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Everything you need to know about the top car insurance providers in Arkansas.
Direct Auto specializes in car insurance for drivers with histories of moving violations and accidents. Arkansans have higher average rates of these incidents.
USAA is our top choice for active military members, veterans, and their families. If you qualify for USAA’s membership, you can enjoy a low cost of car insurance, quality customer service, and excellent benefits.
If you’re one of the 2.15 million drivers in Arkansas, you need liability coverage (property damage and bodily injury) to drive legally. On average, Arkansans spend $879 for car insurance, which is about 16 percent lower than the national average of $1,047.
Unsure which providers offer the best policies and prices for your specific needs? Below, we’ll break down the best providers in The Natural State, giving you a closer look at their discounts, rates, niche coverage options, mobile features, and more.
Best Auto Insurance in Arkansas Overall: Direct Auto
Best Auto Insurance for Active Military and Veterans in Arkansas: USAA
Best Auto Insurance for Teens in Arkansas: Nationwide
Best Auto Insurance for Safe Drivers in Arkansas: State Farm
Insurance company | Average annual rate | Bundling discount | Senior discount | Good student discount | Safe driver discount | Low mileage discount | J.D. Power auto claims satisfaction study
(out of 1,000)1 |
Review |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Direct Auto | $2,487 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | N/A | Direct Auto review |
USAA | $1,151 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 890 | USAA review |
Nationwide | $1,614 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 868 | Nationwide review |
State Farm | $1,419 | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | 882 | State Farm review |
If you’re a high-risk driver — a new driver, a teen driver, someone with a history of traffic violations, and so on — you might have difficulty finding a car insurance company willing to provide you with coverage. Direct Auto, unlike most providers, caters to high-risk drivers by offering customizable payment plans, several sizable discounts, and a team of agents trained to work with unsafe drivers.
Below, we’ll break down what it means to be a high-risk driver and how Direct Auto can help you gain quality coverage at an affordable price.
Unfortunately, Arkansas ranks higher than average in several categories that insurance providers look for when assessing risk. Below we’ll break down some of those numbers and see how they compare to the national averages.
Category | Arkansas average | National average |
---|---|---|
DUI rate | .203% | .164%2 |
Motor vehicle fatality rate | .021% | .011%3 |
Uninsured/underinsured motorist rate | 19% | 13%4 |
Percentage of people who always wear their seat belt | 84% | 90%5 |
Credit score | 694 | 7146 |
Other factors that might be categorized as high-risk drivers include the following:
Direct Auto can help you curate an affordable plan with flexible payment options if you find yourself in one of the above categories.
Because Direct Auto caters to high-risk drivers, its average rate (about $2,500) is nearly $1,500 more than the national average ($1,047).7 One way to lessen the sting of high rates is to customize your insurance payment options. You can personalize your payment options to fit your budget by adjusting the following factors:
Direct Auto offers one of the longest lists of discounts among any provider, small or large. You can earn savings of up to 25 percent in multiple categories, which is more than most large providers offer. Whether you’re a teen driver, active military member, full-time student, or homeowner, Direct Auto probably has a discount for you. Here’s the full list:
Type of discount | Requirements | Maximum savings percentage |
---|---|---|
Military | You need to be an active military service member to qualify for this discount. | 25% |
Prior coverage | If you can prove that you’ve maintained continuous liability coverage with a different provider for at least six months, you could be eligible for this discount. | 25% |
Multivehicle | If you and your household insure more than one vehicle with Direct Auto, you might be able to get a quarter of your premiums off. | 25% |
Renewal | Renew your policy within seven to 10 days of its expiration date, and you could qualify for this discount. | 20% |
Vehicle equipment | You might be able to gain additional savings if you have an anti-theft system or safety features (anti-lock brakes or stability control) in your vehicle. | 10% |
Accident prevention course | If you have completed a qualifying accident prevention course within the past 36 months, you could qualify for this discount. | 10% |
DynamicDrive | Share insights about your driving habits with Direct Auto’s DynamicDrive program, and you could earn a discount. | 10% |
Good student | If you’re an unmarried student who has a B average or better or ranks in the top 20% of your class, you could save on your car insurance. | 10% |
Multipolicy | You can bundle your auto with motorcycle insurance and/or commercial auto insurance to earn this discount. | 10% |
Safe driver | You need to be accident- and violation-free for the past 36 months to be eligible for this discount. | 10% |
Pay-in-full | You could earn this discount by paying for your entire policy upfront, as opposed to in monthly installments. | 9% |
Payment discounts | Set up automatic payments, pay-in-full, or paperless payments to qualify for this discount. | 9% |
Returning customer | This discount is available to customers who return to Direct Auto after ending a previous Direct Auto plan more than six months ago. | 6% |
Senior | You must be over the age of 55 and complete an approved accident prevention course to save. | 5% |
Affinity discount | If you’re part of an affinity group (church, alumni associations, wholesale clubs, etc.), you could qualify for this discount. | 5% |
Multiproduct | Add additional coverage (roadside assistance, term life insurance, etc.), and you might be able to earn some savings. | 5% |
USAA is consistently our top pick for active military service members, veterans, and military families because of its affordable rates, specialized military coverage, and excellent customer service scores. If you’re one of the 252,000 veterans or 3,000 active military members in Arkansas, you can apply for USAA’s exclusive military-only membership.8 Whether you need to figure out the best way to store your vehicle during deployment, transfer your insurance overseas, or save more on your domestic policy, USAA will have you covered.
You can earn up to 30 percent off on your car insurance with USAA’s SafePilot program, one of the company’s top saving opportunities. Here’s how it works.
If you’re deployed overseas or in a different state, you can keep your car stored in Arkansas and save money in the process. Here are the three main ways to save if you’re deployed out of state:
Deployed military members can also extend their USAA policies overseas if they plan on driving away from home. You can keep using your USAA insurance if you’re deployed to one of the following countries/territories:
Whether you’re waiting to insure your favorite classic car, have your own golf car, or want to offroad on an ATV, USAA covers several types of motor vehicles. On top of regular cars, trucks, SUVs, and sports cars, you can also gain coverage for the following vehicles:
If you plan on insuring two or more vehicles with USAA, talk to your agent to see what kind of multivehicle savings you’re eligible for.
Nationwide is a well-known and highly rated car insurance provider that’s been around for nearly a century. Nationwide has over 125 independent agents in Arkansas who are ready to help you customize your ideal policy, add your teen driver to your plan, bundle insurance, and more.
On average, drivers under the age of 21 pay over $3,000 for car insurance annually. With Nationwide, you might be able to add your teen driver to your policy free of charge until they become a licensed driver. This perk varies from person to person, so talk to your agent to see if you qualify.
Even if you don’t qualify, you can bring those high prices down with the following discounts for teens:
Third-party ratings help customers and industry leaders get a sense of the customer service quality, financial strength, and efficiency of insurance providers regarding actions like filing claims or processing repairs. Nationwide has some of the highest ratings in these categories from the most credible third-party rating systems.
Nationwide has a seamless, sleek, and easy-to-use mobile app with plenty of convenient features. Here are a few actions you can take with the app:
The app has a modern design and is easy to navigate with its helpful menu panel. One of the best new features was being able to access our ID cards, i.e. our proof of insurance, without having to log in to our account, which makes showing insurance cards to police officers or DMV reps much simpler.
With over 91 million customers and over 100 years in business, State Farm is the largest provider on our list. In Arkansas, you can reach out to hundreds of State Farm agents across nearly 100 cities and towns. You can also benefit from some of the cheapest rates in the country, especially if you’re a safe driver.
State Farm has a long list of discounts for several types of drivers, many of which apply to safe drivers. Safe driving discounts can be especially helpful in Arkansas, where accident rates tend to be higher and have gotten worse since 2019 (we’ll take a closer look at those numbers below). If you want to improve your driving habits, or even if you are a safe driver already, you can try one of the following State Farm discounts or programs:
State Farm is our top pick for the best classic car insurance providers in the country. Not every insurance provider offers classic car coverage because classic cars require a specialized valuation process that isn’t necessary for normal cars. Because the value of a classic car increases over time, instead of depreciating, you and your State Farm agent have to agree to a valuation for the vehicle.
State Farm employs a fair insurance payout process that takes into account any modifications you’ve made to your classic car. Because classic car owners make modifications to their vehicles often, they want to know that their insurer will cover those modifications, not just the original parts of the vehicle.
If you drive for a rideshare company (Uber, Lyft, etc.), you’re going to need rideshare coverage. Not all providers offer rideshare insurance, but with State Farm, you can easily integrate rideshare coverage into your plan.
Rideshare insurance fills in the gaps between your personal insurance and your Transportation Network Company (TNC) insurance. When your TNC insurance is unable to provide coverage for you, like when you’re waiting to be matched with your next passenger, your rideshare insurance will kick in. State Farm will also match coverage between your personal and rideshare policies, so you’ll have the same limits and deductibles for rideshare that you do for your personal plan.
You have three years from the date of the collision to file a lawsuit for a negligent accident that led to injury, death, or property damage claims that exceeded $1,000.
No, Arkansas is an at-fault state, which means the driver responsible for the accident (the “at-fault” driver) is responsible for covering the property damages and injuries of all parties involved.
According to the Arkansas Insurance Department, every driver must have liability coverage: $25,000 for bodily injury per person, $50,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $25,000 for property damage per accident.
You do not need full coverage for rentals in Arkansas, nor do you need rental car insurance for your rental. All you need is the state minimum, which rental car companies are legally required to provide to you when you rent the car.
Insurers Struggle to Manage Expectations in Auto Claims Process as Repair Times Increase, J.D. Power Finds. J.D. Power. (2022, Oct 27).
https://www.jdpower.com/business/press-releases/2022-us-auto-claims-satisfaction-study
2019 Crime in the United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. (2019).
https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/tables/table-69
Fatalities and Fatality Rates by STATE, 1994 – 2020 – State : USA. National Highway Traffic Safety Association. (2020).
https://www-fars.nhtsa.dot.gov/states/statesfatalitiesfatalityrates.aspx
One in Eight Drivers Uninsured: $13 Billion Spent in 2016 to Protect Against Uninsured and Underinsured Drivers. Insurance Research Council. (2021, Mar 22).
https://www.insurance-research.org/sites/default/files/downloads/UM%20NR%20032221.pdf
Seat Belt Use in 2021 — Use Rates in the States and Territories. U.S. Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Facts. (2022, May).
https://crashstats.nhtsa.dot.gov/Api/Public/ViewPublication/813307
What Is the Average Credit Score in the U.S.? Experian. (2023, Feb 24).
https://www.experian.com/blogs/ask-experian/what-is-the-average-credit-score-in-the-u-s/
2019/2020 Auto Insurance Database Report. National Association of Insurance Commissioners. (2023, Jan).
https://content.naic.org/sites/default/files/publication-aut-pb-auto-insurance-database.pdf
Military Appreciation in Arkansas. State of Arkansas House of Representatives. (2019, May 3).
https://www.arkansashouse.org/news/post/7353/military-appreciation-in-arkansas
AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and Its Key Operating Subsidiaries. AM Best. (2022, Dec 1).
https://news.ambest.com/PressContent.aspx?altsrc=2&refnum=32789
Business Profile: Nationwide. Better Business Bureau. (2023).
https://www.bbb.org/us/oh/columbus/profile/insurance/nationwide-0302-2388