Cheapest Car Insurance Companies

Auto Insurance is one of those expenses that almost everyone has, but most drivers don’t know what company has the cheapest car insurance. Numerous companies like Geico state they have the cheapest rates, but that is not always the case. 

The reality is you won’t know what company has the cheapest car insurance until you get a quote. This is why it’s so important to get as many quotes as you can, so you can compare shop rates.

Rates vary quite a bit between companies, so it’s smart to review at least 10 rate quotes before buying a policy. Knowing what insurer has the cheapest rates for the kind of coverage you need and the type of driver you are can save you a lot of time and money.   

To make the list of the cheapest car insurance companies, we’ve mainly focused on discount offers and telematics-based programs. You can apply for all discounts, as long as you qualify for each one. Further, through telematics-based programs, you could get more affordable insurance options (Pay-As-You-Drive) or be provided with additional premium discounts (Pay-How-You-Drive). 

We have also considered companies that offer other benefits in addition to discounts. This includes added coverage types, services, and options. This includes: 

• Rideshare Coverage for Uber and Lyft Workers
• Roadside and Towing Assistance
• Accident Forgiveness
• Free Apps that allow you to Easily Manage your policy from your Smartphone 
• Companies that offer low down payment car insurance from $20 down. 
• 24/7 Customer Service and Claim Assistance 

We’ve mainly looked for providers that offer these extra coverages or added benefits at low costs or at no additional charge. Some services are only available on comprehensive insurance plans, while some companies offer them at little or no cost on all policies.  

Now, let’s check out the options of the seven national insurance companies listed below and their key benefits.  

• Progressive: The most suitable option for students
• State Farm: The best car rental opportunities after an accident
• Liberty Mutual: The greatest diversity of discounts
• Root: The most helpful possibility for safe drivers
• Travelers: The most desirable choice for hybrid and electric vehicles
• Geico: The best yearly rates
• Quote Wizard: The best online marketplace

Progressive: The most suitable option for students

Progressive has some strengths and practical features like the “Snapshot” telematics program tool and pet coverage added to its collision coverage. Still, its greatest strength might be its emphasis on discounts for high school and college students since they pose a higher risk than adults to insurance providers. Progressive has four different discounts for younger drivers. This includes: 

• Multi-Vehicle Discount
• Teenage Driver 
• Distant College Students 
• Good Student Discounts (B or higher GPA) 

For example, Progressive would grant a good student discount to those students who could maintain at least a B grade throughout the school or college year. The Distant Student discount is available for those students aged 22 or younger who must travel more than 100 miles to go to school. On the other hand, stay calm if you are an adult; you may also be eligible for ten other discounts at Progressive. 

Progressive could also help drivers with their small and large accident forgiveness rewards programs. Minor accident forgiveness is applied at the very moment the contract is signed. This stops the growth of your rates if your claim is $500.00 or less. On the other hand, you could avoid your rates from increasing with large accident forgiveness rewards, no matter the cost or who was at fault for the car accident. 

Regrettably, Progressive has only 13 total discounts, the second-lowest number of the companies listed here. Besides, Progressive’s great accident forgiveness is tough to be eligible for. You could not have been part of an accident for the past three years, and you need to have had a Progressive policy for five years or more.

State Farm: The Greatest Car Rental and Travel Expense Coverage After an Accident

Maybe you have an accident while driving your vehicle, and it ends up needing repairs. Perhaps the accident took place more than 50 miles away from your house. In these cases, with State Farm, you could find a lot of benefits.   

At State Farm, you can find the most complete coverage when it comes to car rental and travel costs. The rental car coverage not only covers the expenses of your rented vehicle. If your vehicle is being repaired, you could also pay up to $500.00 of your deductible when you have a car accident involving the rented vehicle. 

If you have an accident while traveling, State Farm will cover transportation, meals, and accommodation for you and your family for up to $500.00. State Farm also pays for travel costs when you pick up your vehicle. Nevertheless, you could use travel expense coverage only if the accident you are involved in is covered by your comprehensive or collision insurance. 

Even when State Farm offers only eleven discounts, not as many as other providers on our list, you may still be able to reduce your premium amount. This company provides two telematic programs that give you up to a 30% discount on your total premium each. One of the programs, “Drive Safe and Save,” is for drivers over the age of 25. The other program, “Steer Clear Driver”, is intended for customers younger than 25.  

Liberty Mutual: The Greatest Diversity of Discounts

Liberty Mutual is the most appropriate provider if you want to be eligible for as many discounts as possible. They have seventeen discounts available for which you can qualify with simple requisites. For example, just by selecting to receive your statements online, you could get a 3% discount. At Liberty Mutual, you could also find more specific discounts, such as military and alternative-energy discounts for hybrid vehicles. 

Liberty Mutual also makes usage-based insurance options available. They have a PAYD program called ByMile and a PHYD insurance program called RightTrack. The PAYD option is designed for those customers who drive infrequently. The ByMile program has a base-rate premium whose cost depends on how many miles a person drives. 

The fewer miles you drive, the cheaper your car insurance premium will be. The RightTrack program measures the quality of your driving. It offers up to a 30% discount if you are a prudent driver. Unfortunately, RightTrack is offered in only 42 states. You should contact Liberty Mutual to verify if this PHYD program is available for you. 

Root: The Best Option for Safe Drivers that Don’t Drive too Much 

Driving carefully really does pay off at Root Insurance. They are a telematic-oriented provider that offers low rates for good drivers that don’t drive a lot. Typically, signing a PAYD or a PHYD guarantees up to a 30% discount. However, with Root, you could reach up to a 52% discount on your premium. Everything is managed using Root’s app. With this app, you are able to change your coverage levels whenever you want. Root provides roadside assistance free of charge, while almost all insurance companies offer it as an add-on. 

However, you could only use Root Roadside Assistance for three accidents in six months. Root Insurance is only available in 37 of the 50 states. They do not provide services in any of the following states: Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, South Dakota, Vermont, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

Root only provides insurance to good drivers. This is its most significant advantage and, at the same time, its biggest downside. To check if you are eligible for Root’s coverage, you need to install its app on your smartphone and drive while using it for three weeks. After that, if you receive a quote, it means Root sees you as a good driver. 

If not, besides considering you a lousy driver, Root won’t let you take the test ever again. Logically, all companies want only to provide insurance to the best drivers. Still, it is discouraging that the best telematics options out of all those listed in this article are so out of reach to so many potential buyers. Lastly, Root does not give coverage to Transportation Network Company (TNC) drivers while working. Therefore, it is not the best pick for Uber, Wingz, or Lyft drivers. 

Travelers: The Most Desirable Choice for Hybrid and Electric Vehicles

Travelers provide a 10% discount for electric and hybrid vehicles, the highest deduction on the market. This makes them the best insurance provider for customers who drive these kinds of cars. It is so easy to apply. Just register your electric or hybrid vehicle with Travelers and ask for this discount. The company has eleven more discounts. They include driver training, early quotes, multi-car, and new car discounts. 

Travelers also provide use-based insurance for those who want it. Its PHYD program is called Intellidrive. You should use a Travelers’ telematics device on your vehicle or the Intellidrive app on your phone for 90 days. Using that, Travelers will analyze whether you are a safe driver or not. If you are classified as a cautious driver, you will get a discount on your premium of 15 to 20%. 

Nevertheless, by offering only twelve options, Travelers is at the bottom of our list with the lowest number of discounts. Therefore, if you want to get a cheap car insurance policy with several discounts, it is recommended to look elsewhere.  

Geico: Numerous Discounts and Award-Winning Customer Care Service  

Geico has the cheapest yearly rates for non-military customers. Their premiums are often under $100 a month for liability-only policies for good drivers and about $3,100 per year for teenagers. 

In addition to being a very affordable car insurance provider, Geico offers 15 different discounts, the third-highest among the listed companies. To easily explain, you could find on Geico’s website their discounts classified by type and a list of how much each one saves you. This way, you could learn how much you would save even before requesting a quote.

Geico also provides usage-based insurance. Its PAYD insurance covers you through the program called DriveEasy. This is a new product from the company that they announced in 2019. Because of that, it has fewer reviews than the other telematics insurance programs we have already mentioned. This doesn’t mean that DriveEasy is a bad option, but it could take longer to know how reliable it really is.

Quote Wizard: The Best Overall Online Marketplace

QuoteWizard is not an insurance company as such. They are like a middleman between customers and their potential auto insurance providers. QuoteWizard is exceptional not only because of its extensive list of partners, which reaches 29 members but also because of its quote-providing process characteristics. QuoteWizard does not request your social security and driver’s license numbers. Usually, car insurance providers require these two numbers to verify your credit history and driving record. QuoteWizard is the exception to this rule.

Also, you could make direct comparisons between QuoteWizard partners on your website. QuoteWizard provides each partner’s strengths and drawbacks, complaint information, financial ratings, and discount offers. Just select the companies you want to compare, and QuoteWizard will break down all available data about them. This will undoubtedly help you choose the most appropriate provider for your particular situation. 

Nevertheless, since QuoteWizard is an aggregator, they don’t provide quotes. They transfer all the information you have entered on their website to their partner list. As a result, their partners provide you with custom-made quotes over the phone or by mail. Therefore, using QuoteWizard’s services is knowingly giving your permission for other companies to contact you. This could be too invasive for some. QuoteWizard might not be the most recommended option if that’s your case. 

Compare the Cheapest Car Insurance Companies Quotes Online 

Now that you know the best and cheapest auto insurance companies, it’s time to compare side-by-side quotes. This will help you narrow the list to one insurer and buy a policy if you want. You can even buy a policy online using your smartphone. You can get up to 10 quotes from multiple national and regional providers in only about five minutes. 

Many insurers have exclusive direct rates for online customers that can even save you more. To get started, enter your zip code and fill out a simple application. It only takes 5-7 minutes. Save hundreds today on the coverage you need.