Amica vs State Farm

Both Amica and State Farm have built their auto insurance brands on providing reliable customer service.

When comparing Amica vs. State Farm, it’s important to consider a wide range of factors, including what types of coverage each offers and what kind of customer experience they provide.

Amica vs. State Farm: History

Founded in 1907, Amica is the nation’s oldest mutual automobile insurance provider. While this relatively small insurer holds just 0.36 percent of the market share, rating agencies have recognized it for its superior claims servicing.

State Farm, on the other hand, is the largest auto insurance provider in the nation, with over 18 percent of the market share.

This insurer was established in 1922 and has since been instrumental in raising awareness for safe driving practices and passing seat belt laws.

Both companies strive to provide a simple claim reporting process by letting customers file a claim online at any time, and both offer a full suite of insurance products to fit their customers’ unique needs.

Before you become a policyholder with either Amica or State Farm, do your research and obtain customized quotes.

Amica vs. State Farm

To assist you in making an informed decision regarding which insurer fits your needs and budget, we reviewed State Farm vs. Amica based on each company’s monitoring, reputation, equipment, technology integrations, and contract and price.

We then created a side-by-side comparison of the two, looking at coverage options, what current customers think of the service they receive, each company’s financial strength, and the discounts they provide.

Car Insurance Comparison

While Amica and State Farm have the same basic coverage options, including liability, comprehensive, collision, medical payments, and uninsured/underinsured motorist, Amica provides more options than State Farm.

Both Amica and State Farm provide add-ons such as rental reimbursement and total labor costs, but Amica also offers glass coverage.

This type of coverage is part of comprehensive coverage and allows the insured to file a claim on a broken windshield or window without having to pay a deductible.

When determining which insurer can meet your needs, it’s important to consider not only what types of coverage are offered but also whether the coverage available is relevant to your needs.

For example, if you prefer to lower your monthly premium by carrying a high deductible, and you find yourself with a broken windshield as a result of a natural disaster, the replacement cost for the glass would likely be less than your deductible.

In this scenario, you would have to pay the entire replacement cost out of pocket, which could be several hundred dollars, making glass coverage a beneficial option.

However, if you have a low deductible, you may decide that the availability of glass coverage is not a crucial part of your decision.

Customer Satisfaction

As a policyholder, after signing up for coverage, most of your subsequent interaction with your auto insurance provider occur while filing a claim. For this reason, it’s important to understand how quickly, efficiently, and fairly an insurance provider settles claims.

Read more: AAA vs. State Farm

J.D. Power is a third-party organization that conducts studies on insurance companies, using eight Key Performance Indicators, or KPIs, consolidated into three Super KPIs.

These Super KPIs include timeliness, communication, and ease of service interaction.

	Overall Satisfaction	Satisfaction with Initial Claims Reporting Process	Satisfaction with Representative Handling the Claim	Satisfaction with the Repair Process	Satisfaction with the Rental Car Process
Amica	5 out of 5 stars	5 out of 5 stars	5 out of 5 stars	4 out of 5 stars	3 out of 5 stars
State Farm	3 out of 5 stars	3 out of 5 stars	3 out of 5 stars	3 out of 5 stars	3 out of 5 stars

In the 2017 U.S. Claims Satisfaction Study conducted by J.D. Power, Amica had the best score under overall satisfaction. This insurer received 5 out of 5 stars in nearly every metric, including the initial claims reporting process and claim servicing.

Amica received 4 out of 5 stars in the satisfaction with the repair process category, and 3 out of 5 stars for satisfaction with the rental car process. State Farm scored lower in overall satisfaction, receiving 3 out of 5 stars. This insurer also scored lower than Amica under the satisfaction with the claims reporting process, claim servicing, and repair process categories.

Like Amica, State Farm received 3 out of 5 stars for satisfaction with the rental car process.

In addition to considering how an insurer handles claims, it’s important to look at how many justified complaints it fields. While complaints are not uncommon for insurance providers, particularly those that process millions of policies, an excessive number of complaints could be a red flag for a prospective customer.

In California, the nation’s most populous state, the 2017 Consumer Complaint Study shows that State Farm received 120 justified complaints, that is, complaints in which the insurer breached its contract with the insured. Its total claim exposure (or written policies) was 3,852,920, giving the insurer a justified complaint ratio of 3.1 per 100,000 policies.

Though this number may sound high, the median ratio for the study was 5.6, so State Farm was actually very good. Out of 50 insurance companies, State Farm was ranked number 18, putting it in the top 36 percent of the group. In this same study, Amica ranked number 22 out of 50, placing it in the top 44 percent of the group.

Out of its 71,371 policies, Amica received three complaints, giving it a justified complaint ratio of 4.2 per 100,000 policies.

While Amica’s claims satisfaction is higher than State Farm’s, its justified complaint ratio is also higher. State Farm’s overall claims satisfaction rates about average, but its justified complaint ratio is better than 64 percent of ranked insurers.

Read more: Amica Insurance Review: Products Offered and Ratings

Comparing Financial Strength

Drivers shopping around for insurance coverage may often overlook an insurer’s financial strength.

While most policyholders assume that their insurance provider can provide the necessary payout if they need to file a claim, the truth is, there isn’t a federal guarantee that backs insurers like the FDIC does for the banking sector.

Therefore, insurers with poor financial strength may be unable to fulfill their obligations in the event of a natural disaster that results in thousands of claims.

Fortunately, it’s relatively simple to assess an insurer’s financial strength.

A.M. Best, one independent agency that rates the financial strength of auto insurance companies, gives Amica an “A+,” which is its top rating.

This indicates that Amica has a superior ability to meet ongoing financial obligations. State Farm was given an “A++,” with the two pluses indicating that it’s in the upper range of that tier. Similarly, Fitch Ratings rates Amica at an “A,” which is its third-best rating, suggesting high credit quality and low default risk.

State Farm received an “AA” rating from Standard and Poor’s Global Ratings, which is its second-best rating, demonstrating a reliable capacity to meet financial obligations.

While both Amica and State Farm have the financial strength necessary to meet obligations to their policyholders, the third-party ratings suggest that State Farm is in a slightly better position to do so.

Pricing and Discounts

Auto insurance providers use complex algorithms to determine how statistically likely a policyholder is to file a claim, weighing factors such as age, driving experience, number of traffic violations, and whether the individual owns or rents their primary residence.

The more likely a person is to file a claim, the higher their premium becomes.

For this reason, two drivers who have the same coverage from the same insurer can pay vastly different premiums.

Just as some factors make it more likely that you’ll require using your insurance, such as multiple speeding tickets on your record or having a long commute to work, other factors might make it less likely you’ll file a claim.

Statistically, married homeowners who have never caused an automobile accident to file fewer claims, and therefore pose less of a risk to insurers.

Many insurance companies, including Amica and State Farm, adjust premiums for these factors by providing discounts to policyholders.

When you’re comparing the discounts offered by State Farm vs. Amica, you’ll see that Amica comes out slightly ahead, offering discounts for paperless billing and automatic e-payments. Knowing which discounts are available to you and what you qualify for can help you get the best price on your coverage.

	AMICA	STATE FARM
Multiple Vehicle	YES	YES
Multiple Policy	YES	YES
Vehicle Safety	YES	YES
Good Student	YES	YES
Student Away from Home	YES	YES
Completed Driver Training Course	YES	YES
Completed Safe Driving Course	YES	YES
Safe Driver	YES	YES
Homeowner	YES	NO
Family Discount	YES	NO
Length of Membership	YES	NO
Paperless	YES	NO
Pay in Full	YES	NO
Automatic Payment	YES	NO
Anti-Theft	YES	YES
Accident-free Driver	YES	YES

Amica vs. State Farm: Which Company is For You?

To get the best coverage at the best rate available to you, take the necessary steps by comparing rates and getting a personalized quote.

By studying this State Farm vs. Amica comparison review, you can find the best car insurance for your lifestyle and budget.