As the second-most-populated city in one of the fastest-growing states in the country, San Antonio, Texas, residents are frequently faced with rising prices. That includes the price they pay for car insurance.
San Antonio residents pay average monthly costs of $229 for full-coverage car insurance and $129 for liability-only policies. The city’s population density and high accident rate likely contribute to its car insurance rates, which are on par with the Texas average of $218 per month for full coverage and $124 for liability.
Here’s what you should know about finding car insurance in San Antonio.
State Farm offers the cheapest car insurance in San Antonio.
Coverage in San Antonio is cheaper than in other large Texas cities, like Dallas and Houston.
The minimum insurance requirements in Texas include bodily injury liability of $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and property damage liability of $25,000.
How much is car insurance in San Antonio, TX?
San Antonio car insurance costs are similar to average costs in Texas, but they’re higher than the nationwide average. Check out the table below to see how San Antonio car insurance rates compare.
Cheapest car insurance companies in San Antonio
The cheapest car insurance company for you might not be the same as the cheapest company for your neighbor, since your rates depend on so many different factors. The insurers in the table below offer some of the cheapest car insurance rates to San Antonio drivers.
Best car insurance companies in San Antonio
If you’re searching for car insurance in San Antonio, keep in mind that one size doesn’t fit all. The best company for you may be different from someone else. Choosing the right insurance policy for you depends on your individual situation and needs.
The following table highlights important information about some top insurance companies serving San Antonio, including the companies’ average rates for the state of Texas.
Our editorial team spent more than 350 hours developing the Insurify Quality (IQ) Score and scoring insurance companies. The IQ Score objectively analyzes and calculates a score for insurers using more than 15 crucial criteria. The team weighted criteria by importance to the consumer — factors such as customer reviews and affordability influence the score more than availability and third-party ratings.
We rate each company on a 1 to 10 scale based on five categories: financial ratings, customer satisfaction, affordability, customer support and transparency, and availability. Insurify updates ratings once a year or as more recent information becomes available.
- Third-party financial ratings: Insurify uses data from AM Best, S&P, Moody’s, and more to compare insurance companies’ credit and ability to pay out future claims.
- Customer satisfaction: To calculate this score, Insurify analyzed more than 55,000 customer reviews across 155 car insurance companies. We also consider third-party ratings from J.D. Power, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and Trustpilot.
- Affordability: Our data scientists analyzed more than 90 million real-time auto insurance rates from our partners across the U.S., as well as available discounts, to calculate an affordability score.
- Customer support and transparency: This measures coverage options, ease of claims filing, and the insurer's transparency surrounding discounts, coverages, and claims process.
- Availability and reach: Insurify scores availability and reach by identifying the number of states in which insurers offer coverage and company size by market share.
State Farm: Best for liability-only coverage
GEICO: Best car insurance for discounts
Allstate: Best car insurance for pay-per-mile coverage
How to get the cheapest car insurance in San Antonio
Here are some tips to help you find cheap car insurance in the Alamo City:1
Maintain a good driving record.
Carry a higher deductible.
Don’t over-insure if you have an older vehicle.
Get multiple quotes.
Attaining three or more quotes from different insurers is a great way to compare plans — and premiums — against one another to find the policy that works best for you.
Car insurance requirements in Texas
Texas is an at-fault (or tort) state. This means the person who caused the accident is responsible for paying damages to the other party in the crash.
Texas also requires all drivers to carry car insurance, and your coverage must meet these legal minimum requirements:2
Remember that carrying only the minimum amount of car insurance can be very costly if you cause a multi-vehicle accident or the other driver’s car is totaled.
Insurance professionals recommend that you consider adding these optional coverages:
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an incident
When you leave your home or office, the last thing you want is to be involved in a driving incident, such as:
A DWI
Other moving violations, such as failure to yield or running a stop sign
Unfortunately, if an incident happens while you’re driving, you’ll likely see your car insurance rates increase.
In San Antonio, for example, your liability-only rates will increase from $62 to $84 per month with State Farm if you have a speeding ticket.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket: State Farm
Speed is a main factor in many auto injuries and deaths, so insurance companies typically raise your rates if you’re issued a speeding ticket. In addition, the more tickets you accumulate, the higher your rates will climb. Driving the speed limit and avoiding tickets will not only keep your rates lower; in some cases, it could earn you a discount.
San Antonio drivers with speeding tickets pay average monthly car insurance rates of $274 for full coverage and $154 for liability-only policies. The following table shows monthly quotes for San Antonio drivers with speeding tickets.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with an at-fault accident: State Farm
Insurance companies will typically raise your rates if you cause an accident while driving. And if you have multiple accidents on your driving record, it could possibly result in your insurer deciding to not renew your policy.
At-fault accidents push average car insurance rates in San Antonio to $293 per month for full coverage and $165 for liability coverage. Here, you can see an example of the rates you could pay with an at-fault accident in San Antonio.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DWI: State Farm
If you’re convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI), your rates will take a more significant jump than for other violations. DWIs stay on your record permanently in Texas, which will keep your rates higher.
Liability-only policies average $208 per month with a DWI in San Antonio. The following table shows rates from top insurance companies for San Antonio drivers with DWIs.
Cheapest car insurance for seniors: State Farm
Although seniors typically drive fewer miles than younger drivers, their rates start to increase as they age. While car insurance rates begin to drop when a driver turns 25, they increase for senior drivers in their 70s and 80s. Slower reflexes and vision and hearing impairments are often cited as reasons seniors are involved in more accidents, which reflects the rate increase.3
Car insurance for senior drivers in San Antonio averages $194 per month for full coverage and $109 for liability coverage. Fortunately, many insurers in the San Antonio area still offer affordable liability-only coverage for senior drivers, as you can see from the monthly averages in the table below.
Cheapest car insurance for teens: State Farm
Insurers consider teen drivers to be a higher risk than adults due to their inexperience and tendency to be more distracted while driving. If you’re a young driver, you can lower your insurance costs by staying on your parents’ car insurance policy, getting a safer car, earning a good student discount (“B” average or better), or a student-away-at-college discount.
Minor teens can’t buy a car insurance policy without the written consent of a parent or guardian. In San Antonio, car insurance for teen drivers costs a monthly average of $449 for full coverage and $253 for liability coverage. The following table shows monthly rates for teen drivers from top insurance companies in San Antonio.
San Antonio car insurance quotes by credit tier
In Texas, unlike some other states, insurers can use your credit history as a factor when calculating your insurance rates. Insurance companies charge people with poor credit scores higher insurance rates than drivers with excellent or good credit scores.
These are the average full-coverage car insurance rates in San Antonio by credit tier:
Cost of car insurance in other Texas cities
Here’s how San Antonio’s average monthly auto rates compare to other major metro areas in Texas.
San Antonio car insurance FAQs
If you’re looking for car insurance in San Antonio, the additional information below may help as you’re researching your coverage options.
How much is car insurance in San Antonio?
The total monthly average cost of car insurance in San Antonio is $179. Full coverage in the city averages $229 per month, and liability-only insurance averages $129. Your actual car insurance costs will depend on many factors that may push your rates higher or lower than the city’s average.
Which company has the cheapest car insurance in San Antonio?
State Farm offers the cheapest car insurance in San Antonio, with liability rates averaging $59 per month. San Antonio drivers can also find affordable rates with Mile Auto and Allstate, the city’s second- and third-cheapest insurers, with liability rates of $72 and $82, respectively.
What are the best car insurance companies in San Antonio?
State Farm, GEICO, and Allstate all rank as some of the best insurers for customers in San Antonio. Each has an impressive IQ Score, with State Farm and GEICO scoring a 9.3 and 9.2 out of 10, and Allstate scoring 8.9. All three have solid financial stability ratings from AM Best, and State Farm has the best customer service in the industry, according to J.D. Power.
Is car insurance cheaper with two cars?
Yes and no. While your monthly premium will be higher insuring two vehicles, most insurers will offer you a discount, allowing you to pay a lower premium than if you insure each vehicle separately.
What comes first: Buying a car or getting car insurance?
You must have car insurance to drive a vehicle in Texas. This insurance must meet the minimum required amounts of $30,000 per person and $60,000 per accident in bodily injury liability and $25,000 in property damage liability.