Guide to Free Car Insurance Quotes

Change one factor and you may get a completely different car insurance quote. That’s because many factors affect car insurance rates, from your coverage choices to where you live.

Coverage

Minimum coverage is the cheapest insurance option, but the cost varies by state. Across the board, the more coverages you have and the higher their limits, the more you’ll pay for car insurance.

Deductibles

Higher deductibles for collision and comprehensive coverage mean lower premiums, and vice versa.

Vehicle

Different vehicles have different safety ratings. Some cars do a better job of preventing crashes or protecting their passengers during crashes. Safer vehicles are less expensive to insure, as are less expensive vehicles in general.

Mileage

Those who drive more are more likely to get into accidents, so they pay higher car insurance rates.

Shop the Market

Compare car insurance quotes from multiple companies, inputting the same information on your end each time. Switching auto insurance may be your best chance at saving money.

Get Minimum Car Insurance Coverage

Your absolute cheapest option, no matter where you live, is to buy the minimum coverage your state requires. However, while this will lower your premiums as much as possible, you’ll be more financially responsible in at-fault accidents. Also, no state requires collision or comprehensive coverage, so if you only get the minimum, any property damage another driver didn’t cause is your out-of-pocket responsibility.

Bundle Your Policies

Whether you have renters insurance, life insurance, boat insurance, or home insurance, bundling it with your auto insurance policy is a great way to get insurance discounts on both.

Get Discounts

Bundling isn’t the only discount available. Here are a few we’ve seen from companies across the country:

• Early signing
• Driver training
• Annual payment
• Safe/accident-free driving
• Federal employee
• Good student
• Hybrid vehicle
• Military
• Safety equipment

Ask your insurance agent which discounts your insurer offers that apply to you. Agents can provide personalized service — in contrast to brokers, who only act as middlemen between the insured (you) and the insurance company.

Increase Your Deductible

If you keep your collision and comprehensive coverage, raising your deductible will lower your premiums.

You need car insurance to drive legally in 48 of the 50 states. The only states that don’t require car insurance are New Hampshire and Virginia, and even these states have financial responsibility laws of some sort.

If you’re caught driving without insurance in the states that require it, you could face fines, license and registration suspensions, vehicle impoundment, and, in the most extreme cases, jail. Always carry proof of insurance, which can be either physical or digital (usually through a mobile app) in most states.

Liability Coverage

Liability coverage includes bodily injury and property damage coverage, which applies to the other party in accidents you cause. Every state except Florida, New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Virginia requires bodily injury coverage, while every state except New Hampshire and Virginia requires property damage coverage.

Medical Payments Coverage and Personal Injury Protection

Medical payments coverage or personal injury protection (PIP) covers your passengers’ and your injuries in accidents, regardless of who’s at fault. At-fault states use medical payments coverage, while no-fault states require PIP, which includes reimbursement for lost wages and child care in addition to medical expenses.

These are the states that require one of these coverages:

• Delaware
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Kansas
• Maine
• Massachusetts
• Michigan (although seniors in Michigan can opt out of PIP if they have Medicare Part A and B)
• Minnesota
• New Jersey
• New York
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• Pennsylvania
• Utah

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage

Uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage kicks in when someone who drives without insurance, or without enough insurance to cover all of your losses, causes an accident. These states require uninsured motorist coverage, underinsured motorist coverage, or both:

• Kansas
• Maryland
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• South Carolina
• Vermont
• West Virginia

Collision and Comprehensive Coverage

No state requires collision or comprehensive coverage, but we recommend both as part of full coverage car insurance. So, what’s the difference between the two?

• Collision insurance applies to your car’s damages (and your other damaged property) in accidents you cause. You can also apply it to no-fault accidents if the other driver’s liability coverage is insufficient.
• Comprehensive coverage also applies to your property damages, but from events other than collisions. It includes vandalism, auto theft, and natural disasters or inclement weather.

• Commercial driving: A personal auto insurance policy does not cover commercial driving, even if it’s ride-sharing like Uber or Lyft. You’d need to get a separate commercial policy or ride-sharing coverage.
• Intentional acts: If you cause property damage or injuries on purpose, or hit your own car or property, your policy won’t cover your losses.
• Punitive damages: Reckless driving, malicious acts, and gross negligence aren’t covered.²
• Catastrophic large-scale events: While comprehensive coverage includes weather damage, like from hurricanes and other natural disasters, it does not apply to “acts of God” like war, nuclear explosions, or biochemical attacks.

You have two main options to compare quotes:

1. Shop the entire market at once. AutoInsurance.com lets you shop all of the major providers in your area without requesting a quote from each one individually.
2. Request individual quotes with the same information each time. If you’d rather take the individual request route, make sure you’re comparing apples to apples by entering the same information each time you request an online quote. Key information includes your current address, accident history, and vehicle identification number (VIN). With consistent data on your end, you can get accurate, comparable quotes from each provider.

Deductible

A deductible is what you pay toward a covered collision or comprehensive claim before your insurance provider contributes. If you don’t pay your deductible, your provider won’t cover you up to your limit. Learn more about how deductibles work.

Credit-Based Auto Insurance Score

If your state doesn’t ban the use of credit scores in pricing, car insurance companies can use your credit score to assign you a credit-based auto insurance score. The higher this score, the lower your rate. Here is how companies create these confidential ratings, which are based either entirely or partially on your credit information:

Learn more about how credit scores affect auto insurance.

Premiums

A premium is what you pay regularly for car insurance, whether monthly, every six months, or every year.

Getting free quotes is easy with AutoInsurance.com, but if you’d like to learn more about car insurance in general, read our auto insurance guide or the FAQs below.