Best Budget Pick Auto Insurance

How we picked the insurers to evaluate:

NerdWallet reviewed more than 90 insurance companies, including both NerdWallet partners and nonpartners. To be considered, an insurer had to be one of the largest insurance companies (by premiums written) in any of the 50 states and Washington, D.C. That list of insurers was compiled using data from Quadrant Information Services. We then narrowed the list to include only insurers that sell policies in a majority of states, that do not restrict availability based on membership criteria (such as military service) and for which pricing data was available for at least 20 states. Other, smaller companies that did not meet this data threshold may be cheaper for many consumers.

How we chose the winner:

To determine which widely available insurer had the cheapest rates, we ranked all insurers by average rates across all states and Washington, D.C. We analyzed rates in each state for full coverage policies for a 2016 Toyota Camry LE for our base driver profile (a driver with no incidents on record and good credit). We then selected the insurer with the cheapest average rate among the companies that met the "widely available" criteria.
Here’s how our Insurance team distinguishes between star ratings and awards selections:
  • Star ratings do not factor into our analysis of the best budget pick winner.
  • This award is based solely on our analysis of price and availability to consumers.

How we verified our data:

NerdWallet gets insurance pricing data from Quadrant Information Services. Information about where insurers are available to consumers is verified through data supplied by insurance companies to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.