Central Mutual vs. Farmers: Which Company is the Best Fit for You?

Quick Facts

• In general, Farmers offers significantly more affordable rates than Central Mutual
• Farmers tends to be a much cheaper option for policyholders who live in rural neighborhoods
• Farmers offers more affordable premiums for policyholders who drive fewer than 6,000 miles yearly

Central Mutual or Farmers: Which Company has the Cheapest Car Insurance?

Are you considering a new insurance policy? You've probably seen commercials and billboards from companies offering huge savings, but exactly how much money can you save by switching?

You might be considering Central Mutual or Farmers, but between the two, which one will offer you less expensive prices?

Looking at nationwide averages, Farmers is quite a bit cheaper than Central Mutual, with rates averaging $203 a month compared to $340 with Central Mutual.

Even so, that doesn't necessarily mean Farmers will be the cheaper option for every driver. After all, car insurance carriers can offer drastically different rates to every driver depending on rating factors like your credit score, your age, your driving record, or even where you call home (among other things). So, at the end of the day, premiums from each company will differ quite a bit from person to person.

Wanting to know if Central Mutual or Farmers is really the right carrier for you? Keep on reading to see how average rates can change based on all of the factors we've mentioned above.

Central Mutual vs. Farmers: Average Car Insurance Rates by State

Central Mutual and Farmers only compete against each other in two states, with Central Mutual offering more affordable prices to the average driver in all of them. New Mexico has the most noticable difference, where Central Mutual premiums are $78 cheaper than auto insurance prices at Farmers.

That being said, there's a lot more that goes into your insurance cost than just where you live. Continue reading to learn more about how other variables will affect your rates.

Which is the Best Company For Young Drivers?

Young drivers -- especially teens -- usually pay a lot for car insurance compared to older drivers. Generally, that's because teen drivers are statistically much more likely to cause collisions and other accidents that will result in an insurance claim.

That being said, that doesn't mean that teen drivers have to just accept sky-high auto insurance rates. For example, 18-year-old drivers pay an average of over 10% less per month by choosing Farmers over Central Mutual.

However, both companies will reduce premiums by the time drivers turn 25. Farmers offers the steepest decrease, with 25-year-olds paying less than a third of what 18-year-old drivers are charged. Central Mutual's average prices drop almost 45% during that same period.

Which is the Best Company for Retired Drivers?

Once you approach retirement age, you'll normally enjoy the most affordable insurance premiums out there. You've been on the road for years, and all that experience pays off when it comes to your monthly rates for car insurance.

So, which company offers the best prices to retired drivers? Farmers gets the edge, with rates for drivers 65 and older nearly 50% more affordable than the national average for Central Mutual.

Which is the Best Company for Married Drivers?

Single policyholders tend to get offered slightly more expensive auto insurance premiums than married policyholders. That's because policies for married drivers typically cover more than one vehicle, which lots of carriers will give you a discount for.

For single drivers, the difference in average rates between these two companies is significant, with Farmers premiums coming in at a third less than Central Mutual's. The advantage for married couples with Farmers is also obvious, where drivers save around $150 a month.

Central Mutual or Farmers: Average Rates by Gender

Men are statistically more likely than women to cause a collision and get into accidents. That means when it comes to car insurance men will normally end up paying a little more.

Normally, women see prices about 4% per month less with Central Mutual, and around 3% less with Farmers when compared to their male counterparts.

Looking at overall affordability, Farmers offers the cheapest average premiums for both men and women. On average, women save about $133 a month and men save about $140 with Farmers compared to the average Central Mutual policyholder.

Central Mutual vs. Farmers: Compare State Minimum vs. Full Coverage Rates

*State minimum value indicates liability-only policies at each state's minimum bodily injury and property damage (BI/PD) limits

**Full coverage indicates state minimum BI/PD limits with collision and comprehensive coverages added to policy.

Insurance isn't the easiest topic to understand. Everyone needs auto insurance, but there are so many different terms and limits that it can be hard to find the right policy for you.

But the most common policies that drivers look at fall into two categories -- liability coverage (which covers the other party's property damage and injuries if you cause a collision) and full coverage (which includes two additional coverages -- collision and comprehensive -- in addition to what you get with liability coverage).

Looking specifically at state minimum liability insurance, Farmers has the significant edge, with average monthly prices coming in at $126. If you want a full coverage policy with the same state minimum limits, Farmers again has the edge, with policies averaging around $281 per month to Central Mutual's $506.

Is Central Mutual or Farmers Better for Drivers with Spotty Records?

It's no secret -- drivers with good records end up getting the best deals on their insurance. But that's not to say you can't save money if you don't have the best driving record, either.

At-fault collisions and speeding tickets will most likely raise your rates, but is Central Mutual or Farmers less expensive for drivers with less-than-perfect records?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Speeding Tickets?

Policyholders who use Central Mutual for their car insurance can usually expect their monthly bill to go up about 26% after getting a speeding ticket. Farmers policyholders can expect a less drastic increase of around 21%.

However, Farmers has more affordable premiums for drivers in both categories, offering prices that are 33% and 37% less expensive, respectively, compared to Central Mutual Insurance.

Which Company is Best for Drivers After an Accident?

Both carriers will raise rates pretty significantly if you get into an at-fault collision with Central Mutual climbing by about 22%. Farmers has a less extreme climb, but you can still expect to pay nearly 30% more than you were prior to your first accident.

At the end of the day, Farmers offers the lowest prices for drivers with an at-fault collision on their records, with average rates coming in at $224 compared to Central Mutual Insurance's $311.

Which Company is Best for Drivers with a DUI?

If you get a DUI charge, you can expect some pretty significant increases in your monthly auto insurance bill -- generally a lot more than an accident or ticket. On average, Central Mutual will increase your premiums around 50% after a DUI, while Farmers's average prices increase by more than 25%.

How does Credit Score Impact Central Mutual and Farmers Rates?

You may not have known, but your credit score can be used as one of the factors to determine your monthly insurance rates. This isn't true for everyone (Hawaii, for example, has banned the use of credit score as an auto insurance factor) but it will come into play for several drivers.

Auto insurance companies argue that someone with bad credit is less likely to pay their bills on time, which makes them riskier to insure. Because of that, policyholders with bad credit will often be forced to pay more.

Looking at Central Mutual and Farmers specifically, which carrier has the best premiums for drivers at different credit levels?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Good Credit?

Which Company is Best for Drivers with Bad Credit?

Is Central Mutual or Farmers Better for Drivers who Work from Home or Have Short Commutes?

The amount of time you spend behind the wheel of your car plays a big role in your monthly car insurance bill. Typically, those who drive fewer miles will end up with cheaper prices since there's less of a chance of causing a collision and filing an insurance claim.

As you can see in the table above, annual mileage doesn't have much of an impact on how much Farmers charges. However, there's a small difference in monthly rates for Central Mutual, with drivers who put 6,000 miles on their car annually paying about $10 less every month compared to those who drive 12,000 miles each year. Still, for drivers in both categories, Farmers is the more affordable carrier.

Central Mutual or Farmers: Compare Rates for Urban, Suburban, and Rural Drivers

Where you live can play a pretty big role in how much you pay for insurance. Normally, policyholders who live in less densely populated rural areas will pay quite a bit less than urban drivers since there are a lot fewer vehicles on the roads where they live.

Farmers tends to offer the most affordable premiums for drivers in all types of areas, no matter if they're urban, suburban, or rural.

For policyholders in urban ZIP codes, Farmers Insurance's average prices are around 53% less than Central Mutual Insurance. People who live in suburban areas pay about 28% less with Farmers compared to Central Mutual. Those in rural areas can expect to save around 25% with Farmers compared to Central Mutual.

Central Mutual vs. Farmers Discounts

No matter why you might be in the market for a new car insurance policy, you're always going to want to save as much money as you can, and the best way to do that is by utilizing as many auto insurance discounts as possible.

But where do you even start? With what seems like a million different discounts out there, it may be hard to find all the ones you can take advantage of.

Luckily, we did the hard work for you and compared all of the different discounts offered by Central Mutual and Farmers so that you can easily see which company offers the most discounts and, therefore, the largest savings.

Farmers knocks Central Mutual out of the park when it comes to the sheer number of discounts available, offering 28 different discounts to Central Mutual's 28.

A couple of those are overlapping for things like anti-theft discounts, distant student discounts, discounts for getting driver training, and multi-policy discounts. Farmers also offers discounts for advance quote, alternative fuel, EFT, and more.

On the other hand, Central Mutual has a few proprietary discounts of their own for things like book transfer policy discounts, DRL discounts, renewal discounts, and more.

Final Thoughts: Is Central Mutual or Farmers Best for You?

So, you've seen how different variables can affect your car insurance rates. We've broken down the different discounts each company offers, too. That's all well and good, but at the end of the day, which carrier is the right one for you, your vehicle, and your wallet?

Farmers might be best for you if....

• You already have plans to move to another state -- undefined is only available in.
• Your home is in a busy urban area.
• You have a short commute.

Central Mutual might be best for you if...

• You have a more unique driver profile than those we mentioned above.

Hopefully, this guide helps you get a better idea of the difference between Central Mutual and Farmers and that it aids in making a more informed decision about your auto insurance.

But, at the end of the day, there's only one way to know for sure that you're getting the best possible deal on insurance -- comparing quotes from multiple carriers, not just Central Mutual and Farmers. Luckily, Compare.com does all the hard work for you. Simply enter your ZIP codes below and get multiple quotes from some of the best auto insurance companies in your area, all for free.

Central Mutual vs. Farmers FAQs

Is Central Mutual or Farmers cheaper?

Farmers is the less expensive of the two carriers when looking at national average premiums, with policies averaging $203 a month with Farmers and $340 for Central Mutual. Even so, that doesn't mean Farmers will be the lowest company for every policyholder, since there are a bunch of different factors (things like age, driving record, gender, etc.) that play a role in how much you pay.

Who is better, Central Mutual or Farmers?

Sadly, the real answer is "it depends.". Neither carrier is "better" for everyone -- it all depends on what your unique insurance profile looks like.

Why do Central Mutual and Farmers offer me different rates?

Car insurance companies use quite a few different variables when determining the rates they charge. Factors like gender, your driving record, where your home is, age, and sometimes even things like your credit score can all be used. Both Central Mutual and Farmers calculate prices using different formulas, so it's likely they'll offer different premiums. The best way to determine which company is the cheapest for you is by comparing personalized quotes from a range of different carriers.

How do I know if Central Mutual or Farmers is right for me?

The only way to find the auto insurance carrier that's right for you is by getting quotes from a handful of companies and finding the one best suited for your individual budget. Luckily, sites like Compare.com make it easy for you to do just that. Just enter your area information and you'll get quotes from dozens of your local top insurance carriers for free. With those, you can guarantee you're getting the most affordable price. And maybe you'll find that the best company for you isn't Central Mutual or Farmers at all, but another you hadn't even thought of!

Methodology

All of the data referenced in this article has been gathered in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. We analyzed more than 2.5 million rows of carrier-reported data to calculate the average rates referenced above. All rates are based on an insurance profile of a single-vehicle policy for a driver that owns a 2016 Honda Accord. For more information on how we calculate rates, please reference our data methodology.