Clearcover auto insurance

Overview

Clearcover is a Chicago-based, venture-backed car insurance company that sells and services policies mainly through a smartphone app. It pitches lower prices from lower operating costs, and claims technology it says can pay simple claims within minutes. NAIC's 2025 market share report ranked Clearcover Group #109 among U.S. private passenger auto insurers by direct premiums written, outside the top 100.

Clearcover sells only personal auto insurance; it does not offer homeowners, renters or motorcycle coverage, and it will not insure trailers, golf carts, ATVs or RVs. Policies run six months. As of March 2026 its help center listed new business in 18 states: Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia. Existing customers in California keep coverage through a separate arrangement.

Customers can buy directly in the app or website, through independent agents using comparative raters, or through embedded partners at the point of sale; see embedded insurance: buying coverage from automakers and dealers.

History

Kyle Nakatsuji, who previously co-founded American Family Ventures, the venture arm of American Family Insurance, co-founded Clearcover with Derek Brigham in 2016. Nakatsuji is president and CEO. The company has raised more than $520 million from investors, including a $200 million round in April 2021 that Reuters reported valued it at about $1 billion.

Clearcover's main insurer is Clearcover Insurance Company. In recent years it has built additional channels for nonstandard drivers, who have violations, lapses or other risk factors. In January 2025 it launched Clearcover General Agency, a managing general agent in Texas whose policies are underwritten by Old American County Mutual Fire Insurance Company, a county mutual insurance company. In February 2025 it launched the Clearcover Inter-Insurance Exchange, a policyholder-owned reciprocal insurance exchange that began writing in Illinois. In California, policies are offered by Clearcover Insurance Agency and underwritten by Response Indemnity Company of California, a Fortegra company (see Fortegra). The guide texas county mutuals and fronting carriers: who really insures you explains why the name on a policy can differ from the brand.

Auto insurance coverage

Clearcover offers liability, comprehensive and collision, uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury, and medical payments or personal injury protection depending on the state. Its rental coverage, called Alternate Transportation, pays a daily transportation allowance that can be spent on ridesharing, public transit or a rental car of your choice, rather than only a rental. Roadside assistance is optional; it is requested in the app through HONK, which shows the tow truck's location in real time.

A rideshare endorsement extends coverage during Period 1, when a driver has the app on but has not accepted a ride; it does not cover food or package delivery. Clearcover offers SR-22 and FR-44 filings only in Florida; elsewhere, drivers who need an SR-22 fall outside its guidelines. New customers may be asked to record a video of their vehicle during setup.

Discounts and programs

Clearcover does not run a menu of discounts to request. It says it builds the savings that other insurers offer as discounts, such as safe driving, vehicle safety features, electronic documents and paying in full, into the price automatically, and it offers an additional discount to military customers. Agents can apply a multiline discount when the client has a home, condo or renters policy with their agency.

There is no telematics or usage-based program. In some states the app includes Car Care, a free service with partner CarAdvise that offers discounted maintenance at about 23,000 shops; it was listed for Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah.

Claims

Claims are filed in the Clearcover app by answering a few questions and uploading photos; a claims team member then reaches out within one business day. Clearcover says its record payment on an eligible claim was seven minutes, in January 2021, and that most claims are paid within a week. People in an accident with a Clearcover driver can file online at clearcover.com/claims. For urgent or unassigned claims, call 855-444-1875; roadside help is available by phone around the clock at the same number. Clearcover has added generative AI tools to collect claim statements, part of a wider industry shift toward AI in claims handling.

Ratings and reputation

Clearcover says it does not have an AM Best rating and is instead rated by Demotech; the current Demotech rating was not confirmed for this profile. Like most young insurtechs, it has relied on venture capital to fund its growth, and its newer nonstandard-auto ventures in Texas and Illinois are only about two years old.

Clearcover was not ranked in the J.D. Power 2026 U.S. Auto Insurance Study or the 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. See digital-first car insurers: how the insurtechs work for how app-based carriers compare.

Who it suits

Clearcover suits price-focused drivers in its 18 states who are happy to handle a policy and claims in an app and want flexible transportation money after a crash. Drivers needing an SR-22 outside Florida, a home-and-auto bundle with the same company, motorcycle or RV coverage, or 12-month policies should look elsewhere.

• Strengths: Fast app-based claims with a seven-minute record payout; Alternate Transportation coverage usable for rideshare or transit; discounts built into the price; available through agents as well as direct.
• Weaknesses: Sold in only 18 states; auto only, with no home or renters bundle; SR-22s only in Florida; six-month policies only; no AM Best rating and not ranked by J.D. Power.

How to contact Clearcover