The Best Cheap Car Insurance

 

Overall rankings: Car insurance rates among the five largest companies

1. Geico

For the general population, Geico offers the cheapest car insurance quotes on average nationwide. NerdWallet found an average rate of $1,297 a year in our study.
Geico also provides a variety of easy-to-score discounts that can cut costs. Motorists who’ve gone five years without an accident qualify for the company’s good driver discount. There are also opportunities to save by insuring multiple vehicles, driving a car with air bags, always wearing seat belts and taking advantage of various other discounts.

2. State Farm

State Farm ranks second for pricing among the four largest companies, but with an average quote of $2,296 per year, nearly $1,000 per year higher than Geico. The good news is drivers have ample opportunity to trim their costs, especially if they have a clean driving record. Among other savings opportunities, State Farm offers four separate discounts that deal with safe and accident-free driving.
State Farm is the nation’s leading car insurance provider in terms of market share, offering a vast array of insurance products and financial services in every state plus Washington, D.C.

3. Progressive

Progressive returned an average quote of $2,821 per year, which comes out to $235 a month. That’s $525 a year higher than State Farm and more than double the cost of Geico.
Progressive may appeal to drivers looking for a paper- and agent-free experience. You can manage your policy entirely online. Starting a quote online and signing policy documents electronically are also two ways to qualify for discounts, along with things like bundling auto and home insurance and insuring multiple cars.

4. Allstate

Of the four largest insurers, Allstate had the highest average annual quote for good drivers at $3,182, or roughly $265 per month. Although ponying up that kind of cash is a lot to ask, the company has solid finances and relatively few complaints from policyholders. Allstate holds an A+ (Superior) financial strength rating from A.M. Best and has a customer complaint ratio of 0.77, better than the industry median of 1.00, according to data compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Among other discounts, Allstate offers price breaks for safe driving, including savings once you’ve gone accident- and violation-free for three years, and again for five years.