Best Cheap Car Insurance for a Learners Permit in South Carolina

The words “economical” and “auto insurance” probably shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, specifically when trying to find the lowest insurance rates for a learners permit. Because of the high cost, let’s start the ball rolling by going over some of the factors that have an impact on auto insurance rates, and come up with some ways to take the sting out of the next policy you buy.

For new drivers, one of the more important factors that is looked at to determine the amount you pay for auto insurance is where you keep your car in South Carolina. Urban areas that are densely populated like Florence, Charleston, and Goose Creek will most likely pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims generally pay less for auto insurance.

The information below displays the highest-priced places in South Carolina for a learners permit to purchase auto insurance in.

Premium amounts are comparative as the specific zip code location can influence price quotes substantially.

Comparing rates for low-cost insurance is not most people’s favorite thing to do, and determining which companies offer the cheapest car insurance rates for a learners permit involves even more diligence. Insurance prices may be much more expensive than the average price in South Carolina attributed to the added risk associated with selling coverage for new drivers, but affordable coverage should be obtainable with some perseverence. Each auto insurance company uses a little different formula for determining prices, so let’s begin by examining the most affordable car insurance companies in South Carolina.

It’s important to know that South Carolina car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that may substantially change the cost of a policy. This price variability is why drivers need to take the time to shop around when trying to find the cheapest insurance quotes for a learners permit. Insurance prices are made up of many different factors and change substantially, so the cheapest rate the last time you compared rates may now be quite expensive.

Best Insurance Companies in South Carolina

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The Hartford has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in South Carolina at around $745 a year. USAA, State Auto, Auto-Owners, and SC Farm Bureau Mutual also make the cut as some of the cheapest South Carolina insurance companies.

As shown above, if you currently have a policy with USAA and switched to The Hartford, you may see savings of approxmiately $280. South Carolina drivers with State Auto might save as much as $349 a year, and Auto-Owners customers might lower prices by $374 a year.

Be aware that those premiums are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a rate increase for a learners permit. So the auto insurance company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the list of companies above. That helps illustrate why you need to get quotes using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.

The type of vehicle driven is one of the largest considerations when shopping for the best cheap car insurance for a learners permit in South Carolina. Vehicles with reasonable performance levels, an excellent safety record, or a positive history of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than adrenaline junky models. The table below outlines coverage prices for a selection of the cheaper vehicles to insure in South Carolina.

Table data represents single female driver age 16, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and South Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Table data does not factor in specific garaging location which can increase or decrease prices substantially.

By looking at the data, models like the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Escape, Honda Accord, and Toyota Prius should be some of the more affordable vehicles to insure for new drivers. The price of auto insurance will trend higher because of the fact that there is more inherent risk for a learners permit, but overall those particular models will most likely have the least expensive rates compared to other types of vehicles.

Difference between liability only and full coverage rates

Finding the best cheap car insurance for a learners permit in South Carolina should be important to most drivers, and a great way to find cheap insurance is to only pay for liability coverage. The diagram below shows the comparison of premium costs with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The information is based on a clean driving record, no claims, $100 deductibles, marital status is single, and no additional discounts are factored in.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawFclqcibChart);function drawFclqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Full Coverage with $100 Deductibles’, ‘Liability Only’],[‘Age 20’, 3749,1035],[‘Age 30’, 1931,569],[‘Age 40’, 1927,529],[‘Age 50’, 1747,495],[‘Age 60’, 1687,487],[‘Age 70’, 2031,649]]);var options = {title: ‘Price Comparison of Full Coverage Versus Liability Only’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#98bee2’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in South Carolina’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},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, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $2,179 per year more than insuring for liability only. That is a big expense that brings up the question if it’s a good idea to buy full coverage. There isn’t a steadfast formula for phasing out comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of having full coverage is about 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.

The example below highlights how deductible choice can change insurance premiums when researching cheap insurance for a learners permit. The prices are based on a single male driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDfdqcibChart);function drawDfdqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘$100 Deductible’,’$250 Deductible’,’$500 Deductible’,’$1,000 Deductible’],[‘Age 20’, 3351,3057,2733,2431],[‘Age 30’, 1743,1605,1443,1287],[‘Age 40’, 1727,1581,1413,1251],[‘Age 50’, 1569,1439,1289,1145],[‘Age 60’, 1515,1391,1247,1111],[‘Age 70’, 1837,1693,1533,1383]]);var options = {title: ‘Impact of Deductibles on Insurance Premiums in South Carolina’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 700,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’,’height’: ‘80%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},bar: {groupWidth: ‘80%’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#75a8d8′,’#98bee2′,’#bad4ec’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},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);}

In the chart above, a 50-year-old driver could save $280 a year by changing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $424 by using a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the 20-year-old example, could possibly save up to $920 or even more just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage. When choosing a higher deductible, it is necessary to have additional funds in a savings account to offset the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some drivers from choosing higher deductibles.

State Farm, Geico, Progressive, or Allstate: Which is best?

If you’re looking for the cheapest auto insurance for new drivers in South Carolina, four of the best places to start are State Farm, Geico, Progressive, and Allstate. All of them have a slightly different set of options and discounts that may influence which company you choose. The data below illustrates price and claims rank as well as some different options .