Elephant vs Farmers: which is better for car insurance in 2026?
Across our six scoring categories, Elephant comes out ahead in 0, Farmers in 1, with 5 too close to call. There is no overall score to compare, though: Elephant does not publish enough of the underlying data to earn one, and we would rather leave it blank than build a number out of the two or three figures that happen to exist. Farmers is the better-documented of the two, which is not the same as being the better insurer for you. Judge these two on the categories where both have real figures — and on what they actually quote you.
Elephant vs Farmers, side by side
Sources: average premiums from NerdWallet's August 2026 rate analysis (Quadrant Information Services), for a 35-year-old driver with a clean record and good credit in a 2023 Toyota Camry LE at 12,000 miles a year, 100/300/50 limits with $1,000 deductibles — national average $2,356. Claims satisfaction from the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study (segment average 700). Complaint record from NerdWallet's analysis of NAIC complaint data, 2022–2024. Financial strength from AM Best. Discounts and app data from each carrier's published pages and the Apple App Store / Google Play, retrieved August 2026. Updated August 2026.
Category by category
Price
Too close to callElephant does not release public rate data, so there is no like-for-like premium to set against Farmers's $4,048/yr. That is a real gap in the comparison, not a rounding error — treat Elephant's price as unknown until you have a quote in hand.
Elephant is not included in the rate study behind every other premium in this review.
$4,048 a year for full coverage, 72% above the national average and the most expensive carrier in this review by a wide margin.
Claims satisfaction
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on claims satisfaction: Elephant posts Not rated and Farmers 690/1,000, a difference too small to choose on.
Not in the J.D. Power claims study, which samples only the largest insurers.
690 out of 1,000, ten points below the segment average.
Complaint record
Farmers aheadFarmers takes complaint record on About the expected number against Elephant's More than expected.
More complaints than expected for its size — better than the other app-first insurers here, but still below par.
Close to the number of complaints expected for its size.
Financial strength
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on financial strength: Elephant posts Not published and Farmers A, a difference too small to choose on.
No AM Best rating we could verify, and no alternative rating found.
AM Best A (Excellent).
Discounts
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on discounts: Elephant posts Not published and Farmers 10 published*, a difference too small to choose on.
No discount list we could read on Elephant's own site.
Roughly ten discounts, though Farmers blocks automated access to its own discounts page, so we could not verify the list or its telematics program name directly.
Digital experience
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on digital experience: Elephant posts Not published and Farmers 4.84 iOS / 4.7 Android, a difference too small to choose on.
No app-store figures we could verify from a primary source.
4.84 on the App Store and 4.7 on Google Play — the best-rated app pairing in this review, across a relatively small rating base.
So which one?
Pick Elephant if…
- You are among drivers in its eight states comparing it against other budget options.
- Availability fits: 8 states.
Pick Farmers if…
- You are among drivers who want an agent and have specific coverage needs farmers can meet.
- You want the lower complaint record — Farmers sits at About the expected number.
- Availability fits: 40 states, through agents — the Farmers brand left Florida in 2023 and does not write in Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont or West Virginia.
Elephant vs Farmers, answered
The questions people ask before switching between these two.
Other comparisons
See all 359 head-to-head comparisons →Compare real quotes from both — and 50+ others.
Averages are a starting point. Your rate is the only number that decides it.