Find the Best Cheap Car Insurance

Find the Best Cheap Car Insurance

Whether you’re buying only liability insurance or a full coverage car insurance policy, the thought of cheap car insurance is enticing. And there’s no better way to find the best deal than by shopping around and comparing quotes.

To help you find the cheapest car insurance, NerdWallet did a car insurance comparison of rates from the five largest auto insurers across the 12 most populous states in the country. Rates are for good drivers without accidents or tickets, with policies that include liability, collision and comprehensive coverage.

Overall rankings: Car insurance rates among the five largest companies

Geico

For the general population, Geico offers the cheapest car insurance quotes on average nationwide. NerdWallet found an average rate of $1,297 a year in our study.

Geico also provides a variety of easy-to-score discounts that can cut costs. Motorists who’ve gone five years without an accident qualify for the company’s good driver discount. There are also opportunities to save by insuring multiple vehicles, driving a car with air bags, always wearing seat belts and taking advantage of various other discounts.

State Farm

State Farm ranks second for pricing among the four largest companies, but with an average quote of $2,296 per year, nearly $1,000 per year higher than Geico. The good news is drivers have ample opportunity to trim their costs, especially if they have a clean driving record. Among other savings opportunities, State Farm offers four separate discounts that deal with safe and accident-free driving.

State Farm is the nation’s leading car insurance provider in terms of market share, offering a vast array of insurance products and financial services in every state plus Washington, D.C.

Progressive

Progressive returned an average quote of $2,821 per year, which comes out to $235 a month. That’s $525 a year higher than State Farm and more than double the cost of Geico.

Progressive may appeal to drivers looking for a paper- and agent-free experience. You can manage your policy entirely online. Starting a quote online and signing policy documents electronically are also two ways to qualify for discounts, along with things like bundling auto and home insurance and insuring multiple cars.

Allstate

Of the four largest insurers, Allstate had the highest average annual quote for good drivers at $3,182, or roughly $265 per month. Although ponying up that kind of cash is a lot to ask, the company has solid finances and relatively few complaints from policyholders. Allstate holds an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from A.M. Best and has a customer complaint ratio of 0.77, better than the industry median of 1.00, according to data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Among other discounts, Allstate offers price breaks for safe driving, including savings once you’ve gone accident- and violation-free for three years, and again for five years.

USAA: Best for those with military ties

You may already recognize USAA for its highly rated customer service. But the company has more to offer than a friendly bedside manner — it also notched the cheapest car insurance rates in our study, at $918 a year. USAA offers several discounts to help you save more, including for going more than five years with a clean record and for taking an approved defensive driving course.

USAA is open to active and retired military members and their families, and offers car insurance and other insurance products in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Tips for anyone to get cheap car insurance

No matter who your auto insurance company is, here are tips for saving on your policy:

1. Look for discounts — even ask for them. There could be discounts you’re not taking advantage of. For instance, maybe you now work from home and are driving less than when you bought your policy. Mention it and you might get a low-mileage discount.
2. Rethink your insurance limits and deductibles. Don’t strip away your coverage just for the sake of a lower price. But consider accepting a higher deductible on collision and comprehensive if it makes sense. Raising deductibles means you would owe more out of pocket if you had to file a comprehensive or collision claim. If you rarely drive or are financially comfortable with that risk, though, it’s a surefire way to get cheaper car insurance.
3. Cash in on major life changes. Certain life events could translate to cheaper car insurance. For instance, many companies offer a lower rate for married couples or domestic partners. Or perhaps you moved to a new city with stellar public transportation. If you’re commuting by train instead of car, your risk for accidents will go down — and your rates just might, too.

Finding the Cheapest Car Insurance for Teens

Finding the Cheapest Car Insurance for Teens

If you’ve ever had to buy car insurance for teens, you know coverage can be brutally expensive.

That’s why it’s especially important for parents of teen drivers to compare prices from multiple insurance companies and look for discounts.

Car insurance for teens and their families
To give you a rough idea of how much it’ll cost to insure your teen driver, we looked at rates in the eight most populous states for a family with and without a teenager behind the wheel of two popular models.

In our analysis, rates to add a teen driver to a policy generally ranged from$1,200 per year to $2,200 per year — though rates were much higher in some cases, depending on the insurer.
How to score cheap car insurance for teens

If that sounds like a lot of money, a wide variety of discount are available that can help soften the financial blow of adding a teen driver to your policy. Amounts vary by state and company, but “up to” 10%, 15% or 25% off is a pretty common refrain.

Here are some ways to save money:

1. Add the teen to the parents’ policy rather than putting them on their own policy. NerdWallet’s research has shown it’s much less expensive to add a teen to a policy with parents.
2. Get good grades. Families with students with a B or better average in school are frequently eligible for car insurance discounts.
3. Take driver’s training. Young drivers who took a driver’s education course were less likely to get a traffic ticket, less likely to have an accident and less likely to be in an accident resulting in injury or death than those who didn’t, according to a 2015 University of Nebraska-Lincoln study.
4. Leave the car at home. Some insurers offer a discount if the student is attending school at least 100 miles away from home and doesn’t take a car. (Students are still covered when they drive while at home on breaks.)

Auto Insurance Quote Considerations

Auto Insurance Quote Considerations

Learning more about car insurance is the best way to make sure you have proper coverage and that you are also getting the best deal possible. Keep reading to understand how various factors can impact your auto insurance quote.

Buying a used car is a good way to save money on your insurance premiums since older models are not as valuable. If you intend on keeping this car for years, you should get an insurance policy that will cover most damages. Because insurance on a used car is cheap, you should get a comprehensive policy. However, if you do not plan on keeping your car for too long or want to save money on your premiums, you should think about dropping a few items on your policy, such as aesthetic repairs.

A new car is not likely to break down, which means you probably don't need your policy to cover tow trucks and similar expenses. If the new car is fully paid, you should protect your investment with a policy covering accidents likely to happen. And if you are still making payments on your new car, the financing institution you are using will probably have a set of guidelines about the kind of insurance policy you need to get. If not, select a policy as comprehensive as you can afford to make sure you can keep on making payments.

If you have a good driving record and do not file any claims, you can benefit from interesting discounts. Every insurance company has different discounts. You need to get in touch with your insurance agent and ask about good driver discounts. You might actually want to think twice before filing a claim for a minor damage that you could pay for yourself since you will not benefit from the good driver discount anymore.

Other drivers can use your car if they have insurance in their name or if you add them to your policy. Usually, it is cheaper to add someone to your policy than to pay for individual coverage. Get in touch with your insurance agent to find out how much adding someone to your policy will cost you. You should know that if you add your children to your policy, you can usually benefit from a good student discount if they have good grades.

Protecting more than one vehicle with the same policy is a good way to save money. This is called bundle insurance, and insurance agents will encourage you to take additional policies on your other car, your motorcycle or even your home. Before you get a bundle plan, compare the coverage and the price you get to other options. Bundle plans come with good discounts but do not get coverage that you do not really need just because you can get it at a discounted price.

Learning as much as possible about car insurance is the best way to make educated decisions. You should take the time to compare your options when requesting an auto insurance quote and go over your policy carefully to make sure you are getting the best coverage you can afford.