Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance?

Tips for if You’re Looking for the Lowest Auto Coverage Rates

When it comes to car insurance, it makes perfect sense to ensure you’re not spending more of your hard-earned money than necessary. After all, most of us rarely use it and don’t think much about our insurance—other than when the bills arrive in the mail, or when we’re pulled over or involved in a fender bender.

In this article, the IHS Insurance Group team will outline some of the nation’s least expensive auto insurance companies for 2020, so you can have a better idea of where to begin if the price is your number one consideration.

Before diving into the numbers, though, let’s quickly outline some high-level information you’ll want to keep in mind.

Why Does Each Car Insurance Company Offer Different Rates?

Like any business, insurance companies have target markets, which can change over time.

For example, some years, an auto carrier might focus on increasing their policy book of business with older drivers who have clean driving records, and fair-to-good insurance scores. Other years, they could increase risks with younger drivers who are part of a family, and who also carry multiple policies with the company.

Based on these differences, the same risk (a unique combination of drivers, activity, insurance scores, etc.) can be priced very differently from one carrier to another. The bottom line is that a wide range of personalized data is used to calculate auto insurance rates, so it’s impossible to say what it will cost you without submitting a formal quote.

Furthermore, we think it’s important to point out that choosing your best auto insurance isn’t all about price. It’s also about carrier reputation and financial strength.

With these details in mind, if you’re shopping based mainly on price, here are some tips that can help you learn who has the cheapest car insurance.

Which Carriers Offer the Lowest 2020 Car Insurance Rates?

According to US News‘ 2020 study of the nation’s nine largest car insurance companies, the average annual premium is $1,416. However, rates varied considerably depending on vehicles, insurance scores, driver ages, mileages, driving records, and the chosen coverage.

With these details in mind, here were the study’s results, displayed as “a simple average across a wide variety of driver profiles”:

Rank	Company	Annual Premium	Notes
1	USAA	$885	Lowest rates for almost every driver profile used in the study
2	GEICO	$1,168	Low rates except drivers w/DUI, could be especially competitive for 25-year-olds
3	State Farm	$1,234	Good option for individuals with activity, cheapest for DUI
4	Travelers	$1,267	Similar across all driver profiles
5	Progressive	$1,373	Similar across all driver profiles, solid choice for DUI, most expensive for drivers with an accident
6	American Family	$1,391	Could be a good option for drivers with accidents/citations
7	Farmers	$1,682	Higher than average among most driver profiles
8	Nationwide	$1,864	Highest rates for 25-year-old profiles and drivers w/activity, $4K/year for DUI
9	Allstate	$1,880	High prices for 35 and 60-year-old profiles, steep increases for fair/poor insurance scores

In their 2020 Summary, NerdWallet achieved similar findings across the nation’s top seven car insurance companies. However, they only used one driver profile: a 40-year old male with a “good” insurance score and no citations.

The difference is in their fourth-place spot, which belongs to Liberty Mutual, with an annual premium of $1,778. Allstate also moved up, compared to US News’ findings, earning the fifth spot with a rate of $1,834. Farmers landed a couple of hundred dollars higher than US News’ results, with a $1,865 annual premium.

Sorting through these results, there’s one factor that can impact your auto insurance rates more than any other. We’ll discuss more in the next section.

The Importance of Your Insurance Score When Determining Car Insurance Rates

According to US News’ findings, insurance score had the most significant single impact on premium—even more than driving record in many instances, with a whopping 71% difference between an individual with a good insurance score, and someone with a poor rating.

Furthermore, in several of NerdWallet’s results, carriers charged just as much, or more, for drivers with good records but poor credit, as drivers with better credit, but with a recent at-fault accident.

So, if you’re looking to obtain the least expensive car insurance rates, you must focus on achieving the best insurance score possible.

How Can You Learn More About the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates?

The team at IHS Insurance Group has decades of combined experience helping drivers like you find the auto insurance coverage they need, at prices that meet their budget. We represent some of the top carriers in the country, as well as smaller, regional companies that might deliver pricing that better falls within your budgetary needs.

Need a FREE Quote or have questions regarding Auto Insurance Coverage? We have three convenient ways to reach us:

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