Writing this article would sure be easy if we could just give you the name of the one company that has the best deal on coverage in North Carolina. It’s not quite that easy, unfortunately, as there are a whole slew of unknowns such as your age, if you have ever let your coverage lapse, and where you live in North Carolina. In this article, we will cover the different ways you can keep rates low and also should give you a good start in finding the cheapest insurance in North Carolina.
For North Carolina drivers, one of the considerations that establish the amount you pay for auto insurance is where you choose to live in North Carolina. Areas that are densely populated or have higher claim frequency like Fayetteville, Charlotte, and Wilmington tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with less crime or weather claims have the luxury of the cheapest car insurance for 18 year olds in North Carolina.
The next table shows the higher priced cities in North Carolina for 18 year olds to purchase a policy in.
Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | Fayetteville | $923 |
2 | Jacksonville | $873 |
3 | Charlotte | $808 |
4 | Gastonia | $803 |
5 | Wilmington | $788 |
6 | Greensboro | $786 |
7 | Cary | $772 |
8 | Durham | $765 |
9 | Huntersville | $756 |
10 | Wilson | $754 |
11 | High Point | $745 |
12 | Goldsboro | $743 |
13 | Greenville | $738 |
14 | Raleigh | $737 |
15 | Indian Trail | $731 |
16 | Rocky Mount | $726 |
17 | Chapel Hill | $717 |
18 | Apex | $717 |
19 | Hickory | $711 |
20 | Salisbury | $705 |
21 | Burlington | $692 |
22 | Winston Salem | $688 |
23 | Asheville | $687 |
24 | Concord | $669 |
25 | Kannapolis | $669 |
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Price information shown is comparative as the specific North Carolina residence address can influence prices considerably.
Deciding which companies have the lowest-priced car insurance rates for 18 year olds requires a bit more effort in order to find the best policy. Each auto insurer has a proprietary method for determining rates in each state, so let’s take a look at the most affordable car insurance companies in North Carolina.
Best Auto Insurance Prices for Teens
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | Utica National | $643 |
2 | Progressive | $651 |
3 | Liberty Mutual | $707 |
4 | NC Farm Bureau | $716 |
5 | Penn National | $725 |
6 | GEICO | $742 |
7 | State Farm | $749 |
8 | Titan | $751 |
9 | Auto-Owners | $878 |
10 | Travelers | $909 |
11 | National General | $917 |
12 | Erie | $922 |
13 | Allied | $928 |
14 | Peerless | $992 |
15 | Nationwide | $1,011 |
16 | Encompass | $1,031 |
17 | MetLife | $1,038 |
18 | Unitrin | $1,042 |
19 | Safeco | $1,066 |
20 | Allstate | $1,086 |
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Utica National has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in North Carolina at around $643 each year. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and Penn National also qualify as some of the most economical North Carolina auto insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you currently buy coverage from Progressive and switched to Utica National, you may realize annual savings of approxmiately $8. Customers with Liberty Mutual could save as much as $64 a year, and NC Farm Bureau customers might reduce rates by $73 a year.
If you want to see how much you could save, click here to get a free quote or visit any of the companies below.
These premium estimates are averages across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not factor in a rate increase for 18 year olds. So the insurer that can offer you the lowest price may not even be included in the list of companies above. That point stresses why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own specific driver information and vehicle.
The car, truck, or SUV needing coverage is probably the most important factor when looking for the most economical car insurance for 18 year olds. Vehicles with lower performance, excellent safety ratings, or a low likelihood of liability claims will cost less to insure than adrenaline junky models.
The information below shows auto insurance rates for a number of the more afforable vehicles to insure in North Carolina.
Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $1,408 |
Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $1,424 |
Subaru Forester X AWD | $1,533 |
Toyota Prius | $1,539 |
Chevrolet Traverse LTZ AWD | $1,533 |
Hyundai Tucson GLS 2WD | $1,560 |
Ford Explorer XLT 4WD | $1,576 |
Kia Forte LX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,584 |
Ford F-150 XLT Super Cab 4WD | $1,591 |
Subaru Outback 2.5I | $1,599 |
Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,654 |
Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,659 |
Toyota Sienna LE | $1,670 |
Toyota RAV4 2WD | $1,678 |
Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD | $1,670 |
Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $1,685 |
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport Islander Package 4WD 4-Dr | $1,739 |
Toyota Corolla LE | $1,766 |
Hyundai Santa Fe Limited 2WD | $1,775 |
Ford Edge Sport 2WD | $1,766 |
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Table data assumes single female driver age 18, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Estimates do not factor in specific garaging location which can affect coverage prices significantly.
Looking at the rates, we can conclude that vehicles like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Subaru Forester, and Toyota Prius are likely to be the cheaper vehicles to insure for teen drivers. The cost of a car insurance policy will be more expensive just because there is more exposure for 18 year olds, but in general those vehicles will most likely have the cheapest auto insurance rates compared to other vehicles.
Finding a highly-rated insurance company can be difficult considering how many companies sell coverage in North Carolina. The company rank data shown below could help you select which providers to look at when trying to find cheaper insurance for 18 year olds. The rankings below are only made up of the largest auto insurers in America, so companies with more of a regional focus are not taken into consideration for this list.
If you are shopping around for car insurance for teen drivers in North Carolina, four companies to definitely compare rates with are Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, and Geico. They all offer your standard coverages, but each one has a little bit different set of discounts and options that shoppers can select from. The next table breaks down some of the different options and features .
Progressive | Allstate | State Farm | Geico | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Client Satisfaction | 3rd | 2nd | 4th | 1st |
Discounts Available | 4th | 1st | 3rd | 2nd |
Claims Handling | 4th | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
Price Rank | 3rd | 4th | 2nd | 1st |
Market share percentage | 8.8% | 10% | 18.3% | 11.4% |
Customer recommendation | 88% | 86% | 88% | 87% |
New car replacement insurance | No | Yes | No | No |
Coverage for Uber and Lyft drivers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Accident forgiveness coverage | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Emergency roadside assistance | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Mechanical breakdown insurance | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Rate for vehicle usage | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Available in North Carolina | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
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Consumers have many ways to get affordable car insurance quotes in North Carolina, but the most prevalent are from an independent or non-exclusive agent, an exlusive agent such as Allstate or Liberty Mutual, or from a direct company like Progressive. They all have the same basic principle, but it’s good to know the differences in how they work.
Independent agents write for multiple companies and can get policy pricing from every one. They do not write with just one company and can provide multiple price quotes, which may provide you with better odds of saving money. If you want to switch companies, you can get a different policy and you don’t have to switch agencies.
An agent who is captive is only able to give prices for a single insurance company, two of the more popular are Liberty Mutual and Allstate agents. These agents normally cannot quote rates from more than one company, which requires you to shop around.
Buying from a direct company means skip an agent and instead shop direct either online or via phone. This option may be preferred by consumers who have an average risk profile and have some degree of understanding of what coverages, limits, and deductibles they need.
What is the best way to find the cheapest car insurance for 18 year olds in North Carolina? It would be easy to say buying from a direct car insurance company yields the cheapest rates since it doesn’t require paying agent commissions, but in reality, that is not true. We could also say that an independent agency is the best way to save because they can shop around, but that’s not always true, either. In some circumstances, exclusive agencies have very competitive rates that other companies cannot beat.
Since car insurance prices are based on many different factors, really the best method to find out which one is cheapest is to get as many comparison quotes as possible. Smart shoppers will get quotes from all three to have enough rates to compare. To see some of the cheapest online companies available, click here to view.