The Cheapest Car Insurance in 2022

Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance?

Finding affordable car insurance can be a frustrating, mysterious process. Why do some insurers charge hundreds more for the exact same coverage? Why do your insurance rates go up each year with no explanation? Are there any companies that offer fair rates?

We’re so glad you asked. Let Compare.com be your guide to finding cheap car insurance from solid companies.

In This Article:

• How to Get Cheaper Car Insurance
• Cheapest Rates by Driving Record
• Cheapest Rates by Coverage Type
• Cheapest Rates by State
• Cheapest Rates for Students
• Frequently Asked Questions

Cheapest Companies by Driving Record

How much you’ll pay for car insurance depends a lot on your driving record. It makes sense if you think about it, because insurance is all about risk.

If you’ve gotten two speeding tickets in the past year, and you also rear-ended someone at a stoplight, car insurance companies will assume — rightly or wrongly —that you’re a high-risk driver and you’ll be expensive to insure.

On the other hand, if your motor vehicle report is totally clean, then insurers will offer you cheaper car insurance, because they think you’re less likely to cause an accident.

What if you had an unlucky year, but in general you’re a good driver? The good news is that insurance companies only consider events within a certain lookback period — usually three years, but it varies by state and insurance company. Tickets, convictions, and accidents from before that period won’t affect your insurance rates.

If you’re looking for cheap car insurance when you have a bad driving record, we have two pieces of advice: One, don’t lie! When insurance companies ask you about recent moving violations and accidents, you might be tempted to fudge the details. But they’ll get your motor vehicle record (MVR) summary directly from the state, so the truth will come out. And two, compare quotes from several car insurers. As you see below, insurance rates for someone with a speeding ticket, an accident or a DUI can vary a lot by company.

Cheapest Rates for Drivers With a Speeding Ticket

Which company offers the cheapest car insurance for people with a speeding ticket? We reviewed quote data from hundreds of thousands of drivers to find the answer — and it might surprise you.

The insurers with the best rates aren’t the huge insurance companies that run TV ads nonstop. The top three are Commonwealth Casualty, which serves drivers in Arizona and Texas; Dairyland, which specializes in higher-risk drivers and motorcycle insurance; and Gainsco, known for minimum-limits auto insurance. Another strong contender is Clearcover, a newer company that uses artificial intelligence and app-based service to offer cheap insurance rates.

As mentioned, Commonwealth Casualty is the cheapest insurer on the list, offering drivers a monthly premium of $63.63. Next in line is Dairyland, sliding in at just under $100/mo with a premium of $98.23. The third cheapest option is Gainsco with a monthly rate of $103.70.

Cheapest Car Insurance for Drivers After an Accident

One at-fault accident can really jack up your car insurance bill. After an accident, don’t just accept your insurance company’s new rates! Shop around to see what other companies may offer.

According to our analysis of driver quotes, these are the companies that offer the cheapest insurance after an accident. The top three are Commonwealth Casualty; Kemper Auto, which specializes in insurance for people who have had difficulty getting or keeping insurance coverage in the past; and Gainsco.

Commonwealth Casualty offers a monthly premium of $69.72. Kemper Auto is next with an increase of $39 to a monthly rate of $108.36. Gainsco is the third cheapest with a jump of $12 to their monthly rate of $120.27. Although none of the above companies offer rates above $150, this doesn’t mean that you should take these rates at face value. A quick search on Compare.com could reveal cheaper rates for your current situation. 

Although it’s hard to avoid increasing your insurance premium after an accident,  shopping around can help you keep your insurance rates fairly low. Instead of sticking with your old insurance company, think about switching to a new insurer that specializes in providing insurance to drivers with accidents on their records.

How to Save After a DWI or DUI

How much does your car insurance go up after a DUI or DWI? For some people, rates might rise by 80% or more (ouch!) Your insurer might even drop you.

If you need cheap DUI car insurance, you should shop around. There are insurers who offer cheap insurance even after a DUI, although rates vary so much that it’s hard to rank them in a list. Your insurance auto insurance quote will depend on your age and your driving history (other than the DUI), as well as where you live.

Here are a few companies that offer cheap DUI/DWI insurance:

• Progressive accepts DUI drivers and raises rates by just 13%, on average, after a DUI.
• State Farm is known as a good option for drivers with a DUI.
• The General says yes to high-risk drivers when others say no, making it easy to get affordable SR-22 insurance.
• American Family Insurance has lower rates for DUI insurance.

Think you’re paying too much for car insurance after a ticket, accident, or DUI charge? Just enter your ZIP code below and compare rates from some of the best insurance companies for free!

Find the Cheapest Companies by Coverage Level

Cheapest of the Cheap: State Minimum Car Insurance

If you’re looking for the cheapest auto insurance, what you need is state minimum coverage: a plan that meets your state’s minimum requirements, gives you basic protection, and allows you to drive legally.

State minimum coverage does not include comprehensive or collision coverage. This means that you won’t have any protection if your vehicle gets damaged by an at-fault collision, a single-car accident, bad weather or other circumstances when another driver’s not at fault.

The minimum insurance laws vary a lot, depending on where you live. Most states require bodily injury liability and property damage liability. Some require uninsured & underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments or personal injury protection (PIP)/no-fault insurance.

If you’re not sure what’s required in your state, don’t stress. Just compare quotes on Compare.com! When you select state minimum as your desired coverage level, we’ll only show you insurance policies that meet those requirements.

We examined real-life driver quotes from across the country to determine which auto insurance companies are offering the cheapest state minimum insurance rates. You might be surprised to see that the smaller, regional companies come out on top. These include Commonwealth Casualty (serving Arizona and Texas); Aspire General Insurance, which insures California drivers; and Sun Coast General Insurance, a California-based company that serves drivers in several states in the south and west.

With Commonwealth Casualty, drivers can enjoy rates as low as $54.16/mo, while Aspire General is a bit higher with a rate of $59.85/mo. After Aspire, drivers will see a jump of $9 to SunCoast with a monthly rate of $68.97. Insurers First Chicago ($74.66) and Clearcover ($83.65), also offer cheap rates for state minimum auto insurance.

Although these are the most affordable options for state minimum car insurance, the cheapest and most expensive options on this list differ by over $40/mp. Over a year, you could pay $480 extra in car insurance. That’s why picking the best coverage for your needs and budget is crucial.

Cheapest Full Coverage Insurance

State minimum insurance doesn’t work for everyone. You might need more coverage if you:

• Have a car loan or are leasing your vehicle, and your lender requires collision and comprehensive
• Want to make sure your vehicle repairs are covered after a collision or other mishap
• Need to protect yourself from financial losses in case of an expensive at-fault accident

Full coverage auto insurance generally includes three key parts: liability insurance, and collision and comprehensive coverage options. Depending on your state of residence, it may also include uninsured & underinsured motorist coverage, medical payments, or personal injury protection (PIP)/no-fault insurance.

The cost of full coverage insurance changes depending on the limits you choose. According to the Insurance Information Institute, the average claim for bodily injury is $18,417 and the average claim for property damage is $4,525. Given that, a 25/50/25 policy sounds like it’s more than enough! But remember, those numbers are just averages. If you cause an accident that injures four people, their combined injuries could easily cost more than $50,000. Your insurance wouldn’t be able to cover it, and that means the injured drivers could come after your assets.

25/50/25 Coverage Levels

What is 25/50/25 coverage? This means you have up to $25,000 in bodily injury liability per person injured in an accident, up to $50,000 in bodily injury per accident, and up to $25,000 in property damage liability. Property damage liability covers only the damage you cause to other people’s property, such as their vehicles. It doesn’t cover your own vehicle (that’s what collision/comprehensive is for).

We looked at thousands of real drivers’ online quotes to find the 10 insurers with the cheapest 25/50/25 coverage. The top three are regional insurer Commonwealth Casualty, app-based auto insurer Clearcover, and Gainsco, which specializes in minimum-limits policies.

As mentioned, your cheapest options for 25/50/25 coverage are with Commonweath Casualty ($78.84/mo), Clearcover ($91.67/mo) and Gainsco ($103.84/mo). While these are listed as the most affordable rates, this doesn’t always mean you’ll get quoted the same amount. Since insurance companies look at factors like age, gender, driving history, and credit score, you might have a higher or lower premium than the rates listed here.

50/100/50 Coverage Levels

What is 50/100/50 coverage? This means you have up to $50,000 in bodily injury liability per person injured in an accident, up to $100,000 in bodily injury per accident, and up to $50,000 in property damage liability.

Many drivers want to know: Is 50/100/50 coverage enough? That depends on how much you have to lose. If you have significant savings that you need to protect, then financial experts recommend having more insurance. But if you live pretty modestly and you don’t have a ton of assets, then 50/100/50 insurance is probably pretty good. Just make sure you shop around to get the best rate!

To find out which insurers offer the cheapest 50/100/50 coverage, we reviewed real quotes for thousands of drivers. In this quote comparison, Kemper Auto Insurance was the clear winner, quoting around $103 per month for a policy. Kemper sells insurance in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and specializes in working with drivers who have had trouble getting or keeping car insurance in the past. The next cheapest 50/100/50 insurance quotes came from Clearcover and Safeco Insurance, which is part of Liberty Mutual.

100/300/100 Coverage Levels

What is 100/300/100 coverage? This means up to $100,000 in bodily injury liability per person injured in an accident, up to $300,000 in bodily injury per accident, and up to $100,000 in property damage liability.

So… is 100/300/100 insurance good? The short answer: Yes. Experts say most people who have assets (such as a house or retirement savings) should protect themselves with car insurance that has high liability limits.

It might seem like too much, but keep in mind that someone injured in an accident when you’re at fault could easily sue you for six figures. Carrying full coverage auto insurance with high limits can give you financial protection and peace of mind.

In our analysis of real-world car insurance quotes, we found the 10 companies offering the cheapest 100/300/100 insurance policies. Look closely and you’ll see something interesting: for most carriers, the average monthly premium for a 100/300/100 policy is just a few dollars higher than a 50/100/50 policy. If you can afford it, definitely consider upgrading to the max coverage.

Which Company Has the Cheapest Insurance in Your State?

You probably already know that insurance rates vary a lot depending on where you live. In some states, the cheapest car insurance may cost you less than $60 per month. In other states (as you can see below) your cheapest insurance quote might be closer to $150.

Why do car insurance rates vary so much by state? Several factors are in play.

A big one is state insurance laws. For instance, North Carolina heavily regulates its auto insurance industry, setting a cap on rates, and so car insurance is pretty cheap there.

Another factor is population density; heavily urban states, such as Rhode Island and New Jersey, generally have higher insurance rates than wide-open states like Idaho or Kansas.

So, which company offers the cheapest insurance in your state? We studied thousands of quotes to find the answer — just check out the table below:

How to Get Cheap Car Insurance if You’re a Student

Finding cheap car insurance for college or high school students can be really tough. Car insurance companies consider young drivers to be very high-risk, so they charge a lot to insure them. 

According to the CDC, “the risk of motor vehicle crashes is higher among teens aged 16–19 than among any other age group. In fact, per mile driven, teen drivers in this age group are nearly three times as likely as drivers aged 20 or older to be in a fatal crash.”

If you’re desperately searching for affordable car insurance for a student, don’t give up! There are some decent options out there.

Remember that many insurers offer discounts for being a good student — usually this means keeping a B average, although exact requirements vary. If you’re a good driver, too, you might be able to save money on your car insurance by signing up for a usage-based policy. That’s when you agree to let the insurance company track your driving habits with an app or a device, and then set your rates accordingly (more on that below).

Here are the top 10 cheapest insurance companies for students, according to Compare.com’s data.

As you can see from the list, the three cheapest car insurance companies for students are Commonwealth Casualty ($74.05/mo), Clearcover ($101.87/mo), and Gainsco ($111.24/mo). Direct General ($116.97) and Infinity ($117.31) also offer affordable liability insurance for this age range. 

As a student, you can expect to pay higher rates until you turn 25. However, don’t lose hope just yet. Along with a good student discount, you can save money by taking defensive driving courses or by staying on your parents’ car insurance policy instead of striking out on your own. 

If you’re not sure which discounts apply to you, ask your insurance agent about any discounts you qualify for. You can also do some comparison shopping to find the cheapest car insurance rates for your situation.

What You Need to Get Cheaper Insurance

Finding cheaper car insurance is a whole lot easier than you think! You don’t need to make any phone calls to agents. You don’t need to fill out forms on different insurers’ sites. All you need is one site: Compare.com.

Comparing quotes and uncovering cheaper rates is completely free and doesn’t require submitting any private information. It does help to know:

• Your current insurance limits
• When your current policy expires
• How many miles you drive each year
• The approximate dates and details of any accidents or moving violations in the past three years

Cheap Car Insurance FAQs

Who has the cheapest auto insurance?

There is no single company that offers the cheapest car insurance for every person. Each car insurance company has its own ways of judging risk and setting rates, so one company’s quote could be hundreds of dollars less — or more — than another’s. So simply asking “Who has the cheapest car insurance?” won’t get you anywhere. You need to run the numbers for yourself and compare them.

Where can I find the cheapest car insurance?

Often, the answer is: Not where you expect! As you can see in the charts above, the companies offering the cheapest car insurance aren’t always the big, brand-name insurers that advertise big savings and low rates. Smaller insurance companies, specialty insurers, and regional companies all may offer better rates. The best way to find out is to compare quotes.

How much car insurance do I really need?

Great question! There are a lot of factors that come into play, but here’s a quick cheat-sheet to tell you how much car insurance you need.

• Are you on a really tight budget and driving an old car? If yes, then you might choose state minimum insurance, which is the cheapest option that lets you drive legally.

• Do you drive a newer car, or do you have a car loan? If yes, then you should have collision and comprehensive coverage.

• Do you have assets to protect, such as a house or savings account? If yes, then you need full coverage auto insurance with higher limits; at least 50/100/50, or 100/300/100, if possible.

Should car insurance increase every year?

It’s normal for your auto insurance premiums to increase each year. But that doesn’t mean you have to accept it! Insurers may raise rates because you had an at-fault accident, because you filed a claim, because their costs went up, or just because they want to. If you feel like your insurance rates keep rising and it’s not your fault, then compare quotes from multiple companies to find a better deal.

At what age does car insurance go down?

Drivers generally see a decrease in car insurance rates once they turn 19, and a more substantial drop when they turn 25. After that, insurance rates keep going down with age until you turn 60 or 65.

Can I get one-day car insurance?

Unless you’re renting a car, you probably can’t get car insurance just for one day. Insurers typically sell policies lasting a minimum of 6 months. If you really need one-day insurance, you may be able to purchase a 6-month policy and then cancel it.