I’m sure you’ve seen the captivating ads from companies like State Farm and Allstate claiming the cheapest price. So you should just pick the company with the catchiest ad, right?
It’s just not that easy, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknowns such as the number of miles you drive in a year, whether you are married, the deductible level you need, and if you are a woman or a man, that all have an effect on the price. This article covers some of these things and will give you some help in finding cheaper rates.
One of the many factors that help determine the annual cost of car insurance is where you call home in Minnesota. More densely populated places like Maplewood, Saint Paul, and Richfield are more likely to pay higher prices, whereas areas with less congestion have the luxury of lower rates.
The information below rates the priciest cities in Minnesota for homeowners to purchase a policy in.
Rank | City | Annual Rate |
---|---|---|
1 | Maplewood | $2,045 |
2 | Minneapolis | $2,018 |
3 | Saint Paul | $2,009 |
4 | Brooklyn Park | $1,816 |
5 | Richfield | $1,814 |
6 | Coon Rapids | $1,809 |
7 | Duluth | $1,794 |
8 | Bloomington | $1,792 |
9 | Edina | $1,759 |
10 | Blaine | $1,748 |
11 | Woodbury | $1,731 |
12 | Maple Grove | $1,724 |
13 | Minnetonka | $1,723 |
14 | Saint Louis Park | $1,720 |
15 | Lakeville | $1,700 |
16 | Eden Prairie | $1,672 |
17 | Plymouth | $1,663 |
18 | Eagan | $1,661 |
19 | Burnsville | $1,658 |
20 | Shakopee | $1,642 |
21 | Saint Cloud | $1,636 |
22 | Apple Valley | $1,631 |
23 | Rochester | $1,591 |
24 | Mankato | $1,534 |
25 | Moorhead | $1,504 |
Find Cheaper Insurance Go |
Price information shown is comparative as the specific garaging location can raise or lower auto insurance rates substantially.
Trying to find cost effective insurance is easier said than done, and determining which company offers the most affordable insurance rates for homeowners may require even more diligence. Coverage prices could be moderately cheaper than the average rate in Minnesota attributed to the potential for less claims associated with offering coverage for people who own their homes. Affordable coverage should be achievable from many preferred companies.
Each auto insurer uses slightly different criteria for determining prices, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Minnesota.
Lowest Insurance Price Quotes for Homeowners
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | Travelers | $661 |
2 | USAA | $807 |
3 | Farm Bureau Mutual | $813 |
4 | Western National | $901 |
5 | The Hartford | $936 |
6 | West Bend Mutual | $943 |
7 | Allied | $1,198 |
8 | State Farm | $1,226 |
9 | California Casualty | $1,251 |
10 | American Family | $1,280 |
11 | Auto-Owners | $1,295 |
12 | General Casualty | $1,300 |
13 | Farmers | $1,351 |
14 | North Star | $1,390 |
15 | Auto Club Group | $1,393 |
16 | Nationwide | $1,406 |
17 | Country | $1,427 |
18 | Allstate | $1,437 |
19 | Progressive | $1,463 |
20 | MetLife | $1,596 |
Get Personalized Rates Go |
Travelers may have some of the best car insurance rates in Minnesota at around $661 each year. USAA, Farm Bureau Mutual, Western National, and The Hartford also make the cut as some of the lowest-priced Minnesota auto insurance companies.
As shown in the rates above, if you currently buy coverage from The Hartford and switched to USAA, you might see an annual savings of around $129. Policyholders with West Bend Mutual could save as much as $136 a year, and Allied customers might realize rate reductions of up to $391 a year.
Remember that these policy prices are averages across all drivers and vehicles in Minnesota and do not factor in a price discount for homeowners. So the auto insurance company that fits your situation best may not even be shown in the rate chart shown above. That point stresses why you need to compare rates from multiple companies using your own specific driver and vehicle information.
Finding the cheapest car insurance for homeowners in Minnesota is important to most people, and an easy way to find cheap insurance is to not insure for full coverage. The chart below illustrates the comparison of premium costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The prices are based on no violations or claims, $250 deductibles, marital status is single, and no other discounts are factored in.
Averaged out for all age groups, physical damage coverage costs an extra $2,227 per year more than just buying liability insurance. That may make you wonder if buying full coverage is worth the money. There is no specific rule of when to drop physical damage insurance, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is 10% or more of the settlement you would receive from your company, then it might be time to buy liability only.
The list below details some of the better penny-pinching solutions that can help Minnesota drivers get the cheapest car insurance.
The last suggestion is extraordinarily significant, as we discussed in the prior article. Insurance rates can be changed at any time, so don’t hesitate to buy from a new company if you can find a cheaper rate.
Being loyal to a particular company is commendable, but it’s not a good idea if that dedication is costing a lot of money every month. Now is a great time to shop around to find cheaper insurance for homeowners.
Due to technology, there are many ways to shop for and buy insurance in Minnesota, but the most prevalent are through a captive (or exclusive) agency such as Allstate or Liberty Mutual, an independent agent, or direct from companies such as Progressive or Geico. All three ways can provide insurance quotes, but each is slightly different in how they function.
Independent insurance agencies write business for many companies and can quote your policy with every one. These types of agents are not required to write business for one company and can provide you with more rates, which may provide you with more bang for your buck. If a cheaper price is found, it’s simple to move the policy which makes it easier to save money.
Exclusive agents are contracted to a single insurance company, two popular examples being Farmers Insurance or State Farm agents. Exclusive agents cannot provide rate quotes from other companies, so it’s a take it or leave it situation.
The third way to buy insurance is direct which means you skip an agent and instead buy buying direct from a company like Geico or Progressive. Shopping for insurance direct can be good for consumers who do not have complex finances and know more than average about how their policy works.
So which method is best for finding the cheapest car insurance for homeowners in Minnesota? We wish we could say buying direct results in the cheapest price since there isn’t an agent involved, but in reality, that is not true. It would also be easy to say using an independent agent results in the cheapest rates because they can quote many companies, but that idea is not necessarily true either. And often times, exclusive agencies have very competitive rates that are well below what direct and independents offer.
Because there are so many factors that make up insurance rates, really the only way to get the lowest rate is to compare lots of quotes. To cover all the bases, get price quotes from independent, exclusive, and direct to have a good selection of rates to choose from. For a list of companies with cheap rates in Minnesota, click here to view.