Erie Insurance Review: Low Rates and Great Customer Service
- Cheaper car and home insurance rates than most companies
- Excellent customer service and satisfaction ratings
- Standard policies come with coverages that cost extra elsewhere
- Only available in 12 states and the District of Columbia
- Few home and auto insurance discounts
Is Erie a good insurance company?
Erie is a very good insurance company to consider for auto and home coverage. Not only does it offer cheaper rates than most larger companies, it also has more coverage options — some of which are free.
A standard Erie car insurance policy comes with all the typical coverage types, such as bodily injury
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ERIE Rate Lock
Your rate won’t go up after filing a claim until you make certain changes to your policy, like adding or removing a vehicle or driver.
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First accident forgiveness
You will not be charged an extra fee for your first at-fault accident after being an Erie customer for three or more years.
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Diminishing deductible
Your deductible will go down by $100 for every year you don’t file a claim, with a cap of $500.
The company’s standard home insurance policies come with similar perks, including guaranteed replacement cost coverage
Another reason to consider Erie for both car and home insurance is that it scores well with customers.
Erie’s overall customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power
Erie customer service ratings at a glance
| Rating | Erie’s score | Industry average |
|---|---|---|
| Overall auto satisfaction (higher is better) | 703 | 640 |
| Overall home satisfaction (higher is better) | 676 | 642 |
| Auto complaint rating (lower is better) | 0.82 | 1.0 |
| Home complaint rating (lower is better) | 0.44 | 1.0 |
| Financial strength | A by AM Best | A is the third-highest possible rating |
How much are Erie’s car insurance quotes?
Car insurance from Erie costs $44 a month for liability coverage, on average. The company’s average rate for full coverage car insurance is $131 a month.
For liability
This means Erie has some of the cheapest car insurance in the U.S. for both liability-only and full coverage policies.Erie car insurance rates vs. other companies
| Company | Liability coverage monthly | Full coverage monthly | LendingTree score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie | $44 | $131 |  |
| Country Financial | $61 | $134 |  |
| State Farm | $56 | $144 |  |
| American Family | $51 | $146 | |
| Auto-Owners | $51 | $154 | |
| Progressive | $69 | $160 | |
| Geico | $65 | $173 |  |
Is Erie good for drivers with a ticket, accident or DUI?
Erie’s low rates make it a good company for drivers with a ticket, accident or driving under the influence (DUI) conviction on their record.
- Erie charges drivers with a speeding ticket $143 a month for full coverage, on average, which is 35% less than the national average.
- For drivers with an accident, Erie’s rates are 29% cheaper than the national average.
- Drivers with a DUI can expect to pay 34% less than the national average.
Erie insurance rates for drivers with a prior incident
| Prior incident | Erie’s monthly rate | U.S. average |
|---|---|---|
| Speeding ticket | $143 | $219 |
| At-fault accident | $186 | $263 |
| DUI | $217 | $329 |
Is Erie good for drivers with bad credit?
Drivers with bad credit pay an average of $288 a month for car insurance from Erie. This is 17% cheaper than the national average for bad credit car insurance.
Erie insurance rates for drivers with bad credit
| Company | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|
| Erie | $288 |
| U.S. average | $345 |
Is Erie good for teen drivers?
Erie has good car insurance for teen drivers because it offers them reasonable rates. The company charges 18-year-olds just $97 a month for liability coverage, on average. The national average for teen liability insurance is triple that rate.
Erie’s teen car insurance rates
| Type of policy | Erie’s monthly rate | U.S. average |
|---|---|---|
| Liability-only | $97 | $208 |
| Full coverage | $290 | $497 |
Does Erie offer car insurance discounts?
Yes, Erie has a few car insurance discounts that may help you lower its already affordable rates.
You can save the most by getting both your car and home insurance policies from Erie. This is called “bundling,” and as with many other companies, Erie will give you a discount for bundling home and auto insurance with them.
Some of the other car insurance discounts Erie offers include:
- Vehicle safety: You can earn a discount if your vehicle has air bags, an anti-theft device or anti-lock brakes.
- One-time payment: Like most companies, Erie charges you less if you pay for your entire policy period up front.
- Driver training: Drivers under 21 get a discount for completing a state-accredited driving training program.
- College student: Parents can earn a discount when their child goes away to school without a car.
Many other companies offer the same discounts as Erie; however, the terms and availability of each discount vary by company and state.Erie car insurance discount comparison
| Discount | Erie | State Farm | Progressive | Geico |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bundling | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Vehicle safety | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Driver training | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | |
| Student away at school | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
What does Erie car insurance cover?
Erie’s standard policies include the basic car insurance protections most people need at affordable rates. The company also offers several optional coverages that usually don’t cost too much to add to a policy.
Erie’s add-ons include:
- Emergency roadside service: This optional coverage helps pay for towing, lockouts, flat tire repair and battery service should your car break down or you run out of gas on the road.
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Rental car coverage: You get basic rental car coverage if you buy comprehensive
car insurance from Erie. If you want your rental vehicle to be more than a compact sedan, though, you’ll need to pay for this add-on.Comprehensive covers your car for theft and damage from non-collision causes, like fire, flood and vandalism.
- Rideshare insurance: Offers secondary coverage to those who use their vehicles to drive for companies like Lyft or Uber.
- New car protection: If your new car is less than 24 months old and is totaled in an accident, this coverage will pay to replace it with a new vehicle of the latest model year.
Erie vs. other insurance companies
Although Erie is generally cheaper than Allstate, Geico and State Farm for home and auto insurance, discounts could help make up the difference. Erie often has better coverage options than these three companies, however.
Erie vs. State Farm
Erie has cheaper car insurance than State Farm for most drivers, though State Farm is usually cheaper for those with an at-fault accident on their records. State Farm also offers many more car insurance discounts than Erie, so it could end up being the cheapest company for you if you can get a few of them.
Erie is also cheaper than State Farm for home insurance. Discounts are less likely to make a difference here, as both companies have similar offerings.
If you want more than basic car insurance coverage, Erie is probably the better company for you. Erie’s standard policies come with more coverages than State Farm’s do, plus the company also offers more add-ons.
Erie vs. Geico
Erie is usually much cheaper than Geico for auto insurance before discounts are considered, though Geico is slightly cheaper for drivers with poor credit.
Geico’s many discounts could make it your cheapest option, but you’ll probably need to get quite a few of them to make up the difference with Erie.
Erie vs. Allstate
Allstate’s car insurance rates are often much higher than Erie’s. In fact, its average rate for liability coverage is more than double that of Erie’s ($104 a month versus $44). The same is true of Allstate’s average rates for drivers with a speeding ticket or accident on their record. Drivers with a DUI will pay nearly 75% more with Allstate ($379 a month versus $217).
Allstate is closer in cost to Erie for home insurance, though Erie is generally the cheaper of the two. If you qualify for a few of Allstate’s home insurance discounts, though, it could be the cheapest for you.
Allstate also offers many more optional coverages for home insurance than Erie does. That could be an important difference if you want to customize your policy.
Methodology
How we obtained car and home insurance rates
LendingTree uses insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services using publicly sourced insurance company filings. Rates are based on an analysis of hundreds of thousands of car insurance quotes for a typical driver. Prices are shown for comparative purposes only. Your own rates may be different.
Unless noted otherwise, quotes are for a full-coverage policy for a 30-year-old man with good credit and a clean driving record who drives a 2018 Honda CR-V EX.
Car insurance coverage limits
Minimum-liability policies provide liability coverage with the state’s required minimum limits.
Full-coverage policies include collision, comprehensive and liability coverage:
- Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $50,000
- Uninsured / underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
- Collision: $500 deductible
- Comprehensive: $500 deductible
Home insurance coverage limits
Homeowners insurance rates are based on policies with the following coverage and deductible amounts:
- Dwelling coverage: $400,000
- Other structures: $40,000
- Personal property: $200,000
- Personal liability: $100,000
- Medical payments: $5,000
- Deductible: $1,000
How we evaluated Erie and other insurance companies
Our team of insurance experts rated insurance companies based on several categories. These categories include average rates, discounts, coverage options, third-party customer service ratings and app/website experience. We weighted these categories based on what customers value in an insurance company.
For third-party customer service ratings, we included Complaint Index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best. NAIC Complaint Index scores are used to determine how satisfied customers are with their claims, while financial strength ratings from A.M. Best reflect the ability to pay out claims.
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*USAA is only available to current and former members of the military as well as certain family members.