4.8out of 3,000+ reviews

Edited by Tanveen Vohra | Reviewed by licensed insurance agent, Amber Benka
Last Updated February 4, 2022
Why you can trust Insurify
Drivers in Portsmouth know all about traffic and tunnels. The downtown tunnel between Norfolk and Portsmouth carries more than three million vehicles per month. That’s three million people on the road to watch out for.
Hitting traffic at the wrong time and driving with iffy insurance through the tunnel is something drivers do daily. While staying tuned in to tunnel traffic updates is wise, taking to the streets without adequate auto insurance is not.
Car Insurance in Portsmouth, VA
Quick Facts
- The average cost of car insurance in Portsmouth is $180 per month, or $2160 annually.
- Car insurance in Portsmouth is $3 more than the average cost of car insurance in Virginia.
- The cheapest car insurance provider in Portsmouth on average is Metromile, but you should always compare quotes to find your best personal rate.
Quotes by Top Companies
Cheapest Car Insurance in Portsmouth, VA
Insurance Provider in Portsmouth | Quotes |
---|---|
Allstate | $57 /mo |
Progressive | $66 /mo |
State Farm | $75 /mo |
GEICO | $89 /mo |
Travelers | $117 /mo |
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Best Car Insurance in Portsmouth, VA
Best Companies | Score | Quotes |
---|---|---|
American Family | 89 | $207 /mo |
Liberty Mutual | 82 | $204 /mo |
Mercury | 81 | $218 /mo |
Travelers | 80 | $152 /mo |
National General | 58 | $186 /mo |
Average Car Insurance Cost
Virginia Cities | |
---|---|
Virginia Beach | $114/mo |
Norfolk | $134/mo |
Chesapeake | $150/mo |
Richmond | $124/mo |
Portsmouth | $106/mo |
Virginia | $126/mo |
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Virginia
Virginia does not require automobile insurance, offering drivers to pay an Uninsured Motor Vehicle fee in lieu of coverage.
If you do choose to purchase insurance, the minimum liability insurance requirements for private passenger vehicles in Virginia[1] are:
- $30,000 per person for bodily injury
- $60,000 per accident for bodily injury
As a major part of your liability insurance, bodily injury coverage covers medical bills for people other than the policyholder who are injured during an accident. Virginia is an at-fault state, meaning the driver who is responsible for the collision is also responsible for paying for any resulting expenses, either through their car insurance provider or out of pocket.
- $20,000 per accident for property damage
If it’s determined that an insured driver is at fault for an accident, this coverage pays for repairs to the property of the other involved parties. Additionally, property damage coverage can cover legal costs if the insured driver is involved in a lawsuit following the accident.
Portsmouth Car Insurance Rates by Driver Age
Hardworking teens might be able to squeak out a car insurance payment at $413 per month, with perhaps a little help from mom and dad. In the Old Dominion, the price tends to go down as the number of years behind the wheel increases. That’s why people in their 20s see an immediate more than $150 price cut over the teenage drivers. From there, the prices continue to slide down, with almost everyone paying below or slightly above the state average of $207. Those in their 80s pay $145 per month, a price over $250 cheaper than what the youngest drivers spend.
Driver's Age | Avg. Monthly Cost |
---|---|
teens | $413 |
20s | $248 |
30s | $218 |
40s | $157 |
50s | $181 |
60s | $174 |
70s | $228 |
80s | $146 |
Portsmouth Car Insurance Rates by Driving and Accident History
In Virginia, being a safe driver pays in more than one way. Drivers get peace of mind and price breaks from insurance companies, specifically the “good driver” and “accident-free” discounts. An at-fault fender bender brings an end to the sweet price and pops the rate up over $75 per month. Drivers who are late to work or school should still follow the posted speed limit to avoid a rate increase of $90. The good news is three years of careful driving qualifies drivers for the rates they earned before tickets or accidents.
Driving History | Avg. Monthly Cost |
---|---|
No Violation | $197 |
Speeding Ticket | $287 |
At-Fault Accident | $273 |
Failure to Stop for Red Light / Stop Sign | $210 |
Portsmouth Car Insurance Rates by Credit Tier
Virginians wonder why a late Visa payment could bump up their car insurance premiums. Just like most states, Virginia allows insurance companies to use credit when deciding rates. Generally, the worse the credit, the more drivers shell out monthly; but why do people with good credit pay less than those with excellent credit? People with better credit often finance costlier cars with higher coverage levels to protect their assets. That said, moving from poor credit to good credit saves $17 per month, or over $200 per year.
Credit Tier | Avg. Monthly Cost |
---|---|
Excellent | $225 |
Good | $201 |
Average | $213 |
Poor | $218 |
Find local Portsmouth agents
The Young Ins Agcy Grp
2865 B Airline Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701Bankers Ins Portsmouth
457 Court St,
Portsmouth, VA 23704-3603All Risk Ins Agcy
2860 Airline Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701Direct Auto Insurance
4500 Portsmouth Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701Direct Auto Insurance
3574 Towne Point Rd,
Portsmouth, VA 23703Young Insurance
2865 Airline Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701All Risk Insurance
2860 Airline Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701Atlantic Charter Insurance Group
5599 Portsmouth Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701Ned Loyd: Allstate Insurance
600 Loudoun Ave,
Portsmouth, VA 23707'Al Vincent''s Insurance'
4500 Portsmouth Blvd,
Portsmouth, VA 23701
Portsmouth, VA DMV Information
In Portsmouth and have a DMV errand? The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is your go-to place for all things vehicle- and licensing-related. While you can visit any location in the state, the closest DMV location is at 6400 Bickford Parkway. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. Don’t want to leave the comfort of home? Online services are also offered. The DMV also has mobile locations and select partners standing by to administer many DMV transactions.
Public Transportation in Portsmouth, VA
While most people get around town using their own vehicles, even non-drivers can easily get around here. Hampton Roads Transit (HRT) is the face of public transportation in Portsmouth, delivering people to their destinations by bus, rail, and ferry. All of HRT’s modes of transportation are ADA-accessible. Can’t wait around? On-demand services are also an option, from Uber and Lyft to traditional taxis. Though bikeshare was previously offered, as of March 2020 the service was suspended.
How to get the best and cheapest car insurance in Portsmouth, VA
While skipping out on auto insurance is an option in Virginia, it leaves you and your family financially unprotected.
One in 10 drivers in this state is uninsured—and potentially one driving mistake from drowning in debt. Being without solid auto insurance is something you can correct quickly. Insurify is the easiest way to take action, get cheap rates, and get the coverage you are looking for.
FAQs - Portsmouth, VA Car Insurance
There are several reasons to have insurance. Not only is there insurance to handle the situation when things happen to you, insurance also protects the people and property around you. Liability insurance is a kind of insurance that takes care of other people and their property. Examples of this include bodily injury liability (BI) and property damage liability (PD). Each state sets its own minimum liability requirements. Believe it or not, you aren’t legally required to have auto insurance in Virginia as long as you pay an uninsured motorist fee of $500 per year. While this option seems like the easy way out in terms of cost-cutting, remember that this leaves you with absolutely no insurance to take care of medical costs or damages if you get in an accident. UM/UIM (or uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage) are coverages required in Virginia on top of the minimum liability coverages you are required to carry. While the minimum liability coverages make sure you have money to pay in case you cause an accident, uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage protects you and your property.
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Methodology
The car insurance quotes displayed are based on an analysis of Insurify’s database of over 40 million quotes from 500 ZIP codes nationwide. To obtain representative rates, Insurify’s data science team performs frequent comprehensive analyses of the factors car insurance providers weigh to calculate rates including driver demographics, driving record, credit score, desired coverage level, and more.
Insurify’s analysis also incorporates the Insurify Composite Score (ICS) assigned to each insurance provider. The ICS is a proprietary rating that weighs multiple factors reflecting the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company. Ratings used to calculate the ICS include Financial Strength Ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch; J.D. Power ratings; Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints; mobile app reviews; and user-generated company reviews.
With the above insights and ranking methods, Insurify is able to offer car insurance shoppers insight into how various insurance providers compare to one another in terms of both cost and quality. Note, actual quotes will vary based on unique attributes including the policyholder’s driver history and their garaging address.
Insurify Insights
How Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth, Virginia 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 Portsmouth drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across Virginia 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.
Honda Accord
Most Popular Car in Portsmouth
#34
City with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank in Virginia
#22
City with the Most Moving Violations Rank in Virginia
#42
City with the Most DUIs Rank in Virginia
#2
City with the Most Suspended Licenses in Virginia
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. Portsmouth drivers rank 19 in the number of car accidents per driver across all cities in Virginia.
- Rank within state: #19
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with an accident: 11.97%
- Drivers in Portsmouth, VA with an accident in their driving history pay on average 46.67% more than drivers with a clean record
Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and leave a permanent stain on your driving record. When compared to other cities in Virginia, Portsmouth drivers rank 34 in the number of speeding infractions per driver.
- Rank within state: #34
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with a speeding ticket: 13.66%
- Drivers in Portsmouth, VA with a speeding ticket in their driving history pay on average 35% more than drivers with a clean record
While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. Portsmouth drivers rank 42 in the number of DUI’s per driver across all cities in Virginia.
- Rank within state: #42
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with a DUI: 1.31%
- Drivers in Portsmouth, VA with a DUI in their driving history pay on average 0% more than drivers with a clean record
Some car models are just more popular than others and trends can vary from place to place. The most popular vehicle in Portsmouth is the Honda Accord.
The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-runs. Among all cities in Virginia, Portsmouth drivers rank 5 in rude driving infractions.
- Rank within state: #5
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with a reckless driving violation: 4.21%
- Drivers in Portsmouth, VA with a reckless driving violation in their driving history pay on average 46.11% more than drivers with a clean record.
Having a squeaky-clean driving record is an accomplishment to be proud of. Some cities have safer drivers than others; Portsmouth drivers rank 13 in clean driving records across all cities in Virginia.
- Rank within state: #13
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with clean record: 75.12%
Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. Portsmouth drivers rank 9 in failure to yield violations per driver across all cities in Virginia.
- Rank within state: #9
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with a failure to yield violation: 1.03%
- Drivers in Portsmouth, VA with a failure to yield violation in their driving history pay on average 1000% more than drivers with a clean record
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. Among all cities in Virginia, Portsmouth drivers rank 16 in the number of reckless driving offenses per driver.
- Rank within state: #16
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with a reckless driving offense: 0.37%
As auto manufacturers increasingly turn towards producing greener car models, more and more motorists are embracing hybrids and EV’s. Portsmouth drivers rank 45 in hybrid and electric vehicle ownership across all cities in Virginia.
- Rank within state: #45
- Percent of drivers in Portsmouth with a hybrid/electric vehicle: 0.14%
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.
Sources
- Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles. "State Minimum Car Insurance Requirements." Accessed May 28, 2022