Liberty Mutual vs State Farm: which is better for car insurance in 2026?
Across our six scoring categories, Liberty Mutual comes out ahead in 1, State Farm in 2, 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. State Farm 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.
Liberty Mutual vs State Farm, 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 State Farm's $2,065/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.
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.
At $2,065 a year for full coverage, State Farm sits about 12% under the national average — competitive, but not the cheapest of the national carriers.
Claims satisfaction
Liberty Mutual aheadLiberty Mutual takes claims satisfaction on 730/1,000 against State Farm's 716/1,000.
730 out of 1,000, third-highest in the J.D. Power 2025 study and thirty points above the segment average.
716 out of 1,000 in the J.D. Power 2025 claims study puts State Farm comfortably above the 700-point segment average, and ahead of every other insurer in the top four by market share.
Complaint record
State Farm aheadState Farm takes complaint record on About the expected number against Liberty Mutual's More than expected.
More complaints than expected for its size, based on 2021–2023 data — a different window from most carriers here, so not perfectly comparable.
State Farm draws about the number of complaints its size predicts. For the largest personal auto insurer in the country, average is a more meaningful result than it sounds.
Financial strength
State Farm aheadState Farm takes financial strength on A++ against Liberty Mutual's A.
AM Best A (Excellent).
AM Best's top rating, A++. State Farm is a mutual company owned by its policyholders, with no shareholders to pay.
Discounts
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on discounts: Liberty Mutual posts 12 published and State Farm 11 published, a difference too small to choose on.
Twelve published discounts, plus a customization tool Liberty Mutual says saves 12% or more — though that is excluded in nine states.
Eleven published discounts, including a 25% good-student discount and up to 40% off medical coverage for passive restraints. Drive Safe & Save pairs the app with a mailed Bluetooth beacon.
Digital experience
Too close to callNeither pulls ahead on digital experience: Liberty Mutual posts 4.79 iOS / 4.6 Android and State Farm 4.79 iOS / 4.6 Android, a difference too small to choose on.
4.79 on the App Store and 4.6 on Google Play across 669,000 combined ratings. Solid on both platforms.
4.79 on the App Store and 4.6 on Google Play across 1.7 million combined ratings — consistently strong on both platforms, which is rarer than it should be.
So which one?
Pick Liberty Mutual if…
- You are among drivers who value claims handling and will quote it directly.
- You care most about how a claim actually goes: Liberty Mutual scores 730/1,000.
- Availability fits: 45 states and D.C. — not available in Alaska, California, North Dakota, South Dakota or Wyoming.
Pick State Farm if…
- You are among drivers who want a local agent rather than an app.
- You want the lower complaint record — State Farm sits at About the expected number.
- Financial strength is a priority; State Farm holds A++ from AM Best.
- Availability fits: 48 states and D.C., through the largest agent network in the country — no new business in Massachusetts or Rhode Island.
Liberty Mutual vs State Farm, 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.