Cheap Car Insurance in Iowa (December 2023)

Car insurance is expensive no matter what. However, Iowans in particular have one bright spot to consider: At $154, the average monthly cost of car insurance there is much cheaper than most other states.

Getting cheap car insurance in Iowa doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice, either. The best car insurance companies offer many of the same features: affordable premiums, good customer ratings, and strong financial standings.

Depending on your situation, some companies may be better options than others. The key is to find the insurer that best matches your needs so you can get the reliable car insurance you deserve.

Best car insurance companies in Iowa

The cheapest company for you might differ from others.

That’s because car insurance companies have different ways of pricing policies and offering discounts that can help bring your own cost down. Here’s a glimpse into several of the most common insurers in Iowa to help you zero in on which options might be best for you.

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Best car insurance overall in Iowa: USAA

If you’re a military member or related to one, USAA is one of your best options for car insurance due to its low rates, extremely high rate of satisfied customers, and high financial stability rating.

USAA is a particularly good choice if you prefer to handle your finances online — especially if you want to combine all your bank, investment, and insurance accounts with one institution.

USAA has an Insurify Quality (IQ) Score of 4.5 out of 5, with an average monthly premium of $66 for Iowa residents opting for a full-coverage plan.

Best cheap car insurance in Iowa: State Farm

State Farm is the largest car insurance company in the country, making it exceptionally financially stable, with an A++ rating from A.M. Best. It also channels that money into a positive experience, as the company ranked fourth in the region for customer service by J.D. Power. It’s also one of the best options if you prefer digital tools, since its app is highly rated.

State Farm charges an average monthly premium of $66 for Iowa residents, and it has an IQ Score of 4.4.

Best for affordability in Iowa: American Family

American Family is the second-cheapest car insurance option in Iowa, with premiums costing an average of $57 per month. With an IQ Score of 4.3, it’s also a great value, too. While it’s available in Iowa, keep in mind it’s not available in most states — an important consideration if you plan to move.

The company also offers a Diminishing Deductible option for an additional cost. This lowers your deductible by $100 each year you renew without filing a claim. Unlike other insurers, there are no limits to how much your deductible can go down, even to $0.

Best car insurance for commuters in Iowa: Travelers

Not surprisingly, Travelers offers a couple of good features for people who commute to work. Commuting can take many forms, and for people without a car who rely on public transportation but occasionally drive a vehicle, Travelers’ nonowner insurance is a good option.

Commuters who drive long distances are increasingly switching to electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrids due to their low fuel costs. If that’s you, you’ll appreciate Travelers’ discounts for these green vehicles. Travelers also received a relatively high IQ Score of 4.3, with the average monthly premium costing $97 for full-coverage insurance.

Best car insurance for families in Iowa: Allstate

If your family includes teenagers, you’ll appreciate Allstate’s teenSMART interactive online training program designed to help younger drivers develop better driving skills. They’ll get a discount for completing the course, and more than a dozen other discount options are available. Allstate also has a relatively good IQ Score of 4.1, with average monthly premiums of $70 for full coverage.

Best car insurance for students in Iowa: Farmers

Many insurers offer student discounts, but Farmers has some exceptionally good offerings. Students younger than 25 can qualify for discounts if they share a family car, get good grades, or leave their car at home while attending school. And students whose parents or grandparents use Farmers can qualify for a discount when they split from their parents’ policy for the first time.

The average Farmers monthly premium costs $80 for full-coverage insurance, and Farmers maintains an IQ Score of 3.8.

Best car insurance for farmers in Iowa: State Auto

State Auto is one of the best options for Iowa’s many farmers because, in addition to personal car insurance, it also offers a wide range of options to completely protect your farm and ranch, including all the structures, materials, and vehicles. It even offers umbrella coverage for your operation.

State Auto is unique because it offers three basic auto insurance plans to choose from, with benefits increasing along each tier. You’re free to add or drop coverages within these plans as you need. The average cost for a full-coverage auto insurance policy through State Auto is $231 per month, and the company has a somewhat-lower IQ Score of 3.8.

Best car insurance for seniors in Iowa: Safeco

Iowa senior homeowners will appreciate Safeco’s single-loss deductible policy. If your home and car are damaged at the same time, such as in a storm, Safeco will allow you to file a claim for both with just one deductible, potentially saving you a lot of money.

Additionally, Safeco offers insurance options for golf carts and other “low-speed vehicles,” if you use these handy options for getting around. Safeco is relatively affordable, too, costing an average of $132 per month for full coverage ($61 per month for a liability-only policy). Insurify gives it an IQ Score of 3.8.

Best car insurance for small-business owners in Iowa: Nationwide

Nationwide offers more specialized business insurance coverages than most of its competitors, allowing you to get the exact coverage you need without paying extra. In addition to the common general liability and errors and omissions coverage, Nationwide also offers specific coverage for different industries, such as restaurants, contractors, and auto repair shops. 

Although Nationwide was rated dead last in terms of customer satisfaction by J.D. Power for the region, it does have an IQ Score of 4.1. The average cost of a full-coverage policy for personal car insurance is $121 per month.

How Insurify’s experts used internal proprietary data to rate the top auto insurers

Data scientists at Insurify analyzed more than 40 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partner providers across the United States to compile the car insurance quotes, statistics, and data visualizations displayed on this page.

The car insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers' vehicles, driving records, and demographic information. Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Service’s database of auto insurance rates.

With these insights, Insurify is able to offer drivers insight into how companies price their car insurance premiums. The data included on this page represents averages across all driver ages, gender, credit scores, and driver profiles for Iowa drivers.

How to shop for the best car insurance in Iowa

Here’s a five-step plan that will help you choose the cheapest insurance option that offers the coverage you need:

1. Start early. Get ready to shop for rates before your current policy ends, as you may qualify for good discounts if you avoid any lapses in coverage. 

2. Check your credit report. Make sure there aren’t any errors listed that can affect your rates. If there are, dispute them with the credit bureaus to get them removed.^[1]

3. Figure out your insurance needs. Figure out what types and coverage options you might need. If you’re financing your car, your lender may require a full-coverage policy.

4. Research insurers. Make a short list of companies licensed in your state that you can check rates with. Look for customer reviews, financial stability ratings, and features you prefer.

5. Get quotes. Set aside an hour to get quotes from at least three insurers. Write down the pricing and coverage amounts so you can choose the best car insurance company for you.

How to get the cheapest car insurance in Iowa

“Iowa is generally very affordable for car insurance costs, with a variety of insurance carrier options available compared to many other states across the country,” says Chance McElhaney, communications director and legislative liaison for the Iowa Insurance Division.

But most Iowans still have a lot of ways to save money on their car insurance, including:^[2]

• Get a rate quote from several insurers before each policy renewal.

• Choose the highest-deductible plan you can afford if you need to file a claim.

• Drive safely and less often to lower your odds of costly accidents and citations.

• Work on growing your credit score, which will also help with cheaper premium costs.

Minimum car insurance requirements in Iowa

Like most states, Iowa requires a minimum amount of liability coverage in order to drive legally. These coverage limits are commonly expressed as 20/40/15. Compared to most other states, Iowa’s minimum car insurance requirements are slightly less than the common 25/50/25.^[3]

Liability-only vs. full-coverage insurance in Iowa

If you drive in Iowa, you’ll need to be covered by a policy that contains a minimum level of liability coverage: $20,000 in bodily injury liability per person, up to $40,000 total per accident, and $15,000 in property damage liability.^[4] This pays the medical bills if you hurt someone in an accident or damage someone else’s property, such as by running into the wall of someone’s home.

Those figures represent the minimum required, but you can opt to purchase higher coverage limits if you like, or even add different coverage options into the mix. It’s pretty common for drivers to buy coverage that protects their own vehicles, too. This is commonly called a full-coverage policy and includes comprehensive and collision insurance. This may even be required in many cases.

“In general, if there is a loan on a vehicle, you’ll need full coverage. Iowans should discuss their options with a licensed insurance agent to ensure their coverage meets their specific needs,” says McElhaney.

Many Iowa drivers choose a liability-only policy because it’s less expensive. You might also opt for a liability-only policy if you drive an older car that has little value. But if you want to ensure you can fix your car and protect all your assets from any potential lawsuits, you should consider adding more insurance. 

Here’s an example of the price difference between the liability-only and full-coverage policies offered through two Iowa insurers:

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Iowa car insurance rates by driving and accident history

Your driving record is one of the largest factors influencing the cost of your car insurance. If you have bad marks on your driving record, such as speeding tickets, citations for driving under the influence, or if you’ve ever been in an at-fault accident, you can expect your rates to go up dramatically. That’s because, statistically speaking, you’re more likely to file an expensive claim.

Here’s a look at average monthly quotes for two car insurance companies based on driving and accident history.

SR-22 insurance in Iowa

If your driver’s license is suspended or revoked after a major infraction, like a DUI, you’ll need to go through a process to reinstate your driving privileges. Part of that process is finding an insurer that will offer you a policy. Then, you must file proof of insurance — via Form SR-22, Certificate of Automobile Liability Insurance — with the Iowa’s Office of Driver Services.^[5]

If you’ll need your insurer to file an SR-22 with your state motor vehicle department, check that the insurer offers this service before you purchase a policy. Some insurers also charge a filing fee to do this. Here are a few options for SR-22 insurance in Iowa:

• Bristol West

• Dairyland

• The General 

Iowa car insurance rates by credit tier

While insurance companies aren’t allowed to use your credit score alone to approve or reject your request for coverage, they can use it in combination with other factors to decide whether to offer you a policy and how much your rate will be. About 95% of insurers use your credit score in this way.^[6]

Some states have banned this practice, stating it unfairly targets people, but Iowa isn’t one of them. That means that people with poor credit scores will likely have a harder time finding insurance and may pay more for coverage than people with excellent or good credit scores.

Car insurance quotes in Iowa cities

One of the reasons car insurance in Iowa is so cheap compared to the rest of the country is because of a reduced likelihood you’ll need to file a high-dollar car insurance claim. This is due not only to fewer people and fewer accidents but also to less severe weather.

These same truths apply to ZIP codes within the state as well, which is why car insurance prices can vary by city or even the neighborhood you live in.

Least expensive cities in Iowa

Most expensive cities in Iowa

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Iowa car insurance rates by driver age

There’s a complex interplay between how age can affect insurance rates. Younger drivers pay a lot more for car insurance because they’re not as experienced as older drivers, and statistically they’re more likely to file a claim. Most people don’t see a rate reduction until age 25.^[7]

Similarly, your rates may increase as you age because at some point, your mental and physical faculties start to decline and you may not be able to respond as fast to imminent threats, for example.^[8]

Iowa car insurance FAQs

Insurify Insights

How Iowa Drivers Measure Up

While most drivers know that car insurance quotes are determined in part by your personal driving history, many may be unaware that rates are also impacted by the average risk of the drivers around you as well. Check out Insurify's latest analysis of driving records in Iowa below:

Methodology

Drawing from an internal database of over 4 million car insurance applications, the research team at Insurify analyzes patterns in car ownership and driver behavior - including how Iowa drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across the United States in areas including speeding, DUIs, and more.
Insurify Insights publishes data-driven articles, trend analyses, and national rankings each week on all factors related to cars and those who drive them.

Ford F-Series Pickup

Most Popular Car in Iowa

#1

State with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank

#2

State with the Moving Violations Rank

#5

State with the Most DUIs Rank

#4

State with the most Suspended Licenses

• Accidents in Iowa

  While car accidents are a sadly unavoidable feature of time spent on the road, rates of accidents do vary from city to city and from state to state. Iowa is the #11 state in the country for drivers with an at-fault accident on their driving record.

  • Rank among states: #11
  • Percent of drivers in Iowa with an accident: 10%
• DUIs in Iowa

  While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. Iowa is the #5 state in the country for drivers with a prior drunk driving conviction.

  • Rank among states: #5
  • Percent of drivers in Iowa with a DUI: 2.5%
• Reckless Driving in Iowa

  Reckless driving refers to a specific traffic violation: when drivers willfully act dangerously in spite of the risks they’re imposing on both themselves and others. Iowa is the #7 state in the country for drivers with a reckless driving offense on record.

  • Rank among states: #7
  • Percent of drivers in Iowa with a reckless driving offense: 2%
• Rude Driving in Iowa

  The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit one or more of the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-run. Iowa is the #9 state in the country for drivers with a rude driving violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #9
  • Percent of drivers in Iowa with a rude driving violation: 2.1%
• Speeding in Iowa

  Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and have a serious impact on your insurance costs. Iowa is the #1 state in the country for drivers with a speeding ticket on record.

  • Rank among states: #1
  • Percent of drivers in Iowa with a speeding ticket: 13.5%
• Failure to Yield Rates in Iowa

  Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. Iowa is the #30 state in the country for drivers with a failure to yield violation on record.

  • Rank among states: #30
  • Percent of drivers in Iowa with a failure to yield violation: 0.1%

Insurify Insights

Insurify's team of data scientists and content specialists presents Insurify Insights, a series of automotive, home, and health studies focusing on the topics that impact us all. through expert analysis of over 4 million car insurance applications and an array of top data sources, the Insurify Insights team produces new data-driven articles, trend analyses, regional superlatives, and national rankings every week. See Insurify Insights as featured in Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, NPR, and more.