CONNECT by American Family Auto Insurance Review

Last Updated on October 7, 2026

By James Shaffer · Reviewed by Thomas Rockford, insurance industry executive and financial analyst, on October 4, 2026 · How we fact-check

CONNECT, powered by American Family Insurance was the auto and home insurance program sold through Costco. That brand name is now retired. As of October 4, 2026 the word CONNECT appears nowhere on Costco’s own insurance page, nowhere on the program site, and nowhere on American Family’s site. The program is simply American Family Insurance now. NerdWallet puts the switch at December 2025.

The two places you’ll still see the old name are your own older policy documents and the program’s Better Business Bureau profile, which is still filed as “CONNECT, Powered by American Family Insurance.” The policy itself is backed by the American Family Insurance group either way (learn more in our American Family Insurance review). Below, we’ll break down how the Costco program works today, what coverages and discounts you actually get, and how to quote, file a claim, or cancel.

What Is CONNECT by American Family Insurance?

CONNECT started as a rebrand of Ameriprise Auto & Home, which American Family bought on October 1, 2019 for $1.135 billion (see our Ameriprise auto insurance review). Ameriprise no longer sells auto or home insurance under its own name. The CONNECT brand ran for about six years and was dropped at the end of 2025.

The CONNECT name does survive in one place that matters: the legal entities. Policies are underwritten by American Family companies including American Family Connect Property and Casualty Insurance Company and American Family Connect Insurance Company, and the program also names Midvale Indemnity Company, the Homesite companies and, for Texas property only, Ranchers & Farmers Mutual Insurance Company. Availability varies by state and policy type. The entity on your declarations page is the name to use if you ever look up complaint data or financial strength ratings.

Important note: Costco doesn’t underwrite the policies. You’re shopping through a licensed agency relationship, and your coverage, claims handling, and billing ultimately come from the insurer(s) on your policy documents—not Costco itself.

Who This Insurance Is Best For

• Costco members who want to compare a member-discounted option (see: Is auto insurance cheaper through Costco?).
• Drivers who like online self-service (ID cards, documents, payments, basic changes) and don’t need an in-person agent for every request.
• Households that can bundle auto + home/renters/umbrella for additional discount opportunities.
• Not ideal for: drivers who want a highly customized policy with lots of niche add-ons, or people who strongly prefer face-to-face service for claims and billing questions.

CONNECT by American Family Auto Insurance Coverage Options

Coverage availability varies by state, but CONNECT/American Family auto policies typically offer the same core protections you’ll see with most major insurers:

• Liability Coverage: Includes bodily injury liability coverage and property damage liability coverage for injuries and damage you cause to others.
• Collision Coverage: Collision coverage can help pay to repair your vehicle after a crash with another car or object (subject to your deductible).
• Comprehensive Coverage: Comprehensive coverage helps cover non-collision damage like theft, vandalism, falling objects, and weather events (subject to your deductible).
• Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist: Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage may help if you’re hit by a driver with little or no insurance (and it’s required in some states).
• Medical Coverage: Depending on your state, this may include personal injury protection (PIP) (a form of no-fault coverage) and/or medical payments coverage.
• Gap Insurance: American Family lists loan/lease gap coverage as an optional auto coverage, which covers the difference between your vehicle’s value and what you still owe after a total loss. It isn’t named on the Costco program’s own benefits page, so ask for it by name when you quote.
• No new car replacement: If you want new car replacement insurance, this program isn’t where to get it. It appears on neither American Family’s auto coverage list nor the Costco program’s.
• Roadside Assistance & Towing: You may be able to add roadside assistance and towing coverage. Depending on your policy and membership perks, you may also see certain towing-related benefits (learn more about free towing and what “free” usually means in real-world terms).
• Rental Reimbursement: Often available to help pay for a rental car while your vehicle is being repaired after a covered claim.

CONNECT/American Family may also offer coverage for additional vehicle types (like motorcycles, RVs, boats, and other specialty vehicles), depending on your state.

Notable Features and Built-In Benefits

Beyond standard coverages, CONNECT/American Family through Costco is known for a few practical perks that can matter in day-to-day ownership:

• Online Policy Management: Most customers can handle essentials online (payments, ID cards, declarations pages, and many policy document requests) instead of contacting customer service for every small change.
• Glass Repair Deductible Waiver: The program includes this at no additional cost. It waives your deductible when a windshield can be repaired. It does not waive it on a replacement, so it is narrower than full glass coverage. Separately, Costco Executive Members get a glass benefit on the home policy worth up to $1,000, two claims per 12 months, excluding New York, Vermont and Washington. Two different benefits that are easy to mix up.
• Road Trip Accident Accommodation Coverage: This is a named coverage on the program’s auto benefits page, not a maybe. If you’re in a covered accident more than 100 miles from home and the car is disabled, it helps pay out-of-pocket travel and lodging costs. No dollar limit is published, so ask (here’s a broader explainer on when auto insurance may cover emergency travel expenses).
• Roadside assistance, but only for Executive Members: Costco Executive Members get roadside assistance on the car policy worth up to $75 per occurrence ($100 in Massachusetts, Montana and South Carolina, $80 in Texas, no limit in North Carolina), with battery and fluid replacement excluded. Executive Members also get lifetime renewability on the car policy, which means the policy won’t be non-renewed over claims, excluding California, Maryland and Michigan and excluding major violations. Regular Gold Star members don’t get either one.

One benefit the program used to be known for is gone: there is no stolen key or lock replacement coverage on any current American Family or Costco-program page. The closest thing is home lockout assistance, up to $100 per occurrence, twice per 12 months, on the home policy, for Executive Members, excluding New York and Vermont. If an older quote or review promised you a key benefit on the auto policy, ask about it before you count on it.

Discounts Available Through CONNECT / American Family (Costco Program)

The program publishes its own car discount list: Good Driver (California only), Premier Safety, Defensive Driver, Vehicle Safety Features, Garaging, Good Student, Student Away and Multi-vehicle. No percentage is published for any of them. The Costco member discount itself goes to all members, but not on home insurance in Florida or Tennessee, and not on auto insurance for non-Executive Members in Massachusetts. For a broader overview of what American Family commonly offers, see our guide to American Family car insurance discounts.

Common discount categories include:

• Premier Safety Discount: This is the program’s name for the driving-record discount. There is no discount called “safe driver” or “clean record” on the published list, so ask for Premier Safety by name.
• Defensive Driver Discount: Completing an approved course can reduce premiums in some states (more details: defensive driving course discounts).
• Good Student Discounts: Many insurers offer savings for qualifying students (see: good student discount).
• Student Away Discounts: Some policies discount students who are away at school and don’t regularly drive the insured vehicle (see: distant student discount).
• Multi-Car and Multi-Policy Savings: Bundling multiple vehicles and/or combining auto with home/renters/umbrella can reduce overall premiums.
• Vehicle Safety Features and Garaging: Savings for qualifying safety equipment, and for where the car is kept overnight. The published list names these two; it does not name an anti-theft discount separately.

American Family also runs two usage-based programs with published savings: DriveMyWay, an app program with a 15% enrollment discount and 10% to 35% savings after a 99-trip trial, and MilesMyWay for drivers at 20 miles a day or less, with a 10% enrollment discount and up to 25% savings. Neither is named on the Costco program pages, so ask whether you can enroll through the Costco channel.

Also worth knowing: American Family lists accident forgiveness among its optional auto coverages, which the Costco program pages don’t mention. Ask about it at quote time if a first at-fault claim is a worry.

How Much Does CONNECT Auto Insurance Cost?

Your exact rate depends on your state, driving history, claims record, vehicle, credit-based insurance score (where allowed), annual mileage, and selected coverages/deductibles.

No insurer or regulator publishes premiums by company, so there is no official figure for what this program charges. For context on the national picture, two rate studies: Bankrate puts the national average for full coverage at $2,638 a year, and NerdWallet puts it at $2,344 for full coverage and $644 for minimum coverage. They use different sample drivers, so treat them as two readings rather than one number. Either way, the reliable approach is to compare quotes across multiple insurers using the same limits and deductibles.

Money-saving tip: If you’re only price-shopping, compare the total picture: liability limits, deductibles, rental reimbursement, roadside add-ons, and which membership perks are actually included at your Costco tier. My advice is to price a Costco Executive membership upgrade against the quote before you decide. Roadside assistance and lifetime renewability only come with Executive, and on this program that is most of what you are buying the Costco connection for.

What Do Customer Reviews and Ratings Suggest?

The program has a mixed online reputation, which is common for large insurers handling high claim volume. Here are the two records you can actually count. On financial strength, AM Best affirmed a rating of A (Excellent) with a stable outlook on September 24, 2025, and American Family Connect Property and Casualty Insurance Company is named in that affirmation. On complaints, the BBB profile (still filed under the CONNECT name) carries an A+ rating, has been BBB accredited since July 29, 2021, and showed “165 total complaints in the last 3 years” and “32 complaints closed in the last 12 months” when I checked it on October 4, 2026. Industry-wide, complaints cluster around claim timelines, repair negotiations, total loss valuations, renewal increases and underwriting cancellations.

When evaluating any insurer, it’s smart to look at:

• Financial strength (ability to pay claims).
• Complaint patterns (billing, cancellations, claim handling, communication).
• Consistency across sources (BBB, the NAIC complaint database and major review sites). When you look any of these up, search the underwriting entity name, American Family Connect Property and Casualty Insurance Company, not “CONNECT” or “Costco.”

Best practice: If you’re comparing insurers, ask each carrier about claim reporting, preferred repair networks (if any), total loss process, and whether your policy has any special endorsements or Costco-related perks.

How to Get a Quote

You can typically get a quote online through the Costco insurance portal or by calling a licensed representative. You should be ready with:

• Driver names, dates of birth, and license information
• Vehicle VINs and mileage
• Address history (in many states)
• Prior insurance details (carrier name, limits, and expiration date)

To avoid surprises, quote with the same liability limits and deductibles you currently have—then adjust coverage only after you’ve compared the baseline pricing.

How to File a Claim

Most policyholders can file claims online through an account login or by phone, and the program’s auto benefits page says accident reporting runs 24/7. You also get to pick your own repair facility. If you’re a guest, or you’re not sure which system applies to your policy, the phone path can differ, so check the “Ways to report a claim” instructions on your policy documents.

How to Cancel a CONNECT / American Family Policy

Cancellation rules and fees (if any) vary by state and policy type, but the usual process is:

• Choose your cancellation date (ideally the same day your new policy starts to avoid a coverage lapse).
• Call customer service and request cancellation with the effective date.
• Ask for written confirmation (email or letter) showing the cancellation date.
• If you paid ahead, you may be eligible for a pro-rated refund of unused premium (learn how refunds typically work here: refund unused premiums).

FAQs About CONNECT by American Family Auto Insurance

Contact Information for CONNECT / American Family (Costco Program)

If you need help with billing, policy service, claims, or general questions, start with the contact details listed on your declarations page. For many Costco-program policies, these are common contact points:

Customer Service / Sales Phone: 1-888-404-5365 (the program’s contact page uses this number for both sales and service)

Claims: 1-888-404-5365 (some guest claim reporting paths use other numbers)
Roadside Assistance: 1-888-742-4572
Home Lockout (Executive Members): 1-866-641-5443

Customer Service Email: servicepromise@amfam.com
Sales Email: customersfirst@amfam.com
Claim Documents Email: claimdocuments@afics.com

Billing Address:
American Family Insurance
6000 American Parkway
Madison, WI 53777-0001

General Mail:
American Family Insurance
PO Box 77093
Madison, WI 53707-1093

Official Costco Program Website: https://costco.amfam.com/

Sources

Checked October 4, 2026

• American Family Costco program — Program Site
• American Family Costco program — About and Underwriting Companies
• American Family Costco program — Car Insurance Benefits
• American Family Costco program — Benefits and Discounts
• American Family Costco program — Contact Page
• American Family — Car Insurance Coverages
• American Family — Usage-based Programs
• Costco — Auto and Home Insurance Services
• Ameriprise Financial — Ameriprise Financial Completes Sale of Auto Home Business to American Family Insurance, October 1, 2019
• AM Best — Newscontent, September 24, 2025
• Better Business Bureau — BBB Profile, October 4, 2026
• Bankrate — National Average
• NerdWallet — National Average
• NerdWallet — Costco Auto Insurance Review, December 19, 2025