- Well-rated in many industry reports.
- Diminishing deductible and accident forgiveness options.
- Many policy customization options.
- Network of local agents.
- Limited state availability.
Jerry rates Erie 4.9 stars out of 5. This score is among the highest of the insurers that Jerry rates and takes into account the insurer’s pricing, industry ratings, the company’s financial strength, customer ratings and national complaint data.
Based in Erie, Pennsylvania, Erie Insurance Group has been offering auto insurance coverage since its start in 1925. According to recent data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Erie is the 12th largest auto insurer by market share in the United States and today offers auto, home, RV, boat, life, business and retirement insurance, any of which can be bundled for policy savings.
Erie auto insurance is currently available in 12 states — Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin — and Washington, D.C. Potential customers can start a quote online and will be connected to an independent agent in their area to finalize the policy.
Who is Erie best for?
Erie is a top insurer with a strong reputation. It may be a good choice for drivers in one of the insurer’s active states who:
- Prefer to stick with one insurance company to earn loyalty benefits.
- Want to bundle auto coverage with other insurance policies.
- Have a clean driving record.
How much does Erie car insurance cost?
Erie may offer affordable rates to drivers with clean records. Your premium is determined by a number of factors, including your age, location, the type and age of vehicle you drive, your driving record, other drivers on your policy, and the amount of coverage you want.
Erie car insurance discounts
Drivers can save on their Erie auto coverage with a number of available discounts. Discounts are offered to drivers who:
- Purchase coverage for multiple cars.
- Bundle auto coverage with home, renters, condo, umbrella, life or business insurance.
- Reduce usage, if a vehicle will be stored and unused for at least 90 consecutive days.
- Pay the full premium upfront.
- Complete a driver training program.
- Insure a driver under 21 years old who lives at home.
- Own a vehicle with safety features like airbags, anti-theft devices and anti-lock brakes.
The insurer also offers a diminishing deductible option that lowers drivers’ deductibles by $100 each consecutive year they remain claim-free.
Policyholders who are insured with Erie for at least three years and enroll in the insurer’s First Accident Forgiveness program won’t pay a higher premium after their first at-fault accident.
Does Erie offer insurance based on driving behavior?
Yes, Erie offers a telematics program called YourTurn, which uses a mobile app to monitor behaviors like hard braking, fast acceleration, hard cornering, speeding and cell phone use. The insurer gathers that information to assign drivers a score; high scores earn rewards that drivers can redeem as gift cards or charitable donations.
Erie car insurance coverage options
Like most insurers, Erie offers standard auto insurance options including collision, comprehensive, liability for bodily injury, liability for property damage, medical expense, personal injury protection and uninsured/underinsured motorist.
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Coverage Definitions
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Who it pays: The other person, for injuries when you’re at fault in a crash.
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What it covers: Medical bills, lost wages and legal costs for people injured in an accident you cause.
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How it pays: Up to your policy limits, shown as two numbers. For example, 50/100 means $50K per person and $100K per accident.*
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Do you need it? Required by law in every state except New Hampshire. Your state sets a minimum, but Jerry recommends considering limits of at least 100/300.
Property damage liability (PD)
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Who it pays: The other person, for property you damage in a crash.
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What it covers: Costs to repair or replace another person’s car, fence, mailbox or other property you hit.
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How it pays: Up to your policy’s limit. For example, $50K.*
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Do you need it? Required by law in every state except New Hampshire. Your state sets a minimum, but Jerry recommends considering limits of at least $100K.
*Bodily injury liability and property damage liability are typically shown as three numbers on your policy, like 100/300/100. The first two numbers represent your bodily injury limits per person and per accident, while the third number represents your property damage limit.
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Who it pays: You, for damage to your own car.
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What it covers: Costs to repair or replace your own car after a crash with another car or object, like a guardrail or pole.
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How it pays: You pay a deductible first, then insurance covers the rest, typically up to your car’s current market value.
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Do you need it? Required if you’re financing or leasing your car. Optional otherwise, but recommended if your car is worth more than $5,000. May not be worthwhile for older, lower-value cars.
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Who it pays: You, for damage to your own car.
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What it covers: Damage from non-crash events like theft, vandalism, hail, flooding, falling trees, fire or hitting an animal.
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How it pays: You pay a deductible first, then insurance covers the rest, typically up to your car’s current market value.
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Do you need it? Required if you’re financing or leasing your car. Optional otherwise, but recommended if your car is worth more than $5,000. May not be worthwhile for older, lower-value cars.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist (UM/UIM)
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Who it pays: You and your passengers, for injuries and property damage.
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What it covers: Your own injuries and property damage when the at-fault driver has no insurance or not enough to cover your costs, including hit-and-runs in many states.
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How it pays: Up to your chosen limits, which often match your BI limits. There’s usually no deductible for UM, but UIM may have one.
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Do you need it? Required in some states, but Jerry recommends every driver get it, since about 1 in 8 drivers does not have car insurance.
Personal injury protection (PIP)
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Who it pays: You and your passengers, for medical bills and lost income, no matter who caused the accident.
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What it covers: Medical bills, lost wages, childcare, funeral costs and other expenses after an accident, regardless of fault.
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How it pays: Up to your policy limit. There’s usually no deductible, though this varies by state.
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Do you need it? Required in no-fault states. If available in your state, it’s worth considering.
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Who it pays: You and your passengers, for medical bills.
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What it covers: Medical expenses after an accident, regardless of fault.
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How it pays: No deductible. Pays up to your policy’s limit.
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Do you need it? Optional in most states, but can be valuable if you don’t have health insurance or have a high-deductible health plan.
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Erie policies can also come with additional coverages and protections for drivers. Other insurers offer these coverages as add-ons that policyholders pay extra for, but Erie may include some of them in a full coverage policy.
- Pet coverage pays for up to $500 per pet in vet treatment costs if your pet is injured in an accident while riding in your covered vehicle.
- Roadside assistance and rental coverage can help if you’re stranded and need a jump or tow, whether you’re driving your own vehicle or a rental car.
- Auto glass repair coverage pays to repair or replace eligible glass after it’s damaged with no deductible. The coverage includes new windshield wipers.
- Personal item coverage pays to replace up to $350 in clothes, luggage and other personal items if they are stolen from or damaged in your covered vehicle.
- Locksmith coverage pays up to $75 for a locksmith if you lock your keys in your vehicle.
Industry ratings of Erie car insurance
Erie Insurance consistently holds many of the top industry ratings across various agencies, including a first- and third-place finish in two J.D. Power studies and a below-expected complaint index with the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
| Rating | Erie score |
| NAIC consumer complaint index | Moderately low. |
| CRASH Network report card | A-. |
| J.D. Power auto insurance shopping study | No. 1 of 17. |
| J.D. Power auto insurance claims study | No. 3 of 21. |
| AM Best | A+. |
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NAIC details
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CRASH Network details
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J.D. Power details
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AM Best details
How to contact Erie
While Erie offers email, phone, live chat and in-person contact options, customers are urged to reach out to local agents in most cases.
Get a quote: You can start an auto insurance quote online through the Erie website, but you’ll be connected with an Erie insurance agent in your area to build coverage and finalize your quote. You can also find a local agent on the insurer’s website.
Customer service: Erie encourages existing customers to contact a local agent or reach out to customer service via live chat. You can reach customer service at 800-485-0811 Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. ET or Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If you don’t need immediate service, you can send an email through the website’s contact form.
File a claim: Erie recommends reaching out to your local agent to file a claim, though you can also initiate a claim 24/7 by calling Erie customer service at 800-367-3743. Glass claims can be filed online or over the phone.
Methodology
We looked at over 400,000 actual policies quotes from real Jerry customers during 2024 across 24 different insurance companies. The pricing data included both those with clean driving records as well as those with a violation.
How we rate car insurance companies
Jerry’s team of car insurance expert writers and editors analyze real customer ratings and industry reports to get a holistic view of an insurer’s performance. Our rubric emphasizes the shopping and claims experiences, customer complaints and reviews, repair shops’ evaluations of insurers, policy and quote pricing, and state availability.
We regularly reassess insurers’ star ratings and fact-check these reviews to ensure they’re accurate and up-to-date.
These individual factors roll up into one weighting system as follows:
20% Financial strength.
20% Complaints.
20% Industry ratings.
20% Customer ratings.
20% Cost and discounts.
Stephanie Colestock is a professional writer, CFEI®, and licensed insurance agent specializing in personal finance. With over 14 years of experience, she crafts insightful and accessible content on a wide range of financial topics, including insurance, loans, credit/debt, investing, retirement planning, and banking.
Her bylines appear in top-tier publications such as TIME, Fortune, MSN, Business Insider, USA Today, Money, Fox Business, and CBS. Stephanie’s deep understanding of complex financial concepts and her ability to communicate them clearly have made her a trusted voice in the industry.
When she’s not writing, Stephanie enjoys SCUBA diving, reading a good book, and traveling the world with her family.
Annie is a writer and editor at Jerry with more than a decade of experience writing and editing digital content. Before joining Jerry, she was an assistant assigning editor at NerdWallet. Her past work has appeared in the Associated Press, USA Today and The Washington Post. Her work has been cited by Northwestern University and Harvard Kennedy School. Annie served as a spokesperson for NerdWallet during her time at NerdWallet and has been featured in New York Magazine, MarketWatch and on local television and radio stations.
Previously, she worked at USAA and newspapers in Minnesota, North Dakota, California and Texas. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Minnesota.
