Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for High School Students in Charlotte?

I’m sure you’ve seen the catchy commercials from insurers like Liberty Mutual, Farmers, and Allstate that claim the cheapest price, so you should just choose one randomly, right?

That is not the case, however, as there are many unknowns such as if full coverage is needed, your financial stability, and what level of deductibles you need, that all help calculate your car insurance rates. This article covers the best ways to shop for cheaper coverage and also should give you a good start in finding the cheapest car insurance in Charlotte.

The make and model of vehicle you are insuring is one of the biggest factors that determines if you can find the best cheap insurance for high school students. Vehicles with lots of horsepower, poor passenger safety features, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than safer, lower-performance models. The next list shows auto insurance prices for a selection of the more affordable vehicles to insure in North Carolina.

Prices based on single female driver age 16, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Rates do not factor in vehicle location which can alter rates noticeably.

Based upon these rates, you can figure that makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Jeep Wrangler should be a few of the most affordable vehicles to insure for teenagers. Auto insurance rates will tend to be more expensive anyway because of the fact that there is more claim risk for high school students, but generally speaking those vehicles will tend to have the lowest insurance prices compared to other types of vehicles.

For teenagers, one of the big criteria that help determine the cost of insurance is your address. Areas with more people or more claims tend to have more expensive car insurance rates, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates benefit from lower rates.

The table below sorts the most expensive places in North Carolina for high school students to buy an auto insurance policy in. Charlotte is ranked at #3 having an annual price of $840 on average, which is around $70 per month.

Prices are comparative as zip code location can revise price quotes greatly.

Finding out which company has the cheapest car insurance rates for high school students will require more time than just quoting one company’s rates. Each insurance company uses a little different formula for establishing rates, so we will examine the most affordable car insurance companies in Charlotte, NC.

Cheap Insurance Rates for Students

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Progressive has some of the best car insurance rates in Charlotte at around $651 a year. This is $221 less than the average premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, NC Farm Bureau, Liberty Mutual, and Penn National also are some of the cheaper Charlotte, NC auto insurance companies.

In the above example, if you buy coverage from NC Farm Bureau and switched to Progressive, you may see an annual savings of around $65. North Carolina drivers with Liberty Mutual could save as much as $70 a year, and Penn National insureds might cut rates by $74 a year.

To see if you’re overpaying, click here to start your free quote or visit any of the companies below.

Understand that those policy rates are averaged across all drivers and vehicles in North Carolina and do not take into consideration a specific location for high school students. So the auto insurance company that is best for you may not even be in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to get rate quotes from many companies using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.

Liability only or full coverage

Paying less for car insurance should be important to the majority of people, and an effective way to lower the cost of insurance for high school students is to buy only liability coverage. The chart below illustrates the comparison of car insurance costs with full coverage and liability only. The premiums are based on no claims or driving violations, $500 deductibles, drivers are single, and no additional discounts are factored in.

If we average the cost for ages 20 through 70, physical damage coverage on your policy costs an additional $1,181 per year over liability only. That amount may make you wonder when is it safe to stop buying full coverage. There is no specific rule to delete physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you might consider buying liability only.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s replacement value is $9,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, you would only receive $8,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are currently paying more than $800 a year to have full coverage, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

There are some conditions where eliminating full coverage is not advised. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should not drop full coverage.

Insuring your vehicle with a highly-rated insurer can be a challenge considering how many companies provide coverage in Charlotte. The information listed below can help you select which auto insurers you want to consider shopping prices with. These ratings are only comprised of large, nationwide insurance companies, so smaller regional companies are not factored into these rankings.

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Companies in Charlotte Ranked by A.M. Best Rating

1. Travelers – A++
2. USAA – A++
3. GEICO – A++
4. State Farm – A++
5. Titan Insurance – A+
6. Esurance – A+
7. Progressive – A+
8. Nationwide – A+
9. The Hartford – A+
10. Allstate – A+

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Companies Overall in Charlotte

1. Travelers
2. USAA
3. AAA Insurance
4. Nationwide
5. Allstate
6. State Farm
7. The Hartford
8. Safeco Insurance
9. Progressive
10. American Family

The importance of shopping around

Charlotte, NC car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price you have to pay. Simply improving your credit, buying a home instead of renting, or getting a reckless driving citation may prompt premium changes resulting in some companies being more affordable than others. Not only may things change on your end, but insurers change their prices at least once a year to ensure their profitability. Higher than normal claim frequency or severity can cause increased rates, while profitable underwriting can cause cheaper Charlotte car insurance rates.

To illustrate this point, the chart below shows the company with the cheapest car insurance in Charlotte, NC for a 30-year-old male driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and a good credit history. If we compare prices based on his current risk profile, Progressive may offer the best car insurance rates in Charlotte at $780 per year. This is $92 less than the average policy premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, Liberty Mutual, Titan, and NC Farm Bureau are also included in the most affordable Charlotte, NC auto insurance companies.

Now we will pretend the driver from the first example an accident claim, a lower credit rating, and a few blemishes on his driving record. Due to the fact that every insurance company has their own unique process to establish rates, comparing prices could result in a different ranking of companies as shown below.

Penn National now has the best price in Charlotte with State Farm, Auto-Owners, Utica National, and Erie also being competitive. This example proves why Charlotte drivers need to shop around with many companies to find the cheapest auto insurance rates for high school students.

Car insurance prices are made up of many things and can decrease or increase without notice, so the cheapest rate the last time you compared rates may now be costing you a lot of money.

The auto insurance agents in Charlotte shown below can most likely help you make a decision which auto insurance policy would work best for you, since lots of drivers aren’t clear which coverage they need and would like to have some advice when comparing insurance rates for teenagers. It can be challenging to find the cheapest rates, so getting professional guidance from a licensed agent can give you satisfaction knowing you have adequate protection in case of an accident or claim.

To locate a Charlotte car insurance agency closest to you, click the button following the list.

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