How To Get Cheap Auto Insurance

Did you know the exact same driver could be charged $32 per month by one insurance company and $104 per month by another? Our car insurance analysis — based on millions of quotes collected across the country — backs that up.

Beyond the data, the best advice we can give drivers looking for their best car insurance rates is to shop around. No single insurer will be the cheapest for every driver, but our research will give you a good foundation to start your search.

Cheapest car insurance companies
Cheapest company by state
How to find the cheapest rates

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What is the cheapest car insurance company?

Our analysis found that USAA and State Farm are the most affordable major insurers in the country. USAA cost an average of $224 for a six-month policy, 49% below the national average. State Farm cost $309 (30% below the national average) for a six-month policy.

Although USAA is easily the cheapest option among major insurers, only active military members, veterans or their families will qualify for a policy.

Among insurers that have a smaller national footprint, Farm Bureau Insurance , at $251 for a six-month policy, and Erie , at $195, rank as the cheapest.

These insurers don't have the same name recognition as some of the companies you may recognize from national television campaigns, but could help you find savings if you're looking for the cheapest rate.

Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in Your Area

The Three Cheapest Major Car Insurance Companies

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State Farm is the largest auto insurance company in the country, providing policies nationwide and rates that beat the average in 48 states (excluding Massachusetts and Rhode Island) and D.C. A minimum coverage auto insurance policy with State Farm costs $309 for six months. Additionally, this company boasts an enormous network of local agents, meaning there is likely a State Farm agent in your city who can help you with a policy.

Geico is the second largest auto insurance company in the country and operates in all 50 states and D.C. A minimum coverage policy with Geico costs $390 for six months. Geico also has one of the auto insurance market's best quote tools, so it's easy to get an instant rate online and comparison shop.

USAA is actually the cheapest of these three insurers and, like Geico, operates in all 50 states and D.C. Minimum coverage auto insurance costs $223 for a six-month policy, on average, which is the lowest rate by far. We list USAA last of these three insurers as only active military members, veterans and their families will be eligible. But as the fifth largest auto insurance company in the country, it's serving almost as many customers as other big names like Progressive and Allstate.

In the table below, you can see how the average six-month rates for 13 of the biggest auto insurers in the country compared based on online quotes for a 30-year-old driver.

How we determined the cheapest insurers: We collected quotes from 51 insurance companies across hundreds of ZIP codes (or more) in every state. Major insurers are noted with an asterisk, with major being defined as those who offered quotes in at least 20 states.

Quotes were for a sample driver and policy as described in our methodology.

How rates with the cheapest insurers might change depending on your driver profile

A variety of factors can affect your car insurance rates, including your location, age, driving history, vehicle, financial profile and, maybe most importantly, elected coverage. Our rates above were for a sample 30-year-old driver with a clean driving history.

Below, we show what the five biggest insurers charge when we alter the sample driver's age, driving record and coverage limits.

All rates are for a six-month policy with full coverage, rather than minimum coverage, unless noted otherwise.

bar graph comparing rates for a 30-year-old driver vs a 18-year-old driver

As you can see:

Very young drivers and those with an accident history are charged much more than older drivers and those who have a clean record.
Those who opt for a minimum coverage policy can get considerable savings on their premiums, though they risk not being fully covered in the event of a major accident.

The cheapest insurers by state

The price of car insurance can vary greatly between states. One company may be expensive in Utah but inexpensive in New York. Although State Farm did not rank as our cheapest car insurance company overall, it was the cheapest widely available and accessible insurer, meaning it operates in more than 40 states and there are no eligibility requirements.

USAA was often the cheapest option in any given state, but its eligibility requirements make it restrictive. If you are eligible, you should get a quote with USAA as it is available across the country.

In some states, a small, local company or affiliate could even offer you the best price. For example, the cheapest insurers on average in Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina and Virginia are their Farm Bureau affiliates.

Here, we've provided a list of the cheapest insurers in each state — on average — based on our research. Click on your state to see a deeper analysis on the least expensive car insurance in your area.

What is the cheapest car insurance company for you?

We identified the auto insurance companies with the cheapest rates, but depending on a variety of factors — location, driving history, financial profile and more — some insurers may be cheaper for certain types of drivers than others.

These are our recommendations for the cheapest companies on average, which will guide you if you're just looking to get the lowest price.

Shoppers looking for the best balance of affordability, strong customer service and features can compare the best auto insurance companies.

Cheapest car insurance company overall: Erie

Given that USAA has eligibility restrictions and Farm Bureau is disproportionately expensive when you add more coverages, we rate Erie as the cheapest insurance company. And it's reliable to boot, given its strong customer service reputation. Erie's main downside is that it's only available in 12 states and D.C.

Whether you're looking for a car insurance policy that only meets your state requirements or a more extensive full-coverage policy, Erie was one of the most affordable non-USAA options for our sample driver.

Cheapest companies for a minimum coverage policy

Rank	Company	Six-month rate
1	Erie	$195
2	USAA	$224
3	Farm Bureau	$251
4	State Farm	$309
5	Auto-Owners	$513

Cheapest companies for a full coverage policy

Rank	Company	Six-month rate
1	USAA	$644
2	Erie	$806
3	State Farm	$812
4	Farm Bureau	$871
5	American Family	$1,067

A full coverage policy includes both collision and comprehensive insurance, protecting you against damage to your car, not just the legal liability of hurting or injuring other drivers.

Erie also scored high marks for policy options: It offers pet coverage, free accident forgiveness, free vanishing deductibles and roadside assistance, giving its customers a degree of flexibility not found even among the largest insurers.

Erie customers who are eligible for its rate lock program can avoid premium hikes that could cause rates to creep up over the years. This is a unique program where customers won't see their rates increase except for three reasons: you move to a different area or change where you park your car, add or remove someone from your policy or add or remove a car.

Additionally, despite its smaller size, Erie offers the same types of discounts that larger national insurers provide. These include premium reductions for having multiple policies, a vehicle equipped with anti-lock brakes or anti-theft equipment, as well as savings for young and senior drivers.

The biggest downside to Erie is that it is only available in the following areas:

District of Columbia
Illinois
Indiana
Kentucky
Maryland

New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Pennsylvania

Tennessee
Virginia
West Virginia
Wisconsin

If you're not eligible for USAA and some of these smaller insurance companies are not offered in your state, we recommend State Farm as the cheapest overall insurance company and a great place to start your comparison shopping.

Cheapest auto insurance company after an accident: State Farm

We found State Farm raises car insurance rates the least after a driver is in a recent at-fault accident, compared to the many auto insurance companies we surveyed. State Farm's average rates after an accident increased by 24%, from $812 to $1,010, the smallest rate increase we saw of any major company. On average, insurers increased rates by 42%.

How insurance rates increase after an accident

Company	Clean record	One crash	Rate hike
Erie	$1,612	$2,010	25%
State Farm	$1,623	$2,020	24%
Farm Bureau	$1,742	$2,325	33%
Geico	$2,017	$3,194	58%
American Family	$2,135	$3,260	53%
Auto-Owners	$2,192	$2,750	25%
Nationwide	$2,201	$3,292	50%
Progressive	$2,321	$3,569	54%
MetLife	$2,379	$4,003	68%
Travelers	$3,002	$3,610	20%
Farmers	$3,582	$5,031	40%
Allstate	$3,585	$5,488	53%

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Rates are for a 6-month full coverage policy, which includes comprehensive and collision insurance plus state-mandated liability insurance.

Although Erie raised rates by 25% after an accident, a bigger penalty than State Farm, it remained the cheapest insurer for a driver with an at-fault accident on his record. But car insurance rates are highly variable, and the fact that State Farm penalizes drivers the least indicates that it is a good starting point for shoppers with an accident history looking for cheap insurance.

Other pros of State Farm include its positive marks for customer service and claims handling.

Our survey of current customers revealed that most customers are happy with the way they are treated by State Farm.
73% of respondents reported they were extremely satisfied with their most recent claims process with the insurer.

Cheapest car insurance company for military members: USAA

If you're a service member, a veteran or a family member of one, then you could be eligible for USAA auto insurance. If so, we found that USAA, not Erie, is the cheapest insurer in the country on average.

In fact, USAA is the cheapest company by quite a wide margin. While the average cost of minimum coverage only beats Farm Bureau by $27 for a six-month policy, Farm Bureau policies often require membership dues, which can range from $20 to $50 annually.

Insurer	Average six month rate
USAA	$224
Farm Bureau	$251
Average of all insurers	$449

USAA stands out for more than just its affordability: It also has one of the best customer service reputations in the industry. According to our survey of current insurance customers, 62% of respondents rated its customer service as excellent and 78% were extremely satisfied with their most recent claim. Both those figures topped all qualifying insurers in the survey.

For more information, read about USAA's insurance offerings.

Cheapest car insurance for low-mileage drivers: Metromile

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If you find yourself away from the wheel more times than not, a pay-per-mile auto insurance company such as Metromile may be the best company to go with.

Metromile was one of the first companies in the U.S. to determine premiums largely based on mileage. How much driving is too much when shopping with Metromile? Generally, for Metromile to be a good deal, drivers should drive fewer than 7,500 miles per year.

The biggest downside to Metromile is that it's only available in eight states: Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.

Cheapest car insurance for those with a poor credit history: Geico

Overall, Geico was the cheapest auto insurance company for drivers with poor credit scores, averaging $1,193.

Our analysis found that when an identical driver had a poor credit score instead of an excellent credit score, he only paid 39% more with Geico. This was the third-lowest percentage increase among our sample insurers.

Company	Poor credit	Very good credit	Rate hike
Geico	$1,193	$722	65%
Farm Bureau	$1,226	$684	79%
Nationwide	$1,333	$840	59%
State Farm	$1,340	$477	181%
American Family	$1,353	$778	74%
Auto-Owners	$1,417	$663	114%
Erie	$1,492	$558	167%
Progressive	$1,611	$806	100%
Farmers	$1,783	$1,098	62%
Allstate	$1,926	$1,138	69%
Travelers	$1,997	$785	154%
USAA	$968	$498	94%

Rates are for our designated sample driver shopping for a full coverage policy.

On average, our sample insurers charged rates 104% higher if a driver had poor credit instead of excellent credit, so improving your credit score is a great way to garner big savings on your insurance policy.

How to find the cheapest car insurance coverage for you

Broadly speaking, you should take two key steps to find the cheapest car insurance for you.

Ensure you're shopping for the appropriate level of car insurance coverage.
Shop for quotes between multiple insurers, including our top recommendations. When shopping, be sure to take advantage of all available discounts.

Taking the first step — knowing how much car insurance you need — is important for finding appropriately cheap car insurance because:

You don't want to overpay for unnecessary coverage.
But you do want to purchase enough coverage to fulfill legal requirements and to appropriately cover your risk.
Finally, you'll have to define your appropriate coverage limits to make fair price comparisons across insurers.

Determining how much auto insurance you need comes down to understanding your current economic circumstances, how the different types of coverage work together and your state requirements.

The following table gives a quick summary of the types of auto insurance coverage, whether you need them and how much you should have.

Coverage	Required?	How much to get
Bodily injury liability	Required in every state except Florida	Per accident limits close to your net worth
Property damage liability	Required in every state	Per accident limits close to your net worth
Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage	Required in 22 states	Per accident limits close to your net worth if you don't have PIP and collision
Collision and comprehensive	Required if you have a car loan or lease a car	Recommended if your car is worth more than $2,000
Personal injury protection (PIP) or medical payments	Required in 14 states	Recommended if you don't have health insurance or you have high deductibles or copays

How much coverage you need will depend on your economic situation. For example, high-net-worth individuals should get liability limits similar to their net worth, which will probably exceed the state-required minimums.

Now that you've determined how much car insurance you need, shop around between insurers and apply all discounts possible

Once you know how much coverage to buy, it's time to compare car insurance companies. Even when you opt for the exact same coverage levels with two different insurers, one company could be much cheaper for you than another based on how it calculates its rates.

It's easier than ever to compare insurance quotes using online quote tools. But you may want to talk to an insurance agent to ensure you get the most accurate quote possible

By talking to an agent, you can see if you qualify for discounts that may not be applied in the online quote tool process. Car insurance discounts are generally broken into four categories:

Driver safety discount: Cheaper rates for having a safe driver history or taking defensive driving courses.
Driver status discount: Discounts lifestyle elements that insurers reward with cheaper rates. These can range from incentives — such as a student getting savings for getting good grades — to elements you can't control, such as a senior discount for those of a certain age.
Policy discount: Savings offered for buying more products or coverage from a particular insurer. The most common discount of this type is a home and auto bundle, in which you get big savings from buying home and auto insurance with the same company.
Safe vehicle discount: If features of your vehicle increase its safety, such as anti-theft technology, you may qualify for a discount.

Chances are you're overpaying for your insurance policy

ValuePenguin analyzed nationwide insurance rates and found that a driver looking for a state-mandated insurance policy — the minimum coverage required — overpays by an average of $330 per year. Extrapolated across the country as a whole, this means Americans are overpaying for car insurance by almost $37 billion per year.

icon of insurance policy

Once you know how much coverage you need, the best way to find cheap car insurance is to compare quotes from multiple companies.

This can be done online, as most companies have quote tools that can be used to get car insurance rates. Additionally, if you prefer to work with an actual person when looking for car insurance, you could talk to an independent insurance agent who can help you compare rates from multiple companies.

Frequently asked questions

Who has the cheapest car insurance?

Among national insurers, USAA had the cheapest rates, at $37 per month, with State Farm in second place at $52 per month. The cheapest local insurers were Erie, at $33 per month, and Farm Bureau, at $42 per month.

What's the cheapest online car insurance?

Geico, Progressive, USAA and State Farm were some of the cheapest companies that let you get quotes and buy a policy online. It's often cheaper to buy car insurance online than it is to work with an agent, since you won't have to pay agent fees and you can often get extra discounts for buying online.

How can I save money on car insurance?

The best way to save on auto insurance is to compare quotes from multiple companies. Make sure you consider every factor that goes into your quote, such as your coverage amounts, deductibles, discounts and extra fees. And don't just get quotes from big national companies — regional companies like Erie, Farm Bureau and American Family could have some of the cheapest rates if you live in a state they serve.

What's the cheapest type of car insurance?

State minimum liability coverage is the cheapest type of car insurance. Liability-only insurance is $1,500 cheaper on average than a full-coverage policy. Switching to a liability-only policy could be a good option to help you save if your car isn't worth much and you own it outright.

Is it a good idea to get the cheapest car insurance?

It depends on what you're giving up in exchange for the cheapest rate. If you raised your deductible or lowered your coverage maximums, for example, consider how much extra you'd have to pay out of pocket after an expensive accident. Or, if you choose a company known for a slow claims process, consider how long you could afford to be without a car or pay for a rental car while you wait for the repair check in the mail.

Methodology: How we got our info

We collected quotes for thousands of ZIP codes in the U.S. for 51 insurance companies. Our sample driver was a single 30-year-old man who drove a 2015 Honda Civic EX and had a clean driving record. The only parameter that changed was the ZIP code where he lived in the U.S. These rates are for this specific driver profile and your results may vary. The amount of coverage we opted for gave our driver a bit more than what is required of state minimums:

Coverage type	Study limits
Bodily liability	$50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident
Property damage	$25,000 per accident
Uninsured/underinsured motorist BI	$50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident
Comprehensive and collision	$500 deductible
Personal injury protection	Minimum when required by state

ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.

ValuePenguin calculated the average amount drivers overpay for car insurance by calculating the difference between:

The average cost of a minimum coverage policy across all sample insurers in each state
The average cost of the cheapest sampled insurers in that state

These figures were then averaged across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., to find a national average. This average was multiplied by the Federal Highway Administration's latest figure for the number of registered automobiles in the country to find the aggregate amount drivers overpay for insurance.