Wouldn’t it be great if you could just magically know the one company that has the most affordable coverage for college graduates? It’s not that easy, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknown aspects such as if you need full coverage or just liability, if you have points on your license, and if you are a homeowner or renter, that all impact the price you pay. In this article, we will teach you about the things that influence insurance rates and educate you enough to have a good start in finding the cheapest insurance in Raleigh.
Deciding which company quotes the cheapest insurance rates for college graduates calls for a little more sweat in order to find the best price. Every insurance provider has their own guidelines to set policy rates, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in Raleigh, NC.
Best Insurance Companies for Grads
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | $632 |
| 2 | Utica National | $636 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $700 |
| 4 | GEICO | $720 |
| 5 | Penn National | $725 |
| 6 | Titan | $729 |
| 7 | NC Farm Bureau | $737 |
| 8 | State Farm | $749 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $852 |
| 10 | National General | $890 |
| 11 | Allied | $892 |
| 12 | Erie | $895 |
| 13 | Travelers | $909 |
| 14 | Nationwide | $1,001 |
| 15 | Peerless | $1,002 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,012 |
| 17 | Encompass | $1,031 |
| 18 | Safeco | $1,034 |
| 19 | MetLife | $1,038 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,097 |
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Progressive generally has some of the best car insurance rates in Raleigh at around $632 a year. This is $240 less than the average rate paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, Liberty Mutual, GEICO, and Penn National also are some of the cheapest Raleigh, NC car insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you have coverage with GEICO and switched to Utica National, you could realize an annual savings of about $84. Customers with Penn National might save as much as $89 a year, and Titan policyholders might reduce rates by $93 a year.
To see how much you can save, click here to get a free quote or click through to the companies below.
Be aware that those premiums are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and do not factor in an exact zip code location for college graduates. So the insurer that can offer you the best rate may not even be in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.
The vehicle driven is probably the most important factor when looking for affordable car insurance for college graduates. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, poor safety features, or high incidents of liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models.
The table below shows insurance prices for a number of the most affordable vehicles to buy coverage for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $1,002 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $1,025 |
| Ford F-150 STX Super Cab 4WD | $1,147 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon | $1,172 |
| Honda Civic LX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,227 |
| Toyota Corolla S | $1,250 |
| Ford Edge Sport AWD | $1,258 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,270 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,336 |
| GMC Sierra SL Extended Cab 2WD | $1,361 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $1,386 |
| Ford Focus SES 4-Dr Sedan | $1,406 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $1,431 |
| Dodge Ram Quad Cab Laramie 4WD | $1,440 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD | $1,454 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD | $1,464 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $1,454 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Crew Cab 4WD | $1,456 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LTZ | $1,463 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $1,484 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $1,489 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 4WD 4-Dr | $1,497 |
| Ford Fusion Hybrid 4-Dr Sedan | $1,507 |
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Premium data assumes single female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, claim-free, safe-driver, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Rate information does not factor in specific Raleigh, NC garaging location which can affect insurance rates considerably.
Based upon the table data, you can conclude that cars like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Ford F-150, and Volkswagen Jetta will be some of the more affordable vehicles to insure for college grads.
For college grads, one of the largest components that determine car insurance rates is where you live in Raleigh. Areas with more people or higher crime rates tend to have more expensive car insurance rates, whereas less populated areas get the luxury of paying less.
The following table ranks the most expensive cities in North Carolina for college graduates to purchase a policy in. Raleigh is listed at #7 with an annual premium of $767 for the average insured, which is around $64 monthly.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $896 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $891 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $832 |
| 4 | Gastonia | $803 |
| 5 | Wilmington | $788 |
| 6 | Greensboro | $786 |
| 7 | Raleigh | $767 |
| 8 | Durham | $765 |
| 9 | Goldsboro | $758 |
| 10 | Wilson | $754 |
| 11 | High Point | $753 |
| 12 | Apex | $747 |
| 13 | Cary | $742 |
| 14 | Huntersville | $742 |
| 15 | Rocky Mount | $740 |
| 16 | Greenville | $738 |
| 17 | Indian Trail | $723 |
| 18 | Hickory | $718 |
| 19 | Chapel Hill | $717 |
| 20 | Winston Salem | $716 |
| 21 | Salisbury | $712 |
| 22 | Kannapolis | $697 |
| 23 | Burlington | $678 |
| 24 | Concord | $676 |
| 25 | Asheville | $667 |
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Rate information is comparative as the specific Raleigh residence address can influence insurance rates noticeably.
Price comparison of only insuring for liability
Saving money when shopping for insurance is important to the majority of vehicle owners, and a good way to pay less for insurance for college graduates is to not pay for full coverage. The diagram below illustrates the difference between insurance costs with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. Data assumes no claims or violations, $250 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are applied.
Averaged for all age groups, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $1,755 per year more than insuring for liability only. That is a significant amount which raises the question when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no written rule for dropping physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is about 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
For example, let’s say your vehicle’s book value is $6,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most you would get paid by your company is $5,000 after paying your policy deductible. If premium cost is more than $500 a year to have full coverage, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
How violations and accidents impact rates
The common sense way to score the cheapest insurance rates for college grads is to be a safe driver and avoid getting tickets or having accidents. The example below highlights how speeding tickets and accident claims impact insurance costs for each age group. The premiums are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $500 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
The chart shows that the average cost of a car insurance policy in North Carolina per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $911. Get written up for one speeding ticket and the average cost hikes up to $1,059, an increase of $148 each year. Then add one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the annual cost of insurance for college graduates goes up to an average of $1,474. That’s an increase of $563, or $47 per month, just for a couple of infractions!
Discounts on Raleigh auto insurance rates
Insurers that offer coverage for college graduates may also give you rate discounts that may potentially lower prices by 30% or more if you qualify for them. A list of insurance companies and some of the discounts include:
- 21st Century has savings for air bags, homeowners, teen driver, 55 and older, automatic seat belts, and student driver.
- State Farm includes discounts for Steer Clear safe driver discount, anti-theft, defensive driving training, driver’s education, safe vehicle, accident-free, and student away at school.
- AAA may have discounts that include good student, multi-policy, pay-in-full, multi-car, good driver, AAA membership discount, and education and occupation.
- Liberty Mutual may include discounts for new vehicle discount, safety features, newly married, new graduate, preferred payment discount, newly retired, and good student.
- Progressive discounts include online signing, continuous coverage, homeowner, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, and good student.
The diagram below shows the comparison of car insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The prices are based on a female driver, no violations or claims, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with claim-free, vehicle safety, anti-theft, homeowner, passive restraint, and multiple policy discounts applied. When drivers qualify for the discounts, the average amount saved each year on insurance for college graduates is 28% or $462.
Why are you paying too much for Raleigh car insurance?
North Carolina insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can substantially change your annual premium. Simply having a birthday, adding a teenager to your policy, or getting a reckless driving citation can trigger rate changes that can make some companies much cheaper than others. Not only that, but auto insurance companies file new North Carolina car insurance rates as often as every three months to adjust for heavy claims or excess profits. Larger than normal claims may result in rate increases, while a profitable period can result in cheaper Raleigh car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the chart below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Raleigh, NC for a 45-year-old female driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and good credit. Based on her current situation, Utica National might offer the most affordable car insurance rates in Raleigh at $730 each year. This is $142 less than the average policy premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and Titan are the remainder of the cheapest Raleigh, NC auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver from the first example a chargeable accident, a lower credit score, and an imperfect driving record. Because every insurance company has a unique approach to establish rates, analyzing rates may now result in a different set of affordable companies as shown below.
GEICO now has the best price in Raleigh, NC with State Farm, Auto-Owners, National General, and Erie also having competitive pricing. This example demonstrates why it is crucial to shop around with many companies to get the most budget-friendly insurance quotes for college graduates. Insurance rates can be altered by many risk factors and can change substantially, so the best option when you bought your policy may now be quite expensive.