The words “economical” and “insurance” really should not be used together, in particular when trying to find the best price on coverage for drivers with bad credit. Because of the high cost, let’s start off by going over a few of the things the can have a considerable influence on insurance rates, and find out if we can help you reduce the cost of the next policy you buy.
The car, truck, or SUV you are insuring is one of the main factors that determines the availability of affordable car insurance for drivers with bad credit. Vehicles with higher performance characteristics, poor safety ratings, or high incidents of liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than more modest models.
The list below presents auto insurance rates for a handful of the cheapest vehicles to insure in North Carolina.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord EX-L 4-Dr Sedan | $1,120 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,200 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $1,224 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LT Extended Cab 4WD | $1,231 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT 2WD | $1,224 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $1,231 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $1,247 |
| Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $1,267 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 2WD 4-Dr | $1,275 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $1,286 |
| Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $1,297 |
| Toyota Corolla XRS | $1,309 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,314 |
| Nissan Rogue S 2WD | $1,322 |
| GMC Sierra 3500HD SLE Regular Cab 2WD | $1,334 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | |
Data assumes single female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and homeowner. Table data does not factor in specific Greensboro, NC garaging location which can change rates considerably.
Looking at the numbers, you can see that models like the Honda Accord, Chevrolet Impala, Chevrolet Malibu, Chevrolet Silverado, and Chevrolet Equinox are the less-costly vehicles to insure for people with poor credit. The cost of a car insurance policy will be more expensive just because there is more liability exposure for drivers with bad credit, but generally speaking those particular vehicles will tend to have the lowest insurance prices that you’ll find.
Determining which company has the cheapest car insurance rates for drivers with bad credit involves a little more effort in order to find the best policy.
Every insurance provider uses a slightly different approach for filing rates in each state, so let’s look at the rankings for the car insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in North Carolina.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance with Bad Credit
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | $632 |
| 2 | Utica National | $655 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $700 |
| 4 | NC Farm Bureau | $709 |
| 5 | Penn National | $725 |
| 6 | GEICO | $728 |
| 7 | Titan | $729 |
| 8 | State Farm | $772 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $844 |
| 10 | National General | $890 |
| 11 | Allied | $919 |
| 12 | Erie | $931 |
| 13 | Travelers | $936 |
| 14 | Peerless | $1,002 |
| 15 | Nationwide | $1,011 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,012 |
| 17 | MetLife | $1,038 |
| 18 | Encompass | $1,041 |
| 19 | Safeco | $1,076 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,086 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | ||
Progressive may have some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Greensboro at around $632 annually. Utica National, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and Penn National would also be considered some of the best Greensboro, NC insurance companies.
As shown above, if you buy coverage from Liberty Mutual and switched to Progressive, you could see an annual savings of roughly $68. Customers with NC Farm Bureau could save as much as $77 a year, and Penn National customers might lower prices by $93 a year.
To see if your current coverage is too expensive, click here to get quotes or click several companies below for low rates.
It’s important to note that these rates are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and do not factor in a specific zip code for drivers with bad credit. So the company that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 20 companies in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
Liability only or full coverage
Buying cheaper car insurance is important to the majority of people, and one great way to pay less for insurance for drivers with bad credit is to only buy liability insurance. The example below illustrates the comparison of insurance rates with full coverage and liability only. The price estimates are based on no claims or driving citations, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no other discounts are factored in.
Averaged for all ages 20 through 70, physical damage coverage costs an additional $1,573 per year more than buying just liability insurance. At some point, every insured wonders if paying for full coverage is worth it. There isn’t a steadfast formula of when to eliminate physical damage insurance, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of full coverage is 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
For example, let’s say your vehicle’s settlement value is $5,500 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, the most you would get paid by your company is $4,500 after the policy deductible has been paid. If premiums are more than $450 a year for your policy with full coverage, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.
There are some scenarios where dropping physical damage coverage is not in your best interest. If you still owe a portion of the original loan, you have to keep full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should not consider dropping full coverage.
Discount Greensboro insurance
Insurers that offer cheap quotes for drivers with bad credit may also give you premium discounts that could lower prices by 40% or more if you qualify for them. Companies and some of the premium reductions they offer are:
- AAA has savings for good driver, AAA membership discount, anti-theft, multi-car, multi-policy, good student, and education and occupation.
- Progressive may have discounts that include continuous coverage, online quote discount, online signing, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and good student.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for driver’s education, Steer Clear safe driver discount, good student, safe vehicle, student away at school, and multiple policy.
- Esurance discounts include online quote, DriveSense, multi-car, renters, and anti-theft.
- Nationwide includes discounts for multi-policy, good student, family plan, accident-free, and anti-theft.
The example below illustrates the difference between annual premium costs with and without discounts applied. The rates are based on a female driver, no accidents or driving violations, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with anti-theft, marriage, safe-driver, multiple policy, homeowner, and passive restraint discounts applied. When taking advantage of discounts, the average savings per year on car insurance for drivers with bad credit is 27% or $372.
The importance of comparing Greensboro car insurance rates
Greensboro, NC car insurance rates are based on many factors which can substantially change the price of coverage. Simply turning a year older, buying higher coverage limits, or getting into an accident may generate price changes that can now make some companies cheaper than before.
In addition, car insurance companies change their prices as often as every three months to reflect underwriting profits or losses. An unexpected high level of claims can result in higher priced premiums, while less frequent claims may result in lower-priced Greensboro car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the chart below compares the cheapest car insurance in Greensboro, NC for a 35-year-old male driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and a high credit rating. Based on his personal profile, Utica National quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in Greensboro at $734 annually. This is $138 less than the average rate paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and GEICO are also on the list of the most affordable Greensboro, NC auto insurance companies.
In this next rate comparison, we will give the driver from the first example a claim surcharge, a little lower credit rating, and a stop sign violation. Since each company has their own guidelines for determining rates in each state, comparing prices could now result in a substantially altered list of affordable companies as shown below.
Penn National now has the cheapest auto insurance in Greensboro, NC with State Farm, Auto-Owners, National General, and Erie also having competitive pricing. This demonstrates why North Carolina drivers need to shop around when trying to find the best car insurance quotes for drivers with bad credit.
Rates are made up of many risk factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the cheapest rate the last time you compared rates may now be priced much higher than other options.