When writing about shopping for car insurance, the word cheap really shouldn’t be used anywhere in the article as a descriptor for car insurance rates. Sad but true, cheap car insurance for a Ford Explorer may be a thing of the past. Don’t let that discourage you, because we are going to show you how you can still get car insurance that you can afford to pay for.
The chances of buying the cheapest insurance for a Ford Explorer in South Carolina depends on a complicated rating formula that uses factors like your date of birth, whether or not you garage your vehicle, and citations on your driving record. Drivers in South Carolina on average pay around $1,040 every 12 months to insure an Explorer, but that rate is an approximation rating a 30-year-old married male driver that purchased both comprehensive and collision coverage and $250 deductibles.
There is a good possibility you are not 30 and maybe not even a male, possibly single instead of married, and there is a good chance that other rated drivers impact the rate. Just a very minor change in rating factors can make a big difference in the rate quoted for a Ford Explorer.
Auto insurance is not the same for everyone, so the way we recommend to find cheap car insurance rates for your Ford is to do a thorough rate comparison. It only takes a couple of minutes and you will be able to see rates from some of the best companies available.
Compare Ford Explorer Insurance Rates
Your Ford’s trim level can impact the coverage cost, so the cost to insure a Explorer XLT 2WD will be $112 lower than the insurance cost for the high end Explorer Limited AWD trim level, as shown in the prices below.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Explorer XLT 2WD | $264 | $366 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,094 | $91 |
Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $264 | $366 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,094 | $91 |
Explorer XLT 4WD | $264 | $366 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,094 | $91 |
Explorer XLT AWD | $264 | $366 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,094 | $91 |
Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $298 | $444 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,206 | $101 |
Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $298 | $444 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,206 | $101 |
Explorer Limited 2WD | $298 | $444 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,206 | $101 |
Explorer Limited 4WD | $298 | $444 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,206 | $101 |
Explorer Limited AWD | $298 | $444 | $342 | $20 | $102 | $1,206 | $101 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Cost estimates assume married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and South Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, safe-driver, multi-policy, claim-free, and homeowner. Premium costs do not factor in zip code location which can lower or raise auto insurance rates considerably.
Deciphering which companies have the most affordable insurance rates for a Ford Explorer may require a bit more effort than just quoting one company’s rates. Each auto insurer has a proprietary method to determine rates, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in South Carolina.
Best Car Insurance Prices for Your Explorer
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | The Hartford | $775 |
2 | USAA | $995 |
3 | State Auto | $1,105 |
4 | Auto-Owners | $1,119 |
5 | SC Farm Bureau Mutual | $1,298 |
6 | Southern Farm Bureau | $1,298 |
7 | National Grange Mutual | $1,335 |
8 | Travelers | $1,343 |
9 | State Farm | $1,380 |
10 | Allstate | $1,637 |
11 | Encompass | $1,641 |
12 | Progressive | $1,660 |
13 | Nationwide | $1,760 |
14 | Safe Auto | $1,985 |
15 | GEICO | $2,061 |
16 | Bristol West | $2,395 |
17 | Liberty Mutual | $2,439 |
18 | Safeco | $2,690 |
View More Rates Go |
The Hartford normally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in South Carolina at around $775 a year. USAA, State Auto, Auto-Owners, and SC Farm Bureau Mutual also are some of the cheapest South Carolina car insurance companies.
In this example, if you currently have coverage with State Auto and switched to The Hartford, you could earn a yearly price reduction of in the vicinity of $330. Drivers with Auto-Owners might save as much as $344 a year, and SC Farm Bureau Mutual policyholders might cut rates by $523 a year.
Understand that those premium estimates are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and do not factor in a specific rating modification for a Ford Explorer. So the insurer that has the cheapest price for you may not even be included in the list of companies above. That point stresses why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own personal information and vehicle type.
The example below shows how different deductible levels can influence insurance prices when trying to find cheap insurance for a Ford Explorer. The premiums are based on a single male driver, full coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDfdqcibChart);function drawDfdqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘$100 Deductible’,’$250 Deductible’,’$500 Deductible’,’$1,000 Deductible’],[‘Age 20’, 4049,3689,3291,2917],[‘Age 30’, 2115,1943,1741,1547],[‘Age 40’, 2093,1913,1703,1503],[‘Age 50’, 1899,1739,1553,1375],[‘Age 60’, 1837,1681,1505,1335],[‘Age 70’, 2213,2037,1839,1653]]);var options = {title: ‘Deductibles and Ford Explorer Insurance Rates in South Carolina’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 700,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’,’height’: ‘80%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},bar: {groupWidth: ‘80%’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#75a8d8′,’#98bee2′,’#bad4ec’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Insurance Cost for a Ford Explorer’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);formatter.format(data,3);formatter.format(data,4);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibdfd’));chart.draw(data, options);}
A 40-year-old driver could reduce rates by $346 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $524 by changing to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the 20-year-old category, could possibly save $1,132 annually by choosing a higher deductible. When using a larger deductible, it will be important to have emergency funds available to be able to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.
Finding cheap insurance for a Ford Explorer in South Carolina is important to the majority of drivers, and one of the best ways to reduce the cost of insurance is to only buy liability insurance. The information below compares insurance costs with full phyical damage coverage and with liability coverage only. The price estimates are based on no accidents, no driving violations, $250 deductibles, single status, and no additional discounts are factored in.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawFclqcibChart);function drawFclqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Full Coverage with $250 Deductibles’, ‘Liability Only’],[‘Age 20’, 3689,1213],[‘Age 30’, 1943,665],[‘Age 40’, 1913,617],[‘Age 50’, 1739,577],[‘Age 60’, 1681,569],[‘Age 70’, 2037,759]]);var options = {title: ‘Full Coverage Compared to Liability Only’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#98bee2’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Insurance Cost for a Ford Explorer in South Carolina’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibfcl’));chart.draw(data, options);}
As an average for all age groups, physical damage coverage costs an extra $2,167 per year more than carrying just liability coverage. Many drivers may wonder if it’s a good idea to buy full coverage. There is no definitive rule for excluding full coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than around 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s book value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, you would only receive $3,000 after paying your deductible. If you are paying more than $300 a year for full coverage, then you might consider buying liability only.