Farmers vs The Hanover: which is better for car insurance in 2026?
Across our six scoring categories, Farmers comes out ahead in 1, The Hanover in 2, with 3 too close to call. On our weighted overall score the two finish within 0.3 of a point — a genuine draw. The right answer here depends less on which company is "better" and more on which one prices your specific profile lower, and that is not knowable without running both quotes. Farmers is the stronger pick for drivers who want an agent and have specific coverage needs farmers can meet; The Hanover for drivers whose independent agent recommends it for a specific reason.
Farmers vs The Hanover, 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 callFarmers and The Hanover land within $10 a year of each other ($4,048/yr versus $4,038/yr) — close enough that your own driving record and ZIP code will decide which is cheaper for you.
$4,048 a year for full coverage, 72% above the national average and the most expensive carrier in this review by a wide margin.
$4,038 a year for full coverage — 71% above the national average, and the highest figure of any carrier we review.
Claims satisfaction
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on claims satisfaction: Farmers posts 690/1,000 and The Hanover Not rated, a difference too small to choose on.
690 out of 1,000, ten points below the segment average.
Not in the J.D. Power claims study, which samples only the largest insurers.
Complaint record
The Hanover aheadThe Hanover takes complaint record on Fewer than expected against Farmers's About the expected number.
Close to the number of complaints expected for its size.
Fewer complaints than expected for its size, which is genuinely to its credit.
Financial strength
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on financial strength: Farmers posts A and The Hanover Not published, a difference too small to choose on.
AM Best A (Excellent).
We could not verify an AM Best rating from any page we could read. AM Best blocks automated access and Hanover's rating is not published by the secondary sources we checked.
Discounts
The Hanover aheadThe Hanover takes discounts on 12 published against Farmers's 10 published*.
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.
Twelve published discounts, several aimed specifically at households with teenage drivers — including one for keeping a teen off a particular vehicle.
Digital experience
Farmers aheadFarmers takes digital experience on 4.84 iOS / 4.7 Android against The Hanover's 1.99 iOS / 3.0 Android.
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.
1.99 on the App Store and 2.98 on Google Play. That iOS score is the lowest of any carrier in this review by a wide margin.
So which one?
Pick Farmers if…
- You are among drivers who want an agent and have specific coverage needs farmers can meet.
- You would rather handle everything in an app than on a phone call.
- 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.
Pick The Hanover if…
- You are among drivers whose independent agent recommends it for a specific reason.
- You want the lower complaint record — The Hanover sits at Fewer than expected.
- You expect to stack discounts — The Hanover's lineup is the broader of the two.
- Availability fits: 19 states, through independent agents only.
Farmers vs The Hanover, answered
The questions people ask before switching between these two.
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