+120 more){kind=small}
Mandy Sleight has over 15 years of insurance knowledge and expertise in auto, home, life, health, pet, supplemental benefits, and other insurance products. She’s a sought-after insurance expert, appearing in Bankrate.com, Moneygeek.com, U.S. News & World Report, Reviews.com, CNET, and other publications, and she's been writing for Compare.com since 2023.
Mandy uses her background and experience working for well-known insurance companies like State Farm and Nationwide Insurance to create engaging and easy-to-understand content that helps readers make smarter insurance choices that have a positive effect on their budgets and finances.
){kind=small}
3+ years editing insurance content
10+ years in content creation
Lequita's extensive editorial experience spans insurance, personal finance, higher education, and more.
){kind=small}
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing insurance content
NPN: 20461358
A licensed agent for more than four years, John reviews and fact-checks articles for Compare.com.
Updated
| User Reviews | 4.2 |
|---|---|
| Our Rating Compare.com's ratings are determined by our editorial team. The objective formula used in these reviews weighs several important factors to consider when choosing financial products and services, including customer satisfaction ratings, ease of use, and a number of other components. | 4.3 /5 |
| Liability Only Liability-only insurance, sometimes called minimum-coverage insurance, pays for bodily injury and property damage to others in an accident the policyholder causes. It does not pay for the insured’s own damages. | $110/mo |
| Full Coverage Full-coverage car insurance generally includes liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage, and may include other optional coverages such as uninsured motorist coverage. Collision covers a policyholder’s repair or replacement costs in case of an accident. Comprehensive covers damages caused by non-accident events. The average quote displayed here reflects policies with the following coverage limits: $50,000 bodily injury liability per person; $100,000 bodily injury liability per accident; $50,00 property damage liability per accident; $1,000 collision deductible; and a $1,000 comprehensive deductible. | $207/mo |
Farmers Insurance's score | Industry average | |
|---|---|---|
| Coverage options | 4.3 | 3.2 |
| Customer service | 4.4 | 3.6 |
| Discounts | 4.2 | 2.9 |
| Policy transparency | 4.4 | 3.1 |
| Value | 4.1 | 2.9 |
Bottom Line:
Signal is a great choice for existing Farmers customers, especially people who pride themselves on safe driving. You can even earn rewards on top of the available discounts for safe driving. But it’s not necessarily the largest savings compared to other insurers’ programs.
Uses minimal phone battery
Optional crash detection
Potential to earn $100 for safe driving
Driving history only available for 12 days
May increase your premium if app detects risky driving
Discount can change at renewal
An increasing number of car insurance companies offer telematics programs. Farmers Insurance customers can participate in its Farmers Signal telematics program to earn savings and other rewards. The Signal app tracks your driving habits and rewards you for good behavior, like not speeding, slamming on the brakes, or driving during rush hour.
Although the program can lead to savings, it’s not for everyone, especially if you need to work on safer driving habits. Too many risky driving behaviors could cause your rates to increase at your next renewal.
Here’s how Signal works, ways to maximize your savings, and how it stacks up against the competition. Plus, we’ll share reviews from real-life Signal participants to help you determine if the program is worth it.
Signal is a telematics program offered by Farmers Insurance that tracks your driving habits through a smartphone app. Your good driving behavior could help you save money on your Farmers auto insurance policy.
The Signal app monitors your behavior as you drive and gives you a score after each trip. If you maintain a score of 80% or higher, you may be eligible to win up to $100 in rewards — not to mention lower car insurance rates.
Farmers Insurance isn’t the only telematics program available. Many of the best auto insurance companies offer usage-based insurance options, including Liberty Mutual RightTrack, State Farm Drive Safe & Save, Allstate Drivewise, and Progressive Snapshot.
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The Signal program works through a smartphone app that you download onto your phone and will remain in your phone’s background. Once it detects you’re driving, the Signal app automatically starts recording the trip. After the trip ends, it’ll show up in your home screen trip list, allowing you to review your results and change the trip type (more on that later).
Knowing what the app tracks and how it determines who’s driving can help you better understand how Signal works.
Let’s take a closer look.
Like many other usage-based insurance programs, Signal monitors driving habits and behaviors, including:
Hard braking
Driving faster than the posted speed limit
Phone usage while driving
Mileage of each trip
The time of day you drive
Signal also has an optional CrashAssist feature that uses sensors in your phone to detect if you’ve been in an accident. You’ll get a push notification on your smartphone asking you to confirm whether you were in a crash. From there, the app can:
Contact emergency services in the area
Help you file a claim
Access roadside assistance
Although Signal tracks your location and the personal information you provide at enrollment, it can’t track other app data or personally identifiable information (PII).
The Signal app observes your behavior — including your phone’s rotation as you get into your car — to determine who’s driving, according to the Farmers website. You can change the trip after it’s complete if the app incorrectly labeled you as the driver.
To do so from the Home screen:
Go to the Trips section.
Select “All Trips.”
Locate the trip in question and click the right arrow.
Scroll to the bottom and click “Edit.”
Change the type to Passenger, Not a Car, or Driver, then click “Done.”
Signal customers save at renewal for practicing safe driving habits. Keep in mind your discount will vary and can change at each renewal depending on driver participation and behaviors throughout the prior policy term.
All household drivers must participate to be eligible for the maximum discount. Besides the discount potential, you can win a monthly reward of up to $100 if you earn a driving score of 80% or better.
Program | Initial Discount | Maximum Discount |
|---|---|---|
| Farmers Signal | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Allstate Drivewise | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| American Family DriveMyWay | 15% | 35% |
| Chubb SafeLane | 10% | 20% |
| Direct Auto DynamicDrive | Up to 8% | Not disclosed |
| GEICO DriveEasy | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Liberty Mutual RightTrack | 10%–15% (varies by state) | 30% |
| Nationwide SmartRide | 15% | 40% |
| Progressive Snapshot | Varies by state | Average discount of $328 |
| State Farm Drive Safe & Save | Up to 10% | 30% (may exceed 30% in some states) |
| The Hartford TrueLane | Up to 15% | 40% |
| Travelers IntelliDrive | Not disclosed | 30% (May exceed 40% in some states) |
| USAA SafePilot | 15% | 30% |
If you want to get the maximum Signal discount, make sure you enroll young drivers in your household into the program — and be sure that every household participant practices safe driving habits. Here are some helpful tips:
Use a phone cradle. Put your phone in a cradle or stand so it doesn’t move around, which can cause false phone usage readings.
Calibrate your phone’s accelerometer. Smartphones have built-in sensors that measure movement. Adjust yours to improve app accuracy.
Follow the speed limit. Stay within the posted speed limit to earn a higher safety score.
Avoid driving during peak times. If you can, don’t drive during peak times, like morning and evening rush hour or late at night.
Keep your mileage low. Carpool, ride your bike, or take public transportation to reduce mileage.
Farmers Signal can decrease or increase your discount based on your driving behavior. And while safe drivers can save on their insurance premiums, drivers with risky behaviors — like excessive speeding or phone use while driving — could see a rate increase.
You can also get a rate increase from other factors, such as:
Not having all drivers in the household use the Signal Farmers app
Driving through heavy traffic or late at night
Letting a passenger use your cell phone while you’re driving
Though Farmers Signal may be worth it for the safest drivers who don’t drive many miles, it may not be worth it for everyone. Its low discount potential makes it one of the telematics programs least likely to offer significant savings.
With that said, the CrashAssist feature could help you receive emergency care faster if you get into an accident, and the potential to win Signal Rewards may make it worthwhile.
Looking at online reviews, Signal customers note that the program makes them more aware while driving, but many are frustrated by inaccurate trip logging, phone usage errors, and the app draining their phone battery.[1] [2]
Check out the reviews below from real app users to help determine if Farmers Signal is worth it for you.
“I actually think every driver should have an app like Signal by Farmers. I like using it because there is some type of accountability when you get behind the wheel. I no longer use my phone while driving, and I am more focused on driving. It is an excellent app.”
Apple App Store review; August 24, 2026
“Since I installed the Signal app on my phone, I have been more conscious of my driving habits. I have been using the phone or picking it up less often unless absolutely necessary. Sometimes, I look for the nearest safe place to park to attend to my phone calls. Which is good for me and other road users.”
Apple App Store review; September 17, 2026
“I appreciate the ability to see my driving habits, and the rate discount it gives for driving is quite significant. However, it loses a lot of my trips or starts counting them as walks because I drive to and from school a short distance (~5 minutes to drive) almost every day. And on top of that, it will break that tiny trip up into 2 or 3 pieces constantly. I also don’t like how it counts hard breaks almost permanently against your total.”
Google Play review; August 30, 2026
“I like getting a discount every month. I don’t like that it ranks me worse than average on hard breaking. However, all of my trips show 0 hard breaking events. I think there is a bug in how this is calculated. It might be nice if you could filter the list of trips to only show ones where I was the driver, was speeding, distracted, or had hard braking events.”
Google Play review; July 20, 2025
“You should be able to dispute where your device moved, like in a parking lot or on the side of the road. Just because you used your device doesn’t mean you used it while driving. There have been a lot of times when I was marked as ‘disrupted driving’ when I’m in a parking lot or on the side of the road, so I don’t get to use my 22- or 11-mile trip as counting toward my drive time.”
Apple App Store review; August 13, 2026
“This app is awful. It doesn’t track trips properly, claims you were distracted driving when the phone was on the passenger seat, doesn’t open properly, crashes frequently, and the list goes on. I have reached out to Farmers customer service, and they just keep telling me to uninstall it and reinstall it. How many times does one person need to uninstall and reinstall an app before it starts working? The only reason I’m giving it two stars is that I get a discount on my car insurance by having it.”
Google Play review; August 25, 2026
It’s easy to sign up for Farmers Signal. Follow the steps below to get started.
New and existing auto insurance customers can sign up for Signal through Farmers. If you’re new, ask about including the Signal discount when getting a quote. If you’re a current customer, contact your Farmers agent or call 1 (800) 709-7821 to enroll in the program.
To start the Signal program, you first have to download the mobile app. Farmers will text you a link; go to the link and download the Signal app on your smartphone. Then, enter your personal information and enable app permissions for location and tracking to get started.
Driving safely can help you get and keep a high focused driving score, lowering your premium and making you eligible for Signal Rewards. Farmers monitors the following driving behaviors when calculating your score:
Hard braking
Speeding
Time of day you’re driving
Mileage
Phone use while the vehicle is in motion
The Signal app lets you view the last 12 days of your trip history. Click “My Driving Behavior” to view details and compare your driving score to the average for other drivers.
The Signal app shows your current discount on the home screen in the top right corner. Click on “My Discount” to see your estimated renewal discount. Your discount can change at each policy renewal.
These answers to the most common questions about the Farmers Signal app and program can help you determine if it’s the right choice for you.
It depends. With Signal, eligible Farmers customers can save up to 15% on their insurance premiums. It may be worth it for safer drivers who obey the speed limit and avoid hard braking, using their phones while driving, and driving during heavy traffic periods. Customers report average savings of around 10%.
Farmers Signal collects personal information you provide during enrollment. It uses cookies to track your location when you’re in motion and keep you logged in so the app can automatically run when you drive. The app may also gather anonymous data to determine the average miles driven and trips taken for all users.
It depends. Farmers Signal can lower your bill, but your premium can also go up if you practice risky driving behaviors. You can track your trips and driving score through the Signal app to see what your savings could be at your next policy renewal.
The Signal app doesn’t allow you to see trip details for other household drivers. But you can see their focused driving scores by going to the “more” screen and clicking on “All Household Drivers.”
To set up the Farmers Signal app, first let Farmers know you want to enroll in Signal. Then, Farmers will send you a link to download and start using the app. After you’ve used the app for the first time, Signal automatically starts collecting trip data.
No. It’s unlikely that the Signal app will drain your battery since it runs in the background and uses less than 2% of your battery when recording trips. And if your smartphone’s battery goes below 10%, the app will stop collecting trip data.
The Farmers Signal app collects data about your driving behavior, such as hard braking, speeding, the time of day you’re driving, trip mileage, and phone use while the vehicle is in motion.
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Mandy Sleight has over 15 years of insurance knowledge and expertise in auto, home, life, health, pet, supplemental benefits, and other insurance products. She’s a sought-after insurance expert, appearing in Bankrate.com, Moneygeek.com, U.S. News & World Report, Reviews.com, CNET, and other publications, and she's been writing for Compare.com since 2023.
Mandy uses her background and experience working for well-known insurance companies like State Farm and Nationwide Insurance to create engaging and easy-to-understand content that helps readers make smarter insurance choices that have a positive effect on their budgets and finances.
3+ years editing insurance content
10+ years in content creation
Lequita's extensive editorial experience spans insurance, personal finance, higher education, and more.
Licensed property and casualty insurance agent
10+ years editing insurance content
NPN: 20461358
A licensed agent for more than four years, John reviews and fact-checks articles for Compare.com.
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