Consumer Reports Says Customers Ditch These 5 Car Insurance Companies Most

Opening a car insurance bill can be a significant source of frustration for people these days. Considering Insurify estimated the average full-coverage auto insurance premium costs to be almost $2,300 at the end of 2024 compared to just shy of $1,600 at the end of 2022, frustrations are understandable. Insurify reports that costs have leveled off since the end of 2024, but you might still be looking for ways to save on your car insurance.

Before you just pick the lowest-priced auto policy you can find, though, make sure you're selecting from trustworthy car insurance companies that will treat you fairly. Frustrations over price are common, but a recent Arity survey shows that car owners are also frustrated with rates that seem to be based more on random demographic data than on actual driving patterns or history.

One way to help you spot insurers who cause frustration for their current policy holders is to measure the rate at which drivers leave them. Consumer Reports recently put together a list of these companies by surveying its members about their car insurance experiences. Consumer Reports asked whether they switched providers recently and which companies were involved. Based on the responses of more than 40,000 of its members, Consumer Reports calculated a ratio of clients lost versus clients gained for each company. The five companies losing more drivers than they gain were Nationwide, Farmers, Kemper, GEICO, and Hanover.

In its recent survey, Consumer Reports asked members whether they switched car insurance providers in the past five years. The survey results showed that Nationwide lost almost 2.5 times as many respondents as it gained from other providers, giving it the worst ratio of lost-versus-gained customers on the survey list.

Nationwide sold its first auto insurance policy in 1926, and it steadily grew to become one of the largest auto insurance companies in the United States. However, it has seen its market share of premiums written for private passenger auto insurance fall in the past couple of decades. In 2009, Nationwide ranked as the sixth-largest auto insurer in the United States, with a 4.5% market share, according to the Insurance Information Institute. By 2018, it had fallen to the eighth place, with a 2.7% market share. It dropped off the top 10 list in 2024 with a market share of less than 1.7%.

According to Consumer Reports' auto insurance rankings of 36 companies, Nationwide ranks in the middle of the pack. In the report, Nationwide has poor rankings in the categories of premium costs and customer satisfaction for non-claims calls, which may partially explain why far more customers reported switching away from Nationwide than switching to its coverage. Other reviewers have also cited poor customer service and an inability to answer basic questions as problems that are plaguing Nationwide.

Members participating in the Consumer Reports survey reported switching away from Farmers Insurance Group for auto insurance coverage almost twice as often as switching to it for a new policy. Like Nationwide, Farmers has seen a significant decline in its market share for private passenger auto insurance in the United States in the past several years. In 2011, Farmers ranked as the fifth-largest auto insurer for premiums written with a 5.9% market share, according to the Insurance Information Institute. By 2019, Farmers had slipped to the seventh spot on the list with a 4.2% market share. In 2024, Farmers ranked sixth, but with a market share of just 3.8%.

Farmers Insurance Group was founded in 1928, and the company has a long history of serving customers. However, in Consumer Reports' ranking of the best auto insurance companies, Farmers ranks near the bottom of the list of 36 providers, with well-below-average scores. It has poor ratings in categories of premium costs, coverage selections, policy review options, and non-claims customer satisfaction. Multiple other reviewers have highlighted problems with higher-than-average premiums. Slow claims processing is another issue that dogs Farmers, according to reviews, and it may explain why the company's market share continues to shrink.

The Consumer Reports survey found that almost twice as many respondents left Kemper PC Companies as the number who purchased a new Kemper policy during the previous five-year period. The Consumer Reports ranking of the best auto insurers places Kemper near the bottom of the 36 companies in on its list. It receives the worst scores in the categories of premium costs, coverage options, and policy clarity. 

Other reviewers cite a lack of communication with clients during the claims process and poor overall customer service as further drawbacks that frustrate Kemper customers. These problems may explain why so many drivers are switching away from Kemper to other auto insurers.

Kemper did not make the Insurance Information Institute list as one of the 10 largest auto insurance companies in the United States, possibly because it only writes policies in 10 states. It focuses on states with large population counts, such as Texas, Florida, and California. That said, Beinsure lists Kemper as the 15th-largest auto insurance provider in the nation, based on the value of its written premiums.

Many people know that Berkshire Hathaway owns Dairy Queen, Duracell, and Fruit of the Loom — companies that generate a lot of revenue and have well-known brands. In the world of auto insurance, Berkshire Hathaway also owns one of the most famous brand names: GEICO. The company dates back to 1936, and Berkshire Hathaway purchased it in 1996. A few years later, GEICO's clever advertising campaign featuring a talking gecko debuted, and the company's fame as a brand soared.

Unfortunately, even the popularity of the gecko mascot hasn't been enough to keep customers from switching away from GEICO in the past five years, according to Consumer Reports. About six survey respondents ditched GEICO for every four who bought its insurance. According to Consumer Reports, GEICO ranks in the lower quartile of its list of the 36 auto insurance companies it reviewed; its poorest scores are in the categories of premium cost and advice for policy holders. Other reviewers say that GEICO frustrates clients by not delivering transparency or satisfactory resolutions during the claims process.

GEICO has been losing market share over the past several years, according to the Insurance Information Institute. It ranked as the second-largest U.S. auto insurer in terms of market share in 2019 at 13.8%. By 2024, it had slipped to the No. 3 spot, with a market share of 11.6%.

According to the Consumer Reports survey, Hanover Insurance Group had the fifth highest ratio of customers who ditched the company compared to drivers who switched to Hanover. The survey's ratio for Hanover showed just under six clients lost to just over four clients gained.

According to Consumer Reports' reviews of 36 auto insurers, Hanover ranked in the lower half of the companies on the list. It had extremely low ratings in the category of premium costs, and this is not surprising — Bankrate says Hanover's auto rates are 85% above the national average. Another area of frustration for Hanover customers is the company's propensity to raise rates after they make a claim, according to other reviewers.

Hanover's history as an insurance company predates the automobile, as it started providing fire insurance in 1852. It began writing auto policies in 1911. Despite its longevity as an auto insurer, in the past few years, Hanover appears to have been losing market share in the American private passenger auto insurance market. The company ranked 20th in market share in 2024 at 0.46%, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2024 Market Share Report (via Agency Checklists). In the NAIC 2025 Market Share Report, however, Hanover was not listed among the top 25, as its market share had dropped below 0.43%.