Two insurers produced more than half of all justified auto complaints among California’s 50 largest car insurers last year. Both are tied to Tesla. Everyone else got better. Those are the findings from our analysis of the California Department of Insurance’s 2026 Consumer Complaint Study for auto, which covers complaints closed in calendar year 2025.
This analysis is for educational purposes only and is not personalized insurance advice. We are not licensed insurance agents. Complaint ratios are one input; price, coverage and your own driving record matter too.
Key Findings
- 1,786 justified complaints were closed against the 50 largest auto insurers in 2025, up from 1,388 in 2024 and 857 in 2023.
- State National Insurance Company (574 complaints, 317.9 per 100,000) and Tesla Insurance Company (372, 142.2) account for 946 of them: 53%. Together they hold about 442,000 of the study’s 29.0 million exposures, roughly 1.5%.
- The other 48 insurers improved. Their justified complaints fell from 1,107 in 2024 to 840 in 2025, a 24% decline. 28 of the 50 posted a lower ratio than the year before.
- The median ratio was 3.15 per 100,000 exposures. State Farm Mutual, the largest writer, sat almost exactly there at 3.1.
- Four insurers had zero justified complaints: Essentia, GEICO Indemnity, Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids, Michigan, and GEICO Protection.
How California Measures Complaints
The Department’s study page says the ratio “is based on the number of justified complaints per 100,000 policies or exposures,” and that the study “only includes complaints that are closed for a given year regardless of when the complaints were filed.” Terms are defined in California Insurance Code Section 12921.1. For auto, the study notes that exposures include motorcycles and motor homes.
That makes California’s number different from Texas’s. Texas publishes a relative index (1.00 is average); California publishes a rate (complaints per 100,000). A ratio of 3.1 in California is not comparable with an index of 3.1 in Texas. Our guide to insurance complaint indexes walks through all three systems you are likely to meet, including the NAIC’s.
The 12 Largest Auto Insurers
The 12 largest writers in the study
California’s big writers cluster tightly. Mercury Insurance Company (1.2), the Automobile Club’s Interinsurance Exchange (1.3) and CSAA Insurance Exchange (1.6) are the best of the large group; Farmers Insurance Exchange (3.7) and Drive Insurance Company (3.6) are the highest. None of the 12 is more than about 20% above the median. For more on Mercury and Infinity, both large here, see our Mercury review and Infinity review.
The Bottom of the Table
Highest ratios among the 50 largest
Tesla Insurance Company and State National
Tesla Insurance Company went from 2 justified complaints in 2024 (9.5 per 100,000) to 372 in 2025 (142.2). State National went from 90 in 2023 to 279 in 2024 to 574 in 2025 (317.9).
On October 3, 2025, the Department brought enforcement actions against Tesla Insurance Services, Inc., Tesla Insurance Company and State National, alleging they failed to properly handle “hundreds of California automobile policyholder claims.” The release says Tesla Insurance Services “is an appointed agent for State National.” It lists unreasonable denials and delays in paying valid claims, investigations that were not thorough, fair and objective, and failing to tell policyholders they could ask the Department to review a denial. The release says the Tesla companies had “more complaints, more justified complaints” in 2025 than in the three previous years combined.
The release presents allegations, not findings, and gave the companies 15 days to respond. We could not find a published resolution as of October 28, 2026. Our Tesla Insurance review adds Texas Department of Insurance data, where Tesla’s own insurer has the highest complaint index of any sizable auto company.
The Rest of the Bottom Ten
- Knightbrook Insurance Company: 23.1 (10 complaints).
- Integon Preferred Insurance Company: 21.5 (41), down from 53.9 in 2024. Integon National is also in the study at 7.7 (41). National General Holdings’ 2020 annual report lists both Integon companies among its insurance subsidiaries and says National General became a wholly owned subsidiary of The Allstate Corporation on January 4, 2021. See our National General review.
- Permanent General Assurance Corporation: 18.3 (13), up from 10.2. The General’s legal disclosures list Permanent General among the affiliated companies that issue its policies, and say The General’s coverage is underwritten by a member of the Sentry Insurance Group, which in California is Viking Insurance Company of Wisconsin. Viking is 7th in this study at 0.9.
- Loya Casualty Insurance Company: 17.8 (38), up in each year of the study (10.1, 15.7, 17.8). See our Fred Loya review.
- Incline National (16.9), Seaview (11.0) and Liberty Mutual Fire (10.8) complete the bottom ten, along with 21st Century.
- 21st Century Casualty Company fell from 91.3 (174 complaints) in 2024 to 11.0 (26) in 2025, the biggest improvement in the study.
Full Ranking: California’s 50 Largest Auto Insurers
The Department’s own order, by 2025 ratio. Exposure counts are the Department’s approximations.
| Rank | Insurer (legal entity) | Approx. exposures | Justified complaints 2025 | Ratio 2025 | Ratio 2024 | Ratio 2023 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Essentia Insurance Company | 259,695 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 2 | GEICO Indemnity Company | 167,498 | 0 | 0.0 | 4.6 | 2.7 |
| 3 | Foremost Insurance Co. Grand Rapids, Michigan | 77,697 | 0 | 0.0 | 3.7 | 1.9 |
| 4 | GEICO Protection Insurance Company | 57,344 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| 5 | Nationwide Insurance Company of America | 218,252 | 1 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 2.3 |
| 6 | Progressive Direct Insurance Company | 162,367 | 1 | 0.6 | 1.3 | 0.7 |
| 7 | Viking Insurance Company of Wisconsin | 338,883 | 3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| 8 | Wawanesa General Insurance Company | 520,110 | 6 | 1.2 | 0.6 | 1.3 |
| 9 | Mercury Insurance Company | 1,535,043 | 19 | 1.2 | 1.7 | 2.2 |
| 10 | Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club | 3,108,768 | 41 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| 11 | California Casualty Indemnity Exchange (The) | 136,811 | 2 | 1.5 | 2.0 | 5.7 |
| 12 | Mid-Century Insurance Company | 202,638 | 3 | 1.5 | 2.5 | 1.8 |
| 13 | California Automobile Insurance Company | 132,964 | 2 | 1.5 | 1.6 | 2.9 |
| 14 | CSAA Insurance Exchange | 2,281,506 | 36 | 1.6 | 1.5 | 0.5 |
| 15 | Allstate Insurance Company | 52,021 | 1 | 1.9 | 3.6 | 3.5 |
| 16 | GEICO General Insurance Company | 3,456,991 | 68 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| 17 | United Services Automobile Association | 388,762 | 9 | 2.3 | 4.7 | 2.1 |
| 18 | Infinity Insurance Company | 1,489,336 | 39 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 5.4 |
| 19 | Allstate Northbrook Indemnity Company | 1,485,883 | 39 | 2.6 | 3.0 | 2.8 |
| 20 | USAA Casualty Insurance Company | 528,111 | 14 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 2.2 |
| 21 | Travelers Commercial Insurance Company | 262,948 | 7 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 1.7 |
| 22 | Aspire General Insurance Company | 745,626 | 21 | 2.8 | 5.6 | 6.3 |
| 23 | United Financial Casualty Company | 1,236,252 | 35 | 2.8 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| 24 | American Family Connect P&C Insurance Company | 629,242 | 19 | 3.0 | 2.8 | 2.1 |
| 25 | State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. | 3,929,452 | 121 | 3.1 | 3.4 | 2.7 |
| 26 | Garrison Property and Casualty Insurance Co. | 308,442 | 10 | 3.2 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
| 27 | USAA General Indemnity Company | 357,371 | 12 | 3.4 | 2.8 | 5.0 |
| 28 | Drive Insurance Company | 556,523 | 20 | 3.6 | 1.7 | 3.0 |
| 29 | Farmers Insurance Exchange | 944,456 | 35 | 3.7 | 4.2 | 2.0 |
| 30 | Safeco Insurance Company of America | 393,414 | 17 | 4.3 | 3.1 | 2.2 |
| 31 | Progressive Select Insurance Company | 337,462 | 15 | 4.4 | 3.2 | 3.0 |
| 32 | Root Insurance Company | 41,829 | 2 | 4.8 | 9.7 | 0.0 |
| 33 | Coast National Insurance Company | 233,610 | 13 | 5.6 | 4.8 | 1.3 |
| 34 | California Capital Insurance Company | 51,688 | 3 | 5.8 | 3.9 | 2.1 |
| 35 | American National P&C Company | 50,979 | 3 | 5.9 | 0.0 | 1.9 |
| 36 | Amica Mutual Insurance Company | 67,378 | 4 | 5.9 | 2.9 | 2.8 |
| 37 | Encompass Insurance Company | 64,708 | 4 | 6.2 | 11.6 | 15.8 |
| 38 | Hartford Underwriters Insurance Company | 121,185 | 8 | 6.6 | 10.1 | 2.5 |
| 39 | Integon National Insurance Company | 533,737 | 41 | 7.7 | 9.2 | 14.9 |
| 40 | Anchor General Insurance Company | 87,991 | 7 | 8.0 | 9.8 | 9.9 |
| 41 | Liberty Mutual Fire Insurance Company | 120,614 | 13 | 10.8 | 5.0 | 5.4 |
| 42 | Seaview Insurance Company | 54,669 | 6 | 11.0 | 22.2 | 3.3 |
| 43 | 21st Century Casualty Company | 236,034 | 26 | 11.0 | 91.3 | 0.0 |
| 44 | Incline National Insurance Company | 71,198 | 12 | 16.9 | 26.5 | 20.4 |
| 45 | Loya Casualty Insurance Company | 213,756 | 38 | 17.8 | 15.7 | 10.1 |
| 46 | Permanent General Assurance Corporation | 71,070 | 13 | 18.3 | 10.2 | 19.5 |
| 47 | Integon Preferred Insurance Company | 191,016 | 41 | 21.5 | 53.9 | 12.6 |
| 48 | Knightbrook Insurance Company | 43,293 | 10 | 23.1 | 17.3 | 37.6 |
| 49 | Tesla Insurance Company | 261,688 | 372 | 142.2 | 9.5 | 0.0 |
| 50 | State National Insurance Company, Inc. | 180,554 | 574 | 317.9 | 99.6 | 55.9 |
How to Use This When You Shop
- Find the legal company on your quote or declarations page. A brand can write through several companies; in this study GEICO appears three times and USAA three times.
- Look at all three years. A single bad year (21st Century’s 91.3) can reverse; three rising years (Loya Casualty) is a pattern.
- Weigh the count. Root Insurance Company’s 4.8 is built on two complaints; State Farm Mutual’s 3.1 on 121.
- Compare within your market. If you need non-standard coverage, compare non-standard carriers with each other, not with Mercury or the Auto Club.
- Use the Department’s own lookup for any company outside the 50 at its complaint study page.
Methodology
- Source. California Department of Insurance, 2026 California Consumer Complaint Study, Auto: 50 large automobile insurers licensed in California, ratios for complaint years 2025, 2024 and 2023. Downloaded October 28, 2026.
- What we reproduced. Every ratio, count, exposure figure and rank in the table is the Department’s.
- What we calculated. Totals across the 50, the median ratio, Tesla Insurance Company and State National’s combined share of complaints and exposures, the 48-company trend, and the count of insurers that improved. Exposure shares use the single approximate exposure count the study publishes.
- Limits. The 50 companies are the current study’s list; a company’s history is shown for all three years even if its size changed. We did not adjust for driver risk or region.
FAQ
Which California car insurance company has the fewest complaints?
In the California Department of Insurance’s 2026 study, four of the 50 largest auto insurers had zero justified complaints closed in 2025: Essentia Insurance Company, GEICO Indemnity Company, Foremost Insurance Company Grand Rapids, Michigan, and GEICO Protection Insurance Company. Among the very largest writers, Mercury Insurance Company (1.2 per 100,000 exposures) and the Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club (1.3) had the lowest ratios.
What is a justified complaint ratio?
The California Department of Insurance calculates it as the number of justified complaints per 100,000 policies or exposures. Only complaints closed during the calendar year count, regardless of when they were filed.
How does Tesla Insurance rank on complaints in California?
Tesla Insurance Company ranked 49th of 50 in the 2026 study, with 372 justified complaints and a ratio of 142.2 per 100,000 exposures in 2025, up from 2 complaints (9.5) in 2024. State National Insurance Company, for which Tesla Insurance Services is an appointed agent according to the Department, ranked 50th at 317.9.
Is State Farm good at handling complaints in California?
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, the largest auto writer in the study with about 3.93 million exposures, had 121 justified complaints in 2025 and a ratio of 3.1 per 100,000, close to the median of 3.15. It ranked 25th of 50.