Average Car Insurance Cost in North Carolina (2024)

Drivers in North Carolina pay $83 per month, on average, for car insurance.

Athena Valentine Lent
Athena Valentine Lent

Athena Valentine Lent is a finance columnist for Slate and the author of Budgeting for Dummies (Wiley, 2023). Her writing has appeared in BuzzzFeed, The College Investor, GOBankingRates, Money Under 30, and Keeper Tax among other places. Her personal finance blog, Money Smart Latina, won the Plutus Award for "Best Personal Finance Content for Underserved Communities" in 2020 and was nominated for "Blog of the Year" in 2022. When not working she can be found with her main man, a polydactyl cat named Harrison George. 

Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

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Updated March 14, 2024

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As of 2019, North Carolina is one of the cheapest states in the country to live in.[1] 

This holds true with North Carolina’s average car insurance rates, which are $56 per month for liability insurance and $109 per month for full coverage. For comparison, the national average car insurance rate is $103 per month for liability and $212 for full coverage.

Besides the low cost of living, North Carolina has cheap insurance rates because state law prohibits car insurance companies from drastically raising rates.

Quick Facts
  • The average cost of minimum-coverage car insurance in North Carolina is $1,238 per year.

  • Chapel Hill has the most expensive average full-coverage rates, at $101 per month.

  • Car insurance companies in North Carolina can use your credit history to determine premiums.

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What’s the average cost of car insurance in North Carolina?

The average cost of car insurance in North Carolina is $56 per month for liability insurance and $109 per month for full coverage. This ends up being $${AUTO_AVERAGE_YEARLY_LIABLIITY_STATE_NC} per year for liability-only insurance and $1,310 per year for full coverage.

The table below shows the average quotes for liability and full coverage among different insurance companies in North Carolina.

The below rates are estimated rates current as of: Thursday, March 14 at 12:00 PM PDT
Insurance CompanyAverage Quote: Liability OnlyAverage Quote: Full Coverage
Midvale Home & Auto3669
Nationwide4065
Erie4060
Liberty Mutual46117
GEICO4669
State Auto4894
Safeco5092
Travelers5174
Direct Auto5299
Dairyland53317
Allstate5582
Progressive5684
State Farm6699
National General67126
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers and quote estimates from Quadrant Information Services. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Average North Carolina car insurance rates by city

Insurance companies consider your city and even ZIP code when they determine your premiums. Geographical factors like vehicle and population density, road conditions, repair rates, hospital and medical costs, and the number of accidents and other claims greatly influence your car insurance rates.[2]

For example, Chapel Hill — home to University of North Carolina with a large college student population near Raleigh and Durham — has some of the most expensive average rates compared to cities without condensed student populations.

The table below shows the average cost of car insurance in North Carolina cities.

Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Average North Carolina car insurance rates by age

Insurance companies charge teens more expensive rates than any other age group. Since teen drivers lack driving experience, insurers consider it a higher risk to insure them. Teens 16 to 19 years old are three times more likely to have a fatal car crash than any other age group.[3]

Young drivers can lower their insurance rates by maintaining a clean record, maintaining continuous coverage, and looking for insurance companies that offer student-centric discounts.

Check out the chart below to see how North Carolina’s average car insurance rates change by age.

Rates by Age

Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

How gender affects car insurance rates in North Carolina

Generally, men pay more expensive insurance rates than women, who receive the cheapest rates.

Statistically, men have a higher likelihood of causing an accident because they tend to engage in risky driving behaviors. While women tend to drive safer, they’re 73% more likely than men to be injured in a severe car accident.[4]

Here’s how car insurance rates differ by gender and age in North Carolina.

AgeMaleFemale
16$298$244
35$142$134
50$112$110
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

How your driving record affects car insurance rates in North Carolina 

The North Carolina Department of Insurance states that your driving record is one of the most important factors in determining your cost of insurance.[2]

The state created the North Carolina Safe Driver Incentive Plan (SDIP) to reward drivers financially for safe driving and enforce a point system for traffic violations. Under this plan, an at-fault accident can raise your auto insurance premiums by up to 50%, while speeding tickets can raise your rate by up to 90%. The highest increase in rate is for drivers convicted of a DUI — up to 340%.

Here’s how your driving record affects average car insurance rates in North Carolina.

Driver RecordAverage Quote: Liability OnlyAverage Quote: Full Coverage
Clean record$56$109
With accident$88$171
With speeding ticket$84$164
With DUI$98$192
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

Average North Carolina car insurance rates by marital status

Car insurance rates can be higher for single drivers than married drivers. Drivers who are married typically qualify for discounts that are sometimes unavailable to single drivers, like bundling home and auto insurance or insuring multiple cars on one policy.

Whether you’re single or married, you can call an insurance agent to determine if you should bundle insurance products or what discounts you qualify for.

The table below shows the differences in average North Carolina auto insurance rates for married and single drivers.

Marital StatusAverage Quote: Liability OnlyAverage Quote: Full Coverage
Married$48$135
Single $54149
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

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Average North Carolina car insurance rates by credit tier

In North Carolina, insurance companies can use your credit score when determining your insurance costs. However, your credit score can’t be the sole factor auto insurers use when underwriting your policy.

Auto insurers believe that drivers with good credit scores file fewer and smaller claims, and, thus, charge them cheaper rates in North Carolina.[5] Drivers with poor credit scores tend to pay more expensive premiums.

Here’s how your credit tier can affect your car insurance premiums in North Carolina.

Credit TierAverage Quote: Liability OnlyAverage Quote: Full Coverage
Excellent$41$114
Good$48$135
Fair$53$148
Poor$82$229
Disclaimer: Table data sourced from real-time quotes from Insurify's 50-plus partner insurance providers. Actual quotes may vary based on the policy buyer's unique driver profile.

North Carolina car insurance FAQs

Check out Insurify’s guide on shopping for car insurance quotes and the answers to common questions about North Carolina auto coverage below.

  • What is the average cost of car insurance in North Carolina?

    The average cost of car insurance in North Carolina is $56 per month for liability insurance and $109 per month for full coverage.

  • What is the cheapest car insurance in North Carolina?

    The cheapest car insurance companies in North Carolina are Midvale Home & Auto, Nationwide, and Erie, with liability rates of $36, $40, and $40 per month, respectively.

  • Do car insurance rates vary by county in North Carolina?

    Yes. Car insurance rates can vary not only by county but by city as well. Various factors that change the average annual cost of car insurance per ZIP code are accident rates, crime rates, traffic violations, medical costs, and the quality of roads.[2]

  • What are the best auto insurance companies in North Carolina?

    Some of the best car insurance companies in North Carolina include Erie, State Farm, and GEICO. If you currently serve in the military or are a veteran, USAA is a highly ranked insurance company that caters specifically to the military community.

  • What are the car insurance requirements in North Carolina?

    North Carolina law requires drivers to carry 30/60/25 minimum liability insurance. This translates to $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident for bodily injury liability and $25,000 per accident for property damage liability coverage. The state also requires uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage of the same liability limits.[6]

Methodology

Insurify data scientists analyzed more than 90 million quotes served to car insurance applicants in Insurify’s proprietary database to calculate the premium averages displayed on this page. These premiums are real quotes that come directly from Insurify’s 50+ partner insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Quote averages represent the median price for a quote across the given coverage level, driver subset, and geographic area.

Unless otherwise specified, quoted rates reflect the average cost for drivers between 20 and 70 years old with a clean driving record and average or better credit (a credit score of 600 or higher).

Liability-only premium averages correspond to policies with the following coverage limits:

  • Bodily injury limits between state-minimum rates and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
  • Property damage limits between $10,000 and $50,000
  • No additional coverage
Full-coverage premium averages correspond to the same bodily injury and property damage limits in addition to:
  • Comprehensive coverage with a $1,000 deductible
  • Collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible

Quotes for Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, State Farm, and USAA are estimates based on Quadrant Information Services’ database of auto insurance rates.

Sources

  1. North Carolina State University. "You Decide: Is It Cheaper to Live In North Carolina?." Accessed October 12, 2023
  2. North Carolina Department of Insurance. "A Consumer's Guide to Automobile Insurance." Accessed October 13, 2023
  3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "Teen Drivers and Passengers: Get the Facts." Accessed October 13, 2023
  4. University of Virginia. "Study: New Cars Are Safer, But Women More Likely to Suffer Injury." Accessed October 13, 2023
  5. North Carolina Department of Insurance. "A Consumer's Guide to Insurance Companies' Use of Credit Information." Accessed October 13, 2023
  6. North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles. "Insurance Requirements." Accessed October 13, 2023
Athena Valentine Lent
Athena Valentine Lent

Athena Valentine Lent is a finance columnist for Slate and the author of Budgeting for Dummies (Wiley, 2023). Her writing has appeared in BuzzzFeed, The College Investor, GOBankingRates, Money Under 30, and Keeper Tax among other places. Her personal finance blog, Money Smart Latina, won the Plutus Award for "Best Personal Finance Content for Underserved Communities" in 2020 and was nominated for "Blog of the Year" in 2022. When not working she can be found with her main man, a polydactyl cat named Harrison George. 

Courtney Mikulski
Edited byCourtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
Courtney Mikulski
Courtney MikulskiSenior Editor, Auto
  • 3+ years producing insurance and personal finance content

  • Main architect of the Insurify Quality Score

Courtney’s deep personal finance knowledge extends beyond insurance to credit cards, consumer lending, and banking. She thrives on creating actionable content.

Featured in

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