Search this question and you will find one company crowned the winner. That ranking is true for exactly one kind of driver. Below, we split the answer by the situations that actually move your price: full coverage versus the state minimum, a young driver versus a retiree, a clean record versus a ticket or a DUI, good credit versus bad, and the state you live in.
“Cheapest” is the most misleading word in insurance shopping. A company can be cheapest for a 35-year-old with spotless credit and one of the most expensive for the same person after a fender-bender. It can win nationally and lose in your state. It can quote a low price for coverage that would not survive a serious crash.
We rebuilt this answer from several independent rate studies and federal price data, then recalculated the gaps ourselves so you can see what a switch is actually worth. Every figure is a median or published rule, not a promise: your own quote will differ.
Key Answers Before You Request a Quote
For a typical 35-year-old with good credit and a clean record, Travelers leads full coverage at about $138 a month ($1,652 a year), and GEICO leads state-minimum coverage at about $41 a month. USAA is lower on both, but only if you qualify through military service.
Often not. State-by-state results show regional names winning in many places, such as Donegal in Georgia, Maryland and Tennessee, NYCM in New York, and Central Insurance in Ohio. Always add one regional insurer to your quote list.
Each study fixes a different imaginary driver: different liability limits, deductibles, car and mileage. One analysis puts Travelers at $1,652 a year, another at $1,962, another at $135 a month. The ranking is steadier than the dollar amounts.
It cuts roughly $1,500 a year at GEICO versus full coverage, but it pays nothing toward your own car and may cover only a sliver of someone else’s. It is a legal floor, not a safety net, and it can be the right call only for an older, low-value car.
Age and record. A 20-year-old pays about $284 a month for the coverage a 35-year-old buys for $138. Poor credit adds roughly two-thirds, a DUI adds about 68%, an at-fault crash about 38%, and a speeding ticket about 28%, even at the cheapest insurer.
Not nationally right now. The federal price index for motor vehicle insurance fell about 4.5% year over year in July. But repair costs keep climbing, and some forecasts expect increases in a majority of states by year’s end, so your own renewal can still rise.
At least three, and make one of them a regional or midsize insurer. Compare identical coverage limits and deductibles on every quote, or the cheapest number will simply be the one that covers the least.
Yes, but shop harder. The spread between insurers widens after a violation, and an SR-22 filing itself usually costs only $15 to $50. The real cost is the premium jump, and any lapse in coverage can restart the SR-22 clock.
The Cheapest Company for Each Type of Driver
These are national median rates for large insurers, based on a profile of a 35-year-old with good credit, a clean record, a 2023 Toyota Camry and 12,000 miles a year unless noted. They show who tends to win. They do not guarantee who wins for you.
| Driver situation | Cheapest large insurer | Monthly median | Annual median | Who to compare it with |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full coverage, clean record, age 35 | Travelers | $138 | $1,652 | State Farm $165, GEICO $168 |
| State-minimum coverage | GEICO | $41 | $492 | Travelers $44, State Farm $47 |
| Young driver, age 20, own policy | Travelers | $284 | $3,411 | GEICO $315, Progressive $319 |
| Age 40 | Travelers | $131 | $1,572 | State Farm $164, GEICO $167 |
| Age 50 | Travelers | $124 | $1,486 | GEICO $157, State Farm $158 |
| Senior driver, age 70 | Travelers | $130 | $1,559 | State Farm $151, Progressive $157 |
| One speeding ticket | Travelers | $177 | $2,127 | State Farm $189, GEICO $229 |
| One at-fault crash | Travelers | $190 | $2,274 | State Farm $214, Progressive $285 |
| DUI on record | Travelers | $232 | $2,783 | Progressive $260, State Farm $262 |
| Poor credit | Travelers | $232 | $2,786 | GEICO $243, Progressive $319 |
USAA is absent from the “winner” column on purpose. Its medians are lower than every competitor in most of these profiles, with about $132 a month for full coverage and $29 for the state minimum, but it sells only to military members, veterans and some of their family members. If that describes you, get a USAA quote first and use it as the number to beat.
When we lined these profiles up, one pattern stood out: Travelers wins almost every row, but its lead is not constant. For a clean-record 35-year-old, Travelers sits about $27 a month below State Farm. After an at-fault crash, the lead over Progressive widens to $95 a month. The company that wins cheaply on a perfect record is not the same one that wins after a claim, and the gap tends to grow exactly when you are least able to absorb it.
We also noticed that the cheapest company for minimum coverage does not stay cheapest when you step up. GEICO owns the state-minimum row at $41 a month, but at full coverage it lands at $168, which is $30 above Travelers. Someone who shops only minimum coverage and later adds collision after buying a newer car may be locked into the wrong insurer.
How Far Apart the Well-Rated Companies Really Are
Price is only one reason to pick an insurer, and the better-reviewed companies are not automatically more expensive. Here are eight well-regarded insurers priced for the same driver profile.
Stand back from the exact dollars and look at the shape. Four insurers, counting USAA, sit within about $36 of each other, from $132 to $168. Then prices climb, and Farmers lands at $337 a month, about $199 more than Travelers. Over a year, that is roughly $2,390 for the same driver and the same car. We found that this spread is larger than almost any single discount you can chase, which is why shopping beats coupon-hunting.
| Company | Full coverage / month | State minimum / month | Extra cost of full coverage | Where it tends to shine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | $138 | $44 | $94 | Full coverage at nearly every age; clean or blemished record |
| GEICO | $168 | $41 | $127 | State-minimum coverage; smallest increase for a teen added to a parent policy |
| State Farm | $165 | $47 | $118 | Steady second place for seniors and drivers with a ticket or crash |
| Progressive | $190 | $54 | $136 | Teens added to a parent policy; second-cheapest after a DUI |
| USAA (eligible members only) | $132 | $29 | $103 | Cheapest in most profiles for those who qualify |
| Nationwide | $222 | $80 | $142 | Rarely the cheapest on price in these profiles |
| American Family | $236 | $68 | $168 | Strong ratings, but priced above average in this analysis |
| Farmers | $337 | $105 | $232 | Highest median in this group; compare carefully |
What it costs to step up from the legal minimum
The next chart splits each full-coverage price into two pieces: what the state-minimum policy costs, and what you add by moving to higher liability limits plus collision and comprehensive coverage. The two policies in the underlying study are not identical in every detail, so read the second piece as “the price of real protection,” not a pure collision charge.
Notice the cheap end. At Travelers, the extra cost of full coverage is only $94 a month, the smallest step-up of any insurer in this group, USAA included. At GEICO it is $127. That is why a company that wins the minimum-coverage contest is not automatically the right pick if you may need collision and comprehensive coverage later.
What Moves Your Price More Than the Company
Picking the right insurer matters. But the profile you bring to the quote form matters more. Here is the same cheapest insurer, Travelers, priced across six different drivers.
Put those numbers beside the company gap from the last section. Moving from the priciest to the cheapest well-rated insurer can save a clean-record driver about $2,390 a year. A DUI adds about $1,130 a year even at the cheapest insurer. Poor credit adds roughly the same. In other words, fixing the wrong insurer often beats fixing a single mark on your record, but the marks themselves are what raise the price floor.
Poor credit pushes the median full-coverage rate about 67% above good credit in the analysis we used. California, Hawaii and Massachusetts do not allow insurers to use credit when setting rates, so a low score does not cost you there. Everywhere else, an improving score can lower your next renewal quote, so recheck rates after a credit milestone rather than waiting for your insurer to notice.
Accidents and moving violations tend to affect your price for roughly three to five years, depending on the insurer and the state, and rates often drift back toward average over that time. The practical move is to re-shop on the anniversary of each event. The company that was cheapest right after the crash is not necessarily cheapest once the surcharge has begun to fade.
The Consumer Price Index for motor vehicle insurance has dropped for several months running, and it was roughly 4.5% below a year earlier in July. That is a notable reversal after the steep increases of 2022 to 2024. At the same time, vehicle repair costs have kept rising, and at least one forecast expects rate increases in 32 states by year’s end. The takeaway is not “prices are falling, relax.” It is “your renewal depends on your insurer and your state, so compare anyway.”
The Cheapest Company State by State
Geography changes everything. The cheapest full-coverage company differs in almost every state, and the dollar amounts swing by thousands of dollars. These are median annual full-coverage rates for a 35-year-old with good credit and a clean record. The last column shows the share of drivers estimated to be uninsured in 2023 where the state ranks among the ten highest.
| State | Cheapest company for full coverage | Median annual rate | Uninsured drivers (2023) | What it suggests |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | GEICO | $2,104 | 20.6% | High prices and many uninsured drivers: add uninsured-motorist coverage |
| California | GEICO | $1,358 | 20.4% | Credit is not used for rates; minimum limits were raised in 2025 |
| Texas | Auto Club of SoCal (AAA) | $1,349 | — | A membership-based insurer wins here, not a national brand |
| New York | NYCM | $1,400 | — | Regional mutual beats the big names |
| Georgia | Donegal | $1,323 | 19.0% | Smaller insurer wins; uninsured risk is high |
| Michigan | GEICO | $1,321 | 22.3% | Choose your injury-coverage option carefully, not just the price |
| Pennsylvania | Encova | $1,506 | — | Minimum limits are among the lowest: consider higher liability |
| Ohio | Central Insurance | $1,068 | — | One of the cheaper big states |
| North Carolina | Progressive | $1,112 | — | A national brand wins; still compare regional carriers |
| Tennessee | Donegal | $903 | 21.3% | Cheap rates, but one in five drivers is uninsured |
| Mississippi | Travelers | $1,259 | 28.2% | Highest uninsured rate in the nation |
| Louisiana | Louisiana Farm Bureau | $2,740 | — | Even the cheapest company is expensive; shop widely |
Two things stood out when we read the full state list. First, regional or mid-size insurers take the top spot in the majority of states, not just a handful. The big national names win in states like Florida, California, Michigan and New Jersey, but Donegal, Central Insurance, NYCM, Shelter, Encova and several Farm Bureau companies win elsewhere. Second, the cheapest state-level rate varies enormously. Vermont’s cheapest median is about $753 a year and Idaho’s is about $808, while Louisiana’s cheapest is about $2,740. Where you park the car can matter more than which company you choose.
The uninsured-driver column deserves a second look. Roughly one in seven drivers nationwide was uninsured in 2023, and about one in three was either uninsured or underinsured. In Mississippi, more than 28% were uninsured. If you cause a crash, your liability coverage protects the other person. If someone else causes it and has nothing, your uninsured-motorist coverage is what stands between you and the repair bill. Cheapest does not mean complete.
The Real Cost of the Cheapest Policy
Minimum coverage is legal in nearly every state, and for some drivers it is the only affordable path. Still, it helps to know exactly what the cheapest policy leaves uncovered.
Liability limits are written as three numbers: bodily injury per person, bodily injury per crash, and property damage. Pennsylvania’s minimum is 15/30/5, which means $5,000 of property-damage coverage. If you cause a crash that totals a $45,000 SUV, that limit covers about 11% of the vehicle’s value, and you owe the rest personally. Texas requires 30/60/25, California raised its minimums to 30/60/15 in 2025, and Alaska, Maine and Virginia require 50/100/25 or higher.
Florida is different. It requires $10,000 of property-damage liability and $10,000 of personal injury protection, but it does not require bodily-injury liability at all. A Florida driver can legally be insured and still be unprotected if they injure someone. New Hampshire is the only state that does not compel drivers to buy insurance, though drivers there still face financial-responsibility rules after a crash.
In our recalculation using the national medians, GEICO’s minimum policy costs $492 a year and its full-coverage policy $2,020. The difference is $1,528, about $127 a month. That sounds like a lot until you compare it to what the added coverage replaces: your car, and liability limits far above $5,000 for property damage. For anyone with a loan or lease, the choice is not yours anyway, since lenders typically require comprehensive and collision coverage.
For an older paid-off car worth less than a year’s premium difference, dropping to liability only can be rational. The rule of thumb many agents use is to keep collision coverage as long as you could not comfortably replace the car out of savings.
First, ask for a quote at higher liability limits than your state requires. The jump from a bare minimum to a mid-level limit often costs far less than it protects against. Second, add uninsured-motorist coverage where it is optional. Roughly 20 states plus the District of Columbia require it in some form, and it matters most in high-uninsured states such as Mississippi, New Mexico, Michigan, Tennessee, Missouri and Florida.
Three Households, Priced Out Side by Side
Averages are abstract until you attach them to a household. We ran three common cases through the published medians and compared the cheapest option with a less careful choice.
A 35-year-old with good credit and a clean record has to carry full coverage because of the auto loan. At the cheapest large insurer that costs about $1,652 a year. The average full-coverage policy across all insurers in a separate 2026 analysis came to about $2,496 a year. In our comparison, simply landing at the cheapest company instead of an average one saves about $844, or roughly a third. Nothing about the driver changed. Only the quote did.
A separate policy for a 20-year-old costs about $3,411 a year at the cheapest large insurer. When we looked at the same driver joining a parent’s policy, the smallest monthly increase, about $70 at GEICO, works out to roughly $840 a year. That is a difference of about $2,570 a year, which is why the standard advice is to keep a young driver on the family policy until they have more experience, as long as the household does not end up with an extra, separately insured car.
After a single ticket, the cheapest large insurer in the national medians charged about $2,127 a year. Another large insurer charged about $3,007 for the same driver. That is an $880 gap created entirely by how each company treats a violation. If you stay with the company that raised your rate the most, you are paying that difference for nothing. The ticket is a reason to shop immediately, not to wait until the surcharge ages off.
Pick the Situation That Sounds Like Yours
A national average cannot tell you what to do about a lapsed policy or a first ticket. These are the situations where we found the answer to “who is cheapest” really does change.
Insurers can reprice you for reasons that have nothing to do with your driving: territory changes, repair-cost trends, a new rating model. Your quote at renewal is a starting offer, not a verdict. Get at least three outside quotes at identical limits and deductibles at least a few weeks before the renewal date. If a competitor is lower, call your current insurer with the number and ask whether they can match it. Some will adjust quietly, and some will not.
A tip from licensed agents is worth repeating: if you are on a six-month policy and can move to a 12-month term, you lock a good rate for six extra months instead of facing a possible increase at the halfway mark.
Adding a teen to a parent’s policy is almost always cheaper than a separate policy, and the cheapest total is not always the smallest increase. In the data we reviewed, Progressive had the lowest total for a 20-year-old joining parents at about $329 a month, but GEICO showed the smallest monthly increase, about $70, over a two-adult policy. USAA, for those eligible, was lower still on total. If your goal is to minimize the jump rather than the total, compare the increase, not just the final figure.
Separate vehicles generally cost more than a shared one. Teens who share a family car, take a driver-training course, or keep good grades often qualify for discounts, so ask about each one explicitly.
Older drivers with clean records tend to see some of the lowest rates of any group, though prices start creeping up in the 70s. In the national medians we used, Travelers was cheapest for a 70-year-old at about $130 a month, with State Farm at $151 and Progressive at $157. If your annual mileage dropped after retirement, tell your insurer. A usage-based or pay-per-mile program can earn a discount if you share driving data through an app or device, which makes the most sense for low-mileage drivers who are comfortable being tracked.
Do not assume your current insurer is still cheapest. After a ticket, the cheapest large insurer in our analysis charged $177 a month, but GEICO charged $229 and Progressive $251. That is a gap of about $880 a year between Travelers and Progressive on the same driver. After an at-fault crash, Progressive’s median ran about $1,142 a year above Travelers. Insurers weigh violations very differently, so some companies barely move your rate and others raise it sharply.
Also ask about accident forgiveness or a defensive-driving course. Some insurers will not surcharge a first ticket, and a course can earn a discount. The surcharge itself typically eases within three to five years.
An SR-22 is not an insurance policy. It is a certificate your insurer files with the state to show you carry the required coverage. The filing itself usually costs about $15 to $50, and the large cost is the premium increase tied to the violation. In the analysis we used, the cheapest large insurer after a DUI charged about $232 a month, versus $260 at the next cheapest. Not every insurer files an SR-22, so ask before you apply.
The critical rule: if the policy lapses during the required filing period, even briefly, your insurer notifies the state, your license can be suspended again, and in most states the clock restarts. Set up automatic payments and make sure a new insurer has filed before you cancel the old one. If you do not own a car but still need to prove coverage, a non-owner SR-22 policy exists.
If you live in California, Hawaii or Massachusetts, credit is not used to set your rate, so poor credit is not your problem there. Elsewhere, the cheapest insurer for poor credit in the national medians was Travelers at about $232 a month, followed by GEICO at $243, while Progressive and Nationwide were above $319. That spread is roughly $90 to $100 a month, so shop at least three insurers. Re-quote 60 to 90 days after paying down balances or correcting a credit-report error, because insurers use a credit-based insurance score rather than the number you see on a lending app.
Start with USAA if you qualify. In the national medians, USAA was the lowest in seven of the ten profiles we examined, including full coverage at about $132 a month and minimum coverage at $29, though not for young drivers, DUI records or poor credit, where Travelers edged it out. Eligibility is limited to military members, veterans and some family members, so confirm your status first. Use the USAA figure as your benchmark, then see whether Travelers or GEICO comes close enough to justify switching for other reasons.
A gap in coverage is expensive twice: once in fines and possible license consequences, and again in higher rates, since insurers treat continuous coverage as a sign of lower risk. Roughly one in seven drivers was uninsured in 2023, so you are not alone, but the fix is the same: get coverage in force before you drive again, and pick a payment method that cannot lapse. Many insurers offer a discount for automatic payments and for paying in full, which also removes monthly service fees.
If your state’s minimum feels out of reach, ask the state insurance department whether it runs a low-cost auto program, and compare carriers that specialize in drivers with lapses.
This is where you can cut the most without hurting your protection. If the car’s value is only a few thousand dollars, collision and comprehensive coverage may cost more per year than the most you could ever collect after a deductible. Dropping them, or raising your deductible, can lower the premium meaningfully. Keep liability limits strong, because that protects your savings, not the car. Agents often suggest a higher deductible on collision specifically, since collision is the pricier of the two optional coverages.
A move can change your price more than any discount. Your ZIP code affects theft, weather and claim-frequency risk, and your state sets the rules. After a move, run a fresh set of quotes in your new location, since the company that was cheapest in your old state may not even be the best in the new one. In high-cost states such as Florida, Louisiana, New Jersey and Utah, the spread between insurers is wide, so comparing is especially worth the time.
Questions Most Shoppers Never Ask Until It’s Too Late
Not always. Quotes depend on the information you supply, and the insurer will verify it. If a driver in your household is left off, or your annual mileage is understated, the discrepancy can surface at claim time or renewal. Entering inaccurate details to get a lower number can lead to a canceled policy or a denied claim, so it is not a safe way to save.
Not necessarily. In the analysis we relied on, several of the cheapest companies also earned top marks for customer service, financial strength and complaint history. Price and quality overlap more than many shoppers assume. Check your state insurance department’s complaint data for any company you are considering, because it measures how that insurer behaves when a claim gets complicated.
Sometimes. Bundling home or renters insurance with auto can lower both bills, but the discount is not guaranteed to beat a cheaper standalone auto quote. Price the bundle, then price the same auto policy alone from a different insurer. If the bundle wins by a real margin, take it. If not, you can often combine a cheap standalone auto policy with a separate home or renters policy.
Pick a deductible you could pay from savings tomorrow without borrowing. A higher deductible usually has the largest single effect on the premium among the options you control. Moving from a low to a mid-range deductible on collision typically saves more than most discounts combined. But a $2,000 deductible only helps if you actually have $2,000 available.
No. National analyses cover large insurers with publicly available rate filings, and some big names are excluded when their data is not public. Small regional insurers and companies that sell only through agents may not appear at all, yet they win in many states. That is why independent agents, who can quote several carriers at once, are often worth a phone call.
Where to Verify Rules and Next Steps
Insurers answer to your state, and the state is the right place to check a company’s complaint record, confirm your minimum limits, and find low-cost programs. These official resources are free.
Rates are national or state medians from published rate analyses for a standard driver profile (a 35-year-old with good credit and a clean record, a 2023 Toyota Camry, 12,000 miles a year, unless noted) and may have changed since we reviewed them. Your quote depends on your ZIP code, vehicle, driving history, credit-based insurance score, coverage limits and deductibles, and may be higher or lower. Percentage gaps and dollar differences labeled as our own are calculations from the published medians. State minimum limits change, so confirm yours with your state insurance department or DMV before buying.
This page is independent educational information, not insurance, legal or financial advice, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by any insurer named. A licensed insurance agent or your state insurance department can confirm what applies to you.
Key sources: NerdWallet national rate analysis (Quadrant Information Services data) · CarInsurance.com, LendingTree and ValuePenguin rate studies · Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index · Insurance Research Council and Triple-I uninsured-motorist research · Bankrate state minimum requirements · NAIC