Our car insurance estimator can calculate your average monthly rate for three coverage levels and recommend the best for you in just a few minutes – without giving out any personal information.
Car insurance rates are increasing in 2023, so you’re not alone in estimating the cost of your car insurance moving forward. Rates can vary greatly depending on where you live, how old you are, whether you own a home and other factors.
Whether you’re shopping to insure a new car, looking for insurance for a teen or trying to find car insurance prices in different states, getting car insurance estimates and comparing quotes could save you hundreds of dollars each year.
- How do you estimate the cost of car insurance?
- Which factors do companies use to estimate car insurance?
- FAQs: How to estimate car insurance cost
- How much can I expect to pay for car insurance in 2023?
- How much car insurance do I need?
- Where do you find the best and cheapest car insurance?
- What are the types of car insurance?
How do you estimate the cost of car insurance?
With the car insurance estimator, you can see prices for three coverage levels based on your personal profile in five quick steps. After getting an initial estimate, compare car insurance quotes before making changes so you can budget accordingly.
What information do I need for the car insurance estimator tool?
You won’t have to give out personal identifying information to use the car insurance estimator — just some basic details:
- ZIP code
- Current insurance status
- Vehicle ownership status
- Age
- Homeowner or renter
Key Highlights
- CarInsurance.com’s car insurance estimator tool will give you an estimate of what you can expect to pay for your car insurance.
- After getting an initial insurance estimate, make sure you compare car insurance quotes so you know how much your premium might be and can budget for it accordingly.
- The average rate for state minimum coverage is $511, based on CarInsurance.com’s analysis of rates from several major insurance companies for nearly all ZIP codes.
- Insurance providers use factors such as your location, age, credit history and type of vehicle to calculate your car insurance rates.
Which factors do companies use to estimate car insurance?
Various rating factors determine how much you will pay for car insurance and depend on state laws and insurer guidelines about calculating car insurance rates.
In general, the top rating factors affecting your car insurance estimate are:
- Vehicle make and model
- Age and years of driving experience
- Geographic location
- Marital status
- Driving record
- Annual mileage
- Credit history
- Coverage, liability limits and deductibles
FAQs: How to estimate car insurance cost
How does your car type affect your car insurance estimate?
Auto insurers track which cars are involved in the most crashes and have the worst injury records. Those factors impact the cost you pay for liability insurance, which covers the damage you cause to others, not your car’s damage.
Insurers also know which cars are expensive to buy and repair or are stolen more frequently, and those factors drive up the cost of collision and comprehensive coverage. Calculations about the risk of a particular car are made independently.
See the average rates for car insurance by type of car in the table below.
| Vehicles | Average Rates |
|---|---|
| Vans | $1,443 |
| Trucks | $1,684 |
| SUVs | $1,729 |
| Tesla Model 3 | $2,917 |
| Cars | $2,164 |
| Electric vehicles | $2,407 |
| Convertibles | $2,427 |
How does your location affect your car insurance estimate?
Car insurance companies look at factors such as theft, vandalism, accidents, claims and fraud, which helps insurers discern the risk associated with insuring your car in that ZIP code. All other factors the same, your ZIP code can change your rate by hundreds of dollars.
How does your age affect your car insurance cost?
Auto insurers penalize inexperience – the less experienced the driver, the higher the rates — because statistically, inexperienced drivers crash – a lot. Therefore, young drivers are the riskiest to insure and car insurance rates reflect this risk.
Of course, most inexperienced drivers are teenagers and those younger than 25. So, young drivers pay significantly more, in general, than older drivers. Rates are cheapest for drivers in their 40s, 50s and 60s, and then increase slightly at age 70.
Average car insurance premiums by age
If you keep a clean record after age 25, rates typically stay relatively stable until you become a senior driver, when crash rates and premiums increase. See the table below for car insurance estimates at different coverage levels and ages.
| Age | State Minimum: Liability Only | 50/100/50: Liability Only | 100/300/100: Full Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $1,109 | $1,333 | $3,532 |
| 21 | $884 | $1,066 | $2,864 |
| 22 | $794 | $961 | $2,593 |
| 23 | $736 | $893 | $2,415 |
| 24 | $690 | $840 | $2,267 |
| 25 | $609 | $747 | $2,010 |
| 30 | $539 | $669 | $1,785 |
| 35 | $528 | $657 | $1,730 |
| 40 | $520 | $649 | $1,682 |
| 45 | $512 | $641 | $1,647 |
| 50 | $496 | $623 | $1,581 |
| 55 | $482 | $605 | $1,528 |
| 60 | $482 | $605 | $1,511 |
| 65 | $507 | $635 | $1,555 |
| 70 | $554 | $689 | $1,661 |
| 75 | $619 | $765 | $1,817 |
Coverage, in $thousands, represents bodily injury liability per person/bodily injury per accident/property damage liability per accident.
Full Coverage: 100/300/100 is liability with comp/collision and $500 deductible.
How does your driving record impact your insurance cost?
Your driving record is paramount to a car insurance company. Safe drivers get a discount from standard rates for keeping a clean driving record, while drivers with moving violations are riskier and could pay a surcharge in addition to standard rates.
Generally, a minor violation, such as a speeding ticket, can boost your average rates by 26% to 43%. If you have a major violation like a DUI, your rates can increase even more. The more risk you appear to be to your auto insurer, the more you will pay.
How does your credit rating affect car insurance pricing?
Insurance companies routinely check your credit rating to create your premium – except in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington – where state law prohibits credit from being a pricing factor. And in Oregon and Utah, policies can’t be canceled or not renewed due to credit history.
Credit scores help insurance companies assess the risk level of a potential customer. Research has shown that people with lower credit scores (typically 600 or lower) are more likely to file claims.
Read more: What is an auto insurance score and why does it matter?
How do I choose an insurance company in 2023?
Compare car insurance quotes on the same auto insurance coverage from at least three companies. When making these comparisons, John Yoswick, an analyst for CRASH Network, says to keep an open mind and look beyond the largest and best-known insurers when shopping for car insurance.
“There are more than 200 auto insurers, and there is often an opportunity to buy coverage from a smaller company based in your state or region,” he says.
Request insurance quotes from at least three different insurers. Be sure to compare coverages using the same liability limits, identical deductibles and optional coverages when getting quotes.
How can you lower the cost of car insurance?
There are a few easy ways to decrease your estimated cost of car insurance:
- Ask your insurer about discounts, such as good/safe driver, good student, anti-theft devices, driving courses, loyalty, multiple vehicles, bundling with homeowners, etc.
- Maintain a clean driving record and check it for accuracy
- Review the vehicle safety ratings and buy a safe vehicle
- Maintain good credit
- Install safety and anti-theft devices on your car
- Maintain a good insurance record
Read expert recommendations on how to lower car insurance rates
How much can I expect to pay for car insurance in 2023?
According to a 2022 CarInsurance.com data analysis, the average rate for car insurance is as follows for average annual car insurance premiums for a 40-year-old male with a good insurance score (no violations):
- State-minimum liability only: $511
- Liability (50/100/50 limits): $637
- Full coverage (100/300/100 limits): $1,682
Remember, personal factors significantly affect the amount you’ll pay for car insurance, which is why it’s good to calculate the cost of car insurance regularly.
How much car insurance do I need?
Each state requires that you have liability car insurance to drive legally. However, the amount state-mandated liability insurance pays out for accidents may not be enough to cover the expenses, leaving you to pay the difference.
Mark Friedlander
Director of corporate communications for the Insurance Information Institute“Chances are that you will need more liability insurance than the state requires because accidents cost more than the minimum limits,” Mark Friedlander says. “If you are found legally responsible for bills that cost more than your insurance covers, you will have to pay the difference out-of-pocket, which could be financially devastating for you and your family.”
State-mandated liability insurance doesn’t cover your car, so you may want to increase your protection to higher bodily injury liability limits and higher property damage liability limits: $100,000 per person, up to $300,000 an accident for medical bills for those injured in an accident you cause, and $100,000 for property damage that you cause (written as 100/300/100).
“Regardless of whether you want full coverage or the cheapest minimum amount, it is a good move to shop around,” says David C. Marlett, managing director of the Brantley Risk and Insurance Center at Appalachian State University. “Insurers have widely different pricing models and it is often surprising how much they can differ from one another. This is a quick and easy process that can easily save you hundreds of dollars in premiums.”
Learn more: How much car insurance do I need?
Where do you find the best and cheapest car insurance?
Finding the right insurance company can be a challenge. You want an insurer that offers great rates, but you also want a financially sound one that handles claims quickly and fairly and provides excellent customer service.
“Getting car insurance estimates from multiple insurers will help you reduce your insurance rate. It can also help you to discover previously unattended insurance needs,” says Siwei Gao, the Thomas and Rebecca Coffey Professor of Insurance Studies at Eastern Kentucky University.
“Many people set their car insurance to auto-renew in case of an unintentional policy lapse. This is smart – with one caveat – you may forget to re-evaluate your insurance strategy for a long period of time. It’s a good idea to be reminded to get a car insurance estimate annually.”
Auto-Owners, Erie, State Farm, Geico, Travelers, American Family, Nationwide, Progressive, Allstate and Mercury have all been rated among the best auto insurance companies. USAA also ranks as a top insurer, but the company offers coverage only to military members, veterans and their families.
Check out our guide on the cheapest auto insurance for 2023
What are the types of car insurance?
To correctly estimate car insurance costs, you must understand that different coverage options exist. Here’s a breakdown of the three main types of car insurance so you can calculate the coverage you need.
Liability car insurance
Liability covers others’ property damage and medical expenses if you’re found at fault for an accident. Many states’ minimum liability requirements are so low that if you were in an at-fault accident, you could be vulnerable to lawsuits to recover damages.
Collision coverage
Collision covers damage to your car, regardless of fault, and pays out up to the actual cash value of your car if it is found to be a total loss after an auto accident. Furthermore, collision coverage doesn’t cover weather events, theft or if you hit an animal while driving.
Comprehensive insurance
Comprehensive covers theft and damage to your car from hail, floods, fire, vandalism and animal strikes. Like collision coverage, this will pay you up to the amount your car is valued at the moment before the incident.
Loretta Worters, vice president of the Insurance Information Institute, says that consumers should consider getting an umbrella policy, extra insurance covering extraneous items beyond just liability or comprehensive car insurance.
“Umbrella insurance can provide coverage for injuries, property damage, certain lawsuits and personal liability situations. In most cases, personal umbrella policies are available in million-dollar increments, from $1 million to $5 million,” Worters says.
Methodology
CarInsurance.com’s Car Insurance Estimator tool relies on 2022 data from Quadrant Information Services of average auto insurance rates for nearly every ZIP code in the United States with rates using a 2022 Honda Accord and data from 10 large carriers. Averages for customized rates are based on drivers’ ages and gender for the following coverage levels: state minimum liability, liability of 50/100/50 and 100/300/100 with a $500 deductible on comprehensive and collision. Hypothetical drivers have good driving records and good credit.
– Michelle Megna contributed to this story.
