Compare car insurance rates (May 2022)

Insurance rates vary dramatically with age. Teen drivers have the most expensive car insurance premiums of any age group in every state, and drivers under 25 are generally categorized as high-risk drivers. Luckily, insurance gets cheaper as you age^[1] and gain more experience on the road. Drivers in their 30s pay almost 55 percent less than teen drivers, and drivers in their 40s pay even less.

Senior drivers in their 50s and 60s benefit from the cheapest car insurance rates of any age group. On average, drivers in their 60s with a clean record can expect to pay 65 percent less than an 18-year-old. However, rates will increase again once drivers reach 80. Drivers in their 80s pay about 21 percent more for their car insurance policies than drivers in their 60s.

The state where you live and drive heavily affects your car insurance rate because variables like legislation, population density, crime rates, and weather patterns affect your likelihood of filing a claim.

According to Insurify’s data, Michigan is the most expensive state for car insurance, with residents paying an average of $238 a month for coverage, while Hawaii has the least expensive car insurance, with residents spending an average of $69 a month on car insurance. Check out how much the average resident in your state pays for car insurance below.

Your driving history, which includes any previous accidents, speeding tickets, and DUIs, gives insurers an indication of how likely you are to file a claim.

Premiums can differ significantly across companies for one driver with the same record due to the different ways insurers assess risk. Additionally, some insurance companies specialize in insuring high-risk drivers with less-than-perfect driving records. That’s why it’s critical to compare quotes—you never know which company could give you the best deal.

Your vehicle’s make and model influence your car insurance rate depending on how easy it is to replace the vehicle’s parts and how much it typically costs to make repairs. For this reason, luxury cars are more expensive to insure than standard models. Overall, sedans are the most expensive car type to insure, while minivans are the cheapest.

The top three cheapest car brands to insure in the U.S. are Fiat, Buick, and Subaru. These car makes are known for their economical pricing and structural dependability, which is reflected in their lower car insurance rates.

On the other hand, the most expensive car brands to insure include Alfa Romeo, Maserati, and Tesla. Not only are these cars expensive to purchase, but their insurance premiums will set you back thousands every year.

Historically, drivers with a lower credit score are more likely to file insurance claims, presenting a higher risk to insurance companies. As a result, insurers take your credit history into account in most states. Five states—California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Washington—have banned insurers from using your credit to set rates.

When comparing auto insurance quotes by credit score, drivers with poor credit pay 55 percent more for their car insurance policy than those with excellent credit. Meanwhile, drivers with good credit pay only 6 percent more than those with excellent credit.

Your car insurance quote takes numerous factors into account. Some seem obvious, like your driving record and the value of your vehicle, but others are less so. Check out some of the lesser-known factors that affect your car insurance rates:

1. Gather information needed to receive an accurate quote. 
2. Use an insurance comparison platform like Insurify to view a list of personalized insurance quotes. 
3. Compare policies and pick the one that gives you the best deal for your coverage.
4. Alternatively, you can speak to one of Insurify’s independent agents if you’d like to talk to a licensed professional.

According to Insurify, the national average cost of car insurance is $136 a month^[3]. But how much you pay for car insurance depends heavily on factors like your location, coverage, and driving history. For example, drivers in Michigan pay 75 percent above the national average, and drivers with an at-fault accident on record pay 29 percent above the national average.

Car insurance is a fixed monthly expense that you have to pay for as long as you plan on driving a car. There’s no reason to be paying more than you need to. The best way to find the cheapest car insurance policy available to you is by getting quotes from multiple insurance providers and identifying the one that gives you the best deal.

A reputable car insurance company that fits your budget and provides robust coverage, quality customer service, and timely claims management is a tall order. Here are some factors to keep in mind while comparing car insurance companies:

• Car insurance quote price
• Customer service record
• Claims service process
• Financial strength

After crunching the numbers, here are the best car insurance companies according to Insurify:

The best car insurance comparison sites tend to be sites that provide users with accurate quotes, such as: 

• Insurify
• The Zebra
• Jerry

In order to get the information you’re looking for, these sites may ask you for a range of information to get you an accurate quote. This includes:

• Your car’s make, model, and year
• Your age, gender, marital, and employment status
• Your address and whether you’re a homeowner
• Your credit score, education level, and driving record

In your search for the perfect policy, be careful which sites you give your personal information to. A lot of these are lead-generation websites that exist to sell your data, leaving you with an inbox full of spam. 

To make sure you’re not wasting your time and giving away your data, check out our list of the best insurance comparison sites to find sites that will help you save time and money while keeping your data secure.

To keep your quotes low, you should be mindful of the following:

• Your level of coverage
• Fewer coverage add-ons and lower limits will keep your car insurance costs low, but they also might leave you vulnerable to out-of-pocket costs in the event of an accident.
• Your selected deductible
• The higher your deductible, the lower your car insurance costs. However, you should make sure you can afford to pay your deductible in the event of an accident.
• Discounts
• Providers have discounts for everything—from owning a home to earning a 3.5 GPA at school. Most insurance-comparison sites will ask you questions to ascertain which discounts you’re eligible for. Make sure to answer those correctly to keep your quotes low.

You can easily find cheap car insurance quotes for free and compare prices and policies through an online quote-comparison platform like Insurify. Using this platform, you’ll be able to view a list of car insurance quotes from top companies tailored to your unique driving profile.

Car insurance policies aren’t one-size-fits-all. Most auto insurance policies encompass a mix of six main types of car insurance coverage, plus a few optional additions.

Liability Coverage

Vehicle liability coverage is required by law in almost every state. If a driver is involved in a car accident and found to be at fault, this type of coverage will help pay for damage to the other driver’s vehicle and any resulting medical bills for the other parties involved.

Personal Injury Protection

Personal injury protection, sometimes abbreviated PIP, covers you and your passengers’ medical bills and lost wages in the case of an accident. Also known as no-fault insurance, PIP will help cover these bills regardless of who is at fault in an accident.

Medical Payments

Medical payments coverage, also known as MedPay, is usually offered in non-PIP states. MedPay is a stripped-down version of PIP that will help cover hospital bills for you and your passengers after an accident, even if you’re not in a vehicle.

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured or underinsuredmotorist coverage kicks in when you’re the victim of a hit-and-run or when you’re involved in an accident where the at-fault driver doesn’t have enough coverage to cover your damages. This coverage is currently required in 22 states^[4]. 

Collision Coverage

Collision insurance covers damages if your vehicle collides with another car or object. If you’re driving a car you purchased with a car loan or other financing plan, you’ll probably be required to buy collision coverage.

Comprehensive Coverage

Comprehensive coverage kicks in when your car is damaged in a non-collision incident. This includes incidents of vandalism, theft, weather-related damage, and other acts of God. This is typically optional but usually required by your lender if you don’t own your car outright.

Full-Coverage Car Insurance

A car insurance policy with both comprehensive and collision coverage in addition to liability coverage is considered a “full-coverage” insurance policy. Take a look below to see how much a full-coverage policy costs compared to a liability-only policy, based on your insurance company:

Before purchasing a policy, it’s important to understand what your coverage actually, well, covers. Unfortunately, most drivers are paying for coverage—as required by most states’ laws—without fully understanding what it will protect them against.

Insurify’s research team surveyed over 1,000 American drivers and found that 96 percent of drivers don’t understand fundamental aspects of their car insurance policy, including what damages it covers them against and what out-of-pocket costs they’re vulnerable to in the event of a claim.

Additionally, nearly 80 percent of drivers falsely believe that comprehensive coverage will cover damage done to their vehicle in the event of a collision. Over half of drivers surveyed incorrectly think that bodily injury liability, which is required in most states, will cover their own medical expenses resulting from an at-fault accident.

Make sure you understand what you’re protected against and what you may be vulnerable to. Read the full report here.