid cards. Allstate also has a pay-per-mile plan, MileWise, that can save infrequent drivers up to 40% over a traditional policy.
Erie blows Allstate out of the water for customer service, though: It sits at the top of J.D. Power’s surveys while Allstate tends to land at or below average for overall customer satisfaction in most regions. Allstate also earned a B from the Better Business Bureau (compared to Erie’s perfect A+) and has more complaints about car insurance than expected or a carrier its size.
Read on: Our review of Allstate car insurance
How do I buy car insurance from Erie?
You can get a quote for Erie auto insurance online, but you must talk with an agent to buy a policy. (The Erie website will give you a list of independent agents near you).
You’ll need to answer questions about yourself, your location and your driving history and share details about your car — including its make, model and year.
You can view your policy and insurance cards, file claims and make payments on the Erie mobile app or website.
Is Erie car insurance right for me?
Its availability is severely limited, though, so it’s not a good fit if you don’t live in one of the 12 states it issues policies.
Erie also doesn’t allow you to buy a policy online, which can be a major turnoff if you enjoy the convenience of not having to talk to an agent.
FAQs
How much is Erie car insurance?
The cost of full coverage with Erie for a good driver with good credit averaged $2,036 a year in October 2024, according to Bankrate analysis of Quadrant Information Services, and $750 a year for minimum coverage.
Does Erie offer gap insurance?
If your car is totaled or stolen, gap insurance covers the difference between the amount your insurer pays and the balance on your loan or lease. If your car is less than two years old, Erie’s Auto Security plan will pay to replace it with the newest comparable model year vehicle. If you’ve had your car longer than two years, Erie will pay to replace it with a comparable model that’s two years newer (minus your deductible).
Does Erie cover rental car insurance?
If your vehicle is being repaired after a covered incident, Erie will reimburse the cost of a rental at a rate of up to $30 per day for up to 30 days. If you rent a car, your personal auto policy should cover the vehicle up to your regular policy limits.
How do I cancel Erie car insurance?
To cancel your policy you’ll have to contact your Erie agent. If you paid your annual premium in advance, you’ll receive a pro-rated refund based on when the termination takes effect.
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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every insurance review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of insurance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.
Our methodology
In addition, we incorporate results from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint index, Better Business Bureau ratings, A.M. Best’s financial strength scores and other independent sources, including J.D. Power surveys on insurance shopping, the claims process, the digital consumer experiences and overall customer satisfaction.
Auto insurance rates may come from various sources, including the provider and state insurance departments.
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Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.
Based in New York, Stephen Freeman is a Senior Editor at Trending Insurance News. Previously he has worked for Forbes and The Huffington Post. Steven is a graduate of Risk Management at the University of New York.