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Lots of car insurance companies advertise that they can save you money, but who really has cheap car insurance? We evaluated car insurance rates for a variety of drivers to find out.
Related: Best Car Insurance Companies
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USAA is highly competitive with its auto insurance rates, often beating out most other large insurers. However, you must be eligible to buy USAA insurance by being an active member of the military or a veteran, or a family member.
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Erie regularly had among the lowest rates for a variety of driver types in our analysis. Erie is a regional insurer that operates in 12 states and Washington, D.C.: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin.
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Car insurance shoppers should make sure to get a quote from Geico when comparing rates. With consistently competitive rates, Geico is often a good bet for cheap car insurance.
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State Farm offers competitive rates for many types of drivers, making it worth a look if you’re in the market for cheap car insurance. Drivers with poor credit, however, likely won’t find a good deal here.
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While Travelers doesn’t have the absolute cheapest car insurance it’s worth a look when you’re comparing quotes. Drivers with poor credit, who can have an especially hard time finding a good rate, should also keep Travelers in mind.
Company | Average annual rates |
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USAA | $1,111 |
Erie | $1,182 |
Geico | $1,221 |
State Farm | $1,403 |
Nationwide | $1,411 |
Travelers | $1,499 |
Auto-Owners | $1,520 |
Progressive | $1,825 |
Farmers | $2,073 |
Allstate | $2,315 |
Average | $1,556 |
USAA offers the lowest average rates for good drivers, but is open to only military members, veterans and their families. If you’re not eligible for USAA, Erie, Geico and State Farm had the cheapest car insurance rates for good drives in our analysis. Erie is a regional insurer that serves 12 states.
Company | Average annual rates |
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USAA | $1,190 |
Erie | $1,256 |
Geico | $1,384 |
State Farm | $1,403 |
Auto-Owners | $1,520 |
Travelers | $1,668 |
Nationwide | $1,683 |
Progressive | $2,075 |
Farmers | $2,563 |
Allstate | $2,581 |
Average | $1,732 |
A speeding ticket will mean an insurance increase of about 11%, based on nationwide averages. Our analysis found the cheapest car insurance from Erie, Geico and State Farm, with USAA a top choice for people with a military affiliation.
Company | Average annual rates |
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USAA | $1,676 |
State Farm | $1,713 |
Erie | $1,733 |
Auto-Owners | $2,089 |
Travelers | $2,356 |
Geico | $2,490 |
Nationwide | $2,651 |
Progressive | $3,070 |
Farmers | $3,662 |
Allstate | $3,973 |
Average | $2,541 |
Expect your car insurance rates to go up at renewal time if you have caused an accident that injured someone else. Nationally, the average rate goes up about $950 compared to a driver with a clean record.
USAA offers good rates to military members and veterans. For other drivers, State Farm and Erie had cheap car insurance in our analysis.
Company | Average annual rates |
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State Farm | $1,942 |
Erie | $2,077 |
USAA | $2,138 |
Travelers | $2,248 |
Progressive | $2,329 |
Farmers | $2,865 |
Auto-Owners | $2,894 |
Nationwide | $2,942 |
Geico | $3,129 |
Allstate | $3,382 |
Average | $2,595 |
Among the likely consequences after a DUI conviction is a higher auto insurance rate. Car insurance companies usually pull motor vehicle records before your policy renewal time to check for tickets and convictions, and then apply increases based on your record.
A DUI conviction leads to an average increase of more than $1,000 a year. Even with a DUI conviction you can shop around for cheap car insurance. State Farm, Erie and Travelers had the best rates in our analysis, with USAA another possible good option for military members and veterans who qualify.
Company | Average annual rates |
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Geico | $1,750 |
USAA | $1,865 |
Nationwide | $1,905 |
Travelers | $2,487 |
Erie | $2,694 |
Progressive | $3,052 |
Farmers | $3,409 |
Allstate | $3,617 |
State Farm | $3,849 |
Auto-Owners | $3,970 |
Average | $2,860 |
Having poor credit can be one of the biggest hurdles to getting cheap car insurance—even if you have a great driving record. Poor credit can cause higher auto insurance rates than even having a DUI or at-fault accident on your record.
Average rates go up more than 80% for drivers with poor credit compared to those with good credit.
With potentially exorbitant rates it’s especially important to shop around. Geico, Nationwide and Travelers had the best rates among the companies we analyzed, with USAA a good bet for military members and veterans.
Company | Average annual rates |
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Erie | $1,212 |
USAA | $1,268 |
Geico | $1,390 |
State Farm | $1,551 |
Auto-Owners | $1,561 |
Nationwide | $1,734 |
Travelers | $1,850 |
Progressive | $2,279 |
Farmers | $2,352 |
Allstate | $2,443 |
Average | $1,764 |
Average car insurance rates go up about $200 a year if you were caught driving uninsured. If you have a gap in your car insurance record, expect higher rates when you buy a policy, but you can still shop around for a good deal.
In our analysis Erie, Geico and State Farm offer cheap car insurance for drivers who were caught without insurance. Those who qualify for USAA insurance should check quotes from them.
How much do different factors affect your chances of getting cheap car insurance? In our analysis of rates from 10 large insurers, poor credit was the largest hurdle to cheap car insurance rates. A DUI conviction and causing an accident that injured someone else also lead to higher rates.
Whatever your situation, you can look for a better deal by comparing car insurance quotes. Even drivers with excellent records need to do some shopping around in order to find the best rates.
Ideally you’ll find a great price from a company with good customer service.
Most of the companies in our analysis have complaint levels that are lower than the industry average. Complaint numbers from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (below) show a company’s level of complaint relative to its size of business, with complaint numbers above 1.0 being higher than the industry average.
Erie and Farmers both had complaint levels higher than the industry average in 2020. Auto insurance complaints tend to center around claim denials, delays and unsatisfactory settlement offers.
In Forbes Advisor’s ratings of the best car insurance companies, Erie, USAA, State Farm and Travelers came out on top, when weighing rates, complaints and collision claims.
State | Cheapest company | Average annual rate | ||
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Alabama | Geico | $863 | ||
Arizona | Geico | $943 | ||
Arkansas | Geico | $1,015 | ||
California | Wawanesa | $1,733 | ||
Colorado | Geico | $983 | ||
Connecticut | Geico | $719 | ||
Florida | Geico | $1,699 | ||
Georgia | Geico | $1,089 | ||
Illinois | Geico | $1,035 | ||
Indiana | Geico | $691 | ||
Iowa | State Farm | $831 | ||
Kansas | State Farm | $1,272 | ||
Kentucky | Geico | $973 | ||
Louisiana | State Farm | $2,434 | ||
Maine | Geico | $472 | ||
Maryland | Geico | $1,170 | ||
Massachusetts | Geico | $1,019 | ||
Michigan | Geico | $1,046 | ||
Minnesota | Geico | $1,010 | ||
Mississippi | Direct General Insurance | $921 | ||
Missouri | State Farm | $1,332 | ||
Montana | Geico | $1,101 | ||
Nebraska | Farmers Mutual of Nebraska | $1,281 | ||
Nevada | State Farm | $1,379 | ||
New Hampshire | Concord | $762 | ||
New Jersey | Geico | $1,160 | ||
New York | Progressive | $1,027 | ||
North Carolina | Geico | $872 | ||
North Dakota | Geico | $758 | ||
Ohio | Geico | $658 | ||
Oklahoma | Geico | $928 | ||
Oregon | State Farm | $985 | ||
Pennsylvania | Travelers | $733 | ||
South Carolina | American National | $721 | ||
South Dakota | Geico | $823 | ||
Tennessee | Erie | $706 | ||
Texas | Texas Farm Bureau | $1,032 | ||
Utah | Geico | $725 | ||
Vermont | Geico | $644 | ||
Virginia | Geico | $949 | ||
Washington | Progressive | $982 | ||
Wisconsin | Geico | $629 | ||
Cutting coverage is one way to get cheaper auto insurance but it will leave you open to repair bills and lawsuits against you. Instead, try these tips for getting cheap car insurance.
To find the cheapest car insurance companies, we averaged rates from 10 large insurers using data from Quadrant Information Services, a provider of insurance data and analytics. Rates are based on a 30-year-old female driver with a clean record insuring a Toyota RAV4 with $100,000 in bodily injury liability coverage per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability, uninsured motorist coverage and any other coverage required in the state. The rate also includes collision and comprehensive with a $500 deductible.
For good drivers, Erie, Geico and State Farm have the cheapest car insurance, based on our analysis of rates from 10 large insurers.
USAA also has very competitive rates and is available only to military members, veterans and their families.
An insurance policy with only the minimum coverage required in your state would be the cheapest type of car insurance. Most states require a minimum level of liability car insurance. Some states also require uninsured motorist coverage and other types of coverage.
If you live in a state with a no-fault insurance system, you’ll have to buy PIP insurance.
At some point, as your vehicle gets older, paying for collision and comprehensive coverage no longer makes sense. That’s because the maximum payout would be the current value of the car if it’s totaled or stolen, minus your deductible. If your car is worth very little, you’re paying for coverage that may result in only a small insurance check.
But if you would be in a financial jam if your car were totaled, stolen or extensively damaged by a problem covered by the collision and comprehensive insurance, keeping them makes sense.
I’m the Insurance Analyst for Forbes Advisor. I’ve been writing about insurance for consumers for more than 20 years. Insurance intersects with many parts of our lives, yet it’s tough to untangle, and wrong choices can make a financial mess. I’m here to help you make sense of it. I’m especially interested in how data is affecting the price you pay for all insurance types.