Is USAA or Liberty Mutual better?
USAA is a great choice for car insurance for consumers who are part of the military community and want affordable rates and great customer satisfaction. Although USAA offers a range of discounts to individuals, the insurance provider was not ranked in Insure.com’s top auto insurance companies because it is unavailable to people outside the military community.
The well-known Liberty Mutual is good for individuals who want to bundle policies and who value customer satisfaction. Also offering various discounts like USAA, Liberty Mutual additionally provides a discount for signing up online for auto insurance. Liberty Mutual was not ranked in Insure.com’s survey since its insurance premium information is not available to Quadrant, our data provider.
Continue reading to see how USAA and Liberty Mutual compare in top auto insurance companies survey.
Pros of USAA and Liberty MutualUSAA Pros
- Excellent choice for military members and their families
- High customer satisfaction
- Fantastic premium rates
Liberty Mutual Pros
- High customer satisfaction
- Comprehensive policy offerings
- Solid customer renewals
How USAA and Liberty Mutual score on customer satisfaction
Both USAA and Liberty Mutual ranked high on customer satisfaction rates, with very similar rankings and only one percentage point difference. Both companies are great for customer satisfaction.
| Insurance Company | Percent of customers that are satisfied |
|---|---|
| USAA | 91% |
| Liberty Mutual | 92% |
Do USAA and Liberty Mutual customers plan to renew?
A significantly higher percentage of USAA customers report they plan to renew their policies compared to Liberty Mutual customers.
| Insurance Company | Percent of customers who plan to renew with the company |
|---|---|
| USAA | 98% |
| Liberty Mutual | 88% |
How USAA and Liberty Mutual score on policy offerings
USAA and Liberty Mutual both received positive scores for policy offerings, with Liberty Mutual having a slight advantage compared to USAA.
| Insurance Company | Percent of customers satisfied with the company’s policy offerings |
|---|---|
| USAA | 88% |
| Liberty Mutual | 90% |
USAA vs. Liberty Mutual: AM Best credit rating
AM Best rates insurance companies on their financial strength and gave USAA an A++ rating compared to Liberty Mutual’s A rating for this category, which means that USAA has a superior financial rating when it comes to the company’s ability to pay claims.
USAA vs. Liberty Mutual: J.D. Power auto claims satisfaction score
According to a 2022 auto claims satisfaction study from J.D. Power, Liberty Mutual received a score of 870, which is slightly lower than the industry average of 873. Although USAA received one of the highest scores of 890, it was not eligible for ranking because it didn’t meet the study award criteria, according to J.D. Power.
FAQ: USAA vs. Liberty Mutual
Can I buy USAA car insurance online?
You can get an online quote on the USAA website by entering your background information, such as name, job and military service details. You also can bundle home and renters into your quote.
Can I buy Liberty Mutual car insurance online?
You can get a quote online with Liberty Mutual, which makes you eligible to save up to 12% when you purchase online. You also can save when you bundle home and auto policies.
Who should get USAA car insurance?
USAA provides auto insurance to individuals in the military community, offering them affordable rates and good policy offerings and serving more than 11 million customers worldwide.
The company also offers financial products like banking, credit card and investment services, making it a one-stop-shop for the insurance and financial needs of the U.S. military.
Who should get Liberty Mutual car insurance?
Liberty Mutual is a good company for consumers seeking various policy offerings and customer satisfaction. Liberty Mutual is available to customers in every state in the U.S., which is not true of all auto insurance providers.
What other types of insurance does USAA offer?
USAA also offers:
- Flood insurance
- Life insurance
- Annuities
- Umbrella insurance
- Dental insurance
- Accidental injury insurance
- Mobile home insurance
- Farm and ranch insurance
- Collectibles insurance
- Pet insurance
- Travel insurance
- Special event insurance
What other types of insurance does Liberty Mutual offer?
Liberty Mutual also offers:
- Boat and watercraft
- ATV and off-road vehicles
- Recreational vehicles
- Antique and classic car
- Mexico car insurance
- Property insurance
- Business insurance
- Identity theft
- Pet insurance
Resources & Methodology
Sources
J.D. Power. “Insurers Struggle to Manage Expectations in Auto Claims Process as Repair Times Increase, J.D. Power Finds.” Accessed January 2024.
Methodology
Insure.com, which is CarInsurance.com’s sister site, surveyed more than 1,500 insurance consumers (1,080 people with auto insurance). Online market research company Slice MR conducted the survey.
Respondents were asked to name their auto insurer and grade it in the following categories – customer satisfaction, ease of service and policy offerings. The percentage of respondents who said they were satisfied or very satisfied with their insurer is presented in the results.
Respondents ranked their insurer’s top three attributes out of more than a dozen presented – including claims satisfaction, digital experience, discounts, military discounts, best for young drivers and teens, best for college students, best for senior drivers, best for drivers with a ticket, best for high-risk drivers and best for auto/home bundling.
For a number one choice, five points were given; for a second choice, three points; and for a third choice, a single point. The total points for each choice – first, second and third – were then divided by the number of each company’s customers who responded to that survey question to create a percentage. Those percentages are presented in the results as survey scores.
Respondents were then asked if they would recommend their auto insurer to someone else and whether they would renew with their company. The percentage who said yes is presented in the results.
Finally, respondents were given the statement “I trust my insurance company” and asked if they strongly agreed, agreed, disagreed or strongly disagreed with it. The percentage of those who said they agreed or strongly agreed is presented in the results.
The editors compiled the survey results and then selected – based on the number of survey responses – the top companies for further evaluation.
They then collected National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ complaint data, which ranks a company by the number of customer complaints it receives, and A.M. Best data, which measures financial strength.
They also collected insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services.
With the help of Prof. David Marlett, Ph.D., Managing Director of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center at Appalachian State University, the editors created a rating system to determine which insurance companies were best in each sector.
For auto insurers, we took the following and gave each a weight.
- Survey: 40% of the total score (10% customer satisfaction, 10% recommended, 10% renewal rate and 10% claims handling)
- Annual premium: 20% of total score
- AM Best: 25% of total score
- NAIC: 15% of total score
Each insurer was awarded from 1 to 5 stars. No insurer in our star ranking received less than 1 star and 5 stars was the most any insurer could receive.
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Laura Longero
Executive Editor
Laura is an award-winning editor with experience in content and communications covering auto insurance and personal finance. She has written for several media outlets, including the USA Today Network. She most recently worked in the public sector for the Nevada Department of Transportation.
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John McCormick
Editorial Director
John is the editorial director for CarInsurance.com, Insurance.com and Insure.com. Before joining QuinStreet, John was a deputy editor at The Wall Street Journal and had been an editor and reporter at a number of other media outlets where he covered insurance, personal finance, and technology.
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Leslie Kasperowicz
Managing Editor
Leslie Kasperowicz is an insurance educator and content creation professional with nearly two decades of experience first directly in the insurance industry at Farmers Insurance and then as a writer, researcher, and educator for insurance shoppers writing for sites like ExpertInsuranceReviews.com and InsuranceHotline.com and managing content, now at CarInsurance.com.
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Nupur Gambhir
Managing Editor
Nupur Gambhir is a content editor and licensed life, health, and disability insurance expert. She has extensive experience bringing brands to life and has built award-nominated campaigns for travel and tech. Her insurance expertise has been featured in Bloomberg News, Forbes Advisor, CNET, Fortune, Slate, Real Simple, Lifehacker, The Financial Gym, and the end-of-life planning service.