Best Cheap Auto Insurance for First-time Drivers in South Carolina

It would sure be easy if we could just tell you the one car insurance company that has the cheapest rate quotes in South Carolina. It’s just not that simple, as there are many unknown factors such as your financial stability, if you are insuring for full coverage or just liability only, and your age, that all impact the cost of your policy. We know insurance is not everyone’s favorite topic, but in this article we will cover the best ways to compare rates and hopefully give you enough understanding to have a good start in finding the cheapest insurance.

We all like different vehicles, and the type of vehicle you are trying to insure is one of the largest factors that determines the availablility of cheap car insurance for first-time drivers. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, an excellent safety record, or a low likelihood of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than high performance models. The data below outlines car insurance costs for the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure.

Prices based on single male driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and South Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Rates do not factor in garaging location in South Carolina which can raise or lower price quotes significantly.

Data variables include single male driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and South Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Estimates do not factor in vehicle location which can influence insurance rates greatly.

Prices based on single male driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and South Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Rate quotes do not factor in specific South Carolina garaging location which can alter auto insurance rates greatly.

For South Carolina drivers, one of the things that help determine the price of your policy is the neighborhood you call home in South Carolina. More densely populated places like Charleston, Florence, and Summerville tend to have higher rates, whereas less populated areas generally pay lower car insurance rates.

The information below sorts the more expensive cities in South Carolina for first-time drivers to buy an auto insurance policy in.

Rate information is comparative as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can modify price quotes significantly.

Deciding which company quotes the cheapest insurance rates for first-time drivers requires a bit more work in order to find coverage that fits your buget. Each auto insurance company has a proprietary formula for setting rates, so let’s rank the most competitive insurance companies in South Carolina.

It’s important to know that South Carolina insurance rates are based on many factors that will increase or decrease the price of your policy. Improving your credit score, marrying your spouse, or getting caught speeding may generate price changes that can now make some companies more affordable than the competition.

Cheapest Insurance Rates for Inexperienced Drivers

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The Hartford offers some of the cheapest car insurance rates in South Carolina at around $745 each year. USAA, State Auto, Auto-Owners, and Southern Farm Bureau would also make the list of some of the best South Carolina insurance companies.

In this example, if you are insured with Auto-Owners and switched to The Hartford, you might see an annual premium reduction of about $396. Drivers with Southern Farm Bureau might save as much as $503 a year, and SC Farm Bureau Mutual customers might lower prices by up to $541 a year.

To find the best cheap car insurance for first-time drivers in South Carolina, click here to get quotes or click several companies below for low rates.

Remember that these prices are averages across all drivers and vehicles in South Carolina and do not factor in a price increase for first-time drivers. So the auto insurance company that has the cheapest price for you may not even be featured in the list above. That affirms the importance of why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own driver and vehicle profiles.

Discounts on South Carolina auto insurance rates

Auto insurance companies that provide the best cheap car insurance for first-time drivers in South Carolina could also offer rate discounts that could lower prices by as much as 25% or more if you meet specific eligibility requirements. Popular insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts include:

• The Hartford may have discounts that include driver training, good student, air bag, defensive driver, vehicle fuel type, bundle, and anti-theft.
• American Family offers discounts for good driver, multi-vehicle, bundled insurance, defensive driver, air bags, and accident-free.
• Progressive offers discounts including online quote discount, multi-policy, online signing, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and good student.
• Travelers offers premium reductions for driver training, payment discounts, student away at school, save driver, hybrid/electric vehicle, and multi-policy.
• Farmers Insurance has savings for bundle discounts, electronic funds transfer, homeowner, distant student, business and professional, good student, and switch companies.
• USAA has discounts for vehicle storage, annual mileage, family discount, safe driver, multi-vehicle, new vehicle, and multi-policy.
• Liberty Mutual may include discounts for preferred payment discount, new graduate, multi-car, exclusive group savings, newly married, teen driver discount, and newly retired.

The example below illustrates the difference between auto insurance rates with and without discounts applied. The premium estimates are based on a male driver, no claims or driving violations, South Carolina state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $500 deductibles.

The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with paperless filing, passive restraint, anti-theft, vehicle safety, good student, and paid-in-full discounts applied. When these discounts are applied, the average savings per year on insurance for first-time drivers is 28% or $572.

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Does full coverage make sense?

Finding the best cheap car insurance for first-time drivers in South Carolina should be important to most people, and one good way to reduce the cost of insurance is to not insure for full coverage. The illustration below shows the difference between auto insurance costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The rate quotes are based on a clean driving record, no claims, $100 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are factored in.

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On average, physical damage coverage on your policy costs an extra $2,179 per year over and above liability coverage. A very common question is if you should buy full coverage. There isn’t a written rule to stop buying comp and collision coverage, but there is a general school of thought. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is more than 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.