The car, truck, or SUV that needs insurance is a significant factor when comparing quotes for the most affordable car insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, excellent safety ratings, or low incidents of liability claims will cost less to insure than high performance models.
The next list ranks car insurance prices for a handful of the cheaper automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $3,476 |
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $3,484 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $3,772 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $3,875 |
| Honda Odyssey LX | $3,893 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $3,931 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,020 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $4,078 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $4,109 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $4,116 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $4,124 |
| Ford F-150 XL Super Cab 2WD | $4,161 |
| Ford Edge SE 2WD | $4,171 |
| Toyota Corolla LE | $4,301 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LTZ Extended Cab 4WD | $4,341 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 2WD | $4,349 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $4,348 |
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Prices above based on single female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and homeowner. Premium amounts do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can increase or decrease premiums greatly.
Based upon the rates shown, we can expect models like the Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Ford Escape, Hyundai Elantra, and Honda Odyssey are going to be a few of the less-costly vehicles to insure for bad drivers. Rates will be more costly just due to the fact that there is more inherent risk for drivers with a bad driving record, but generally speaking those makes and models will probably have the cheapest car insurance rates compared to other vehicles.
Finding reliable, low-priced auto insurance is difficult, and finding out which company offers the best car insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record may require even more rate comparisons.
Every auto insurer uses different criteria for setting prices, so let’s begin by examining the car insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Raleigh. We do need to point out that Raleigh, NC car insurance rates are calculated based on many things that may substantially change the policy price. This is why North Carolina drivers need to perform an extensive rate comparison to get the cheapest auto insurance quotes for drivers with a bad driving record. Rates are influenced by many risk factors and can change substantially, so the cheapest rate the last time you compared rates may now be costing you a lot of money.
Best Insurance Companies for Imperfect Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | $632 |
| 2 | Utica National | $643 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $700 |
| 4 | NC Farm Bureau | $709 |
| 5 | GEICO | $720 |
| 6 | Titan | $737 |
| 7 | Penn National | $739 |
| 8 | State Farm | $779 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $844 |
| 10 | Allied | $901 |
| 11 | Erie | $904 |
| 12 | National General | $908 |
| 13 | Travelers | $936 |
| 14 | Peerless | $972 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,012 |
| 16 | Nationwide | $1,041 |
| 17 | Safeco | $1,044 |
| 18 | MetLife | $1,049 |
| 19 | Encompass | $1,063 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,064 |
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Progressive may offer some of the lowest car insurance rates in Raleigh at around $632 per year. Utica National, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and GEICO also rank well as some of the more affordable Raleigh, NC insurance companies.
As the example above demonstrates, if you buy coverage from NC Farm Bureau and switched to Utica National, you could realize yearly savings of approximately $66. Insureds with GEICO may save as much as $77 a year, and Titan insureds might reduce rates by $94 a year.
These policy rates are averaged across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and and are not figured with an exact location for drivers with a bad driving record. So the insurer that can offer the best rates for your situation may not even be in the top 20 companies shown above. That emphasizes why you need to get rate quotes using your own specific driver and vehicle information.
Buying coverage from the best auto insurance provider can be a challenge considering how many different insurance companies sell coverage in North Carolina. The company information in the next section could help you select which car insurance providers to look at shopping your coverage with. These ratings only include insurance companies that insure vehicles in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in North Carolina are not taken into consideration for these rankings.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | 93 | 98 | 99 | 88% | A++ | 95.1 |
| USAA | 83 | 99 | 100 | 91% | A++ | 94.1 |
| AAA Insurance | 91 | 95 | 92 | 90% | A | 93.3 |
| Nationwide | 85 | 95 | 97 | 89% | A+ | 92.4 |
| Allstate | 77 | 100 | 97 | 88% | A+ | 90.7 |
| State Farm | 80 | 94 | 96 | 88% | A++ | 90.6 |
| The Hartford | 88 | 93 | 91 | 87% | A+ | 90.4 |
| Safeco Insurance | 91 | 95 | 85 | 88% | A | 90.2 |
| Progressive | 88 | 94 | 83 | 88% | A+ | 90.1 |
| American Family | 91 | 86 | 95 | 83% | A | 89.7 |
| Esurance | 86 | 90 | 94 | 90% | A+ | 89.5 |
| The General | 86 | 93 | 89 | 84% | A- | 88.2 |
| GEICO | 79 | 89 | 95 | 87% | A++ | 87.8 |
| Titan Insurance | 86 | 82 | 92 | 86% | A+ | 86.5 |
| 21st Century | 86 | 82 | 90 | 84% | A | 86.4 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
The illustration below shows how choosing a deductible can impact insurance rates when trying to find cheap insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. The price estimates are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.
The data above shows that a 40-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $174 a year by changing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $262 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, such as the Age 20 example, have the ability to save as much as $578 each year just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage. If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it will now be necessary to have additional funds in a savings account to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some drivers from choosing higher deductibles.
Cost of full coverage
Reducing the cost of car insurance should be important to the majority of vehicle owners, and one of the best ways to buy cheaper insurance for drivers with a bad driving record is to not buy full coverage. The chart below shows the difference between insurance rates with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying liability only. The price estimates are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, drivers are single, and no policy discounts are applied.
Averaged for all ages 20 through 70, comp and collision coverage costs $1,918 per year over liability only. That is a large expense and it proposes the question if buying full coverage is worth the expense. There isn’t a written rule of when to exclude physical damage coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than about 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $4,500 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, you would only receive $3,500 after paying your deductible. If you are paying over $350 annually to have full coverage, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
There are a few cases where only buying liability is not a good plan. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should keep full coverage on your policy.