For drivers on welfare, one of the largest criteria that are looked at to help calculate car insurance rates is where you normally keep your vehicle. Cities with more crime and/or more people tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with less congestion benefit from lower prices.
The table below ranks the most expensive places in North Carolina for welfare recipients to purchase auto insurance in. Charlotte is ranked #3 costing $816 for the average insurance policy, which is approximately $68 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $923 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $873 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $816 |
| 4 | Durham | $789 |
| 5 | Gastonia | $787 |
| 6 | Cary | $765 |
| 7 | Raleigh | $760 |
| 8 | Wilmington | $758 |
| 9 | Greensboro | $756 |
| 10 | Indian Trail | $753 |
| 11 | Rocky Mount | $748 |
| 12 | Huntersville | $742 |
| 13 | Goldsboro | $735 |
| 14 | Wilson | $732 |
| 15 | Greenville | $730 |
| 16 | High Point | $723 |
| 17 | Hickory | $718 |
| 18 | Apex | $717 |
| 19 | Salisbury | $705 |
| 20 | Chapel Hill | $703 |
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Table data uses estimated as the specific garaging location can raise or lower coverage prices greatly.
Finding reliable, cost effective auto insurance is not easy, and figuring out which companies quote the cheapest insurance rates for welfare recipients will involve even more diligence. Every insurance provider uses a slightly different approach to establish rates, so let’s take a look at the overall cheapest insurance companies in Charlotte, NC.
It’s a good idea to be aware that North Carolina insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price you have to pay for coverage. This price fluctuation is why it is crucial to take the time to shop around when trying to get affordable insurance quotes for welfare recipients. Car insurance prices can be determined by many different factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the cheapest rate two years ago may now not even be in the top five.
Find Cheaper Auto Insurance in North Carolina
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | $639 |
| 2 | Utica National | $643 |
| 3 | NC Farm Bureau | $716 |
| 4 | Liberty Mutual | $721 |
| 5 | Titan | $729 |
| 6 | GEICO | $742 |
| 7 | Penn National | $747 |
| 8 | State Farm | $779 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $844 |
| 10 | National General | $881 |
| 11 | Allied | $919 |
| 12 | Travelers | $927 |
| 13 | Erie | $931 |
| 14 | Peerless | $1,002 |
| 15 | MetLife | $1,007 |
| 16 | Encompass | $1,031 |
| 17 | Nationwide | $1,041 |
| 18 | Unitrin | $1,042 |
| 19 | Safeco | $1,076 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,086 |
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Progressive may have some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Charlotte at around $639 per year. This is $233 less than the average rate paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, NC Farm Bureau, Liberty Mutual, and Titan also qualify as some of the more affordable Charlotte, NC auto insurance companies.
As illustrated above, if you are insured with Titan and switched to Utica National, you could earn annual savings of about $86. Drivers with GEICO might save as much as $99 a year, and Penn National policyholders might realize rate reductions of up to $104 a year.
It’s important to note that these policy prices are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific vehicle garaging location for welfare recipients. So the auto insurance company that can offer you the lowest price may not even be in the top 20 companies in the list above. That emphasizes why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.
How careless driving impacts insurance rates
One of the best ways to earn the cheapest insurance premiums for drivers on welfare is to pay attention while driving and avoid tickets and accidents. The diagram below shows how speeding tickets and accidents can increase insurance rates for each different age category. Data assumes a single male driver, comp and collision included, $100 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
The chart shows that the average cost of an auto insurance policy in North Carolina per year with no accidents or violations is $1,434. Add in one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $1,614, an increase of $179 each year. Then throw in one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of insurance for welfare recipients increases to an average of $2,120. That’s an increase of $686, or $57 per month, just for being a careless driver!
Get discount Charlotte car insurance
Insurance companies that provide coverage for welfare recipients could also offer rate discounts that can lower rates by as much as 30% if you meet specific criteria. Large insurance companies and the discounts they provide can be found below.
- Progressive discounts include good student, homeowner, online signing, multi-policy, continuous coverage, and online quote discount.
- The Hartford may include discounts for vehicle fuel type, driver training, bundle, defensive driver, anti-theft, and good student.
- Mercury Insurance may have discounts that include low natural disaster claims, ease of repair, accident-free, location of vehicle, multi-car, and professional/association.
- GEICO offers discounts including air bags, military active duty, federal employee, anti-theft, good student, anti-lock brakes, and daytime running lights.
- AAA has discounts for multi-car, multi-policy, good student, good driver, and education and occupation.
- State Farm includes discounts for good driver, driver’s education, multiple autos, accident-free, Drive Safe & Save, defensive driving training, and good student.
The example below shows the comparison of annual premium costs with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. The premiums assume a female driver, no claims or driving violations, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second shows the rates with claim-free, accident-free, marriage, homeowner, vehicle safety, and safe-driver discounts applied. In this example, theamount saved on insurance for welfare recipients is 27% or $343.
Liability rates compared to full coverage
Buying cheaper insurance is important to most drivers, and one of the quickest ways to buy cheaper insurance for welfare recipients is to only pay for liability coverage. The illustration below shows the comparison of insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in North Carolina. The rates are based on no claims or violations, $250 deductibles, single status, and no policy discounts are applied.
As an overall average, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $1,316 per year over liability only. That raises the question if full coverage is worth the money. There is no definitive guideline for excluding comp and collision coverage, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than around 10% of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
There are some scenarios where removing full coverage is not in your best interest. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you are required to maintain full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle if your current one is totaled, you should keep full coverage in place.
The importance of shopping around
Charlotte, NC insurance rates are based on many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price you have to pay for coverage. Simply improving your credit, filing a claim, or getting a few speeding tickets may generate price changes that may make certain companies cheaper than competitors. Also, insurance companies modify rates without warning to ensure their profitability. An extended period of higher than normal claims can cause a rate increase, while long-term profits can produce cheaper Charlotte car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the graph below shows rates for the cheapest car insurance in Charlotte, NC for a 30-year-old male driver with no prior claims, no tickets, and good financial standing. If we estimate rates based on his current rating profile, Progressive may offer the most affordable car insurance rates in Charlotte at $780 each year. This is $92 less than the average premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, GEICO, Penn National, and Liberty Mutual are also on the list of the top five cheapest Charlotte, NC auto insurance companies.
Now let’s give the driver in the first example some claims, a lower credit score, and a few traffic violations. Because each insurer has their own process to set premium rates, getting updated rate quotes may now show a new list of the cheapest Charlotte car insurance companies as shown below.
Titan now has the best price in Charlotte, NC with State Farm, Auto-Owners, National General, and Allied also being competitive. This illustrates why drivers need to perform an extensive rate comparison when trying to get the most affordable auto insurance rates for welfare recipients. Auto insurance prices are determined by many things and can increase or decrease at any time, so the most economical company a year ago may now be quite expensive.