The Best Cheap Car Insurance in 2019
One of the best ways to get cheap car insurance is by comparing car insurance quotes — and the companies offering them. To get you started, NerdWallet looked at car insurance prices across the country for different driver profiles and coverage levels to find the cheapest rates. We've sliced the data in several ways to give you an idea of average costs and what factors might nudge your car insurance rate up — or even better, down.
ust seven car insurance companies make up 65% of the U.S. market for individual auto policies. They are Allstate, Farmers, Geico, Liberty Mutual, Progressive and State Farm, which are available to anyone, and USAA, the insurer for active military members, veterans and their families.
NerdWallet compared quotes from these insurers in ZIP codes across the country. Rates are for policies that include liability, collision, comprehensive, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverages, as well as any other coverage required in each state. Our "good driver" profile is a 40-year-old with no moving violations and credit in the "good" tier.
Keep in mind these are averages from across the country, so rates in your area will differ. Credit history and at-fault accidents can heavily impact insurance rates. So can age, marital status and other factors. That's why it's important to compare car insurance quotes from multiple companies to find your best rate.
Finding cheap car insurance doesn't mean you have to stick with large insurance companies. Regional and small insurers may beat the lowest offers from the big guys, and often have great customer service.
Below are annual average rates from some small car insurance companies, according to our analysis.
We chose these companies because of their low rates and availability in multiple states, but there may be cheaper options in your state. For example, there are many Farm Bureau insurance companies available only in a single state — and they were often cheapest in our state-by-state analysis this year.
More average annual rates for small insurance companies
In this group, Grange is cheaper for good drivers and minimum coverage policies, but Erie is cheapest for drivers with a recent at-fault accident, at $1,003 per year.
