Cheapest Car Insurance Companies of January 2025
Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
NerdWallet’s auto insurance editorial team thoroughly evaluated rates from 137 companies to see which insurers offer the cheapest car insurance rates. We’ve organized the cheapest companies into several common categories to help you find which insurer may be the cheapest for you.
These are the cheapest car insurance companies:
Cheapest overall: Geico with an average rate of $40 per month.
Cheapest for full coverage: Travelers with an average rate of $144 per month.
Cheapest for young drivers: Geico with an average rate of $79 per month.
Cheapest for senior drivers: State Farm with an average rate of $43 per month.
Cheapest for drivers with poor credit: Geico with an average rate of $57 per month.
Cheapest after a speeding ticket: State Farm with an average rate of $51 per month.
Cheapest after an accident: State Farm with an average rate of $58 per month.
Cheapest after a DUI: Progressive with an average rate of $62 per month.
If you want to see which top-rated insurers offer the cheapest insurance, check out NerdWallet’s roundup of the best cheap car insurance companies.
Why trust NerdWallet
Find the right car insurance at the right price
Just answer a few questions to compare personalized insurance matches.Who has the cheapest car insurance in 2025?
Geico
Discounts
Ease of use
NAIC complaints
Geico
Discounts
Ease of use
NAIC complaints
Geico is the cheapest large auto insurance company in the nation for minimum coverage, with an average rate of $40 a month, according to NerdWallet's January 2025 rate analysis. That comes out to $479 a year for minimum coverage.
However, these rates are for state-mandated minimum car insurance limits. These minimum requirements are very low and may leave you financially vulnerable after a crash. If you’re at fault for an accident and carry only your state’s minimum requirements, you may be responsible for paying out of pocket for expenses from injuries or property damage you cause if your policy’s coverage limits aren’t high enough. In the event of a bad crash, that could easily add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
To find cheap car insurance with more coverage, check out NerdWallet’s list of cheap full coverage insurance companies.
Did your car insurance rates go up? Premiums are on the rise across the U.S. The best way to find cheap auto insurance is to shop around and compare car insurance quotes from at least three insurers.
Cheapest car insurance by category
The cheapest option for some drivers may not be the cheapest for you, depending on factors like driving history, age, location and vehicle choice. We used our analysis of rates from 137 insurers to determine the cheapest car company for some of the most common driver profiles.
| Category | Cheapest company | Median monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Large company | Geico | $40 |
| Midsize company | California Casualty | $23 |
| After a speeding ticket | State Farm | $51 |
| After an accident | State Farm | $58 |
| After a DUI | Progressive | $62 |
| If you have poor credit | Geico | $57 |
| Young drivers | Geico | $79 |
| Senior drivers | State Farm | $43 |
| Full coverage | Travelers | $144 |
The average rates you see here probably won’t match what you see when you shop for cheap car insurance quotes. While NerdWallet does have an enormous amount of data on car insurance rates, it’s important to remember that every driver profile is unique and every insurer uses a different formula to determine the cost of insurance.
The best way to find accurate rates is to compare car insurance quotes from multiple insurers, and use the same driver details, vehicle details and insurance coverage for each quote.
Cheap car insurance company by state
Location is one of the many factors that impacts the cost of car insurance. For example, the average car insurance rate for minimum coverage is $86 per month in Rhode Island, but drivers only pay $32 per month, on average, for the same coverage in Idaho.
To help you get an idea of what you might pay, we found the average cost of car insurance for minimum coverage in each state and Washington, D.C.
Our January 2025 data analysis helped us identify the cheapest auto insurance company in each state and Washington D.C. You can view a full list of those companies in the table below.
While the rates in the above chart and table can be extremely helpful for knowing what you might expect to pay in your state, average prices only tell you so much. That’s because car insurance rates change considerably based on where you live.
So, in addition to state averages, NerdWallet also analyzed rates for some of the largest cities in the U.S. to give you an even clearer idea of what to expect as you shop for auto insurance.
Choose your city from the list below to find cheap car insurance in your area.
If your city is not included in that list, you can also use our auto insurance calculator to get an estimate for the average cost of insurance in your ZIP code.
Estimate full coverage rates by ZIP code
Enter your ZIP code to find the average car insurance rate for your area. Rates are for policies that include full coverage for a 35-year-old driver with good credit and a clean driving record.
Average car insurance rate in your ZIP code:
$0
How to get cheap car insurance quotes
How to shop for cheap car insurance according to Reddit users
Reddit is an online forum where users share their thoughts in “threads” on various topics. The popular site includes plenty of discussion on financial subjects like auto insurance, so we sifted through Reddit forums to get a pulse check on how users feel about comparing car insurance rates. People post anonymously, so we cannot confirm their individual experiences or circumstances.
Several Reddit users recommend working with a local, independent agent instead of comparison shopping online. One user mentioned running a Google search for “independent insurance agency near me” to find a local agent, or searching on TrustedChoice.com, a website that offers a directory of independent agents across the U.S. The editorial team at NerdWallet recommends working with an independent agent, who can shop around and compare quotes from several insurers on your behalf.
Other Reddit users do see the value in comparison shopping online. One user claims they worked with an independent agent who overpriced their policy, and when they went directly to Progressive’s website, they were able to get a quote for $900 cheaper than the price the agent quoted. Another user suggested that going directly to an insurer’s website and inputting your information as accurately as possible could result in quotes similar to what you’d get from an independent agent. While going directly to insurer websites could result in an affordable quote, it can be time-consuming and you may not be aware of smaller, state-specific insurers that an agent would be familiar with. Smaller insurers tend to offer better customer service and may offer the cheapest rates.
Some Reddit users note that the cost of car insurance has gone up across the board for everyone. One user, who claims to work in the auto insurance industry, says rates have gone up because of the increase in the price of cars, plus an increase in the cost to repair them. This is also something NerdWallet writers have uncovered in our expert research of car insurance costs. That same user recommended that you practice safe driving to keep your rates down, plus shop around from multiple insurers once a year to get the cheapest policy. NerdWallet also advises this, as it’s the best way to be sure you have the most affordable policy possible.
Related Links
NerdWallet averaged rates based on public filings obtained by pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. We examined rates for 35-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. Poor credit rates from The Hanover were removed in both Connecticut and New York.
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 median 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.
For our analysis of full coverage car insurance rates, sample drivers had the following coverage limits:
$100,000 bodily injury liability coverage per person.
$300,000 bodily injury liability coverage per crash.
$50,000 property damage liability coverage per crash.
$100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per person.
$300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage per crash.
Collision coverage with $1,000 deductible.
Comprehensive coverage with $1,000 deductible.
We used a 2022 Toyota Camry LE 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.
For drivers with a ticket, we added a single speeding violation for driving 16 mph over the speed limit.
On a similar note...
