AAA auto insurance review 2024

AAA, also known as the American Automobile Association, isn’t a car insurance company. Instead, it’s a nationwide network of motor clubs that offers roadside assistance plans by membership as well as auto insurance through third-party underwriters. Each geographic region in the United States has its own AAA club, and insurance partners may vary based on your exact location — which makes it difficult to offer universal information about AAA’s auto insurance offerings. Overall, AAA earned a 3.4 Bankrate Score for auto insurance, reflecting its customers’ mixed experiences.

Regardless of your geographic location, you can expect a few constants from AAA insurance. All AAA clubs offer the same standard coverage options, including bodily injury and property damage liability that meet state requirements. Add-ons like gap insurance and rental car reimbursement are also typically available for AAA policies. If you also pay for a AAA membership — which may be a prerequisite for coverage in some areas — you’ll also get access to member benefits for travel, home maintenance and other services.

Pros and cons of AAA car insurance

While some customers report great experiences with AAA, there may also be drawbacks. In addition to comparing rates between AAA and other companies, consider these potential benefits and disadvantages of a AAA car insurance policy:

The AAA Life Insurance Company, based in Michigan and operating in all states except New York, offers three types of life insurance policy: term life, whole life and universal life. Term life policies are available in 10, 15, 20 or 30-year terms, and AAA advertises pricing as low as $8 per month for these policies. If you’re not sure what type of life insurance you need, AAA offers extensive educational resources on its website.

For AAA members or anyone who already has other insurance products through AAA, it may be worth getting life insurance quotes from AAA. However, a high rate of customer complaints recorded by the NAIC indicates that AAA Life’s customer satisfaction may be lower than other life insurance companies.

When you’re looking for the best insurance company for your needs, getting quotes from several providers can be helpful. No single company is the best option for everyone. If you’re interested in AAA insurance but not quite sure it’s the right fit, consider these similar companies:

Depending on your regional club’s insurance provider, AAA could be a good source for your auto insurance. Customers served by Automobile Club of Southern California and CSAA Insurance Group, for instance, tend to report better experiences than drivers in the states served by the Michigan-based Automobile Club Group. If you’re considering an auto policy from AAA, you may want to explore member experiences in your area and compare quotes from other insurers before making a decision.

What are real-life customers saying about AAA?

Because AAA’s auto clubs and insurers are so scattered, we turned to forums and review sites to understand how AAA customers rated their insurance. We looked at AAA insurance reviews on Reddit in both regional forums and insurance-focused subreddits, along with TrustPilot reviews. Some AAA customers spoke highly of their claims experience and low rates, while others reported rate increases and difficulty getting in contact with customer service.

Reddit

We found Reddit users discussing AAA insurance in personal finance forums as well as local subreddits for California residents. California drivers frequently reported good experiences with AAA, although some mentioned rate increases and higher premiums than other carriers.

TrustPilot

As a review site, TrustPilot typically gets a higher number of negative reviews for most insurance companies — including AAA. However, we found both positive and negative perspectives among TrustPilot users who had insurance through AAA.

AAA company details

Because AAA insurance is managed by regional chapters, your contact information may vary depending on your region.

• Service and claims: This will depend on your specific region. Find your regional club at aaa.com.
• Join AAA: 1-800-564-6222
• Technical assistance: 1-877-736-7813
• Roadside assistance: 1-800-222-4357
• Customer service: 1-877-387-8378

State availability

AAA provides auto insurance in all 50 states and Washington, DC and life insurance in all states except New York and Washington, DC. The availability of AAA’s largest member insurers is listed below. If you live in a state not covered by these insurers, your policy may be underwritten by a different company.

• AAA Life Insurance Company: All states except NY
• Auto Club of Southern California: AL, AR, HI, LA, ME, MO, MS, NH, NM, TX and VT; and portions of CA, IL, IN, KS, KY, OH, PA, VA and WV
• Automobile Club Group: FL, GA, IA, MI, MN, NC, ND, NE, SC, TN and WI; and portions of IL and IN
• CSAA Insurance Group: AK, AZ, CO, CT, DC, DE, MD, MT, NV, OK, OR, SD, UT, VA and WY; and portions of CA, ID, IN, KS, KY, NJ, NY, OH, PA, and WV

AAA tools and benefits

In addition to home, auto and life insurance, AAA also offers many other products and services. For full access to all of AAA’s services, policyholders must purchase an AAA membership, but remember that perks will vary based on your regional club. These may include:

• Travel perks: AAA Travel helps AAA members plan and book travel and accommodations, and even offers travel insurance, discounted amusement park tickets and international driver’s permits.
• Identity theft and monitoring: AAA offers three plans to help with identity theft monitoring and alerts in partnership with Experian. The Good plan is free for AAA members, while the Better and Best plans come with a cost but offer more tools.
• Umbrella insurance: An umbrella policy from AAA can add an additional layer of liability protection.
• DMV services: This allows members to visit a participating AAA office instead of your state’s motor vehicle department for certain transactions.
• Roadside assistance: AAA members can receive mobile battery replacement service, a free car seat inspection, discounted rates for electric vehicle charging and even bicycle assistance.

Frequently asked questions about AAA

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze July 2024 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region.

Auto

Quoted rates are based on a single, 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

• $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $50,000 property damage liability per accident
• $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
• $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
• $500 collision deductible
• $500 comprehensive deductible

To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. Our base profile drivers own a 2022 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes.

Age: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the ages 16-60 (base: 40 years) applied. Depending on age, drivers may be a renter or homeowner. Age is not a contributing rating factor in Hawaii and Massachusetts.

The rates for drivers ages 16-20 added to their parents' policy reflect the good student and driver's training discounts applied. The rates for drivers aged 16-20 on their own policy do not include the good student and driver's training discounts. Additionally, 25-year-old rates are based on the driver as a renter and 30+ on the driver as a homeowner.

Incidents: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the following incidents applied: clean record (base), single speeding ticket, single at-fault accident and single DUI conviction.

Credit-based insurance scores: Rates were calculated based on the following insurance credit tiers assigned to our drivers: “poor, average, good (base) and excellent.” Insurance credit tiers factor in your official credit scores but are not dependent on that variable alone. Four states prohibit or limit the use of credit as a rating factor in determining auto insurance rates: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan.

Bankrate Scores

Our 2024 Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impacts policyholders’ experiences with an insurance company. These rating factors include a robust assessment of each company’s product availability, financial strength ratings, online capabilities and customer and claims support accessibility. Each factor was added to a category, and these categories were weighted in a tiered approach to analyze how companies perform in key customer-impacting categories.

Each category was assigned a metric to determine performance, and the weighted sum adds up to a company’s total Bankrate Score — out of 5 points. Our scoring model provides a comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and highlighting where they fall short.

• Tier 1 (Cost & ratings): To determine how well auto and home insurance companies satisfy these priorities, average quoted premiums from Quadrant Information Services (if available), as well as any of the latest third-party agency ratings from J.D. Power, AM Best, Demotech and the NAIC, were analyzed.
• Tier 2 (Coverage & savings): We assessed companies’ coverage options and availability to help policyholders find a provider that balances cost with coverage. Additionally, we evaluated each company’s discount options listed on its website.
• Tier 3 (Support): To encompass the many ways an auto insurance company can support policyholders, we analyzed avenues of customer accessibility along with community support. This analysis incorporated additional financial strength ratings from S&P and Moody’s and factored a company’s corporate sustainability efforts.

Tier scores are unweighted to show the company's true score in each category out of a possible five points.