Cheap car insurance doesn’t always equal the best car insurance. Shopping for the right auto insurance means considering your lifestyle, driving habits, coverage needs, and budget. Finding the best car insurance company for you can be time-consuming, but comparing rates will always help you find the best fit.
To help you find low rates without sacrificing quality, Insurify collected more than 55,000 verified user reviews. We analyzed 155 insurance companies, considering 19 data points on factors like financial strength, customer satisfaction, and affordability. We chose our top seven so you know where to start as you’re looking for coverage.
Insurify’s picks for best car insurance companies
The best insurance company for you depends on your needs, but we prioritized a quality customer experience and affordable premiums. Our editorial team reviewed company complaint information, customer satisfaction, financial strength, and availability.
Affordability strongly factors into our analysis, so these insurers also have competitive average rates below the monthly national averages of $104 for liability only and $184 for full-coverage car insurance.
The following table details our picks for the best car insurance companies. The IQ Score rates insurers on a 10-point scale, while the User Reviews Score is a 5-point scale.
State Farm: Best overall car insurance
American Family: Best for discount seekers
Nationwide: Best for low-mileage drivers
GEICO: Best for drivers with an incident
Travelers: Best for young drivers
USAA: Best for members of the military community
NJM: Best for mid-Atlantic region drivers
How Insurify users score the best car insurance companies
Our team analyzes auto insurance rates and industry scores, but we know hearing from an actual customer can give you a different insight into an insurance company.
When we collect user reviews, we ask them to rate their insurance company based on their experiences and policy features. That way, while each insurance company has an overall user review score, you can also see how they score in specific categories.
Here are how some of the best car insurance companies score in five important categories that drivers care about the most.
How to find the best car insurance for you
Lifestyle and unique driver profiles factor significantly into what the best car insurance would be for you. These are some things to consider as you look for the right policy:
Average cost of car insurance
The average cost of car insurance is increasing. Full-coverage car insurance rates rose by 15% in 2024, and Insurify projects rates will increase by another 5% in 2025. The current national averages are $104 per month for liability only and $184 for full coverage.
While the national average is increasing, rates vary widely among insurers and across geographic areas. Many drivers can get much lower rates, so it’s always worth comparing quotes if you’re looking for cheap car insurance. These are the national average monthly liability-only and full-coverage car insurance rates by insurance company.
Why is car insurance so expensive?
The expensive repair costs of high-tech and electric vehicles were largely behind car insurance rate increases in 2024, according to Insurify’s auto insurance report. With severe weather causing more comprehensive coverage claims, auto insurers are also increasingly factoring climate risk into rates.
High vehicle theft rates and state legislation likely also led to higher rates in Maryland, New York, and Washington, D.C., the most expensive states for car insurance, per Insurify data.
Three states had auto insurance increases of 48% to 58% in 2024. Severe climate risks like hailstorms and wildfires were a major factor, but changes in insurance requirements also contributed to the spike. Insurify predicts a much less significant increase for those and other states in 2025.
With many factors influencing premiums, it’s a good idea to compare car insurance quotes to find coverage that fits your needs. Many unique, individual factors also affect your premiums.
For example, having poor credit could mean you pay high premiums because that indicates to insurers you’re more likely to file claims. Improving your credit history, like improving your driving record, is a long-term change that could help lower your car insurance costs.
How much car insurance coverage you need
Every state but New Hampshire requires minimum liability coverage, and even then there are some financial requirements. You need to buy at least your state’s minimum coverage, but if you want more financial protection in the event of an accident or weather damage, you’ll need to purchase more coverage.
If you finance or lease your vehicle like most U.S. drivers, your lender will require full coverage. Drivers with rare or higher-value cars may want additional protection even if they own the car outright because repairs will be more specialized and expensive.
Types of car insurance coverage
Here are some common coverage options so you know what you need and don’t pay for what you don’t.3
State-minimum vs. full coverage: Which to choose
Car insurance ideally protects you financially when something unexpected happens, whether it’s an accident or a flood. The right coverage for you depends on your budget and financial flexibility, location, driving history, and type of vehicle.
If you practice safe driving habits, live in a less populated area, drive a paid-off vehicle, and have the assets to cover significant unexpected expenses, a liability-only policy could be a good option to save money. If you live in an area prone to natural disasters, lease or finance your vehicle, or live in an area with high accident or vehicle crime rates, then a full-coverage policy with comprehensive insurance will ensure you’re not paying out of pocket if a weather event damages your car.