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For the fourth year, we’re pleased to present the winners of our annual Readers’ Choice Awards. In a survey we conducted on Kiplinger.com in January and February, more than 4,200 readers rated the financial products and services they use in 13 categories, from credit cards and banks to brokers, wealth managers and annuity providers. The results here offer valuable insight into the everyday experiences that Kiplinger readers have with their financial providers.
Respondents made their judgments on such criteria as their interactions with customer service, the likelihood they would recommend the product or service to others, and their overall satisfaction with it. They also had the option to leave comments about their providers, and we have shared some of them here (remarks may be lightly edited for length and clarity).
For each category, we’ve listed an overall winner that earned the highest total score as well as other providers that earned above-average ratings for the various criteria that readers assessed. Our thanks to all of you who participated in the survey.
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Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards: Auto Insurance Companies
Readers rated their auto insurance provider based on how competitive the rates are, their experience with filing claims and how likely they are to recommend the insurance company to others. These companies stood out from the pack in our survey.
OVERALL WINNER: USAA
Outstanding for:
- Competitive rates
- Claims experience
- Most recommended
For the second year in a row, USAA is the top choice among Kiplinger readers for both auto insurance and home insurance, earning plaudits for its affordable rates and exceptional customer service.
Overall, readers appreciate how responsive and knowledgeable the customer service team at USAA is, as well as how easy it is to get a human on the phone when you need them. “You never have to call back later to inquire about some part of the policy. You always get someone to talk to immediately,” says one respondent.
Given that readers report a similar satisfaction with the provider’s home insurance, many said they have both policies through USAA to take advantage of a bundling discount. And some said that they go so far as to get all of their insurance policies through USAA.
USAA’s nationwide membership is available to military servicemembers and veterans, as well as the spouses and children of USAA members.
Erie
Outstanding for:
- Competitive rates
- Claims experience
- Most recommended
Erie rivaled USAA across the criteria we asked readers to rate, tying the overall winner when it comes to affordable premiums and coming in a close second with how likely readers are to recommend the insurer.
One reader mentioned Erie’s “excellent and immediate service” when filing a claim, and many reported that Erie often offered the lowest rates when they shopped around to compare quotes.
Amica
Outstanding for:
- Claims experience
- Most recommended
Amica tied USAA when it came to claims experience this year, with one reader praising Amica’s “high quality, responsive customer service” and another deeming Amica’s handling of claims “superb.”
The care that agents show clients counts, too: “Amica agents are kind,” a respondent says. “My car was totaled in a horrible accident about seven years ago, and their main concern was always my well-being. Their rates are good, and they are easy to work with.”
AAA
Outstanding for:
For AAA members, getting a quote on car insurance from the auto club just makes sense. According to Kiplinger readers, AAA often wins out on rates, and some also pointed to strong customer service.
Says one respondent, “I’ve had at least four claims handled with outstanding efficiency and great outcomes. The network of mechanics, body shops, and service centers that you can pick is extensive.”
Farm Bureau
Outstanding for:
Farm Bureau offers a wide variety of insurance policies, and both their auto insurance and home insurance policies rated highly for a positive claims experience among Kiplinger readers. According to one reader who had to file a car insurance claim last year, “Farm Bureau was absolutely top-notch, handling everything efficiently and with great communication throughout the process. ‘Seamless’ is the best description I can come up with.”
Mercury
Outstanding for:
Among the auto-insurance winners, Mercury earned the highest score for offering affordable premiums. With prices going up all around, opting for an insurer that stands out for low rates can be a good way to keep monthly costs down. Mercury offers coverage in 11 states.
Kiplinger Readers’ Choice Awards Categories
How Readers Chose the Winners
Kiplinger readers were invited to take the Readers’ Choice Awards survey on Kiplinger.com between January 22 and February 19, 2026. The survey asked respondents to choose the financial product or service that they most frequently use in 13 categories: brokerage firms, wealth managers, IRA providers, cash-back credit cards, travel rewards credit cards, airline credit card rewards programs, national banks, internet banks, annuity providers, homeowners insurers, auto insurers, tax software and peer-to-peer payment services.
We asked readers to rate each provider they selected on a scale of one to 10 based on a few criteria. In many categories, readers rated the strength of customer service, how likely they would be to recommend the product or service to others, and how satisfied they are overall with the provider. In some categories, we included more nuanced criteria. With wealth management firms, we asked respondents to rate the trustworthiness of a firm’s advisers and the quality of its financial advice and retirement-planning services. For IRA providers, respondents assessed the mix of investment choices available to them. For peer-to-peer payment apps and tax software, respondents evaluated ease of use, and for auto and home insurance companies, readers judged the competitiveness of rates and strength of the claims experience.
We calculated an average (mean) score for each criterion with each provider. We also calculated an overall mean score for all providers for each criterion we asked readers to judge. We compared individual provider mean scores with the overall mean, and the three highest-scoring providers that had a score above the overall mean won an “outstanding” accolade; in cases of a tie, more than three providers are named, and if fewer than three qualifying providers achieved an above-average score, only those providers are named “outstanding.” In each category, providers are generally listed in descending order by the number of criteria for which they received the “outstanding” designation — so a product or company that is deemed “outstanding” in three areas, for example, is listed before a provider with one or two “outstanding” awards.
To choose an overall winner in each category, we added together the mean scores for each criterion rated for each product or service. The provider with the highest total score in each category took the prize for overall winner.
