Auto Insurance Cost: Average Rates & What Drives Them

Auto insurance is priced one driver at a time, so a national average describes very few people. Insurers weigh your age, your record, your ZIP code, the car you drive, and the coverage you choose, and the same policy can cost several times more for one household than for another. Published averages are still a useful starting point for judging whether a quote looks high or low.

This guide covers what drivers pay for minimum and full coverage, how much of the spread comes from driver profile and state, and why three well-known sources land on different totals. It is a cost guide only. For advice on which coverage fits your situation, talk to a licensed insurance agent.

Monthly figures are how most people budget for a policy, even when the insurer bills every six months. Full coverage typically means liability plus collision and comprehensive, and it costs far more than the state minimum alone. Minimum coverage is the least the law requires, which varies by state and does not pay to repair your own car.

The gap between the two rows comes mostly from collision and comprehensive coverage, which pay for damage to your own vehicle. If you lease or finance, the lender usually requires them, so the minimum figure may not be a realistic option for you.

Most of the swing in auto insurance cost comes from a short list of factors. Some you can change over time, and others you cannot.

• Age and experience. Younger drivers pay the most, and rates generally ease as a clean record builds.
• Driving record. An at-fault accident or a DUI raises the premium for several years, and a DUI raises it the most.
• Credit. In most states insurers may use a credit-based score. MoneyGeek reports that moving from poor to excellent credit can save more than clearing a DUI in most states.
• Location. State laws, lawsuit rates, weather, and theft all feed into local pricing.
• Vehicle. A newer or more expensive car costs more to repair and replace, which pushes up collision and comprehensive costs.
• Coverage choices. Higher liability limits and lower deductibles raise the premium.

The table below holds the coverage fixed at full coverage and changes only the driver. It shows how much of the price is about the person rather than the car.

A young driver pays more than double what a clean-record adult pays for the same coverage. A DUI adds a large surcharge on top of the base rate. Drivers with a violation or a young driver on the policy may gain more from comparing insurers, since companies weigh the same event differently.

Where you register the car matters as much as who drives it. The states below show the spread for full coverage, from some of the highest averages in the country to some of the lowest.

Florida and Louisiana sit near the top, and Vermont sits near the bottom. State insurance rules, litigation, and weather exposure likely explain much of that gap. Moving to a new state is one of the quickest ways to see a very different rate for the same driver and car.

Three major sources publish national averages for full coverage, and their totals differ by hundreds of dollars a year. They do not measure the same thing.

Each source builds its average from a different dataset. MoneyGeek bases its figure on a standard profile, a 40-year-old driver with a clean record in a 2012 Toyota Camry. Experian draws on policies sold through its own marketplace, and that mix of buyers may skew higher. NerdWallet uses its own rate analysis. A source that includes more high-risk or high-cost buyers will report a higher average, so compare numbers from the same source rather than across sources.

An online calculator or a handful of quotes will tell you more than any average. To get comparable quotes, use the same coverage limits, deductibles, and driver details with each insurer. Then change one variable at a time, such as a higher deductible, to see what it saves. Ask each company about discounts for bundling, safe driving programs, and low mileage, since availability differs.