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AAA is an association of local clubs that partners with regional insurers to offer car insurance policies to people in 14 states and Puerto Rico. For example, it works with The Auto Club Group in Michigan to issue policies to AAA members, while residents of Colorado can get AAA insurance through the CSAA Insurance Group. It's a little confusing, to be honest, but it's really only important for you to know that this company works with other insurers to underwrite policies. If you get a quote, you'll be told which insurer is compatible with your area.
I'd recommend AAA car insurance if you live in an eligible state and want to work with a regional company, especially if you're already an AAA member. AAA provides more coverage options and premium discounts than many insurers, although these vary by state and locality. It's best to visit the site yourself and enter your ZIP code to get a quote, or visit a local office, to see what you might qualify for and rates you might receive. But it's worth at least including this company in your comparisons when shopping around.
How AAA works, in its own words:
"AAA/CAA is a federation of regional clubs located throughout North America. […] AAA/CAA clubs offer insurance, travel services, travel information including maps, guides and information on top-rated Diamond hotels and restaurants, member discounts, auto repair recommendations, tow truck services, and more."
How we evaluate products
FinanceBuzz researches a number of factors in each auto insurance provider to create our reviews. These factors include cost and discounts, complaints and customer satisfaction, coverage, and ease of use. We also gather information from sources such as Insurify, J.D. Power, AM Best, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and the Better Business Bureau to ensure we provide the most useful information to our readers.
AAA pros and cons
- Wide range of extra coverage options
- Many discounts available
- Strong financial stability and trust ratings
- Only provides auto insurance in 14 states
- Rates vary by club but can cost more than other companies
- May be required to be an AAA member to qualify for coverage
How much does AAA cost?
Because policies and premiums with this insurer vary by ZIP code, there isn't really an "average" cost for everyone. There can be differences in price between local AAA clubs even within a single state, so I can't stress enough the need to get a quote for yourself.
I went ahead and entered my information to get a quote for my 2021 Kia Soul in my town in Michigan. This took about three minutes, and I was quoted $115 for the coverage I'd be most likely to choose, assuming I paid my premium in full. I have a clean driving record, so this is actually a little high compared to the average. I'm also not currently a AAA member, so I'd pay $65 on top of that each year. (I've had AAA membership before, but I stopped paying for it because I didn't find I was using it enough.)
The national average premiums for liability-only car insurance are in the table below. Use these as a baseline as you're looking for the best car insurance, and aim to find coverage that costs less than the average (ideally, a good bit less) for your particular driver profile.
| Driver type | National average liability-only monthly premium | National average full coverage monthly premium |
| Clean driving record | $105 | $192 |
| Speeding ticket on driving record | $141 | $265 |
| At-fault accident on driving record | $146 | $274 |
| DUI on driving record | $166 | $313 |
| Teen driver | $194 | $364 |
| Senior driver | $85 | $160 |
| Data sourced from Insurify | ||
How AAA plans work
AAA offers three types of plans: Essential, Advantage, and Ultimate. Some policy benefits actually vary depending on the plan you choose, mostly as they relate to how much money you can save by not making claims. This is yet another feature that sets AAA apart from most car insurance companies, which don't tend to separate pricing or perks into plans.
The price difference between plans is pretty minimal, ranging from $114.76 a month for the lowest plan to $126.90 for the highest when I got a quote.
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Your plan determines not only what you pay but also what policy benefits you're eligible for. For instance, only Ultimate members qualify for the disappearing deductible, but everyone gets small-claim forgiveness. Take a look at this table I grabbed to see what I mean:
/images/2025/03/14/aaa_planbenefits.png)
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Is AAA car insurance good?
Company ratings:
- AM Best: A+ (stable)
- J.D. Power claims satisfaction: 692 (out of 1,000)
- BBB: A+
- NAIC complaints: N/A
Nationally, AAA is a reliable and well-respected car insurance company. But exactly how it scores for customer satisfaction across the board is something of a mystery because it really depends on your regional club. Your experience as a customer could be vastly different than the experience someone else has with the company purely because you're getting coverage through different clubs and carriers, but this could technically also be said of two people insured under the same company.
I was able to mostly approximate averages for AAA from all of these independent agencies, and the company received the highest score possible from both AM Best (which measures financial stability, or how equipped a company is to fulfill its insurance obligations to customers) and the BBB (which measures overall trustworthiness and ethics). It didn't do as well in J.D. Power's 2024 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, scoring below the report's average of 697 out of 1,000 points.
And I couldn't obtain an average NAIC complaint index to give you an idea of how many complaints customers file with their state insurance departments against this company, with relation to its market share, because there are many different insurers within the association.
Discounts
AAA might not necessarily have the cheapest rates, but it offers a fair deal more discounts than many of its competitors to help you save money on car insurance, including a discount for being a long-time AAA member.
It also offers decent bundling discounts, discounts for safety features, and a few types of discounts for paying upfront or in advance. Here's a look at the discounts it offers, side-by-side with competitors GEICO and State Farm, but keep in mind that you might qualify for different ones depending on your club.
| Discount | Does AAA have it? | GEICO | State Farm |
| Loyalty | Yes | No | Yes |
| Multi-policy/bundling | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Multiple vehicle | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Airbag | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-lock brakes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Anti-theft | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Safe driver | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Good student | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Away-from-home student | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| New car | Yes | Yes | No |
| Pay in full | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automatic payments | Yes | Yes | No |
| GAP insurance | No | No | No |
| Senior | No | No | No |
| Military | No | Yes | Yes (select states) |
| Defensive driving course | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Average rate:
AAADrive
AAADrive is the company's optional telematics program, and it offers a discount of up to 25% depending on how safely you drive. You'll log your driving in the AAA mobile app and the program will analyze your habits (including the time of day you drive, phone use, speed, etc.) and assign you a driving score meant to summarize your overall safety.
This discount and program are comparable to what insurers offer and the potential savings are a bit better than Progressive's well-known Snapshot program. Just note that you need to remember to log your drives.
Coverage
AAA provides many types of coverage besides the basic, required policies for liability and PIP. For instance, you'll find GAP coverage, which you won't find with every insurer, and an optional — and decent — disappearing deductible (also called a vanishing deductible with other companies). The latter means that you can save up to $50 every year you go without making a claim, up to $500. While this isn't the most you can save with a vanishing deductible annually, the maximum savings are comparatively high.
Coverage options with AAA include:
- Liability protection
- No-fault accident coverage
- Collision coverage
- Comprehensive insurance
- Uninsured or underinsured motorist insurance
- Medical payments
- Car rental reimbursement
- Enhanced total loss replacement
- Loan or lease GAP coverage
- Enhanced exterior repair
- Transportation network company coverage
To lower your car insurance rates without opting for less coverage, I suggest comparing quotes with at least a few car insurance companies, bundling policies, and considering a higher deductible. AAA might appeal to you because it provides a lot of coverage options, so you should look for ways to offset these extra costs with discounts, safe driving, and more.
AAA car insurance vs. competitors
AAA car insurance could offer many advantages to some drivers, but how its costs compare to competitor costs varies. Here's a breakdown of the average prices for full versus liability-only coverage from top insurers, plus the national average.
Keep these numbers in mind when you get your ZIP-specific AAA quote, if you decide to get one.
| Company name | Average monthly full coverage | Average monthly liability-only coverage |
| USAA | $99 | $46 |
| GEICO | $118 | $55 |
| State Farm | $119 | $55 |
| Allstate | $132 | $62 |
| Progressive | $148 | $101 |
| American Family | $157 | $72 |
| Nationwide | $181 | $85 |
| Travelers | $191 | $90 |
| National average | $199 | $105 |
| Farmers | $236 | $110 |
| Liberty Mutual | $250 | $169 |
| Data sourced from Insurify | ||
Here's how AAA compares to two of its key competitors, GEICO and State Farm.
AAA car insurance vs. GEICO
AAA and GEICO provide similar car insurance discounts, but you're likely to qualify for lower car insurance rates with GEICO. GEICO is unique for providing some of the best car insurance rates from a larger company, but you'd likely get a more personal experience with AAA given that you'd be insured by a regional club.
Check out what rates you might qualify for on the coverage you want with both, but remember to factor in the potential added benefits (and cost) of AAA membership, if required for your region.
AAA car insurance vs. State Farm
State Farm is the largest car insurance issuer in the country, and its rates may be similar to AAA's for many people. One of the biggest differences between the two companies is that you can get a State Farm policy in any state, which is probably its main advantage over AAA.
State Farm also does well with customer satisfaction, especially given its size, so it's a good choice if you want to know what to expect. Note, though, that State Farm is missing a few discounts that might be available with AAA, and it doesn't offer traditional GAP insurance.
FAQs
How do I contact AAA?
You can reach out to general customer support with AAA by calling 800-564-6222, but I suggest finding an office close to you and calling that number instead. A local branch will be able to provide more specific information for your area and probably answer your questions more thoroughly. Use the AAA office locator to search one of the company's 300+ locations.
Is AAA car insurance good?
AAA offers many coverage options for car insurance and receives good ratings for customer satisfaction, but rates and offers vary by club. Whether or not this company is a good fit for you depends on which insurer you'd be working with, what coverage you need, which discounts you qualify for, and a host of other factors. But it's at least a good company to include in your comparisons, if you live in a state it services.
What are the disadvantages of AAA?
AAA car insurance isn't offered in every state, and it can be a bit confusing to catch on to how it works as a network of regional insurers and clubs. It might also cost more than other car insurance companies.
Bottom line
AAA car insurance is worth checking out if you live in a qualifying state, as it provides a good range of coverage and competitive discounts. The rates and customer experience you get ultimately depend on exactly where you live, but I recommend taking a few minutes to get a quote. You'll also be able to see whether you'd be required to have a AAA membership and what insurer would underwrite your policy by doing this.
AAA's safe-driving discount and extra coverage options are particularly notable, so I'd suggest this company to anyone looking for these benefits.
Average rate:
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