You have most likely seen the captivating commercials from insurers like The General, Liberty Mutual, and Farmers promising the cheapest rates. So you just need to pick one at random, right?
It’s not quite that easy, unfortunately, as there are a whole slew of unknown elements such as if you are claim-free, if you want full coverage included, the number of years of driving experience you have, and the annual mileage you drive. This article delves into the different ways to avoid overpaying and also should give you a solid foundation to find cheaper car insurance.
The car, truck, or SUV that needs insurance is probably the most important factor when consumers are trying to find the best auto insurance for good students. Vehicles with lots of horsepower, poor crash test ratings, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models.
The data below showcases car insurance rates for a number of the most cost-effective vehicles to buy insurance for.
Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $11,535 |
Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $11,666 |
Chevrolet Traverse LS AWD | $11,798 |
Jeep Wrangler Sport 4WD 2-Dr | $11,923 |
Toyota Prius | $12,620 |
Subaru Forester X Premium AWD | $12,626 |
Hyundai Tucson GLS 2WD | $12,745 |
Honda Civic DX 4-Dr Sedan | $13,567 |
Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $13,573 |
Ford Edge SE AWD | $13,567 |
Honda Odyssey EX W/Rear Entertainment | $13,573 |
Chevrolet Silverado LT Extended Cab 4WD | $13,699 |
Hyundai Santa Fe SE 2WD | $13,708 |
Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $13,699 |
Toyota RAV4 Limited 2WD | $13,709 |
Subaru Outback 2.5I Premium | $13,830 |
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $13,839 |
Ford F-150 SVT Raptor Super Cab 4WD | $13,830 |
Ford Focus SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $14,392 |
Toyota Corolla XLE | $14,524 |
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Table data represents single male driver age 16, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Montana minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Price estimates do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can lower or raise price quotes greatly.
Based upon the rates shown, you can assume that makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Chevrolet Traverse, and Jeep Wrangler are a few of the cheapest vehicles to insure for student drivers.
Finding reliable, affordable auto insurance is difficult, and figuring out which insurers offer the most affordable car insurance rates for good students will require even more perseverance.
Every auto insurer uses their own calculation to set policy rates, so let’s take a look at the most competitive car insurance companies in Montana.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance for Students
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | Safeco | $853 |
2 | Progressive | $980 |
3 | USAA | $1,024 |
4 | State Farm | $1,091 |
5 | MetLife | $1,186 |
6 | National Farmers Union | $1,240 |
7 | Allied | $1,348 |
8 | Farmers | $1,541 |
9 | California Casualty | $1,552 |
10 | GEICO | $1,672 |
11 | Allstate | $2,090 |
Compare Rates Now Go |
Safeco generally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Montana at around $853 annually. Progressive, USAA, State Farm, and MetLife are also some of the best Montana insurance companies.
In the above example, if you currently have coverage with MetLife and switched to Progressive, you could earn a yearly price reduction of upwards of $206. Drivers with National Farmers Union might save as much as $260 a year, and Allied customers might reduce prices by as much as $368 a year.
Understand that those estimates are averages across all drivers and vehicles in Montana and do not factor in a price discount for good students. So the insurer that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be included in the rate chart shown above. That illustrates why you need to get rate quotes using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
Finding cheap car insurance for good students in Montana should be important to most people, and one of the quickest ways to find cheaper insurance is to only pay for liability coverage. The illustration below visualizes the comparison of auto insurance costs with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The premiums assume no claims or violations, $500 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are applied.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawFclqcibChart);function drawFclqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Full Coverage with $500 Deductibles’, ‘Liability Only’],[‘Age 20’, 4625,1739],[‘Age 30’, 2435,951],[‘Age 40’, 2379,879],[‘Age 50’, 2167,823],[‘Age 60’, 2101,809],[‘Age 70’, 2585,1085]]);var options = {title: ‘Full Coverage Rates Compared to Liability Only Rates’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#98bee2’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in Montana’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},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, comp and collision coverage costs $2,715 per year more than buying just liability insurance. That is a big expense that brings up the question if you should buy full coverage. There isn’t a steadfast formula to stop paying for physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of full coverage is about 10% or more of the settlement you would receive from your company, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s settlement value is $8,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most your company would pay you is $7,000 after paying your deductible. If you are currently paying more than $700 annually for full coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.
Insurance providers that offer cheap car insurance for good students in Montana may provide discounts that can lower rates by as much as 40% or more if you meet specific eligibility requirements. A list of car insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are:
Discount | Allstate | Geico | Progressive | State Farm | Nationwide |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bundled policies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Multiple vehicles | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Anti-theft | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Safe vehicle | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Air bags | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Running lights | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
New car | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
Hybrid vehicle | Yes | No | No | No | No |
Accident-free | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Defensive driver | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Low mileage | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Military | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Professional affiliation | No | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Pay in full | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Automatic payment | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Customer loyalty | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Sign early | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
Good student | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Student away from home | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Own your home | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Seat belt use | No | Yes | No | No | No |
Quote online | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Compare Prices Go |
The diagram below illustrates the comparison of car insurance rates with and without discounts applied to the rates. The data is based on a male driver, no claims or violations, Montana state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with anti-theft, continuous coverage, passive restraint, good student, vehicle safety, and paid-in-full discounts applied. With discounts applied, the the average yearly reduction on car insurance for good students is 33% or $397.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDiscqcibChart);function drawDiscqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Male Driver No Discounts’, ‘Male Driver with Discounts’],[‘Age 16’, 11535,8243],[‘Age 30’, 3663,2655],[‘Age 40’, 3621,2619],[‘Age 50’, 3289,2381],[‘Age 60’, 3185,2303]]);var options = {title: ‘Insurance Rate Comparison with Discounts for Good Students’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’:{left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#6791b9’, ‘#98bee2’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},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(‘qcibdisc’));chart.draw(data, options);}