Erie vs Liberty Mutual: which is better for car insurance in 2026?
Across our six scoring categories, Erie comes out ahead in 2, Liberty Mutual in 1, with 3 too close to call. There is no overall score to compare, though: Liberty Mutual 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. Erie 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.
Erie vs Liberty Mutual, 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 callLiberty Mutual does not release public rate data, so there is no like-for-like premium to set against Erie's $1,842/yr. That is a real gap in the comparison, not a rounding error — treat Liberty Mutual's price as unknown until you have a quote in hand.
$1,842 a year for full coverage, 22% below the national average — third-cheapest here and the cheapest available without a military or membership restriction beyond geography.
Not published. Liberty Mutual releases no public rate data, so no independent study — including ours — can put a national average against it. Any figure you see quoted for Liberty Mutual is an estimate.
Claims satisfaction
Erie aheadErie takes claims satisfaction on 743/1,000 against Liberty Mutual's 730/1,000.
743 out of 1,000, the highest score of any ranked insurer in the J.D. Power 2025 claims study and 43 points above the segment average.
730 out of 1,000, third-highest in the J.D. Power 2025 study and thirty points above the segment average.
Complaint record
Erie aheadErie takes complaint record on About the expected number against Liberty Mutual's More than expected.
Close to the number of complaints expected for its size.
More complaints than expected for its size, based on 2021–2023 data — a different window from most carriers here, so not perfectly comparable.
Financial strength
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on financial strength: Erie posts A and Liberty Mutual A, a difference too small to choose on.
AM Best A (Excellent) — downgraded from A+ in September 2025 after multi-year surplus declines driven by weather losses.
AM Best A (Excellent).
Discounts
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on discounts: Erie posts 11 published and Liberty Mutual 12 published, a difference too small to choose on.
Eleven published discounts, plus Rate Lock, which freezes your premium year to year even after a claim — a feature essentially nobody else offers.
Twelve published discounts, plus a customization tool Liberty Mutual says saves 12% or more — though that is excluded in nine states.
Digital experience
Liberty Mutual aheadLiberty Mutual takes digital experience on 4.79 iOS / 4.6 Android against Erie's 4.38 iOS / 2.9 Android.
4.38 on the App Store and just 2.9 on Google Play. Erie's app is the weakest in this review and the gap between platforms is severe.
4.79 on the App Store and 4.6 on Google Play across 669,000 combined ratings. Solid on both platforms.
So which one?
Pick Erie if…
- You are among drivers in its twelve states who want the best claims experience available.
- You care most about how a claim actually goes: Erie scores 743/1,000.
- You want the lower complaint record — Erie sits at About the expected number.
- Availability fits: 12 states and D.C., through local agents.
Pick Liberty Mutual if…
- You are among drivers who value claims handling and will quote it directly.
- You would rather handle everything in an app than on a phone call.
- Availability fits: 45 states and D.C. — not available in Alaska, California, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wyoming.
Erie vs Liberty Mutual, 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.