Amica vs. Safeco: Which is better? (2024)

Pros and cons: Amica

✓ Excellent customer service ratings

✓ Plenty of coverage options

✓ More discounts than Safeco

✕ Expensive for high-risk drivers

Read our full Amica insurance review

Pros and cons: Safeco

✓ Cheaper than Amica

✓ Fewer complaints than average

✓ Great coverage options

✕ Lower financial strength than Amica

Read our full Safeco insurance review

Amica vs. Safeco: Which is better?

Amica is a better car insurance company than Safeco for most drivers, but it’s close. Amica’s outstanding customer service reputation sets it apart from Safeco (and lots of other competitors).

But car insurance from Amica can be expensive, especially for drivers who have made a claim or have bad credit. While Safeco is generally cheaper, it’s still a good idea to compare car insurance quotes from multiple companies so you get the cheapest rates in your area.

Amica vs. Safeco: at a glance

We scored these categories on a five-point scale.

Why you can trust our insurance company comparisons

We calculated our expert ratings by considering cost, availability, customer experience and satisfaction, and coverage options. Our own policycentral agents — who have years of experience working with real car insurance shoppers — also weighed in.

To come up with our company ratings, we accumulated company data for price, financial strength, customer experience, and coverage options. We assigned a weight to each category based on research and insight from our own licensed insurance editors and operations specialists. Here’s how our ratings categories break down:

• Price (35%): We gave each company a score based on its average rate and available discounts.

• Financial strength (25%): We gave point values based on each company’s A.M. Best Financial Strength Rating, S&P credit rating, and Moody’s credit rating.

• Customer experience (20%): We scored companies based on how they performed on the most recent J.D. Power Auto Claims Satisfaction and Digital Experience surveys. This category also considers a company's complaint index, which is provided by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

• Coverage options (20%): We scored companies for the number of coverage types offered and the quality of these options. Less common endorsements earned higher scores compared to add-ons that most companies offer.

Next, we converted each company’s raw values to the same standardized “z-score” and “t-score.” Finally, using a weighted average formula, we combined each category rating and converted it to a 5-point scale to calculate each company's overall policycentral rating.

How we calculated coverage cost:

We determined the average costs for full-coverage car insurance from each company using rate data provided by Quadrant Information Services.

These rates were from every ZIP code across every state, along with the District of Columbia. Rates were for a 30-year-old male driver with a 2017 Toyota Camry. Our sample full-coverage policy included the following limits:

• Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident

• Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident

• Comprehensive: $500 deductible

• Collision: $500 deductible

Some carriers may be represented by affiliates or subsidiaries. Rates provided are a sample of costs. Your actual quotes may differ.

Is Amica or Safeco cheaper?

Safeco has cheaper car insurance than Amica. On average, the cost of car insurance from Safeco is $169 less per year than Amica. Both companies are cheaper than the national average, but Safeco is $233 cheaper while Amica is $64 cheaper.

Does Amica or Safeco have better discounts?

Amica is the better car insurance company for car insurance discounts. Amica offers savings for signing up for automatic payments, paperless billing, and paying your entire premium at once, while Safeco doesn’t. Amica also offers a legacy discount for young drivers whose parents have Amica policies, as well as a discount for owning a home.

Discount	Amica	Safeco
Automatic payment discount	Yes	No
Bundling discount	Yes	Yes
Continuous coverage discount	Yes	No
Defensive driving class discount	Yes	Yes
Distant student discount	Yes	No
Good student discount	Yes	Yes
Homeowner discount	Yes	No
Legacy insured discount	Yes	No
Multi-car discount	Yes	Yes
Paperless billing discount	Yes	No
Pay-in-full discount	Yes	No
Safe driver discount	Yes	Yes
Safe vehicle discount	Yes	No
Secure vehicle discount	Yes	No
Young driver training discount	Yes	No

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Comparing usage-based insurance from Amica and Safeco

Amica and Safeco have similar usage-based insurance discounts. Both StreetSmart (from Amica) and RightTrack (Safeco) have a trial period of around 90 days and a sign-up bonus. Also, neither company raises rates for driving poorly during the trial period.

We think that Safeco’s usage-based insurance is a little better than Amica’s because of the maximum discount offered. You could save up to 30% on your rate with Safeco, but only 20% with Amica.

Is Amica or Safeco better for customer experience?

Amica is not just better for customer experience than Safeco, but it also has some of the best customer service ratings of any car insurance company. Amica received the highest rating on the 2022 J.D. Power Claims Satisfaction study, which ranks consumers' feelings about their insurer’s claims service. Safeco scored lower than average.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Amica also received fewer complaints than average. The average complaint index is 1.0, but Amica’s complaint index is just 0.66.

Amica has better financial strength than Safeco

Amica has better financial strength than Safeco, according to ratings from A.M. Best. This means that A.M. Best is confident in the long term stability of Amica and its ability to pay out future claims.

Is Amica or Safeco better for coverage options?

Amica is better than Safeco for drivers who want more coverage options. Amica offers gap insurance, which may be required if you lease or finance your car.

If you own your car outright, the companies are about the same. Both have the same basic add-ons, like rental reimbursement and roadside assistance. Amica and Safeco also offer new car replacement coverage.

But Amica also offers a top-tier, “Platinum” coverage package that includes extra add-ons like credit monitoring and extra coverage for rental cars.

Coverage options	Amica	Safeco
Diminishing deductible	No	Yes
Full glass	Yes	No
Gap insurance	Yes	No
New car replacement	Yes	Yes
Rental car reimbursement	Yes	Yes
Roadside assistance	Yes	Yes
policycentral coverage rating	3.6	3.5

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Are there better companies than Amica and Safeco?

Amica and Safeco are both solid choices for car insurance, but if you want cheaper rates another company may be better for you.

If you want the cheapest rates, State Farm and GEICO have lower average premiums than either Amica or Safeco. Travelers is also cheaper than Amica and Safeco, and also has lots of add-ons for complete coverage.

Depending on where you live, a smaller regional carrier like Erie or Auto-Owners could offer better coverage for less.

Frequently asked questions

What are Amica and Safeco known for?

Amica is known for having some of the best customer service in the insurance industry. Safeco is known for offering a range of car insurance coverages.

Are Amica and Safeco good at paying claims?

Amica often ranks at or near the top of J.D. Power’s yearly Claims Satisfaction Study. This study ranks companies by how their policyholders view their claims service and settlements, so there’s good reason to think Amica is good at paying claims. Safeco ranks lower than average on this list.

How expensive is car insurance from Amica and Safeco?

Amica costs $131 a month, while Safeco costs $117 a month for the same amount of coverage, less than average. Amica can also be expensive for drivers who have a history of accidents, tickets, or bad credit.