Every Major Motorcycle Insurance Brand Ranked Worst To Best (According To Users)

Insurance has become a huge part of road safety and casualty management. And while motorcycles are less common than cars on the road, they account for a disproportionate share of traffic accidents. In 2022, motorcyclists constituted 14.6% of traffic fatalities, even though motorcycles made up only 3% of registered vehicles. Even the safest motorcycles (and motorcyclists) can end up in a crash because car drivers overlook their lower-profile neighbors.

Today, several brands offer motorcycle insurance, some classifying it under their general auto insurance while others fully specialize in this policy type. However, while recognizing the need to have an insurer, users often struggle to find ones they can rely on. Insurers are notorious for delaying claims, being impossible to communicate with, and sometimes denying claims outright. According to JD Power, only 15% of auto insurance users have high levels of trust in their insurer, and more than half have low trust levels.

Several companies have managed to remain on the positive side of customers' confidence. We've examined reviews from various platforms like Consumer Affairs and JD Power, looking at the feedback on well-known motorcycle insurance brands. Here is every motorcycle insurance brand ranked worst to best, according to users.

GEICO is a Maryland-based company that offers various forms of insurance, including vehicle, business, and property policies. The company has been around for quite some time and is one of the largest major car insurance companies in the U.S. However, despite its years of experience and dominance, it ranks quite low among users for its quality of service. It has a 1-star rating on Consumer Affairs, with many of the reviews expressing disappointment.

The company is particularly notorious for complaints about its customer service. Reaching the company to make a claim often takes long waiting periods on a phone call, which leads to no useful results, or communicating with an online chat box isn't effective. It doesn't help that there are not sufficient in-person offices either.

Apart from this, GEICO is not a highly desirable option when considering the degree of policy coverage compared to competitors. It offers pretty basic coverage and would be unsatisfactory for users who want extra protection or more extensive options like OEM parts replacement and medical payments coverage. On the plus side, the company is quite affordable, but this is hardly appealing with its basic coverage and inconsistency in delivering payouts.

Allstate is another major auto insurance brand in the U.S., established in the 1930s. It's a traditional company offering a wide range of comprehensive motorcycle coverage. However, its prices are lofty when compared to other major auto insurance. Specifically, Allstate is 50% more expensive than the average insurer.

Generally, the company has received mixed reviews from users. There is some positive feedback, but its NAIC complaints index as of February 2024 was 2.31, which means that the number of complaints the company receives is 2.31 times more than expected based on its market share.

Many customers have complained about unexpected increases in price rates, with no changes to the nature of their policy and no effective communication on the part of the company. Also, there tends to be a long delay in the claims process, which is one of the major frustrating aspects of the insurance business.

A perk of this insurer is that it offers a wide range of discounts which can offset its high cost. Despite its low rating on Consumer Affairs, it has a good number of positive reviews. On the JD Power customer satisfaction rating, its scores ranged from 624 to 818, which falls around the average rank.

Safeco is a Seattle-based insurance provider and one of the subsidiaries of Liberty Mutual, a leading property and casualty insurer globally. The company offers different types of insurance products, including auto insurance, which covers various vehicles like cars, trucks, and motorcycles.

Safeco has become an appealing option as it's one of the cheaper insurance available among the major competitors, with prices that are about 22% lower than the average. It also offers numerous discounts and coverage options. The company's prices aren't provided online, but you can apply for a quote on the website. Besides that, it also has an app that's very easy to use and allows you to manage your policy conveniently.

Reviews on Consumer Affairs give Safeco a 3.5-star rating, while on Clearsurance, it has 3.91 stars. These consist of a good amount of positive feedback, highlighting its affordable pricing and value for money.

However, the company has also gathered a fair amount of negative reviews, especially for its customer service and inefficiency in the payment of claims. The JD Power Consumer Satisfaction Index constantly ranks Safeco at the lower end of customer satisfaction, ranging from 607 to 634 across various regions.

Progressive Insurance is another big name and a popular choice among motorcycle owners. It provides wide and comprehensive policies for insureds, with plenty of room for customization. The company offers you up to eight policy types, including cruiser, custom bike, sport bike, and vintage motorcycle insurance policies. Compared to competitors, Progressive sits at an average price point, but it offers many discounts and ones that are easy to get too.

Although the company has received some pretty low ratings, the reviews overall have been mixed, especially concerning its customer service. On Clearsurance, the reviews are generally much better, and the company has a 4.06-star rating. Users highlight the variety of coverage options with flexible billing options. The app's ease of use also makes recovering claims easy and straightforward for many users.

Progressive's performance on JD Power's ranking is generally low. Its scores range from 587 to 816, and it constantly falls in the lower end of the ranks. In Texas, it fell to the very bottom of the list. Its NAIC complaint index is also higher than expected, at 2.21.

Markel may not be as popular as other names on this list, but the company has been around for more than 45 years. Now established in 48 states, it offers wide coverage options for motorcycle owners while also extending customization options to suit their needs. One of the ways it does this is through its collaboration with Voom, an insurTech company that focuses on user-based insurance solutions.

By incorporating Voom's pay-per-mile solution, Markel allows its customers a payment system that works for the seasonal nature of motorcycle riding. This, along with its generally affordable pricing, has made it an appealing solution for users. Its coverage options include roadside assistance, mechanical breakdown, rental reimbursements, motorcycle trailers, and accessories.

Reviews for Markel have, however, been about average. NAIC reports a positive complaint index, but it has gotten poor ratings on sites like Clearsurance. More than 50% of the reviews claim to have had an extremely poor experience with the company. A common complaint was the company's refusal to pay and ridiculous demands to recover a claim. Although its sub-division, Markel Direct, has good ratings on Trustpilot, Markel itself does not have substantial feedback on the platform.

In all 50 states in America, you can get insurance coverage from State Farm– that's how well-established this company is. This insurer is generally well-rated and known to be pretty reliable and transparent. It ranked in the top five of JD Power's Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Index of 2024 in 10 out of 11 regions. However, like most insurance brands, reviews are also mixed. Its NAIC complaint Index is 3.47, suggesting that it gets more than three times the number of complaints for its market share.

Regardless, there have been many positive reviews for this brand. Users tend to praise the brand's excellent customer service, highlighting that it has empathetic and communicative staff. Feedback also suggests that you're unlikely to have a problem finding agents, as State Farm has several local agents to offer customers personalized experiences. In addition, State Farm gets praised for offering affordable rates, even for young drivers and those with bad records. Its app and website are also easy to use, even allowing users to file claims online.

However, there has also been a fair amount of criticism, complaining about the delay in paying out claims and outright denial of claims. Reviews on Trustpilot are also mostly negative, and some customers believe Safeco's quality of service has greatly declined.

The United States Automobile Association (USAA) is a unique insurance firm that specifically caters to active military members, veterans, and their family members. While it's not as robust as your regular insurance firm, it has affordable policies and great customer service. USAA is regarded as one of the top-rated motorcycle insurance firms in the US.

Because of its unique nature, USAA is not ranked alongside other insurers on JD Power. However, it scores higher for customer satisfaction than every other rated company. On Clearsurance, it has over 6,000 reviews and is rated 4.71 stars.

USAA has also been entirely free of complaints, though. Recent feedback suggests that its reputation for great customer service appears to have been waning in recent years. Its NAIC index shows that complaints are more than twice as much as is expected for its market share. Regardless, this company has remained a popular choice for members of the military and their families due to its competitive prices, special coverage, and unique discounts.

Nationwide is not just a well-established insurance brand, but a reliable and efficient one. While it's more expensive than many competitors, it maintains a standard of quality and great customer service. The company offers a wide range of motorcycle insurance products, including roadside assistance, property damage liability, collision, and bodily injury liability.

Nationwide's JD Power Satisfaction Ratings are split by region. It ranks second in the North Central, sits at the middle position in the Mid-Atlantic, and ranks last in New York. However, it's worth noting that in terms of usage-based insurance (UBI) it tops every other company for customer satisfaction.

The company has 4.01 stars on Clearsurance. With over 3,000 reviews, about 55% give the company an excellent rating, affirming its reputation for customer loyalty and professionalism. Although feedback is less positive on sites like some sites, its rating is still higher than most competitors overall. NAIC gives Nationwide a complaint index of 0.81, reflecting that its number of complaints are lower than expected.

Based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, Dairyland has quickly become one of the highly-rated insurance options for motorcycle users. Although the Sentry-owned corporation is not as well-known as competitors like Geico and Progressive, it has secured a lot of appeal amongst many users. The company focuses on non-standard policies, particularly catering to high-risk drivers. Thus, it's not listed on JD Power. However, it is available in up to 38 states and easily accessible.

The company has generally secured positive reviews on user review platforms. It has a 4.4-star rating on Trustpilot and 3.8 stars on Consumer Affairs, placing it higher on average than most other competitors. Many of these reviews commend its great customer service and really affordable policy offers. However, where this company really stands out is its policy coverage, which includes a wide array of options like body collision, roadside assistance, guest passenger liability, medical expense, replacement costs, and several others. There are also several discounts the company offers that have increased its appeal among users.

Overall, Dairyland clearly recognizes the need for accessibility and affordability, and this allows it to cater to its customers effectively. It's not surprising that its NAIC complaint index is 0.71, achieving fewer complaints than expected.

We compiled this list by looking at the various policy offers of these companies, considering their coverage, pricing, and, most importantly, customer feedback across various platforms. Among our major metrics was the JD Power consumer satisfaction ratings, which used seven dimensions to rate and rank various brands. These dimensions include the ease of doing business, level of trust, coverage offerings, price for coverage, digital channels, people, and problem resolution. Collecting thousands of responses, it assigned ratings based on 11 geographic regions in the US and compared them amongst other competitors.

Also informing our ranking system was the complaint index by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), a body governed by chief insurance regulators across the US that set standards and best practices for state regulators. The complaint index is a score that measures a company's performance by dividing its share of complaints in the US market by its share of premiums. Rates above 1.0 exceed the national complaint index.

Finally, we relied largely on ratings submitted by users on sites like Consumer Affairs, Trust Pilot, and Clearsurance. While all these platforms don't always have similar overall ratings, they give specific insights into the issues affecting the brand's appeal or reputation among its customers.