The Best Missouri Auto Insurance
A large number of uninsured drivers — 14 percent overall — as well as a high risk of deer collisions and some wild weather all come into play when it comes to average premiums in the Show-Me state. As with all states, though, shopping around for auto insurance will help you find the best auto insurance coverage for you and your vehicle.
How We Found the Best Missouri Auto Insurance
Using our national auto insurance review as a guide, we evaluated the top five Missouri providers by market share: American Family, Farmers, State Farm, Liberty Mutual, and Shelter Mutual. Then we evaluated these providers based on their coverage options. We checked each company’s website for how many of the supplemental coverage options (endorsements) and discount options they offered from our lists of the most common coverage add-ons.
We also evaluated each company’s site for customer service, education, and navigation tools, seeing, for example, whether a company offered a live chat option or a helpful FAQ section that answered common questions. Then, we consulted rating agencies like J.D. Power and Consumer Reports — to see how each company’s customer service and claims service ratings stacked up — and Moody’s, AM Best, and S&P Global — for their most recent financial stability ratings for each company. Lastly, we tested online quote tools for each provider.
The 5 Best Auto Insurance Companies in Missouri
Missouri Auto Insurance Reviews
Consider starting your search for auto insurance with American Family Insurance. The company came out on top in several categories, thanks to its informative and easy-to-navigate website, great customer satisfaction ratings, and the number of discounts offered. On the website, you can find state-specific minimum liability information, clear outlines of coverage options and discounts, as well as auto insurance FAQs and a live chat with a customer service rep.
American Family is the only one of our five companies to earn a 4/5 from J.D. Power in overall customer satisfaction in the Central region (which includes Missouri). The company also earned both a solid 89/100 reader score and an Excellent rating (the highest possible) for timely payments on claims from Consumer Reports. Those scores suggest you’ll be much happier with your service when you need your insurance company the most.
We found 15 discounts, the same number as Farmers, which made these providers the two standouts in this category. American Family was also the only company in our top picks to offer discounts if you drive less, opt for paperless billing, or sign your contract at least seven days before your coverage is due to start.
American Family has a significant number of endorsements to help you find an auto insurance plan perfectly tailored to you. We found 13 coverage options, just one fewer than Farmers, which had the most of any of our top picks. Its options include umbrella coverage, ridesharing coverage if you drive for Uber or Lyft, and GAP loans and lease payoff coverage to pay whatever you still owe on your car lease if it’s totaled in an accident.
The company also had outstanding financial stability ratings from Moody’s, AM Best, and Standard & Poor’s, only slightly lower than those from State Farm, which had the highest in our top picks. We also found American Family’s online quote tool easy to use, though it’s less customizable than some of the others we tried, offering up three quotes for varying levels of coverage instead of allowing you to see how changing certain coverage limits might affect your premium.
When it comes to discounts and coverage options, Farmers is a standout. Like American Family, Farmers offered 15 discounts, including ones for adding a young driver (under 24) and for members of qualifying business or professional groups. In terms of coverage options, Farmers offers the most endorsements — 14 of the 20 we looked for — including unique options like customized equipment coverage, accident and incident forgiveness (so your rates won’t go up for that small claim or traffic citation), and new car replacement, which covers a brand-new model if your car gets totaled anytime in the first two years you own it.
Farmers has a great reputation — earning an industry-leading 4/5 customer rating from J.D. Power for claims experience in the Central region. It earned an 89/100 from Consumer Reports, like American Family and State Farm, for overall reader score. While Farmers’ financial stability ratings from AM Best, Moody’s, and Standard & Poor’s were lower than State Farm’s and American Family’s, it still has stable ratings, meaning you can rest assured your claims will be paid.
The Farmers website is clear and easy to navigate with tons of good info on coverage options and discount, and a quality FAQ section. The only thing it didn’t have was a live chat option — we found ourselves missing American Family’s chat feature. But Farmers has a great online quote tool that makes it easy to get a quick premium quote and customize that quote with various levels of coverage to see how changes might affect the premium.
State Farm is another solid pick for auto insurance in Missouri — it came out on top of all five contenders with financial stability ratings from Moody’s, AM Best, and Standard & Poor’s. It’s also second best in our rankings for discounts, website and customer service resources, and reputation.
When it comes to discounts, State Farm offers 13 of the 20 we looked for — only State Farm and Farmers offer more, with 15 — and it was the only company that offered a new car discount. State Farm only had 11 of the coverage options we looked for, tying it for last place in our top picks along with Liberty Mutual. That said, it covers all the basics, from liability to collision and comprehensive and even rental reimbursement and teen driver insurance.
State Farm earned 3/5 for both overall customer satisfaction and claims experience from J.D. Power in the Central region, and an 89/100 reader score from Consumer Reports — the same high score as American Family and Farmers. State Farm also earned the highest possible score, an Excellent rating, from Consumer Reports for timely claims payment.
We were impressed with State Farm’s website, which offers informative and clear outlines of coverage options, discounts, and a helpful FAQ section. The only quibble we have with its website is that there was no live chat tool, and the online quote tool requires a social security number or driver’s license number. If you aren’t comfortable sharing those details just to get a quote, you’ll have to call an agent instead.
Liberty Mutual’s website has a great online quote tool that’s easy to use and customizable for all kinds of different coverage options. We also love its live chat option via Twitter or Facebook Messenger and the helpful FAQ page.
While Liberty Mutual offers just 10 out of the 20 discounts we looked for, it’s one of our only top picks to offer a discount for a hybrid vehicle and another for responsible teen drivers. Though it has fewer possible add-ons than our other top picks, it was the only company we looked at to offer a vanishing deductible, which allows you to save $100 a year toward your collision deductible in the event of an accident.
When it comes to customer service reputation, Liberty Mutual has a reader score of 88/100 from Consumer Reports, just one point lower than Farmers, American Family, and State Farm, and “Very Good” ratings for simplicity of process and timely payment. It scores a little lower than our other top picks on the J.D. Power ratings for the Central region, 2/5 for both overall score and claims experience.
Liberty Mutual received an above-average number of complaints according to the Missouri Consumer Complaint Index in 2017 — 136 percent of the average expected for an auto insurer, compared to 69 percent for Farmers, 67 percent for American Family, 52 percent for Shelter Mutual, and 54 percent for State Farm. When comparing quotes, consider the fact that Liberty Mutual receives about double the complaints of our other top picks.
Shelter Mutual offers options that cover all the basics: liability, comprehensive, and collision coverage, as well as several additions that you might be interested in.
Shelter has 13 of the 20 endorsements we looked for, just one fewer than the leader in that category, Farmers. Shelter is also one of only two companies (the other is American Family) to offer gap loans or lease payoff coverage, which pays what’s owed on the rest of your lease if your car is a total loss, even if that’s more than the value of the car at the time of the accident.
We found nine of the discounts we looked for, the least of our top picks, which might impact your premium, but they do offer common ones like safe driver training program, multi-car, and good student discounts, so it could still be the best match for you depending on what you qualify for and the coverage you need.
Since Shelter is a smaller company than our other top picks, it isn’t rated by Consumer Reports, but it did earn a respectable 3/5 for both overall and claims experience from J.D. Power in its 2017 auto insurance study reviewing the Central region. It’s also not rated for financial stability by Moody’s or Standard & Poor’s, as our other top picks are. It did receive a stable rating from AM Best, so you should still feel comfortable shopping with them for your auto insurance needs.
Shelter Mutual’s website is slightly lackluster compared to our other top picks, but you’ll find the basic information on coverage options and discounts. What you won’t find is an FAQ page or a customer service live chat option. The online quote tool here also requires a social security number, like State Farm, so if you want a quick premium estimate be ready to hand that info over.
Guide to Missouri Auto Insurance
Missouri minimum liability
Missouri’s minimum liability level refers to how much liability insurance every driver legally needs to hold. Missouri’s minimum coverage is 25/50/10:
- $25,000 bodily injury coverage per person
- $50,000 bodily injury coverage per accident
- $10,000 property damage coverage per accident
To protect drivers against being left in the lurch by uninsured drivers, Missouri requires an additional 25/50 (or $25,000 bodily injury and $50,000 bodily injury coverage per accident) specifically designated for incidents with un- or underinsured drivers. This covers your own bodily injury costs in the case that an uninsured driver causes an accident that impacts you. Despite this, 14 percent of motorists in the state are driving uninsured — that’s the 17th highest rate in the nation.
Ensure you’ve got adequate coverage
It’s always wise to buy more insurance than your state’s minimum liability. While the minimum may be enough for a fender bender with your average vehicle, think about how much it might cost if you’re in an accident with an expensive luxury car. If you carry only $10,000 property damage coverage, you’ll be stuck paying the difference out of pocket. That’s why figuring out how much insurance you can afford and seeing how you can get the most coverage for that cost is a good place to start.
Companies consider a variety of factors when it comes to calculating insurance premiums, from a person’s age to where they live to what kind of car they drive. You’ll want to shop around to find the best coverage amount and premium level for you and your personal situation.
Consider comprehensive and collision
When reviewing the type of auto insurance coverage you need, Missouri residents should pay careful attention to potential local hazards. For example, if you live in St. Joseph, Springfield, Kansas City, Joplin, or St. Louis, you might consider comprehensive coverage to cover car theft and other non-accident related loss. All five of these cities made the top 100 riskiest cities in the nation for car thefts in 2017 according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.
Another reason to consider comprehensive and collision coverage? Deer. According to insurance companies, Missouri is one of three states considered “high-risk” for deer/vehicle accidents (the other two are Arkansas and Kansas). The biggest concern for these collisions is property damage — according to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, fatalities and injuries from collisions with deer are relatively rare.
