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As we work together to slow the spread of COVID-19, state insurance commissions and insurance providers are constantly changing regulations and practices surrounding monthly payments, claim payouts, and more. To stay up to date with the latest on auto insurance reimbursements in your area, be sure to check with your state’s insurance commission and your current auto insurance provider.
If your driving habits have changed due to COVID-19, find a new, cheaper, ready-to-buy auto insurance policy on Insurify by comparing dozens of quotes at once.
The public education system is regularly rated as one of the best in the country, accounting for the highest literacy rate in the country at 99 percent. Couple that with its low cost of living, low crime rates, and top-notch infrastructure, and you can see why the Hawkeye State is regularly named one of the best states to call home in the U.S. If you’re a resident, or aspiring resident, of Iowa, this article will show you how to get the best and cheapest car insurance quotes now and in the future—read on to learn more. And if you’re looking for the greatest thing since sliced bread—invented by Iowan Otto Frederick Rohwedder in 1912, by the way—look no further than Insurify's quote comparison tool.
Here are the cheapest carriers in Iowa for the following user profile: a single, 30 year old male with a clean driving record who drives a 2012 Honda Accord and pays a $1,000 deductible for the state’s minimum liability insurance. We averaged rates for the twenty most populous cities in Iowa.
| Cheapest Companies | Quotes |
|---|---|
 Progressive | $17/mo |
 State Farm | $28/mo |
 Allstate | $38/mo |
 Nationwide | $65/mo |
 GEICO | $71/mo |
The Insurify Composite Score is calculated by analyzing multiple factors that indicate the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company. Inputs to the score include financial strength ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch; J.D. Power ratings, Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys, mobile app reviews, and user-generated carrier reviews. The following are the top rated carriers that offer car insurance in Iowa. For the complete list, see Insurify's best car insurance companies.
| Best Companies | Quotes | |
|---|---|---|
Nationwide | $65/mo | |
 American Family | $90/mo | |
State Farm | $28/mo | |
GEICO | $71/mo | |
Allstate | $38/mo | |
 Liberty Mutual | $124/mo | |
Progressive | $17/mo |
Auto insurance costs will vary between locations and insurance carriers. Insurify analyzed the latest data for the five most populous cities in Iowa to find you the cheapest quotes in each of these metropolitan areas.
Des Moines is the capital and most populous city of Iowa. The city's controversial I-235 speeding camera program has issued citations for thousands of drivers; the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that the city could indeed regulate the camera program, which was restarted in June 2018 after a brief court-ordered hiatus. Des Moines drivers rank among the worst and fastest in the nation, according to two 2018 studies of driver behavior by Insurify.
| City | Cheapest Carrier | Quote |
|---|---|---|
| Des Moines | Progressive | $27/mo |
| Cedar Rapids | Progressive | $25/mo |
| Davenport | Progressive | $31/mo |
| Sioux City | Progressive | $27/mo |
| Iowa City | Progressive | $28/mo |
| Waterloo | Progressive | $31/mo |
| West Des Moines | Progressive | $18/mo |
| Ames | Progressive | $18/mo |
| Council Bluffs | Progressive | $28/mo |
| Dubuque |  State Farm | $36/mo |
| Ankeny | State Farm | $35/mo |
| Urbandale | Progressive | $19/mo |
| Cedar Falls | Progressive | $20/mo |
| Marion | Progressive | $19/mo |
| Bettendorf |  Allstate | $43/mo |
| Marshalltown | Progressive | $19/mo |
| Mason City | Progressive | $17/mo |
| Clinton | Progressive | $19/mo |
| Burlington | Progressive | $19/mo |
| Ottumwa | Progressive | $20/mo |
Iowa drivers are held to different standards than most of the nation's motorists: there is no specific law mandating that they purchase Iowa car insurance. However, if an Iowa driver gets into an accident, or gets a license suspended or revoked, they must demonstrate proof of financial responsibility to the state's Department of Transportation.
Here are the cheapest insurance companies in Iowa based on averaged sample rates for four driver profiles that included varied gender, age, driving history, credit, marital status, prior insurance, higher education, employment, and military service. Average rates may vary depending on the profile and background of the policyholder.
For Iowa drivers with a clean driving record free of any moving violations, auto insurance rates may be significantly lower. Progressive offers the best options for good drivers in Iowa, at $17 a month. With both cheaper premiums and additional safe driving discounts, it can really pay to have a record free of accidents or traffic tickets.
| Insurance Company | Quotes |
|---|---|
Progressive | $17/mo |
State Farm | $28/mo |
Allstate | $38/mo |
Nationwide | $65/mo |
GEICO | $71/mo |
Everybody makes mistakes and has to deal with the fallout. The fallout for a DUI is rough: court fines, reinstatement fees, SR-22 filing, and years of paying more for car insurance to name only a few. Finding affordable rates on car insurance with a DUI is no small feat. If you find yourself really struggling to get an affordable rate, consider only carrying liability coverage as a way to save.
| Insurance Company | Quotes |
|---|---|
Western National | $15/mo |
State Farm | $25/mo |
USAA | $26/mo |
The sinking feeling after realizing you’ve caused an accident is no exaggeration. Even a tiny fender bender can raise rates to levels that significantly alter your budget. If you’ve paid for accident forgiveness you may have caught a break. If not: discounts, discounts, discounts.
And comparison shopping at least every time your policy is up for renewal: insurance companies look at different time windows for driving history. For example, one company might look at the last five years while the other looks at the last three. Here are the best rates we could find for drivers with one at-fault accident.
| Insurance Company | Quotes |
|---|---|
Western National | $15/mo |
Pekin | $24/mo |
USAA | $24/mo |
The need for speed can soon turn into the need for a new budget. Speeding tickets can affect people differently. But essentially, the more often you speed—and the higher your mph—the more points you’ll receive on your driver’s license. Higher points mean higher prices in the car insurance game. The best way to lower costs? Slow down and find a discount program, like a defensive driving course reduction.
| Insurance Company | Quotes |
|---|---|
Western National | $15/mo |
IMT Insurance | $18/mo |
USAA | $20/mo |
If you’re under 40 years old in the state of Iowa, you will likely pay more for auto insurance coverage than the average driver. Since inexperienced drivers pose a higher risk for insurance providers, their rates are often significantly higher. USAA offers the cheapest car insurance rates for young drivers, averaging $15 a month. New drivers must abide by special driving restrictions, including curfews, electronic device limitations, and passenger age restrictions. Be sure to familiarize yourself with these rules before hitting the road.
Insurance policies for 21-year-olds generally run higher than the national average by a significant margin. Even though they’re no longer considered teen-drivers, 21-year-olds are still regarded as high-risk to insurers. Unlike most states, Iowa 21-year-olds benefit from the state’s ban on using gender, education level, and credit score as factors when calculating premiums. This will generally help young Iowans lower their monthly payments. To find the cheapest car insurance for 21-year-olds, use a car insurance quotes comparison site like Insurify.
| Insurance Company | Quotes |
|---|---|
USAA | $15/mo |
IMT Insurance | $16/mo |
Western National | $19/mo |
If your license has been suspended or revoked, these car insurance companies will file an SR-22 with the state of Iowa on your behalf.
The Iowa Department of Transportation, which oversees licensing and registration in the state, is pretty high tech. You can make appointments and find most forms online at the DOT website.
If you’ve just moved to Iowa, you’ll have 30 days to transfer your out-of-state license. In order to do so you’ll need to provide a few things, according to the Iowa DOT:
You’ll also have only 30 days to transfer your vehicle’s title and registration to Iowa. This requires providing proof-of-purchase or the title from your previous state of residence, an application for a title, and payment of registration fees.
Using a proprietary dataset of over 1.5 million car insurance shopper applications, the data scientists at Insurify have run various studies on driver behavior across geographical locations, age ranges, motor vehicle registration, and other variables all related to auto insurance coverage.
We've been able to determine the speediest cities in the nation, the most popular cars among age groups, and the occupations with the worst drivers, among other insightful reports. We've also launched annual awards campaigns to congratulate the communities across the country who have excelled in environmentally friendly initiatives, educational attainment, and other areas.
The EPA reports that the United States' transportation sector accounts for 27% of national greenhouse gas emissions. In a country of over 263 million registered vehicles, many communities are taking action to reduce their environmental impact and vehicular carbon footprint. This city has been named the "greenest" in the state by Insurify.
Environment Iowa, based in Des Moines, advocates on behalf of the most pressing environmental issues in the state. Their priorities include progressive moves toward solar energy, clean water, and saving dwindling bee populations. The state of Iowa offers many green driver incentives, including federal tax credits and discounts through some car insurance carriers.
Beginning in 2018, Insurify launched the Most Patriotic Cities Awards, which salute the community in each state with the highest percentage of individuals who currently serve in the military or identify as armed service veterans.
Des Moines won Insurify's Most Patriotic Cities Award for the state of Iowa. It was once home to the Fort Des Moines Provisional Army Officer Training School - the first Army training facility for African Americans during World War I, and the first training site for women participating in the Women's Army Corps during World War II.
Insurify used a recent report from TripNet to rank twenty-five states by roads in poor condition, structurally deficient bridges, and fatality rate per 100 million vehicle miles traveled (VMT) on rural roads. Knowledge of infrastructure in Iowa is vital for all car insurance shoppers hitting the road in The Hawkeye State.
