Nationwide car insurance review 2026: 3.7 out of 5 stars

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Nationwide stands out for its impressive selection of car insurance coverages, with add-ons like accident forgiveness, new car replacement, a vanishing deductible, and two levels of roadside assistance coverage.

In terms of rates, Nationwide has higher premiums for basic coverage and full coverage compared to some of its competitors. However, there are nine discounts available that could help you save money.

Learn more: Best car insurance companies in the U.S.

Learn more about Nationwide’s third-party ratings, coverage options, and discounts.

Learn more: How does car insurance work? The basics explained

Here are the car insurance coverage options that Nationwide has:

Learn more: Most common types of car insurance explained

Yes, Nationwide offers accident forgiveness as a paid add-on to your standard car insurance policy in select states. It can prevent your premium from increasing after your first at-fault accident or minor traffic violation.

Accident forgiveness applies to all the drivers listed on your policy. So, for example, if your teen driver causes a minor collision, accident forgiveness could help you avoid a rate increase. However, it can only be used once per policy.

Learn more: Is accident forgiveness insurance worth it?

Nationwide offers two levels of emergency roadside assistance:

Learn more: Do I need emergency roadside assistance coverage?

The cost of Nationwide auto insurance is roughly $199 per month for full coverage and $118 for basic coverage, according to Savvy Insurance Solutions.

Basic coverage, which is liability insurance, is the cheapest type of car insurance you can get. Full coverage is more expensive, but it provides much more coverage for yourself and your vehicle if you get into an accident.

Most states require a minimum amount of basic coverage, but Yahoo Finance recommends choosing coverage limits above the state minimums for more financial protection if you can afford it. While full coverage is usually optional, it can be required if you lease or finance a car.

Learn more: Cheapest car insurance in the U.S.

In the table below, you can see how Nationwide’s average premium for full coverage car insurance compares to other insurance companies and the overall average. Nationwide’s average full coverage insurance premium is $9 higher than the average.

Below, you can see the average premiums for liability-only car insurance coverage from Nationwide and other insurance companies. Nationwide’s average basic coverage insurance premium is only slightly higher compared to other insurers.

Nationwide offers seven discounts that can potentially reduce your auto insurance premium:

Expert tip: Nationwide also offers accident forgiveness, which can also provide drivers with discounts.

Learn more: Car insurance discounts: 17 ways to save

Here are the steps you should follow to file a car insurance claim with Nationwide:

  1. Check your policy documents: Before you file a claim, it’s important to understand what types of coverage you have, and what your car insurance deductible is. Review your policy documents and figure out if it’s worth filing a claim or not.

  2. Document vehicle damage: If you’re filing a claim for physical damage, take photos and videos of the damage to your vehicle. If you were involved in an accident, get contact information for other drivers involved and any witnesses. It’s also recommended to file a police report.

  3. Contact Nationwide: Notify Nationwide about the incident and start the claim process. Nationwide allows customers to file claims online, through the mobile app, and over the phone. When you report the claim, you’ll need to provide a description of the incident and the damage that occurred. You should also share the evidence you have and any supporting documents, like a police report.

  4. Work with the adjuster: Your claim will be assigned to an insurance adjuster who will investigate the incident and determine if your claim is covered. Keep in touch with the adjuster and be ready to provide additional information, if necessary.

  5. Get your claim settlement: You will be notified when your claim is approved and receive your settlement from Nationwide. If you take your car to a shop in the On Your Side Auto Repair Network, Nationwide will guarantee your car repairs for as long as you own or lease the vehicle.

Learn more: How to file a car insurance claim

Nationwide doesn’t say how long customers have to submit claims. However, it’s best practice to file a Nationwide car insurance claim as soon as possible.

Nationwide doesn’t advertise how long it takes to pay auto insurance claims. The exact time limit may depend on factors like the type of loss, severity of the incident, and if there’s shared responsibility for the claim.

Nationwide offers a free mobile app for iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. Through the app, you can pay your premium, view digital ID cards, file and track claims, and make changes to your Nationwide auto insurance policy.

Nationwide mobile app ratings:

You can call Nationwide’s customer service or sales departments at 1-877-669-6877. The company’s business hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET Monday through Friday. To file a claim, call 1-800-421-3535 at any time, and call 1-866-854-4140 for roadside assistance.

Nationwide doesn’t offer specific senior discounts. However, the defensive driver discount is only available to customers ages 55 and older.

Yes, Nationwide is financially stable. The company has an A rating from AM Best, which means it has an excellent ability to pay claims and meet policyholder obligations.

Nationwide offers many types of insurance, including home insurance, renters insurance, boat insurance, pet insurance, flood insurance, business insurance, and life insurance.

Tim Manni edited this article.

We researched the coverage details and prices for 20 auto insurance plans. We then weighted categories, and each auto insurer was scored relative to the others to find the best auto insurance companies. Here are the factors we incorporated.

Coverage types: 20% of score. We examined all the coverage options available, and assessed whether each insurer offered the following: new car replacement (5%), GAP insurance (5%), accident forgiveness (5%), and diminishing deductible (5%).

Average cost: 40% of score. The average cost was generated by Savvy Insurance Solutions in-house machine learning models based on over 3 million data points, and includes more than 20 of the largest insurance companies in Savvy’s nationwide data set. These estimates are for policies with full coverage for the average policyholder who owns one car. Average policyholder here is defined as a 48-year-old driver, driving a 13-year-old car, in an average-income ZIP code with full coverage.

Customer satisfaction: 20% of score. We factored in information from two major sources: 1) National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaints (10%), in which we took the total number of complaints each company had over a three-year period (2022-2024) and 2) CRASH scores (10%) from the Crash Network which share how well each company ensures quality repairs and customer service.

Discounts: 10% of score. We gave points for each type of discount that each auto insurer offers.

App ratings: 10% of score. We included the average ratings for each company’s apps across both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. All app ratings were accurate at the time of publication.

Unless stated otherwise, the estimates above are provided by Savvy Insurance Solutions (“Savvy”). Savvy operates a marketplace for home and auto insurance, plus an agency licensed in all 50 states. Estimates are generated using Savvy’s in-house machine learning models based on over 3 million data points, and include more than 15 of the largest insurance companies in Savvy’s nationwide data set. This includes data from more than 2 million insurance accounts connected through Trellis Connect, an in-house technology allowing consumers to “link” their insurance accounts before searching for insurance, and tens of thousands of policies bound by Savvy’s own agents. It takes into account a myriad of factors to create predictions, such as:

Savvy creates estimates by running models against multiple inputs to the parameters of interest. For instance, the “teen driver” estimates were created by adjusting the policyholder age input into the pricing model while keeping all other variables steady from the baseline for “full coverage.” The models enable hyper-personalized estimates that take into account a plethora of user attribute permutations (e.g., teen drivers in specific states, teen drivers with new vehicles, teen drivers in specific states with new vehicles) to provide individuals with a unique and tailored experience. The charts above are a subset of the kinds of personalization Savvy can do.

The following are definitions used by Savvy when providing its rate estimates for various types of coverage.

Full coverage car insurance: A policy with comprehensive, collision, and liability coverage.

Average policyholder: A 48-year-old driver who owns a 13-year-old vehicle and lives in an average-income ZIP code.

Senior driver: A 70-year-old policyholder with full coverage car insurance.

Good driver: Drivers across all coverage types, vehicle types, and locations who have no tickets, accidents or DUIs.

 

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