The Best Cheap Car Insurance Companies

Auto-Owners, Geico and State Farm are some of the best cheap auto insurance companies, according to NerdWallet’s recent analysis.
Ben Moore
By Ben Moore 
Updated
Edited by Erica Corbin

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You don’t need to sacrifice quality while trying to save money on car insurance. Some of the best auto insurers also offer cheap rates.

Read on to see how we determined our picks for the best cheap car insurance companies. If you’re looking for other quality car insurance options (that aren’t necessarily the cheapest), check out our roundup of the best auto insurance companies.

How we found the best cheap auto insurance

To find the cheapest insurers, NerdWallet’s editorial team analyzed minimum coverage car insurance rates from pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. We then determined which of the insurers were best by eliminating any that did not have a NerdWallet star rating of 4.5 or higher. See our criteria for evaluating auto insurance companies.

Our analysis looked at 40-year-old drivers in all ZIP codes across the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. All drivers had a 2019 Toyota Camry L. Note that not all companies offer auto insurance in every state.

Why you can trust NerdWallet: Our writers and editors follow strict editorial guidelines to ensure fairness and accuracy in our writing, data analyses and company ratings. You can trust the prices we show you because our data analysts take rigorous measures to eliminate outliers and inaccuracies in pricing data, which are sampled from every locale in the country where coverage is offered and rates are available.

The best cheap car insurance

Here are NerdWallet’s picks for the best and cheapest car insurance companies, according to our 2022 reviews, ranked by average car insurance rate per year, from lowest to highest.

Out of our highest-rated companies, Auto-Owners has the lowest car insurance rates on average, while Geico has the lowest average rates among the nation’s largest insurers.

Click on company names linked in the table below to read NerdWallet’s reviews, which dive into companies' customer satisfaction, ease of use and number of discounts available.

Company

Average annual rate

NerdWallet rating

$333

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$354

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

3. Plymouth Rock

$435

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$452

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$472

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$504

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$508

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

$573

5.0

NerdWallet rating 

$573

4.5

NerdWallet rating 

10. Chubb

$616

4.5

NerdWallet rating 
Methodology

AUTO INSURANCE RATINGS

NerdWallet’s auto insurance ratings reward companies for customer-first features and practices. Ratings are based on weighted averages of scores in several categories, including financial strength, consumer complaints, website transparency and affordability. Using our editorial discretion, we also consider customer satisfaction surveys. These ratings are a guide, but we encourage you to shop around and compare several insurance quotes to find the best rate for you. NerdWallet does not receive compensation for any reviews. Read our editorial guidelines or see our criteria for evaluating auto insurance companies.

AVERAGE RATES

NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. We examined rates for 40-year-old men and women for all ZIP codes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Although it’s one of the largest insurers in the country, Liberty Mutual is not included in our rates analysis due to a lack of publicly available information.

In our analysis, “good drivers” had no moving violations on record; a “good driving” discount was included for this profile. Our “good” and “poor” credit rates are based on credit score approximations and do not account for proprietary scoring criteria used by insurance providers. These are average rates, and your rate will vary based on your personal details, state and insurance provider.

Sample drivers had the minimum required coverage by law in each state. Some policies include additional coverage at the insurer’s discretion.

We used a 2019 Toyota Camry L for all drivers and assumed 12,000 annual miles driven.

We used the same assumptions for all other driver profiles, with the following exceptions:

  • We changed the credit tier from “good” to “poor” as reported to the insurer to see rates for drivers with poor credit.

  • For drivers with one at-fault crash, we added a single at-fault crash that happened six months ago, resulting in $10,000 in property damage and no bodily injury claim.

  • For drivers with a DUI, we added a single drunken driving violation that happened six months ago.

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