By the Drivers Compass editors · Updated October 31, 2026
On the published national averages, Nationwide is the cheaper of the two for a full-coverage policy. AutoInsurance.com puts the national average at $2,356 a year, with Liberty Mutual's average full-coverage policy running 21 percent above that figure (AutoInsurance.com, undated) and Nationwide's average full-coverage rate landing about $400 below it (AutoInsurance.com, undated) — before any state, ZIP code or driver-specific underwriting is applied.
That ordering is a starting point, not your price. Both insurers rate individually by state, territory, chosen limits, deductible, vehicle and driving record, and in most states by credit-based insurance score, which a handful of states ban or restrict outright. Liberty Mutual's complaint record is the bigger separator between the two, and it matters more than the price gap if you expect to use the policy.
Quick Verdict
The premium rows below are national averages as published, on an annual basis — halve them for a six-month term, and treat the result as a benchmark rather than a quote.
| Measure | Liberty Mutual | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| Average premium, full coverage | 21 percent above the national average of $2,356/yr (AutoInsurance.com, undated) | About $400/yr below the same $2,356 national average (AutoInsurance.com, undated) |
| Average premium, minimum coverage | Above AutoInsurance.com's national minimum-coverage average (undated) | Published annual minimum-coverage average (AutoInsurance.com, undated), measured at 100/300/100 bodily injury and property damage with a $500 comprehensive and collision deductible for its full-coverage figure (U.S. News & World Report, undated) |
| NAIC complaint index, auto | Nearly 3x the national average (Aixoria, undated); a higher-than-expected number of consumer complaints (Jerry, undated) | Index compiled by Insurify (undated); look up the current figure by underwriting company on the NAIC Consumer Information Source before you buy |
| AM Best financial strength rating | Letter rating compiled by Insurify (undated) — confirm the current letter for the underwriting company named on your declarations page | Letter rating compiled by Insurify (undated) — same check applies |
| Standout discount / program | ByMile pay-per-mile, offered in 17 states plus Washington, D.C. (ValuePenguin, undated) | SmartMiles pay-per-mile: base rate plus a variable rate tied to miles driven (U.S. News & World Report, undated) |
Two notes on reading this table. A rating from one agency says nothing about any other agency's opinion, and no letter grade guarantees an insurer stays solvent. And if you want figures published natively as six-month or monthly numbers rather than halved annuals, The Zebra reports Nationwide's liability-only and full-coverage six-month averages against the national average, and Insurify reports Nationwide's monthly liability-only and full-coverage averages (both undated).
Price Comparison by Driver Profile
The honest position: AutoInsurance.com, Compare.com and U.S. News & World Report all publish profile-level averages for these two insurers, but on different bases — some monthly, some annual, some stated only as a position against a national average. Where a published figure gives a direction but not a dollar amount, this table says so rather than filling in a number.
| Driver profile | Liberty Mutual | Nationwide | Cheaper on published data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clean record, full coverage | 21 percent above the $2,356 national average (AutoInsurance.com, undated) | About $400/yr below that national average (AutoInsurance.com, undated) | Nationwide, on both carriers' position against the same $2,356 benchmark |
| One recent at-fault accident | Monthly average published by Compare.com (undated) for its recent-accident profile | No dollar figure published in the data reviewed here | Not decidable on published averages — quote both |
| Teen driver added | Monthly average published by Compare.com (undated) for teen drivers | Rated higher than average for teen drivers (AutoInsurance.com, undated) | Not decidable — both carriers rate teens above their own base |
| DUI on record | Monthly average published by Compare.com (undated) for drivers with a DUI | Rated higher than average for drivers with a DUI (AutoInsurance.com, undated) | Not decidable — SR-22/FR-44 filing rules differ by state and change the comparison |
| Poor credit tier | Monthly averages published by Compare.com (undated) by credit tier | Annual average for drivers with bad credit published by AutoInsurance.com (undated) | Not decidable; and credit cannot be used at all in the states that ban it |
| Low annual mileage | ByMile, in its 17 states plus Washington, D.C. (ValuePenguin, undated) | Rated below the national average for low-mileage drivers (U.S. News & World Report, undated) | Nationwide on published averages; ByMile may close the gap where it is offered |
U.S. News & World Report's Nationwide figures are built on 100/300/100 bodily injury and property damage limits with a $500 comprehensive and collision deductible (undated). If you compare quotes at your state's minimum limits with a higher deductible, you are not comparing against the same number.
Profile averages also collapse a lot of underwriting. Two drivers with the same clean record in the same state can land in different rate territories by ZIP code, and in different underwriting companies within the same brand — one reason a quote estimate and the premium you are eventually billed often differ.
Coverage and Policy Differences
Coverage names travel between insurers; the filed language underneath them does not. Confirm each item below against the actual endorsement in your state before you treat it as covered.
Accident forgiveness. Liberty Mutual sells accident forgiveness as an add-on that prevents a rate increase after your first at-fault accident once you are enrolled (LendingTree, undated). Two conditions matter: it is optional rather than automatic, and it applies to accidents after enrollment — buying it the week after a crash does not reach backward. Nationwide's equivalent terms, eligibility period and state availability are set in its own filings; ask for the endorsement form number and the enrollment waiting period in writing.
Rental reimbursement. Liberty Mutual's rental car reimbursement pays rental fees while your vehicle is in the shop following a covered claim (LendingTree, undated) — so a denied claim means no rental money, and payment is capped by the per-day and per-claim limits you select. Nationwide sells rental coverage with its own daily and aggregate caps. Compare the actual limits printed on the two quotes, not the feature names.
Repair guarantee. Liberty Mutual guarantees repairs performed at one of its guaranteed repair network locations for as long as you own the vehicle (ValuePenguin, undated). That guarantee is tied to using a network shop; take the car elsewhere and it does not apply.
Pay-per-mile. Liberty Mutual's ByMile is available in 17 states plus Washington, D.C. (ValuePenguin, undated). Nationwide's SmartMiles charges a base rate plus a variable rate based on miles driven (U.S. News & World Report, undated). Both price mileage directly, so a long commute can make either more expensive than a standard policy.
Rideshare. Neither insurer's rideshare position appears in the published figures above. If you drive for a rideshare or delivery platform, do not assume either policy responds during app-on periods without a rideshare endorsement filed in your state.
Claims Process Compared
| Claims measure | Liberty Mutual | Nationwide |
|---|---|---|
| NAIC complaint index, auto | Nearly 3x the national average (Aixoria, undated); a higher-than-expected number of consumer complaints relative to market share (Jerry, undated) | Index compiled by Insurify (undated) — look it up by underwriting company on the NAIC Consumer Information Source |
| J.D. Power score | Score compiled by Insurify (undated); check which study and region apply to your state | Score compiled by Insurify (undated); same check |
| Repair-network guarantee | Repairs at a guaranteed repair network shop are guaranteed for as long as you own the vehicle (ValuePenguin, undated) | Network repair program terms set by the insurer; request the written guarantee period |
| Repair-quality grade | CRASH Network grade ranking near the bottom of insurers reviewed (Jerry, undated) | Not reported in the data reviewed here |
The complaint index is the one measure here that separates the two on evidence rather than impression. The index is adjusted for market share, so it describes complaints relative to the volume of business a carrier writes; Liberty Mutual's auto index at nearly three times the national average (Aixoria, undated) means it drew substantially more complaints than its share of the market would predict. That is not a prediction about your claim, and complaint indexes move year to year and differ between a group's underwriting companies.
Time-to-payout is not something either insurer publishes as a single national figure, and much of it is not the insurer's choice. Most states set claim-handling deadlines through their unfair claims practices statutes — how long a carrier has to acknowledge a claim, accept or deny it, and pay after agreement. Those deadlines apply to both companies equally within a given state. In a no-fault state your own personal injury protection pays medical bills first regardless of which brand is on the card; in an at-fault state, recovery from the other driver's carrier may wait on a liability determination. Ask your state's department of insurance for its deadlines, then measure either insurer against those.
Who Should Choose Which
- Clean record, want full coverage at the lowest average price: Nationwide. Its full-coverage average sits about $400 a year below the $2,356 national average while Liberty Mutual's sits 21 percent above it (AutoInsurance.com, undated).
- Very low annual mileage, in one of 17 states plus D.C.: Liberty Mutual, where ByMile is offered (ValuePenguin, undated) — pay-per-mile pricing can beat a standard rate for genuinely infrequent drivers. Outside those states, Nationwide rates low-mileage drivers below the national average (U.S. News & World Report, undated).
- Low mileage but ByMile isn't sold where you live: Nationwide's SmartMiles, priced as a base rate plus a per-mile variable rate (U.S. News & World Report, undated).
- You expect to file claims, or you've had a dispute before: Nationwide, on complaint evidence alone — Liberty Mutual's auto complaint index runs at nearly three times the national average (Aixoria, undated), with a CRASH Network repair grade near the bottom of insurers reviewed (Jerry, undated).
- You want a lifetime repair guarantee and will use the insurer's shop network: Liberty Mutual, which guarantees network repairs for as long as you own the vehicle (ValuePenguin, undated).
- Teen driver, DUI, or a poor credit tier: quote both, and add at least two other carriers. Nationwide rates teens and DUI drivers above average (AutoInsurance.com, undated), and the profile averages published by Compare.com (undated) are not on a basis that lets either insurer be declared cheaper for these profiles.
Before switching, make sure the new policy is bound and effective before you cancel the old one, and compare at identical limits and deductibles. Whether state-minimum liability is adequate for you depends on your assets and your state's thresholds — a separate decision from which brand is cheaper.
Questions
Is Liberty Mutual's accident forgiveness worth adding?
It is an optional add-on that stops a rate increase after your first at-fault accident once you are enrolled (LendingTree, undated) — so it only protects accidents that happen after enrollment, and it does not remove the accident from your record for other insurers that quote you later. Ask for the endorsement form number and the price per term, then weigh that against Liberty Mutual's full-coverage average already running 21 percent above the $2,356 national average (AutoInsurance.com, undated).
How is Nationwide's SmartMiles billed?
SmartMiles premium is a base rate plus a variable rate tied to miles driven (U.S. News & World Report, undated), so the bill changes month to month. Drive enough miles and the variable portion can push the total above Nationwide's standard full-coverage average, which sits about $400 a year below the $2,356 national average (AutoInsurance.com, undated). Ask what the base rate is and what the per-mile charge is before enrolling.
Does Liberty Mutual's repair guarantee cover any shop I choose?
No. The guarantee applies to repairs performed at one of Liberty Mutual's guaranteed repair network locations, and runs for as long as you own the vehicle (ValuePenguin, undated). Most states give you the right to choose your own shop, but using a non-network shop means the guarantee is between you and that shop, not Liberty Mutual.
Should Liberty Mutual's complaint index stop me from buying the policy?
An auto complaint index at nearly three times the national average (Aixoria, undated), alongside a CRASH Network grade near the bottom of insurers reviewed (Jerry, undated), tells you complaints ran well above the level its market share predicts — not that your claim will be mishandled. Check the index for the specific underwriting company named on the quote using the NAIC Consumer Information Source, since figures differ by subsidiary and by year.
Will Nationwide quote me its published below-average figure?
No. The roughly $400-below-the-$2,356-national-average full-coverage figure (AutoInsurance.com, undated) is an average across many states and profiles, and U.S. News & World Report's Nationwide figures assume 100/300/100 limits with a $500 comprehensive and collision deductible (undated). Your rated premium depends on your state, ZIP code territory, vehicle, record, chosen limits and — where the state permits it — your credit-based insurance score.