Our goal is to help drivers make informed decisions -- because we believe that knowing is saving.
Saving drivers money? Yes. Saving drivers time by making it easy to compare all the best options in one place? Yes. Saving drivers from bad insurers – and the pain of poor claims-handling and customer service -- by providing and reviewing only the leading providers? Yes and yes. Basically, saving you from any costly guesswork.
With over 300 car insurance providers across the USA, truly finding the best one -- for your needs and your wallet -- is a daunting task. But it no longer has be. Introducing The Car Insurance Guide and our proprietary rankings of the best car insurance companies for drivers just like you in your state.
How do we do it? First -- and utilizing decades of collective experience working with insurance companies -- our team spent over 600 hours researching carriers, analyzing policy data, and surveying independent agents. All this legwork allowed us to develop propriety rankings based on our ratings and reviews. The ratings are scored on a scale of 1 to 5 and based on several factors, including an insurer’s pricing, discount availability, handling of claims, and customer satisfaction.
Second, by leveraging our decades of collective experience working with and building insurance technology, we developed a proprietary algorithm. Ours mimics those of the insurers, but with one main difference: our algorithm benefits the driver instead of the insurance company.
Insurers can use their algorithms to get new or existing customers to pay higher and higher rates.
Rates are always changing -- based on complex factors, including a driver’s age, location, history, and much more -- and so is the type of driver an insurer needs at a given moment (often determined by these algorithms). And when prices fall, carriers are not required to lower your rate, especially if you are not the type of driver they currently need. Instead, our algorithm, based on your answers to a few simple questions, identifies providers looking for and offering the best prices, including discounts, for drivers just like you at this very moment.
Taken together, our proprietary ratings, reviews, and technology ranks not just the best car insurance companies, but the best ones for drivers like you. The first result you see wants to insure you the most, while those with the highest scores are rated best. Please read our full reviews to learn more about the companies that you are interested in or select view rates to compare providers.
The amount of coverage you need is ultimately your decision. To help you get to an answer, ask yourself two different questions:
Please keep in mind, if you are one of the roughly 15% of drivers who are uninsured, not having insurance can be much more costly than any premiums. Accidents happen. If you are at-fault, the other party will very likely sue you. This means that you could be on the hook for their medical expenses and any property damages. Even if you reside in one of the 12 no-fault states, or where insurers pay no matter who is at-fault, the other party’s insurance may not be enough to cover the injuries and damages. In such cases, you could still be sued for the remaining balance.
Also, in nearly every single state, it is illegal to drive without auto insurance. If caught, you could face fines, see your license get suspended, or even go to jail, especially if you caused the accident. For these reasons, it is highly recommended to purchase at the very least a policy that meets your state’s minimum insurance requirements, but ideally more, depending on your needs.
Liability is the most basic type of coverage. In an accident, when you are at-fault, liability will provide coverage for the following:
Each state has their own minimum amounts of liability coverage needed to meet the legal requirements of being insured. Note that some states do not require bodily injury, while others require personal injury protection or uninsured/underinsured coverage.
Below are the minimum liability limits for Alabama:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Alaska:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Arizona:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Arkansas:
Below are the minimum liability limits for California:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Colorado:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Connecticut:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Delaware:
Below are the minimum liability limits for the District of Columbia:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Florida, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Georgia:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Hawaii, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Idaho:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Illinois:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Indiana:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Iowa:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Kansas, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Kentucky, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Louisiana:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Maine:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Maryland:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Massachusetts, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Michigan, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Mississippi:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Minnesota, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Missouri:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Montana:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Nebraska:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Nevada:
Auto insurance is not mandatory in New Hampshire. However, if you are at-fault in an accident, you are required to cover the costs out-of-pocket. Below are the recommended minimum liability limits for New Hampshire:
Below are the minimum liability limits for New Jersey, an optionally no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for New Mexico:
Below are the minimum liability limits for New York, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for North Carolina:
Below are the minimum liability limits for North Dakota, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Ohio:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Oklahoma:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Oregon:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Pennsylvania, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Rhode Island:
Below are the minimum liability limits for South Carolina:
Below are the minimum liability limits for South Dakota:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Tennessee:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Texas:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Utah, a no-fault state, where your own insurance covers the costs no matter who is at fault. However, if the injuries and medical expenses from an accident exceed certain thresholds, and if you are at-fault, you could still be sued and responsible to pay the balance above these limits out-of-pocket:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Vermont:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Virginia:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Washington:
Below are the minimum liability limits for West Virginia:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Wisconsin:
Below are the minimum liability limits for Wyoming:
Keep in mind, accidents cost on average $60,000 in bodily injury and about $10,000 in property damage. State minimums are usually enough to cover minor fender benders. However, in the event of more serious injuries, costs easily average in the low six figures. For this reason, consider purchasing bodily injury liability that is $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident if possible.
Full coverage is not a type of insurance, but rather a term used to describe liability plus:
Collision and comprehensive coverage are typically required if you lease or finance your vehicle. With these types of coverage, you must choose your deductible. A deductible is the amount you pay out-of-pocket when you file a claim or when you use the coverage. Deductible amounts are usually between $500 to $1,500 per claim. $1,000 is a very typical deductible choice.
If your budget allows, and depending on your needs, consider these additional types of insurance:
Unlike with buying a car, you cannot haggle with a salesman to get a lower rate on auto insurance. Instead, getting the best price really boils down to comparing as many providers as you can, along with knowing your discounts, and following a few tips with respect to coverage.
Keep in mind that rates are always changing, and insurers are not obligated to drop the premiums of your current policy when prices fall. The Car Insurance Guide makes it easy to shop around and find cheap auto insurance. Our rankings are built upon proprietary ratings, reviews, and technology. Based on your answers, we personalize the results and show you the best providers offering the best prices to drivers just like you.
Certain carriers offer to monitor your driving behavior in exchange for lower rates. They provide what is known as a telematics device, which basically plugs into your car’s diagnostics port, or their mobile app has a telematics feature. If you are a safe driver and seldom slam on the brakes or speed, then you can get lower rates with this type of coverage. Most notable telematics insurers are Progressive and Allstate, but availability varies by state.
The Car Insurance Guide powers our proprietary rankings through several methods. One of the most crucial has proven to be our industry-leading Agent Survey, where we interviewed agent after agent to truly understand which providers are the best and why.
Agents -- especially those who are experienced, passionate about helping clients, and independent or not bound to any one insurer -- have a deep understanding of what drivers need and what insurers want. Working day in and day out within both sides of this coin means that agents can truly be the experts in this industry.
We were fortunate enough to survey many such experts who readily know which companies work-out best for which drivers. Keep in mind that agents are often incentivized to not only sign up new drivers, but to retain them. And the easiest way to retain a policy is to get drivers the best company from day one. Note that in order to keep them honest, we incentivized the surveyed agents only for information.
The surveys and interviews revealed a lot of insights, and two things were always clear: no two providers are the same and certain carriers would regularly come up as the leaders in certain categories. For these reasons, we rated the best providers (on a scale of 1 to 5) for the following categories:
Our Agent Survey was also the basis of our reviews. We summarized and highlighted the key benefits of those carriers and brokers who scored a rating of 3.0 or better. Note that use of our 2023 car insurance reviews by third parties without the express written consent of The Car Insurance Guide is strictly prohibited.
Below are the top 10 car insurance carriers of 2023. The rankings are an aggregate score and are not based on a single, specific type of driver. In other words, depending on your needs, the best one may be different for you, which is why we recommend you enter your zip code to start personalizing your results. That said, based on our research, the below companies proved to be best overall. Click the carriers you are interested in to read our full reviews:
Here are the top 5 car insurance brokers of 2023. They are ranked based on an aggregate score, which is not reflective of a single, specific type of driver. In other words, depending on your needs, the best one may be different for you, and that is why we recommend entering your zip code to start personalizing your results. That said, based on our research, the below brokers proved to be best overall. Select the brokers you are interested in to read our full reviews: