Compare Cheap Auto Insurance in Iowa

• Auto insurance in Iowa costs an average of $1,744 per year for full coverage, and $431 per year on average for minimum coverage.
• State Farm, USAA (for those eligible), and West Bend are the cheapest auto insurance full coverage providers in Iowa for most categories.
• Pekin and Travelers also offer competitive rates, especially in high-risk driver categories.

Auto-Owners does not provide the cheapest average rates in Iowa, but it beats out most other major insurers in terms of customer service. USAA technically ranks the highest but is only available to military drivers. State Farm is not far behind Auto-Owners and is often more affordable. It’s also worth noting that several regional insurers, such as West Bend and Pekin, are not ranked by J.D. Power, but have high scores from the CRASH Network Report Card.

1. Avoid traffic violations: Maintaining a clean driving record can save drivers a significant amount on their auto insurance. Having a DUI or speeding ticket on your record can raise premiums by quite a bit, and the effect will last for several years.
2. Bundle policies: Most auto insurance providers also offer other types of insurance, such as homeowners and renters, and if you’re in the market for one of those anyway, getting multiple insurance policies from the same company could get you an overall discount.
3. Pay in full: If you have the cash up front, many insurers offer a discount to customers when they pay for their policies upfront. You can still cancel at any time and receive a prorated refund, though some companies may charge a small cancellation fee, so keep this in mind.
4. Take advantage of young driver discounts: Teenagers are often subject to significantly higher premiums than more experienced drivers, but many insurers offer young driver discounts for meeting various criteria, like being insured consistently for at least one year, maintaining a good GPA, or completing extra driver’s education.

The state of Iowa sets minimums for insurance limits that all drivers must carry. Iowa is one of several states that allows some drivers to self-insure, for example by holding state bonds that can be used in lieu of ordinary insurance. For most drivers, however, it’s required that they have proof of insurance that meets the following minimums:

• Bodily injury liability: $20,000 per person/$40,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $15,000 per accident

Many drivers choose to pay higher insurance premiums to increase their coverage, which we highly recommend. Higher coverage means greater financial protection in an accident. In addition, for drivers who lease or finance their cars, the lender will likely require full coverage.

Iowan auto insurance rates vary by city. In Iowa, the spread is relatively small, perhaps in part because there aren’t such big metropolitan areas with more frequent damage claims. Of the towns and cities we looked at, the cheapest (Iowa City) and most expensive (Council Bluffs) average premiums lie about 15 percent above and below the state average, respectively. Auto insurance in all of these areas lies well below the national average.

We analyzed average auto insurance premiums in Iowa for full and minimum coverage for drivers with clean records and good credit. We also analyzed average premiums for other driver profiles, including those with DUIs, accidents, speeding tickets, low credit, and households with teen drivers. Full coverage averages use the following limits:

• Bodily injury liability: $100,000 per person/$300,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident
• Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident
• Comprehensive and collision: $500 deductible