Safeco Car Insurance Review [2023]

Is Safeco Insurance a Good Choice?

Safeco has a number of pros and cons. We’ve outlined the main pros and cons of Safeco below, so you can immediately get an idea of if Safeco is a good choice for you or if there is a con that eliminates Safeco as a contender for your needs.

Safeco Pros

There are multiple pros to Safeco as a choice auto insurance company, including

• Safeco car insurance quotes are cheaper than the national average rates.
• Safeco has a good array of auto insurance coverages for those who want a more complete policy.
• Safeco has discount programs like accident forgiveness, disappearing or zero-deductible car insurance, and rewards for safe driving.

Safeco is also owned by the parent company Liberty Mutual, one of the largest car insurance providers in the U.S. This means that a well-known company backs Safeco financially. This Liberty Mutual car insurance review will tell you everything you need to know about the company.

Safeco Cons

Safeco also has some cons that customers should be aware of, which are:

• Safeco’s ratings are below the industry average on J.D. Power’s claim satisfaction study.
• Safeco’s number of customer complaints is higher than the average.
• Safeco doesn’t offer online quotes, so you will have to contact a Safeco agent to get a quote.

Safeco’s main con is that it has a higher-than-average number of complaints and scored low with J.D. Power, reflecting poor customer service overall.

Safeco Contact Information

To contact Safeco, you generally need to speak with your Safeco agent or log into your Safeco insurance account.

If you don’t have a Safeco account and want to get a quote, you will need to reach out to Safeco at 1-800-332-3226.

The best way to make changes to your account is to do so online, as Safeco will allow you to do all of the following:

• Check billing history, pay bills, and change billing information.
• Update personal information, download policy documents, and print or order new ID cards.
• File car insurance claims and check the status of your claims.
• Add or remove drivers from your car insurance policy.

You will have to contact your Safeco agent for any other updates to your auto insurance policy.

However, Safeco has two phone numbers outside of agents for car insurance claims and roadside assistance:

• General Number: 1-800-332-3226
• Roadside Assistance Number: 1-877-762-3101

In most cases, if you can’t do your task online, you will have to reach out to your Safeco agent. However, the lack of a general number to call Safeco for customer service assistance and the lack of online quotes can be a deterrent to some customers.

Safeco Ratings and Reviews

Ratings and reviews are the best way to determine if a car insurance company has a good reputation for customer service and a strong financial base. We go over all the important reviews and ratings of Safeco below.

Safeco Customer Satisfaction and Complaints

Safeco has an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is great. However, Safeco has had a total of 1,804 complaints closed on the BBB within the last three years and a total of 904 complaints closed within the last year.

This is a high number of complaints, and Safeco also had a higher complaint ratio than average from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).

J.D. Power also ranks Safeco as mediocre in its customer claims satisfaction study, with Safeco scoring below the industry average and Liberty Mutual. Safeco wasn’t the worst car insurance company in J.D. Power’s study, but many companies have much better customer service.

Safeco A.M. Best Rating

A.M. Best gave Safeco a rating of A (excellent), which is a good score. While it’s not the highest score possible at A.M. Best, an A means Safeco is in good financial standing. It also means Safeco is able to meet its ongoing financial obligations to customers and shareholders, so it isn’t at risk of going bankrupt.

Safeco Mobile App Reviews

Being able to manage a car insurance policy online is convenient for the majority of drivers, so we want to take a look at the reviews for Safeco’s mobile app.

Safeco has the following reviews on Google Play and the Apple Store:

• Apple Store Rating: 4.2 stars out of five from 3.9 thousand reviews
• Google Play Rating: 4.8 stars out of five from 89.9 thousand reviews

Safeco’s mobile app has great reviews. On the mobile app, Safeco customers can do all of the following:

• Access your car insurance ID cards and save them to your Apple Wallet.
• Contact your Safeco insurance agent.
• Contact roadside assistance.
• File claims and get claim updates.
• Pay bills and set up automatic payments if desired.
• Request a damage review.
• Request a rental car.
• Track your repairs and view estimates for repairs.

The Safeco mobile app is convenient, allowing you to file claims from your smartphone and request roadside assistance or rental cars.

Safeco Insurance Rates

So far, Safeco hasn’t had the best customer ratings, but it offers a good array of coverage. And, as you will see in this section, its rates are also very affordable.

Compare Safeco car insurance rates for minimum liability car insurance and full coverage car insurance below:

Safeco Car Insurance Rates by Age

Of course, rates will also vary based on age. Younger drivers will pay more for car insurance due to their driving inexperience, no matter what car insurance company you choose. The good news is that Safeco provides the best car insurance by age and charges less than the national average for all drivers who have clean driving records.

See how Safeco auto insurance rates compare to other top companies for young and experienced drivers:

Safeco has decent rates for teenage drivers and economical rates for other ages as well.

Safeco Car Insurance Rates by Driving Record

Bear in mind that your rates at Safeco will also depend on your driving record. See below Safeco’s average rates for drivers with DUIs, at-fault accidents, and tickets.

Compare car insurance rates with a bad driving record from Safeco and more companies below:

Safeco’s average car insurance rates are below the national average, even for drivers with DUIs, which is great.

However, while Safeco is cheaper than the national average, this doesn’t mean it is the cheapest company available. The only way to know for sure that you are getting the cheapest car insurance rate possible is to get quotes from a few different companies in your area.

As car insurance rates are always changing, we also recommend comparing auto insurance quotes every year or anytime you meet the following situations:

• You added a new driver to your car insurance policy.
• You added a new car to your car insurance policy.
• You moved to a new area or state.
• You recently got a traffic ticket, caused an at-fault accident, or were convicted of a DUI.

Some companies may offer cheaper rates for a certain demographic, even if their rates are normally more expensive than other companies. That’s why getting multiple quotes will ensure that Safeco is still the right company for you. Learn how to compare car insurance quotes.

Safeco Insurance Discounts Available

Safeco doesn’t offer as many car insurance discounts as other car insurance companies, but this is likely because its rates are already on the cheaper side.

The most popular Safeco car insurance discounts are:

• Accident forgiveness: Safeco won’t penalize your first at-fault accident with the company as long as you have been accident-free and violation-free for a few years.
• Bundling policy discount: Safeco offers a multiple-policy discount for customers who buy more than one type of insurance from the company, such as bundling a home and auto insurance policy.
• Claims-free cash back: Safeco will return you 2.5% of your policy premium for every renewal period you go accident-free (up to 5% per year).
• Disappearing deductible: Safeco will decrease the deductible up to $500 on your collision insurance for each renewal period you go through without filing a claim.
• Right Track program: Safeco has a safe driving program that can save drivers who score well up to 30% off their car insurance policy.

As you can see, Safeco’s list of auto insurance discounts is short. There are no auto insurance discounts for students, anti-theft devices, low mileage, or other common car insurance discounts offered at other auto insurance companies.

Safeco Insurance Coverage Options

Safeco offers a good array of auto insurance coverages for customers to choose from. In addition to state-required coverages like liability insurance, Safeco offers add-on coverages like roadside assistance.

Take a look at Safeco’s list of car insurance coverage options below:

• Bodily injury liability insurance: This coverage pays for other people’s medical bills if you cause a car accident that injures others.
• Property damage liability insurance: This coverage will pay for other people’s property damage bills if you cause an accident that damages their property, whether their car or fence.
• Collision insurance: This coverage pays for your car’s repairs if you crash into another vehicle or a stationary object like a tree.
• Comprehensive insurance: This coverage pays for your car’s repairs if you crash into an animal, acts of vandalism, or weather damage to your car.
• Medical payments (MedPay) coverage: This coverage pays for you and your passengers’ medical bills if you are injured in a car crash, regardless of who caused the accident.
• New car replacement insurance: This coverage will pay for a comparable car if your new car that is less than a year old is stolen or totaled.
• Classic car insurance: This coverage provides liability insurance, as well as collision and comprehensive, for classic cars that are only driven to shows or the occasional hobby drive during nice weather.
• Rental car reimbursement: This coverage will help pay for the cost of a rental car if your car is in the shop for an extended period.
• Roadside assistance: This coverage helps provide roadside assistance and towing if your car breaks down.
• Underinsured motorists insurance: This coverage helps pay for your accident bills if the driver who hits you doesn’t have enough insurance to cover your bills.
• Uninsured motorists insurance: This coverage helps pay for your accident bills if the driver who hits you doesn’t have car insurance coverage.

It doesn’t have gap coverage or rideshare insurance, but it offers several other optional car insurance coverages beyond the basics that should be more than adequate for most drivers.

Other Insurance Types Offered at Safeco

Safeco does sell other types of insurance in addition to car insurance.

The full list of Safeco’s insurance options is as follows:

• ATV and off-road-vehicle insurance
• Boat and watercraft insurance
• Commercial insurance
• Condo insurance
• Golf cart and low-speed vehicle insurance
• Homeowners insurance
• Home warranty insurance
• Identity recovery insurance
• Landlord insurance
• Motorcycle Insurance
• Pet health insurance
• Property insurance
• Recreation vehicle (RV) insurance
• Renters insurance
• Umbrella insurance

If you want to keep multiple insurance policies at one company, Safeco makes it easy to do so. Safeco also offers a bundling discount if you purchase more than one type of insurance from the company.

For example, you could buy home and auto insurance or home and watercraft insurance.

How to File a Claim at Safeco

You have a few options when filing a car insurance claim at Safeco. You can choose to file online through your Safeco account or the Safeco app, or you can file over the phone by calling Safeco’s claim number at 1-800-332-3226.

Filing car insurance claims online tends to be the quickest option for most drivers, and it also allows you to submit pictures online immediately from your smartphone.

The information you need to file a car insurance claim at Safeco includes the following:

• Your Safeco policy number if filing over the phone and not through your account.
• How, when, and where the car accident occurred.
• Names, contact information, and insurance information of any involved parties.
• Pictures of the damages to the vehicles and the accident scene.
• Police reports, if any officers were called to the scene of the accident.

The more information you collect for Safeco, the quicker your car insurance claim will be approved or rejected. Once Safeco has reviewed your information and approved your car insurance claim, it will send you a claim estimate.

You will have to sign any necessary documents from Safeco to receive your claim payout. Then, the car insurance claim will be resolved.

How to Cancel Safeco Car Insurance

You will likely have to reach out to your independent Safeco agent to cancel your policy or call the company directly at 1-800-332-3226. Follow our step-by-step guide to learn how to cancel car insurance.

You will need your policy information to cancel, and it’s important to make sure you have a date for when you want your policy to end. You will want this end date to be after your new car insurance policy starts. This way, you will avoid any lapses in auto insurance coverage that are illegal and will raise your car insurance rates.

Driving without insurance, even a day or two, can increase your auto insurance rates, so double-check your start and end dates. Make sure to also check for confirmation that your cancellation at Safeco was effective, whether it’s confirmed through email or mail.

The Final Word on Safeco Car Insurance

Safeco has a good selection of car insurance coverages and cheaper-than-average auto insurance rates. It also has a good financial rating, customers highly rate its mobile app, and it has discount programs like accident forgiveness that can save customers a significant amount of money.

The downsides to Safeco are that it has a higher-than-average complaint ratio from the NAIC and scored less than the industry average on J.D. Power’s customer satisfaction surveys.

While Safeco seems to have good rates and coverages, customers may not be happy with the level of service they receive from the company.

If you are interested in getting quotes from other companies to compare to Safeco, use our free quote comparison tool below. It will help you find the best auto insurance rates from companies in your area based on your individual driving profile and coverage needs.