The Cheapest Car Insurance Companies (August 2022)
Cheapest car insurance company overall: State Farm
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State Farm is the largest auto insurance company in the country, with the cheapest widely available quotes in 29 states. Additionally, the company boasts an enormous network of local agents, meaning there’s likely a State Farm agent in your city who can help you compare rates.
State Farm is the best and cheapest car insurance company for most drivers, considering that USAA has eligibility restrictions, and Farm Bureau and Auto-Owners are disproportionately expensive when you add more coverage.
Cheapest for full coverage
Cheapest for minimum liability
Rank
Company
Monthly cost
1USAA$982State Farm$1093Erie$1154Farm Bureau$1315Auto-Owners$132
Cheapest for full coverage
Rank
Company
Monthly cost
1USAA$982State Farm$1093Erie$1154Farm Bureau$1315Auto-Owners$132
Cheapest for minimum liability
Rank
Company
Monthly cost
1USAA$362Farm Bureau$393Auto-Owners$404Erie$425State Farm$44
State Farm also scores high marks for policy options. It offers pet coverage, rideshare insurance and roadside assistance. Customers also have plenty of options to bundle and even further lower their rates.
Drivers with State Farm can enroll in programs such as Drive Safe & Save to turn good driving habits into affordable quotes. You can also qualify for a range of discounts, including an accident-free discount, multicar discount and anti-theft discount.
Cheapest car insurance rates after discounts: Geico
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Geico has some of the cheapest car insurance in the country, second only to State Farm among the biggest companies.
Depending on where you live, Geico may have cheaper quotes for you than State Farm. Geico’s the cheapest company in seven states, including California and Florida.
Geico stands out when it comes to potential savings through discounts. Though Geico’s car insurance rates are slightly more expensive than State Farm on average, you may pay less overall if you qualify for Geico’s many car insurance discounts.
Geico has one of the longest lists of discounts available, and how much you can save with each discount is higher with Geico than most companies.
For example, Geico offers safe drivers a discount of up to 22%, compared to the average of 10%. Having anti-theft devices installed in your car typically saves you up to 15%, but Geico promises savings up to 23%.
Company
Number of car insurance discounts
Farmers21Geico20Allstate20Travelers16American Family16
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Cheapest auto insurance company for a bad driving record: Erie
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Erie has some of the most affordable car insurance quotes for drivers with a ticket or accident on their driving record. And you probably won’t find a better rate if you have a DUI (driving under the influence) on your driving record. Erie also increases auto insurance rates the least after a driving incident.
Erie will only raise your rates by an average of 7% if you get a ticket, while most insurers increase premiums by 22% or more. For an at-fault accident, Erie will only raise your rates by 25% instead of the average 44%. And Erie’s average quote with a DUI is $188 per month, an increase of 64%. Expect other companies to double your rates after a DUI.
Cheapest car insurance companies after a driving incident
Company
Ticket
Accident
DUI
State Farm$122$136$299Erie$122$143$188Auto-Owners$140$165$267Farm Bureau$148$176$234American Family$171$226$236
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Erie also has a strong customer service reputation and a good set of insurance options.
Erie customers who are eligible for its Rate Lock program can avoid premium hikes that could cause rates to creep up over the years. This is a unique program where customers won’t see their rates increase except for three reasons: you move to a different area or change where you park your car, add or remove someone from your policy or add or remove a car.
That means your car insurance costs won’t go up even if you happen to get a ticket or file a claim.
Erie also offers the same car insurance discounts as larger national companies, including bundling multiple insurance policies, having a vehicle equipped with anti-lock brakes or anti-theft equipment or driving safely as a young or senior driver.
The biggest downside to Erie is that it’s only available in 12 states plus DC:
- District of Columbia
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Kentucky
- Maryland
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- Tennessee
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
Cheapest car insurance for teens and parents: Auto-Owners
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The cheapest way to get car insurance for a teen driver is usually to stay on a parent’s policy. Auto-Owners has some of the cheapest rates for drivers under age 21 on their parent’s plan.
The biggest downsides are that Auto-Owners is only available in 26 states, and that you’ll need to contact an agent to get a quote.
Company
Parent and teen
Teen only
Auto-Owners$152$345USAA$173$237Erie$174$256Farm Bureau$190$350State Farm$218$293
Auto-Owners also consistently scores well on customer service ratings. You can contact support or make a claim through your dedicated agent, the mobile app or your online account. That’s especially important for young drivers away at college who might not be able to get home to talk to their local agent in person.
Cheapest car insurance for safe and low-mileage drivers: Metromile
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If you drive less than average or are generally a safe driver, a usage-based or pay-per-mile auto insurance company such as Metromile may be the cheapest insurance for you.
Metromile was one of the first companies in the U.S. to determine car insurance quotes largely based on mileage. How much driving is too much when shopping with Metromile? Generally, for Metromile to be a good deal, you should drive fewer than 10,000 miles per year.
Usage-based insurance is often cheaper than standard car insurance because your rates are largely based on how often and how well you drive. It’s a good option for people who are generally safe drivers but can’t find cheap rates elsewhere because they’re young, have poor credit, live in a congested city or have other risk factors that raise their insurance rates.
That means Metromile could offer cheap car insurance for people who are retired or work from home, students who live on campus and young drivers with a clean driving record.
The biggest downside to Metromile is that it’s only available in eight states: Arizona, California, Illinois, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington. If you don’t live in one of those states, consider other telematics programs that offer discounts for less driving or safer driving, like Nationwide, Liberty Mutual or State Farm.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with poor credit: Farm Bureau
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Overall, Farm Bureau is the cheapest auto insurance company for drivers with poor credit, averaging $107 per month. Farm Bureau’s average rate is 12% cheaper than average for drivers with poor credit.
Company
Poor credit
Very good credit
Rate hike
Farm Bureau$107$5883%Geico$109$6471%Nationwide$112$7452%American Family$113$6283%Erie$119$44171%
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Farm Bureau operates like AAA: nearly every state has a local chapter that offers cheap insurance policies and other benefits to members. Anyone can become a member, not just farmers, but you’ll need to pay an annual membership fee, which can range from $20 to $100 per year. Membership benefits also include discounts on car purchases, farm equipment, produce, healthcare, travel, rental cars and more.
Drivers with poor credit typically receive insurance quotes that are 99% higher on average compared to drivers with excellent credit. Improving your credit score is a great way to get big savings on your insurance policy.
Cheapest car insurance quotes for military members: USAA
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USAA is the cheapest car insurance company on average by quite a wide margin for drivers who qualify, beating average car insurance quotes by $24 per month.
Company
Monthly cost
USAA$36Farm Bureau$39Auto-Owners$40Erie$42State Farm$44Average of all insurers$60
USAA covers drivers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., but only active military members, veterans and their families may be eligible. However, as the fifth-largest auto insurance company in the country, it serves almost as many drivers as other big names like Progressive and Allstate.
USAA stands out for more than just affordable rates: It also has one of the best customer service reputations in the industry. The company takes the top spots in J.D. Power’s Auto Insurance Claims Satisfaction Study every year. USAA also has a low complaint index from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which means customers don’t have many complaints about support or claims.