Safeco Auto Insurance Review [2022]: Earn Rewards for Safe Driving

If you’re a safe driver, you should consider getting a quote from Safeco Insurance as the company offers several discount and reward programs for safe driving. You can only get a quote through an agent, however, so if you’re looking for a completely online experience, Safeco auto insurance won’t be the best fit for you.

In this Safeco insurance review, learn more about the pros and cons of Safeco so you can make an informed decision about whether it’s right for you.

Safeco Insurance: Is it worth it?

Pros	Cons
Available in all states Rewards for safe driving Offers diminishing deductible Offers accident forgiveness Backed by Liberty Mutual Insurance	Online quotes aren’t available Customer complaints are higher than average
Our verdict: Safeco car insurance is a good option for those with a record of safe driving because the insurer offers several discounts and rewards programs for safe driving. However, if you are looking for a quick quote online or don’t like going through a local independent insurance agency for support, you may want to look at other insurers besides Safeco.

What is Safeco Insurance?

Safeco Insurance got its start in Seattle in 1923 when insurance executive Hawthorne K. Dent founded General Insurance Company of America. The insurer became known as “The General,” though it has no relation to “The General” Automobile Insurance Services that exists today.

The company rebranded as Selective Auto and Fire Insurance Company of America, or Safeco, in 1953. In 2008, Safeco became a subsidiary of Liberty Mutual Insurance, the world's sixth-largest property and casualty insurer.

Today, Safeco Insurance provides automobile, homeowners, boat, renters, and other insurance products through a network of more than 10,000 independent insurance agents throughout the U.S.

J.D. Power ranked Safeco highest in its digital experience study, which looked at how satisfied policyholders were with their insurance company’s digital tools, including mobile apps. The J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction ratings for Safeco were well below average in the Central region, however. It ranked slightly below average in the North Central and Southeast regions, and below average in the Northwest and Southwest regions.

The Better Business Bureau rates Safeco A+, but it isn’t accredited. On the Better Business Bureau website, customers have rated Safeco an average of 1.12 stars out of 5, and 872 complaints have been closed in the past 12 months.

Year founded	1923
Types of coverage	Liability Medical payments Uninsured/underinsured motorist Collision Comprehensive New vehicle replacement Rental car reimbursement Roadside assistance
Discounts available	Claims-free cash back Diminishing deductible Accident forgiveness Bundling discounts RightTrack program Accident-free discounts Accident prevention course discount
Where you can use it	Mobile app (Android, iOS) or via the desktop portal
Customer support	Insurance claims 1-800-332-3226 Roadside assistance 1-877-762-3101 Other support is available through local Safeco licensed independent agents.
Availability	All U.S. states and the District of Columbia

What insurance does Safeco Insurance offer?

All Safeco car insurance policies come standard with the following types of coverage:

• Liability: This includes bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage. This coverage helps pay for injuries or property damage to another driver if you are at fault in an accident. Liability coverage also assists in paying for any court costs if you are sued due to an accident you caused. Nearly all states require drivers to carry some level of liability insurance.
• Medical payments: Safeco auto insurance helps to pay for accident-related medical expenses if you or a passenger in your car is injured, regardless of who is at fault.
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: This coverage helps to protect you if you get in an accident with a driver who has minimal or no car insurance.

Safeco auto insurance policies also come standard with a few other features:

• Claims-free cash back: If you don’t file a claim within six months, Safeco will send you a check for 2.5% of your policy premium. This benefit could save you up to 5% off your auto insurance premiums a year.
• Diminishing deductible: Safeco will reduce your deductible by $50 in six months or $100 annually if you maintain a clean driving record. Keep your driving record clean for five years and you could earn up to $500. This feature isn’t available in all states, and limitations do apply.

Other coverage options that you can add on to your Safeco policy include:

• Collision: Helps to cover damages to your vehicle from an accident with another vehicle or object, regardless of who was at fault.
• Comprehensive: This insurance coverage helps pay for repairs to or replacement of your car if it is involved in a non-collision event. Comprehensive coverage will help pay for damages from events such as theft, vandalism, acts of nature, and accidents involving animals, such as if you hit a deer.
• New car replacement: If your new vehicle is totaled or stolen, this coverage will pay to replace it if it is less than one year old and has fewer than 15,000 miles. You must also be the original owner of the vehicle.
• Rental car reimbursement: Safeco will reimburse you for a rental car up to set daily limits when your car is in the shop being repaired for a covered accident. This coverage may vary by state.
• Roadside assistance: Safeco offers 24-hour roadside assistance that can help if your car needs towing or if you get a flat tire, run out of gas, or lock yourself out of your car.

Although Safeco auto insurance is available for drivers in all U.S. states, there may be limitations on certain coverages or benefits depending on the state you live in. For example, accident forgiveness is not available for California residents.

Safeco does offer multi-policy discounts for bundling car insurance with other insurance policies that it offers, such as homeowners insurance, renters insurance, boat insurance, motorcycle insurance, and commercial, umbrella, and pet health coverage.

Safeco Insurance: How cheap is it?

How to find discounts

Safety is the key to getting a car insurance discount on your Safeco auto insurance. Besides bundling discounts, the insurer offers discounts on premiums for:

• Accident-free drivers
• Drivers who take an accident prevention course
• Vehicles with specific safety features, such as airbags and anti-lock brakes

How to maximize savings

Drivers can save on Safeco auto insurance through the company’s RightTrack program. RightTrack monitors your driving habits via a mobile app or plug-in (available only in New York) and rewards you for your safe driving choices. It collects data on behaviors such as breaking, acceleration, nighttime driving, and the amount you drive.

The insurer also offers a discount just for signing up and participating in the RightTrack program. RightTrack evaluates your braking, acceleration, nighttime driving, and total miles driven.

RightTrack isn’t compatible with all phones, however. Your phone must have GPS location capabilities, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and proximity sensors, and some Android devices don’t have these features.

How to get an insurance quote from Safeco Insurance

You won’t be able to get an online quote easily from Safeco Insurance as you could with other insurance companies.

The Safeco website invites you to enter your zip code to get started on a quote. Once you enter your zip code, the website pulls up a map and list of the Safeco independent insurance agents available in your area.

Some agencies/agents are identified as a “Safeco Elite Agency.” Those agencies receive access to special resources and programs from Safeco.

When you select one of the agencies/agents listed, you’ll be rerouted to that agency's individual webpage on the Safeco website. It’s here where you can access the Free Safco Quote questionnaire by clicking on the “Get a Quote” button.

Once you click on “Get a Quote,” you’ll be redirected to the online information form that will ask for your:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Phone
• Email
• Residence type (home you own, apartment you rent, etc)

The next screen will ask you to provide the following driver information:

• Gender
• Marital status
• Age first licensed
• Business/industry
• Occupation
• Highest level of education
• Whether the driver has had any reportable incidents

You can add multiple drivers. You’ll then need to add information on the vehicle(s) you want to insure. For the vehicle information, you’ll need to provide the:

• Model year
• Make
• Model
• Vehicle description (this is an auto-generated drop-down list based on the make and model of your vehicle).
• Annual miles
• Primary use (work, personal, business)

After you’ve added all the vehicles you want covered under the policy, you’ll be asked whether you currently have insurance. If you answer yes, you’ll be asked about your insurer, how long you’ve been a customer, the expiration date of your current policy, and what your current coverage looks like.

After filling in your information, don’t expect to see any hard numbers on premiums with Safeco insurance you hit the “Get Estimate” button.

Instead, you’ll get information directing you to contact the local Safeco insurance provider you initially selected for your quote and a reference code to use when you contact the agency.

Safeco Insurance FAQs

Bottom line

Safeco car insurance is a good option for safe drivers who have a virtually spotless driving record because the company offers numerous ways you can save money through good driver habits.

Safeco may also be a good choice for you if you like to talk with a real person in your local neighborhood rather than filling out online forms and going through a call center to get your questions answered. Safeco works with more than 10,000 independent insurance agents across the country that can offer you personal, one-on-one service for your car insurance needs.

If you don’t feel Safeco is right for you, or if you want to compare its insurance rates to other companies, check out our round-up of the best car insurance companies.

Methodology

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 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.