For hybrids, one of the big things that are used to help calculate the cost of insurance is your address. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population tend to pay more, whereas areas that tend to be more rural can boast about having cheaper rates.
The table below ranks the most expensive places in North Carolina for hybrid vehicles to buy auto insurance in. Charlotte comes in at #3 with an annual premium of $840 on average, which is around $70 per month.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $905 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $891 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $840 |
| 4 | Durham | $789 |
| 5 | Wilmington | $781 |
| 6 | Gastonia | $779 |
| 7 | Cary | $765 |
| 8 | Raleigh | $760 |
| 9 | Greensboro | $756 |
| 10 | High Point | $753 |
| 11 | Greenville | $752 |
| 12 | Apex | $747 |
| 13 | Goldsboro | $743 |
| 14 | Huntersville | $734 |
| 15 | Indian Trail | $731 |
| 16 | Wilson | $724 |
| 17 | Rocky Mount | $718 |
| 18 | Hickory | $718 |
| 19 | Chapel Hill | $717 |
| 20 | Salisbury | $712 |
| 21 | Winston Salem | $695 |
| 22 | Concord | $690 |
| 23 | Burlington | $671 |
| 24 | Kannapolis | $669 |
| 25 | Asheville | $661 |
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Premium amounts are estimated as specific location information can affect coverage prices noticeably.
Buying budget insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and deciding which company quotes the cheapest auto insurance rates for hybrid vehicles takes even more perseverance.
Each company uses slightly different criteria to determine premium rates, so let’s rank the lowest cost auto insurance companies in North Carolina.
Cheapest Insurance Rates for Hybrids
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $636 |
| 2 | Progressive | $651 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $700 |
| 4 | Titan | $729 |
| 5 | NC Farm Bureau | $737 |
| 6 | Penn National | $739 |
| 7 | GEICO | $742 |
| 8 | State Farm | $779 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $852 |
| 10 | Erie | $895 |
| 11 | Travelers | $900 |
| 12 | Allied | $901 |
| 13 | National General | $917 |
| 14 | Peerless | $962 |
| 15 | Safeco | $1,034 |
| 16 | MetLife | $1,038 |
| 17 | Nationwide | $1,041 |
| 18 | Unitrin | $1,042 |
| 19 | Encompass | $1,063 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,086 |
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Utica National has some of the lowest car insurance rates in Charlotte at around $636 a year. This is $236 less than the average policy premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Titan, and NC Farm Bureau would also be considered some of the more affordable Charlotte, NC insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you are a policyholder with NC Farm Bureau and switched to Progressive, you may see a yearly savings of approximately $86. Insureds with Penn National may save as much as $88 a year, and GEICO insureds might cut rates by $91 a year.
It’s important to note that these premium estimates are averaged across all drivers and vehicles and do not factor in a vehicle location for hybrid vehicles. So the insurer that is best suited for you may not even be in the top 20 companies shown above. That affirms the importance of why you need to get rate quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
The vehicle model you are insuring is a significant factor that determines whether or not you can buy the best auto insurance for hybrid vehicles. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, poor safety features, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost much more to insure than more economical and safe models. The table below outlines coverage costs for some of the most economical automobiles to buy insurance for.
| Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord LX-P 4-Dr Sedan | $1,156 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $1,183 |
| Ford Edge SEL 2WD | $1,342 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $1,369 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT 2WD | $1,377 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $1,369 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $1,393 |
| Chevrolet Impala LTZ | $1,439 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $1,451 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sport 4WD 2-Dr | $1,461 |
| Toyota Corolla XRS | $1,464 |
| Ford F-150 Lariat Crew Cab Harley 4WD | $1,491 |
| Dodge Ram 3500 Crew Cab ST 2WD | $1,517 |
| Ford Focus S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,537 |
| Hyundai Sonata Limited 4-Dr Sedan | $1,561 |
| Toyota Camry Hybrid | $1,567 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $1,566 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,573 |
| Dodge Ram 2500 Crew Cab ST 4WD | $1,588 |
| Nissan Altima 3.5 SR 2-Dr Coupe | $1,632 |
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Above prices assume single female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-vehicle, homeowner, safe-driver, and multi-policy. Rate information does not factor in specific location which can decrease or increase premiums significantly.
Based upon the table data, you can assume that models like the Honda Accord, Ford Escape, Ford Edge, and Toyota RAV4 are going to be a few of the most affordable vehicles to insure for hybrids.
Discount Charlotte insurance
Insurance providers that offer quotes for hybrid vehicles may also offer price discounts that can reduce rates by 40% or more if you meet specific criteria. A few popular companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are detailed below.
- GEICO may offer discounts for multi-vehicle, good student, military active duty, five-year accident-free, and defensive driver.
- Auto-Owners Insurance includes discounts for teen driver, multiple vehicles, company car, air bags, and safe driver.
- American Family has discounts for good student, accident-free, early bird, mySafetyValet, defensive driver, and bundled insurance.
- Esurance has savings for good student, homeowner, online quote, online shopper, and emergency road assistance.
- Progressive may include discounts for homeowner, multi-vehicle, online signing, online quote discount, multi-policy, good student, and continuous coverage.
- State Farm offers discounts for passive restraint, defensive driving training, anti-theft, good driver, safe vehicle, and student away at school.
- AAA offers discounts including pay-in-full, multi-policy, good driver, anti-theft, education and occupation, good student, and AAA membership discount.
The illustration below compares insurance rates with and without policy discounts. The premium estimates are based on a male driver, a clean driving record, no claims, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $1,000 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second shows the rates with vehicle safety, passive restraint, safe-driver, multiple policy, marriage, and homeowner discounts applied. With discounts applied, the average amount saved each year on auto insurance for hybrid vehicles is 28% or $396.
Rate difference between full and liability-only coverage
Paying a lower price for auto insurance is important to most people, and an effective way to pay lower rates for insurance for hybrid vehicles is to only buy liability coverage. The illustration below compares auto insurance rates with and without full coverage. The premiums assume no violations or claims, $500 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are factored in.
As an average for all age groups, physical damage coverage on your policy costs an additional $1,181 per year over and above liability coverage. That is a large expense which might make you wonder if you should buy full coverage at all. There is no clear-cut formula to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is about 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s replacement value is $5,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most your company would pay you is $4,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If premium cost is more than $400 a year to have full coverage, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
There are some situations where only buying liability is not a good idea. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is totaled, you should not remove full coverage.
Poor driving habits will raise your auto insurance rates
One of the best ways to snag good auto insurance rates in Charlotte for hybrids is to drive cautiously and avoid traffic citations and accidents. The information below highlights how traffic violations and fender-benders can drive up insurance costs for different age groups of insureds. Data assumes a married male driver, comp and collision included, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The data in the chart shows the average cost of a car insurance policy in Charlotte per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $1,227. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $1,405, an increase of $178 each year. Then include one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the annual cost of auto insurance for hybrid vehicles goes up to an average of $1,913. That’s an increase of $686, or $57 per month, just for not being a responsible driver!
Shop around and save
Charlotte, NC auto insurance rates are calculated based on many things that may substantially change the cost of a policy. Improving your credit rating, moving to a new city, or getting a couple of tickets can trigger changes in premium resulting in some rates now being more affordable than the competition. Not only may your situation change, but companies file new North Carolina car insurance rates as often as every three months in order to maintain liquidity for claims. Heavier than normal losses can cause increased policy costs, while lower claim expenses may cause lower-cost Charlotte car insurance rates.
For example, the chart below shows a variety of companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Charlotte, NC for a 40-year-old male driver with no accidents or violations, and good credit. If we estimate prices based on his personal risk profile, Utica National has the most affordable car insurance rates in Charlotte at $800 each year. This is $72 less than the average rate paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and Penn National round out the rest of the top five cheapest Charlotte, NC auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver in the first example a chargeable claim, slightly worse credit, and a couple of points charged on his driving record. Because every insurance company has a proprietary formula for establishing rates, analyzing rates may now show a substantially altered list of the cheapest companies as shown below.
Titan now has the cheapest car insurance in Charlotte, NC with State Farm, Auto-Owners, National General, and Allied also having competitive pricing. This example shows why it is critical to shop around with many companies to get the most affordable insurance quotes for hybrid vehicles.
Rates can be altered by many risk factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the best company two years ago may now be priced much higher than other options.