Costco offers its members discounted car insurance
premiums averaging about $1,068 per year with Costco CONNECT car insurance, powered by American Family. | |
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Great potential for cost savings | No app to manage your policy |
A smart pick for anybody who is concerned their current policy might be canceled | Car insurance ratings and reviews are below average |
Offers up plenty of attractive car insurance discounts | Limited business hours to contact a live agent |
Average Costco car insurance costs
The average Costco insurance policy costs around $1,068 a year for two six-month policy renewals.
This very reasonable price point offers some pretty significant savings over the competition. However, your exact quote is likely to vary
depending on a variety of factors: The type of vehicle you drive
Costco insurance is only available with a Costco membership
You have to hold a Costco membership to join the Costco CONNECT car insurance program. The level of coverage and additional benefits you receive depends on what level of Costco membership you subscribe to:
Gold Star ($60/year): With the Gold Star membership, your entire household will be eligible for their own CONNECT policies as long as one member holds a Gold Star card. This will give you access to the Costco stores and all discounted goods they offer as well.
Gold Star Executive ($120/year): The Gold Star Executive-level Costco membership grants access to the CONNECT Lifetime Renewability program, which protects your policy from cancellation. You can also benefit from select Costco services as well as 2% savings on any of your Costco or Costco travel purchases.
Business ($60/year): If you are eligible for a Costco Business membership, you can add additional people to your policy for just $60 more per person a year. You can also legally resell your membership and your Costco purchases.
Business Executive ($120/year): Shelling out for the top-tier Business Executive membership gives you access to any and all membership services, including CONNECT car insurance and the Lifetime Renewability program.
Keep in mind: You can cash in on Costco’s members-only cash-saving perks for more than just car insurance with your membership!
How to get a Costco car insurance quote
You have two options to get a Costco Car Insurance quote:
By phone: You can call 1-855-531-9254 to request a quote from an insurance agent. You’ll need to mention the reference number listed on the site to get quoted at the discounted Costco membership price.
Be prepared to provide the following information:
Your license plate number
Your driver’s license number
Your vehicle identification number (VIN)
Your vehicle purchase date
Costco auto insurance coverage offerings
Through the Costco CONNECT program, you can access all of the standard car insurance policy offerings, including the following:
Liability coverage: Auto liability policies
are designed to protect you up to your policy’s limit against legal liability for property damage and medical expenses if you’re at fault in a car accident. Medical payments coverage (MedPay): Medical payment coverage
helps cover the costs of any medical or funeral expenses for you, your family members, or your passengers. Investing in medical payment coverage is always a good idea because it will kick in regardless of who is found at fault. Personal injury protection (PIP) coverage: Much like medical payments coverage, personal injury protection
plans will cover the cost of medical expenses associated with an accident. PIP plans typically offer more extensive coverage than medical payment policies and may also apply to certain other accident-related expenses like lost wages as well. Comprehensive coverage: A comprehensive insurance
coverage plan is designed to protect your vehicle against non-collision damages, like hitting an animal, damage by weather or acts of God
, vehicle theft, and vandalism Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage: Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage
will help pay for your medical bills if you are injured in an accident with an at-fault driver who doesn’t have sufficient liability coverage.
Expert tip: Consider combining your state’s minimum liability requirements
with collision and comprehensive coverage in a full-coverage insurance package
to get the best protection for your vehicle. Costco policy upgrades and add-ons
In some cases, you may automatically have access to additional policy offerings depending on your Costco membership level. Otherwise, you might have the option to purchase the following additional coverage options:
Roadside assistance coverage: Roadside assistance
is automatically included for policyholders who are also Costco executive members. Your costs will be covered up to $75/incident for services like key unlocking, flat tire replacement, battery boosts, and towing. Lifetime renewability: Costco CONNECT’s Lifetime Policy renewal for executive-tier members guarantees that your policy won’t be canceled after an accident or moving violation—excluding serious infractions like DUIs
. (Don’t be surprised if your insurance goes up
, though.) Gap coverage: Gap insurance
is a smart policy add-on to purchase if you drive a vehicle that you are currently financing. This covers the effects of depreciation and interest into account and will help cover the difference between what you still owe and the actual value of the vehicle if it is deemed a total loss
. Rental car reimbursement coverage: Costco CONNECT's rental reimbursement coverage
add-on will pay out $30 a day and up to $900 per incident to help cover the costs of rental car fees while your primary vehicle is in for repairs.
Costco’s auto insurance discounts
All Costco members will save between 5-10% on the standard American Family insurance rates offered to non-Costco members. In addition, you will be eligible to take advantage of standard American Family car insurance discount offerings as well, such as:
Premier safety discounts: American Family offers car insurance subscribers access to a range of discounts for having certain anti-theft devices
and safety features in their cars. Longevity discount: If you maintain three years or more of continuous insurance
coverage with Costco CONNECT, you could be eligible to save on your policy. Student discount: Members with four or more years of postsecondary education could be eligible for a reduced rate. Full-time students under the age of 25 who maintain at least a B average or higher are also eligible for a good student discount
.
Costco auto insurance reviews: high customer complaints
Disclaimer: J.D. Power Associates U.S. Auto Insurance Satisfaction Study findings aren’t available for the CONNECT program since Costco insurance packages are offered through a larger parent provider, American Family.
According to data collected by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC)
, Costco CONNECT customers are 2.49 times more likely to have complaints regarding their Costco insurance package than an average car insurance provider. Costco CONNECT’s high complaint ratio could have a lot to do with the following:
Third-party car insurance provider: Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for providers selling third-party policies through companies like Costco to prioritize their first-party clientele over indirect subscribers.
Restricted agent access: Costco car insurance does not offer 24/7 live agent access. Instead, you can only speak to a live agent between 8 a.m. and 11 p.m. EST, Monday to Friday, and between 9:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. EST on Saturdays.
No mobile app: CONNECT does not offer a dedicated app that will allow you easy policy access on the go, but certain policy adjustments can be processed online through the website portal.
Between the lines: American Family has an “Excellent” financial strength rating from AM Best. While it may be hard to get a hold of an agent at first, you can trust that your Costco CONNECT policy has the backing to cover your damages if you make an insurance claim
. Costco CONNECT vs. GEICO
There is no doubt that Costco offers some of the most affordable car insurance
packages around, but price isn’t everything. GEICO
is another major provider with a reputation for offering very reasonable insurance rates, so let’s compare the two and see how they stack up. Cost comparison: GEICO is widely recognized as having some of the cheapest auto insurance rates across the board. However, the average Costco member saves about 40% on a six-month Costco CONNECT car insurance policy than they would if they chose GEICO.
Customer satisfaction: GEICO also maintains a relatively strong reputation for customer service, having earned their popularity for providing both reasonable prices and a wide range of quality service offerings.
Ease of use: Costco CONNECT car insurance suffers from severely stunted service offerings and high complaint ratio. GEICO, on the other hand, offers all the standard customer service features that Costco CONNECT doesn’t—including mobile app access and 24/7 agent access.
The bottom line: If cost alone is your top priority, Costco CONNECT could be a good choice. If you want to make sure you get reliable service when you need it, GEICO is a much safer bet.
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