Cheapest Car Insurance Companies of February 2025
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The cheapest car insurance company: Geico
Geico is the cheapest large auto insurance company in the nation for minimum coverage, with an average rate of $41 a month and $487 a year, according to NerdWallet's February 2025 analysis.
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 and their average rates into several common categories to help you find which insurer may be the cheapest for you.
The cheapest car insurance companies
Cheapest for full coverage: Travelers, $147 a month.
Cheapest for liability coverage: Geico, $41 a month.
Cheapest for young drivers: Geico, $80 a month.
Cheapest for millennial drivers: Geico, $40 a month.
Cheapest for senior drivers: State Farm, $44 a month.
Cheapest for drivers with poor credit: Geico, $57 a month.
Cheapest after a speeding ticket: State Farm, $51 a month.
Cheapest after an accident: State Farm, $59 a month.
Cheapest after a DUI: Progressive, $64 a month.
(Average rates from NerdWallet's February 2025 analysis. Read our methodology.)
If you want to see which cheap companies also rank among the top insurers of the year, check out NerdWallet’s roundup of the best cheap car insurance companies.
Find the right car insurance at the right price
Just answer a few questions to compare personalized insurance matches.Cheapest car insurance rates by location
Location is one of many factors that affect the cost of car insurance. For example, the average car insurance rate for minimum coverage is $88 per month in Louisiana, but drivers might only pay $32 per month, on average, for the same coverage in Nebraska.
To help you get an idea of what you might pay, we found the cheapest car insurance company for minimum coverage in each state.
⚠️ Know the risks: Minimum coverage is your cheapest option for car insurance, but it can leave you financially vulnerable because coverage amounts are low. If you cause a serious accident, you might be responsible for paying some major expenses out of pocket. Consider full coverage if you can afford it. NerdWallet’s list of cheap full coverage insurance can help you find the best price.
Cheapest for full coverage: Travelers
Full coverage insurance will help pay for repairs to your own vehicle after an at-fault accident. Minimum coverage only pays for damage you cause to others, so you’ll have to pay for your own repairs yourself if you don’t have full coverage.
| Company | Median annual rate | Median monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Travelers | $1,768 | $147 |
| Geico | $1,992 | $166 |
| American Family | $2,132 | $178 |
| USAA* | $1,456 | $121 |
*USAA is only available to military, veterans and their families.
If you have a car loan or lease, your lender will likely require you to carry full coverage, which includes comprehensive and collision insurance. These coverage types pay you if your car is stolen or damaged in an accident you cause, among other scenarios.
Cheapest for liability coverage: Geico
Most states require a certain amount of liability coverage (sometimes referred to as minimum coverage) to legally drive. Be aware that your state’s minimum auto insurance requirements could be too low to fully cover you if you cause a serious accident.
| Company | Median annual rate | Median monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| Geico | $487 | $41 |
| State Farm | $537 | $45 |
| Travelers | $543 | $45 |
| USAA* | $375 | $31 |
*USAA is only available to military, veterans and their families.
Cheapest rates by age
Your age is one important factor in determining how much you'll pay for car insurance. For example, a 20-year-old driver would pay $80, on average, for the same coverage that only costs a 35-year-old driver an average of $41, according to our February 2025 analysis.
Cheapest companies for drivers with poor credit: Geico
Many insurers use credit-based insurance scores to help calculate car insurance rates. However, California, Hawaii and Massachusetts don't allow insurers to use credit when determining car insurance rates.
Poor credit can have a big impact on auto insurance costs in most other states. Our analysis shows that drivers with poor credit can expect to pay an average of 62% more for minimum coverage than those with good credit.
*USAA is only available to military, veterans and their families.
Cheapest auto insurance after a driving violation
As you might expect, your driving history can have a big impact on how much you pay for car insurance. A 35-year-old with a clean driving record who chooses the cheapest company would pay $41 a month for minimum coverage, on average, while a driver with a single accident would pay $59. So it’s worth shopping around to find the cheapest car insurance available if you have a recent driving infraction on your record.
If you're looking for the cheapest insurance after a traffic violation, you may want to compare quotes from smaller insurance companies. We’re showing rates for some of the nation’s biggest car insurance companies because they’re available to most people across the U.S., but drivers with violations like an at-fault accident or a recent DUI can often find the cheapest auto insurance rates with midsize or regional insurers.
How to get the cheapest car insurance quotes in 6 steps
Assess your needs. One person might prioritize a company with strong customer service and a great mobile app while someone else prefers a company with a lot of available discounts. Only you know which details mean the most to you.
Do your research. We recommend comparing car insurance quotes from at least three insurers once a year. Insurers adjust rates regularly, so a company that gave you a cheap rate last year might not be as much of a bargain this year.
Ask for discounts. You may be able to save money with discounts you’re not currently getting. Common car insurance discounts are given for insuring multiple cars on the same policy and having a student driver with good grades.
Raise your deductibles. The higher your car insurance deductible, the more you pay out of pocket before insurance pays for a claim. By raising your deductible, you may be able to lower your premium, which is the amount you pay for your policy. Just make sure you have enough money set aside to cover the deductible if you ever get in an accident.
Improve driving habits. Most traffic violations impact your insurance for at least three to five years, whether it was an accident, speeding ticket or DUI. Taking a defensive driving course could earn you a discount on your car insurance policy — and it’ll help you develop safer driving skills to reduce the risk of future violations.
Reconsider your vehicle. The type of car you drive affects how much you pay for insurance. Check out NerdWallet’s analysis of the cheapest cars to insure to compare rates for the most popular vehicles.
How NerdWallet finds the cheapest rates
NerdWallet’s editorial team analyzes minimum and full coverage car insurance rates from pricing analytics company Quadrant Information Services. Each month we look at more than 500 million auto insurance rates from hundreds of auto insurance companies across the U.S. to help you save on car insurance without having to do hours of research on your own.
Our analysis looks at drivers in all ZIP codes across the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., with a variety of driving and credit histories, driving a 2022 Toyota Camry LE.
Read our methodology for more insights into how we ranked cheap car insurance companies.
Why trust NerdWallet
Ask Reddit: How do other drivers find cheap insurance?
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 see what steps drivers are using to find cheap insurance.
People post anonymously on Reddit, so we can’t confirm anyone’s individual experiences or circumstances. But after reading through many conversations, the most common pieces of advice we found were:
Some drivers prefer to work with local, independent agents, because these agents are experts who can shop around and compare quotes for you. You can search in your area or use Trusted Choice, a network of independent insurance agents, to browse a directory of agents and find a good match.
Some drivers found that going to an insurer’s website helped them find cheaper quotes than what an independent agent gave them.
Some drivers recommend looking at smaller insurers, since these companies tend to offer better customer service and possibly even cheaper rates than a national company.
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.
For young drivers, we considered 20-year-olds with good credit and no driving violations.
For millennial drivers, we considered 40-year-olds with good credit and no driving violations.
For senior drivers, we considered 70-year-olds with good credit and no driving violations.
