Car insurance premiums can vary greatly and sometimes the cheapest option isn't the best.
Tom Reece, sales manager at Mountain West Insurance, has been writing auto policies for more than two decades. He says that before quoting a rate, underwriting actuaries examine a driver’s information based on factors such as your past claims, gender, age, the type of vehicle and even where you drive to figure out how to charge you.
A 40-year-old male or female driver with a clean driving record and good credit in the U.S. can expect to pay an average of $1,771 per year, or about $148 monthly, for full coverage car insurance. The minimum insurance cost–the bare bones you'd need to purchase to drive legally in your state–is $545 per year on average.[1]
StateAverage Annual Car Insurance Rate
Average Monthly Car Insurance Rate
Alabama
$2,933
$244
Alaska
$1,823
$152Arizona
$3,254
$271Arkansas
$2,927
$244California
$2,647
$221Colorado
$2,931
$244Connecticut
$3,579
$298Delaware
$3,474
$290District of Colombia
$3,127
$261Florida
$4,055
$338Georgia
$2,858
$238Hawaii
$1,571
$131Idaho
$1,984
$165Illinois
$2,466
$206Indiana
$1,884
$157Iowa
$1,854
$155Kansas
$2,663
$222Kentucky
$3,742
$312Louisiana
$4,374
$365Maine
$2,264
$189Maryland
$3,069
$256Massachusetts
$2,199
$183Michigan
$5,377
$448Minnesota
$2,754
$230Mississippi
$2,592
$216Missouri
$2,722
$227Montana
$2,843
$237Nebraska
$2,864
$239Nevada
$3,098
$258New Hapmishire
$2,469
$206New Jersey
$4,229
$352New Mexico
$2,191
$183New York
$3,953
$329North Carolina
$2,099
$175North Dakota
$2,478
$207Ohio
$1,733
$144Oklahoma
$2,839
$237Oregon
$2,271
$189Pennsylvania$2,816
$235Rhode Island
$3,428
$286South Carolina
$2,939
$245South Dakota
$2,753
$229Tennessee
$2,502
$209Texas
$2,968
$247Utah
$2,589
$216Vermont
$2,212
$184Virgina
$2,460
$205Washington
$1,839
$153West Virginia
$2,970
$248Wisconsin
$2,250
$188Wyoming
$2,642
$220
Insurance premiums start out with a base rate determined by broad categories of drivers, such as males under age 25 living in Chicago, Ill. Then, insurance companies examine individual risk/rating factors that affect the probability of you placing a claim.
In 42 states and Washington, D.C., insurance companies are permitted to consider your credit score when determining rates and whether to deny, cancel, or refuse to renew a policy. Four states have banned credit scores as a rating factor: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and Michigan.