How Much Does Car Insurance Cost for Inexperienced Drivers in Virginia?

For new drivers, one of the largest components that help determine a rate quote is where you keep your car in Virginia. Cities that have higher claim levels or more people like Burke, Centreville, and Richmond tend to pay higher rates, whereas areas that tend to be more rural can boast about having cheaper rates.

The following table rates the highest-priced areas in Virginia for inexperienced drivers in which to buy car insurance.

Information shown are comparative as the vehicle garaging location can impact premium rates noticeably.

The type of vehicle requiring coverage is one of the main factors when quoting low-priced car insurance for inexperienced drivers. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, poor crash test ratings, or high incidents of liability claims will cost quite a bit more to insure than more modest models. The tables below shows insurance prices for a handful of the most affordable automobiles to insure in Virginia.

Table data represents single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, safe-driver, claim-free, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Information does not factor in specific location information which can modify rates considerably.

Prices based on single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and safe-driver. Price estimates do not factor in vehicle location which can impact coverage prices greatly.

Premium data assumes single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and safe-driver. Table data does not factor in vehicle garaging location which can revise price quotes noticeably.

Finding good, budget auto insurance is not always easy, and deciding which companies offer the most affordable car insurance rates for inexperienced drivers will involve even more work.

Each auto insurer has their own formula for setting rates, so we’ll take a look at the car insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in Virginia. It’s important to understand that Virginia car insurance rates are based on many factors that control the policy price. Improving your credit rating, having a teen driver, or getting a DUI can cause premium changes that can make some companies more affordable than competitors.

Find the Cheapest Car Insurance for Newbies

Compare Rates Today

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawVAT5qcibChart);function drawVAT5qcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Company’, ‘Rate’, { role: ‘style’ }], [‘Travelers’, 653, ‘#67CF33’], [‘USAA’, 709, ‘#55AC2A’], [‘Penn National’, 748, ‘#468F23’], [‘Cincinnati Insurance’, 755, ‘#3A771D’], [‘Auto-Owners’, 765, ‘#306318’]]);var options = {title: ‘Most Affordable Car Insurance Companies in Virginia’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’, fontSize: 17, bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 300,’chartArea’: {left:0,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},bar: {groupWidth: “90%”},legend: {position: ‘none’},vAxis: {viewWindowMode:’explicit’,viewWindow:{max:865,min:0}}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});var view = new google.visualization.DataView(data);view.setColumns([0, 1,{ calc: “stringify”,sourceColumn: 1,type: “string”,role: “annotation” },2]);formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);var chart = new google.visualization.ColumnChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibt5cic’));chart.draw(view, options);}

Travelers quotes some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Virginia at around $653 a year. USAA, Penn National, Cincinnati Insurance, and Auto-Owners would also make the list of some of the cheaper Virginia insurance companies.

In the above example, if you are a customer of Cincinnati Insurance and switched to USAA, you may realize a yearly savings of upwards of $46. Insureds with Auto-Owners could save as much as $56 a year, and Erie customers might see rate reductions of $71 a year.

These premiums are averages for all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a price decrease for inexperienced drivers. So the car insurance company that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the above rate chart. That underscores the importance of why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own personal information and vehicle type.

Impact of speeding/accidents on Virginia car insurance rates

The best way to maintain good car insurance premiums in Virginia for new drivers is to pay attention while driving and not get tickets or have accidents. The example below illustrates how violations and at-fault claims raise car insurance costs for each age group. The data is based on a married male driver, comp and collision included, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawVioqcibChart);function drawVioqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘No Violations or Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and No Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and One Accident’],[‘Age 20’, 2127,2315,2833],[‘Age 30’, 1089,1277,1797],[‘Age 40’, 1067,1253,1771],[‘Age 50’, 983,1167,1687],[‘Age 60’, 965,1149,1671],[‘Age 70’, 1137,1325,1843]]);var options = {title: ‘Effect of Violations and Accidents on Virginia Insurance Rates’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’, fontSize: 17, bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 600,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},colors:[‘#b2da64′,’#eed355′,’#e39e71’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in Virginia’,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);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibvio’));chart.draw(data, options);}

In the chart above, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Virginia per year with no violations or accidents is $1,228. Add in one speeding ticket and the average cost surges to $1,414, an increase of $186 each year. Now get one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of car insurance for inexperienced drivers goes up to an average of $1,934. That’s an increase of $706, or $59 per month, just for not paying attention while driving!

Best cheap insurance quotes for new drivers

There are a variety of different ways to find cheap car insurance in Virginia, but the most prevalent ways are through an independent agent, an exlusive agent such as Allstate or Auto-Owners, or from a direct company like Progressive.

They all follow the same basic process, but it’s important to understand the differences in how they work.

Independent agencies are appointed by several companies and can get rate quotes from all of them. They are not locked into one company and can compare multiple rates, which may give you a better comparison. If cheaper coverage is found, it’s simple to move the policy and you won’t have to switch agencies.

An exlusive, or captive, agency is usually restricted to just one company like a State Farm or Farmers agent. Exclusive agents generally are unable to provide rates from more than one company, which does not give you the best rate comparison.

The last way is buying direct, which means you forego local agents and buy direct either online or via phone. This car insurance option is good for drivers who have lower risk management needs and know what specific coverages they need.

So out of those three methods, which one works best for finding cheap auto insurance for inexperienced drivers in Virginia? The majority of people assume that shopping direct results in the cheapest rates since it doesn’t require paying agent commissions, but unfortunately, it’s not that simple. An argument could also be made that going through an independent agent saves the most money due to having more companies to select from, but again, that’s not a true statement. And often times, the exclusive agents may have very competitive prices that independents and direct companies can’t touch.

Since car insurance prices are based on many different factors, the best way to ensure the lowest rates is to get as many comparison quotes as possible. If you have the time, get quotes from all three types in order to have the best selection to choose from. For a list of companies with cheap rates in Virginia, click here to view.