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Cheapest full coverage auto insurance

Updated Jul 18, 2024
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What is full coverage auto insurance?

Full coverage car insurance doesn’t have a formal definition, but insurers typically use it to refer to policies that include physical damage coverage for your own vehicle — i.e., comprehensive and collision coverage — in addition to the types of insurance required by state laws, such as liability and personal injury protection. The primary advantage of a full coverage policy is the ability to file claims with your own insurer for damage to your vehicle regardless of fault.

Because there’s no industry standard definition of full coverage, this type of policy might include a wide range of coverage types, including medical payments coverage, roadside assistance and rental reimbursements. Check with your insurer or agent to understand what unique full coverage add-ons you could include to ensure that your car insurance policy covers everything you need it to.

Cheapest full coverage car insurance company by state

The cost of car insurance varies by state due to different insurance laws, unique geographic features and the incidence of claims in the area, but you may still be able to find affordable rates no matter where you live. Because car insurance premiums vary between companies, getting quotes from several carriers could help you compare rates and find the cheapest full coverage insurance for your needs.

The following table shows the company that offers the cheapest full coverage premiums in each state. Please note that not everyone will qualify for coverage from every company. For example, USAA only serves military members, veterans and members of their immediate families.

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Powered by Coverage.com (NPN: 19966249)

Advertising disclosure
This advertisement is powered by Coverage.com, LLC, a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 19966249) and a corporate affiliate of Bankrate. The offers and links that appear on this advertisement are from companies that compensate Coverage.com in different ways. The compensation received and other factors, such as your location, may impact what offers and links appear, and how, where and in what order they appear. While we seek to provide a wide range of offers, we do not include every product or service that may be available. Our goal is to keep information accurate and timely, but some information may not be current. Your actual offer from an advertiser may be different from the offer on this advertisement. All offers are subject to additional terms and conditions.

Coverage.com, LLC is a licensed insurance producer (NPN: 19966249). Coverage.com services are only available in states where it is licensed. Coverage.com may not offer insurance coverage in all states or scenarios. All insurance products are governed by the terms in the applicable insurance policy, and all related decisions (such as approval for coverage, premiums, commissions and fees) and policy obligations are the sole responsibility of the underwriting insurer. The information on this site does not modify any insurance policy terms in any way.

Best cheap full coverage car insurance

While a smaller regional carrier may offer the cheapest rates on full coverage in your state, working with a larger insurance company may come with significant advantages, from competitive digital tools and 24/7 customer support to affordable pricing. Bankrate’s insurance editorial team analyzed the best car insurance companies for drivers nationwide seeking the cheapest full coverage insurance.

To determine the car insurance companies to feature, we first reviewed average premium data obtained from Quadrant Information Services. We also analyzed each company’s available coverage options, discounts, policy features and third-party rankings from sources like AM Best, Standard & Poor’s (S&P), the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and J.D. Power.

Based on our research, we have assigned a Bankrate Score on a scale of 0.0 to 5.0 to each company. The higher the Bankrate Score, the higher a company ranked in each of the scoring categories.

If you are searching for the best car insurance for full coverage, these companies may be a good place to start. These providers are some of the cheapest in the nation but also offer exceptional coverage:

4.4
Rating: 4.4 stars out of 5
$2,254
$188
4.3
Rating: 4.3 stars out of 5
$1,756
$146
4.2
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
$1,921
$160
4.2
Rating: 4.2 stars out of 5
$2,001
$167
4.0
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
$1,905
$159
4.0
Rating: 4 stars out of 5
$2,036
$170

With nationwide availability, 24/7 customer support and a long list of discounts, Progressive leads the way as one of the most well-rounded and affordable carriers for full coverage car insurance. In addition to standard coverage options like comprehensive, collision and rental reimbursement coverage, Progressive offers add-ons like pet injury coverage and custom parts and equipment coverage. Progressive’s highly intuitive digital tools earned it the top score for customer service in J.D. Power’s 2024 U.S. Insurance Digital Experience Study.

If you can afford to pay your premium in full with a single payment, Auto-Owners offers a paid-in-full discount that may lower your rate. The company also offers numerous coverage options, including diminished value coverage, car rental reimbursement, gap coverage, roadside assistance and the Personal Automobile Plus package, which includes coverage for rekeying locks and identity theft. Auto-Owners is a regional carrier only available in 26 states, so it won’t be an option for everyone.

Nationwide received high Bankrate Scores for both auto and home insurance, making it a strong option for drivers seeking both types of coverage at an affordable rate. Available in 46 states and Washington, D.C., Nationwide offers robust full coverage car insurance options, including classic car insurance, along with discounts for drivers who insure multiple vehicles or bundle home and auto insurance. Nationwide also has two usage-based insurance programs, which may offer low rates on full coverage for safe drivers or low-mileage drivers.

Erie offers low average rates combined with highly-rated customer service. Erie scored above the industry average in the 2024 J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study in the regions where it was rated, including the top spot in the Mid-Atlantic region for the third consecutive year, and came in second nationally for claims satisfaction in the 2023 Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. Erie offers a unique Rate Lock feature, which prevents your premium from increasing for a certain amount of time unless you make changes to your policy, like adding a vehicle or driver. Erie is another regional carrier and is only available in 12 states, though, so it’s not available in many areas of the country.

USAA has some of the lowest average annual rates across the country, as well as excellent customer service. Although the company is not eligible for official ranking with J.D. Power due to its eligibility restrictions, it earned a high score in the J.D Power 2023 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study, which indicates that customers are generally satisfied with USAA’s claims service. However, USAA has strict eligibility requirements and only sells coverage to military members, veterans and their immediate families.

If you are looking for a highly customizable policy, Travelers may be a good fit. The company offers a long list of coverage options, including roadside assistance, gap coverage, new car replacement, ridesharing coverage and accident forgiveness. The company also has some unique discount options, like savings for hybrid and electric cars. However, Travelers did get mostly below-average scores in the 2024 J.D. Power U.S Auto Insurance Study, which could indicate a low level of overall customer satisfaction.

Best cheap full coverage car insurance for your profile

Car insurance rates are highly individualized based on a wide range of rating factors that insurance companies use to estimate a given driver’s level of risk. Primary rating factors for auto insurance include age, driving history and credit ratings. Young drivers, anyone with at-fault accidents or driving violation convictions and drivers with poor credit tend to pay higher rates than the national average.

Elsewhere in this article, we’ve focused on average rates for adult drivers with clean driving records and good credit. In the table below, you’ll see average full coverage premiums for less optimal driver profiles, such as families with teenagers and drivers with violations.

Driver profile Average annual full coverage premium
Adult driver with clean record and good credit $2,388
Married couple with 18-year-old on policy $4,376
Adult driver with single speeding ticket $2,893
Adult driver with single at-fault accident $3,396
Adult driver with single DUI conviction $4,586
Adult driver with poor credit $4,372

How to find cheap full coverage insurance

Because you are buying more coverage, full coverage auto insurance will cost more than minimum coverage or liability-only coverage. However, there are steps you can take that might help you save:

  • Compare quotes: One of the most recommended ways to find affordable car insurance is to shop around with several auto insurers. You can obtain free quotes from many insurers and then use these to see which could offer you the best rate on the coverage you want. When doing this, it’s important to specify the same types and limits of coverage on each quote.
  • Take advantage of discounts: Most insurance companies offer discounts that could help you save money. Taking advantage of the discounts you qualify for generally lowers your premium. In many cases, you may be able to stack discounts from your insurer. In those situations, the more discounts you qualify for, the more you’ll likely save on rates.
  • Drive safely: Driving infractions like tickets and accidents can lead to significant premium surcharges. Driving safely may help keep your rates low and may even qualify you for good driver discounts.
  • Increase your deductibles: Both comprehensive coverage and collision coverage come with a deductible, which is the amount of money you agree to pay if you file a claim for damage to your vehicle before your coverage kicks in to pay the rest, up to your policy limits. Increasing one or both of your deductibles can lower your premium, but your collision coverage deductible generally has the biggest premium impact. Just be sure to choose a level that you can afford to pay if you file a claim.
  • Consider the make and model of your vehicle: If you’re in the market for a new car, it may be a good idea to gather several car insurance quotes before making your purchase. For instance, if you’re on the fence between an SUV and a sporty coupe, your projected car insurance premium might help you decide which vehicle fits best within your budget.

Although price is an important factor when buying car insurance, it is not the only aspect of a company to consider. Customer service ratings, financial strength scores, available coverage options, discounts and policy features are all important to think about.

Frequently asked questions

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze October 2024 rates for all ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on a single, 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

  • $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
  • $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
  • $50,000 property damage liability per accident
  • $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
  • $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
  • $500 collision deductible
  • $500 comprehensive deductible

To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. Our base profile drivers own a 2022 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes.

Credit-based insurance scores: Rates were calculated based on the following insurance credit tiers assigned to our drivers: “poor, average, good (base) and excellent.” Insurance credit tiers factor in your official credit scores but are not dependent on that variable alone. Four states prohibit or limit the use of credit as a rating factor in determining auto insurance rates: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan.

Incidents: Rates were calculated by evaluating our base profile with the following incidents applied: clean record (base), at-fault accident, single speeding ticket and single DUI conviction.

Teens: Rates were determined by adding an 18-year-old teen to their 40-year-old married parents' policy. The rates displayed reflect the total cost of a driver this age added to their parents’ policy.

Bankrate Scores

Our 2024 Bankrate Score considers variables our insurance editorial team determined impacts policyholders’ experiences with an insurance company. These rating factors include a robust assessment of each company’s product availability, financial strength ratings, online capabilities and customer and claims support accessibility. Each factor was added to a category, and these categories were weighted in a tiered approach to analyze how companies perform in key customer-impacting categories.

Each category was assigned a metric to determine performance, and the weighted sum adds up to a company’s total Bankrate Score — out of 5 points. Our scoring model provides a comprehensive view, indicating when companies excel across several key areas and highlighting where they fall short.

  • Tier 1 (Cost & ratings): To determine how well auto and home insurance companies satisfy these priorities, average quoted premiums from Quadrant Information Services (if available), as well as any of the latest third-party agency ratings from J.D. Power, AM Best, Demotech and the NAIC, were analyzed.
  • Tier 2 (Coverage & savings): We assessed companies’ coverage options and availability to help policyholders find a provider that balances cost with coverage. Additionally, we evaluated each company’s discount options listed on its website.
  • Tier 3 (Support): To encompass the many ways an auto insurance company can support policyholders, we analyzed avenues of customer accessibility along with community support. This analysis incorporated additional financial strength ratings from S&P and Moody’s and factored a company’s corporate sustainability efforts.
Written by
R.E. Hawley
Senior Writer, Insurance
R.E. Hawley is a senior writer for Bankrate. Prior to joining Bankrate’s insurance editorial team in 2024, they worked as senior writer for a popular car ownership and insurance comparison app, leading a team of over a dozen writers in creating customer-focused financial advice content on topics ranging from insurance to vehicle reliability and auto loan refinance. R.E. holds a personal lines insurance license.
Edited by Editor II, Insurance