Auto-Owners Insurance auto insurance

Overview

Auto-Owners Insurance is a mutual insurer headquartered in Lansing, Michigan, that sells auto, home, business and life insurance through independent agents only. It ranked #12 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by 2025 direct premiums written according to NAIC market share data, with $5.16 billion in auto premiums and a 1.39% national share.

The company says the Auto-Owners Insurance Group serves nearly 3 million policyholders through about 48,000 licensed agents in more than 6,300 agencies across 26 states, and that it is a Fortune 500 company. There is no online quote-and-buy option and no captive sales force: every policy is placed by an independent agent, who is also the first stop for billing and claims.

History

Vern V. Moulton and four associates organized Auto-Owners Insurance Company in July 1916 in a single room of the Commercial Block Building in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. In 1917 the company moved to Lansing with one book of policyholder names and $174.25 in assets; it has been headquartered there ever since. Moulton became president in 1929 and held the post until late 1957.

Auto-Owners expanded beyond Michigan for the first time in December 1935, when it began writing in Indiana. It opened a new downtown Lansing home office in 1951, founded Auto-Owners Life Insurance Company in 1966 and moved to its current home office at the end of 1976. It marked its 100th anniversary in July 2016.

The group's personal and commercial policies are written by Auto-Owners Insurance Company and four stock subsidiaries: Owners Insurance Company (25 of the 26 states), Home-Owners Insurance Company, Property-Owners Insurance Company and Southern-Owners Insurance Company (Florida). Affiliates include Concord Group Insurance Companies of Bedford, New Hampshire (affiliated in 2017, writing in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont), Capital Insurance Group of Monterey, California (joined in 2019, writing in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) and Atlantic Casualty Insurance Company of Goldsboro, North Carolina.

Auto insurance coverage

Auto-Owners writes the standard coverages: liability, collision, comprehensive, uninsured/underinsured motorist, and medical payments or personal injury protection depending on the state. Optional coverages include:

• Road Trouble Service for flat tires, dead batteries, lockouts and running out of gas, available 24/7 in all 50 states and Canada.
• Additional expense coverage for a rental car, plus food and lodging if you are stranded away from home.
• Loan or lease gap coverage and rental auto gap coverage.
• Diminished value coverage, which pays for the loss in resale value after a repaired accident.
• Purchase Price Guarantee for new vehicles.
• Classic car and modified or converted vehicle coverage, including wheelchair lifts and driver-control modifications.

Policyholders also get several built-in or optional benefits: at-fault accident forgiveness (purchased as an add-on), Collision Coverage Advantage, which waives the collision deductible in a crash with another Auto-Owners-insured vehicle, and a common loss deductible that reduces the auto deductible when one event damages both an insured home and car.

Discounts and programs

Auto-Owners lists a long set of discounts: multi-policy and life multi-policy, multi-car, Digital Advantage (online access, paperless documents and automatic payments), payment history for 36 months of on-time payments, customer loyalty, paid-in-full, green (paperless billing and online payment), advance quote, safety features such as anti-lock brakes, airbags and anti-theft devices, and favorable loss history. Students can earn a good student discount of up to 20% with a B average and a discount when away at school more than 100 miles from home without a car.

Auto-Owners does not list a usage-based or telematics program for adult drivers. Its only monitoring-based discount is Teen Driver Monitoring, which requires a permanently installed GPS device in the teen's car or enrollment in an eligible app.

Claims

Auto-Owners asks policyholders to report claims through their local agent first. Outside business hours, an after-hours claim line (888-252-4626) is staffed from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. on weekdays and around the clock on weekends and holidays. The company advertises its claims handling as "No Problem" claim service, with more than 100 claim offices in its 26 states, mobile response vehicles and storm teams for catastrophes. Claims can be tracked online or in the app, and payments can go by direct deposit, Venmo, PayPal or a prepaid claim card.

In the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, Auto-Owners scored 711, 10th of 20 insurers and above the study average of 700.

Ratings and reputation

AM Best rates the Auto-Owners Insurance Group A+ (Superior). In October 2024 AM Best downgraded the group from A++ (Superior), its top rating, to A+ with a stable outlook; no later rating action was found. The company's own site cites the A+ rating.

Customer satisfaction with the overall insurer relationship lags its claims scores. In the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study, Auto-Owners scored below the regional average in every region where it was ranked: Central (636, tied for 8th of 15), Florida (619, 11th of 14), North Central (630, 16th of 20), Southeast (612, 15th of 17) and Southwest (616, 10th of 13).

Who it suits

Auto-Owners suits drivers in its 26-state footprint who want a local independent agent and the option to add uncommon coverages such as diminished value, gap and purchase price protection. Families with a teen driver can stack good-student, away-at-school and monitoring discounts. Drivers who want to buy online, manage everything in an app, or earn a discount for safe driving through telematics will find fewer options.

• Strengths: Above-average claims satisfaction in J.D. Power's 2025 study; diminished value, gap and Purchase Price Guarantee coverage available; Collision Coverage Advantage and a broad discount list; financially strong mutual rated A+ (Superior).
• Weaknesses: Sold only through independent agents, with no direct online purchase; no telematics discount for adult drivers; below-average scores in all five regions where it was ranked in J.D. Power's 2026 study; AM Best lowered its rating from A++ in 2024.

How to contact Auto-Owners Insurance