Costco auto insurance review 2026
Not an insurer but a members-only program, underwritten by American Family Connect. Worth a quote mainly for Executive Members, who get lifetime renewability and roadside assistance included.
- Market share
- Counted under American Family
- AM Best rating
- A
- Availability
- 40 states, members only
A national average is not a quote. Compare Costco against 50+ insurers on your own ZIP, vehicle, and record.
How Costco scores
Each category is scored against a published figure, then weighted into the overall score. Where a figure is not published, we say so rather than estimate one.
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.
Strengths and trade-offs
What Costco does well
- Executive Members get lifetime renewability and 24-hour roadside assistance at no extra cost
- A Costco member discount on top of the usual auto discounts
- Underwriters rated A (Excellent) by AM Best
- Available in 40 states — roughly twice American Family's own footprint
Where it falls short
- More complaints than expected for its size
- No published premium, so it cannot be price-compared in advance
- You must hold a Costco membership to buy, though you can quote without one
- No usage-based or telematics discount
- Not sold through Costco in California, Florida or New York
The full review
Costco sells car insurance to its members through Costco Insurance Agency, but it does not underwrite the policies or pay the claims. Auto policies are written by American Family Connect Property and Casualty Insurance Company, American Family Connect Insurance Company, or Midvale Indemnity Company — all part of the American Family group. Costco says more than 500,000 members have switched to the program, which it has run for over 20 years.
Connect is not the same book as the American Family brand reviewed separately on this site. It writes in 40 of the states we track, against American Family's 19, and its complaint record is different. So this review uses figures published for the Costco program where they exist and leaves a category blank where they do not, rather than borrowing American Family's numbers.
What Executive Members get
Two benefits are included at no extra cost for Executive Members. Roadside assistance covers flat tires, dead batteries and running out of fuel — up to $75 per occurrence on Connect-underwritten policies ($100 in Massachusetts, Montana and South Carolina, $80 in Texas, no limit in North Carolina). It does not pay for the battery or fluids themselves. Gold Star members have to add towing coverage to qualify.
Lifetime renewability means the policy will keep renewing for as long as you stay an Executive Member, even after claims. It is the most distinctive benefit in the program, and it is narrower than it sounds.
It is not available in Maryland or Michigan, and the program states plainly that it is not a contractual benefit.
It also does not cover drivers with major violations, unpaid premium or incomplete underwriting information, a move to a state where the program is not sold, or a vehicle the company will not insure.
Discounts
The Costco member discount applies once you give your membership number at purchase; in Massachusetts it is limited to Executive Members. Beyond it, the program publishes a Premier Safety discount for households where no driver has had an accident, violation or claim in four years — including not-at-fault accidents — along with defensive-driver, vehicle-safety-feature, garaging, good-student, student-away, multi-vehicle and multi-product discounts. There is no telematics program: American Family's DriveMyWay is not offered through Costco.
Why there is no price or overall score
The NerdWallet rate study that supplies every premium on this site does not quote Costco separately, and the J.D. Power claims study does not rank it as its own brand. Without a price, we do not give an overall score — the same rule we apply to Root and Lemonade. You can get a Costco quote online without being a member, which is the only way to know what it would cost you.
The complaint record
NerdWallet's analysis of 2022–2024 NAIC data finds Costco's auto policyholders file more complaints with state regulators than expected for the program's size. That is notably worse than the American Family brand, which draws fewer than expected — another reason not to read one review as a stand-in for the other.
Costco does not insure anyone — American Family Connect does, and Costco's contribution is a member discount and, for Executive Members, two perks that genuinely matter: lifetime renewability and included roadside assistance. That renewability promise is the real reason to buy here, though it is not contractual and excludes Maryland and Michigan. Set against it is a complaint record worse than American Family's own brand and no public price. Get the quote if you are already an Executive Member; do not buy a membership for it.
We only publish a composite score when enough of it rests on published figures — at least 70% of the scoring weight, including price. Costco falls below that: 3 of our six categories have no published figure (price, claims satisfaction, digital experience). Averaging whatever is left would produce a confident-looking number built mostly on the categories that need no third-party study, and a carrier scored that way can easily outrank one we actually measured. The individual categories above are real; the missing ones are simply missing.
Compare Costco head-to-head
Every pairing gets its own side-by-side breakdown across the same six categories.
Costco questions, answered
The things people actually ask before switching.
Costco by state
Costco writes in 40 states. If yours is not listed, it is not an option there at any price.
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