For new drivers, one of the big components that are used to help calculate car insurance rates is your zip code. More populated areas tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with less congestion receive better rates.
The table below shows the most expensive cities in North Carolina for inexperienced drivers to buy auto insurance in. Charlotte is ranked at #3 costing $832 for the average policyholder, which is approximately $69 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $932 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $900 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $832 |
| 4 | Gastonia | $779 |
| 5 | Raleigh | $767 |
| 6 | Durham | $765 |
| 7 | Greensboro | $763 |
| 8 | Greenville | $760 |
| 9 | Wilmington | $758 |
| 10 | Huntersville | $756 |
| 11 | High Point | $753 |
| 12 | Cary | $749 |
| 13 | Rocky Mount | $748 |
| 14 | Wilson | $746 |
| 15 | Goldsboro | $743 |
| 16 | Indian Trail | $731 |
| 17 | Apex | $725 |
| 18 | Hickory | $718 |
| 19 | Winston Salem | $716 |
| 20 | Salisbury | $705 |
| 21 | Chapel Hill | $703 |
| 22 | Burlington | $692 |
| 23 | Concord | $690 |
| 24 | Kannapolis | $676 |
| 25 | Asheville | $661 |
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Premium costs are comparative as the specific Charlotte residence address can decrease or increase auto insurance rates greatly.
Deciding which companies have the cheapest insurance rates for inexperienced drivers calls for a little more effort in order to find the best price. Every car insurance company has a proprietary formula for setting rates, so we’ll go over the most budget-friendly insurance companies in Charlotte, NC.
It’s important that you understand Charlotte insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the cost of your policy. Turning one year older, having a teenage driver, or getting a ticket for careless driving may cause policy rate changes resulting in some rates now being more affordable than before.
Find the Best Cheap Insurance for Newbies
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $655 |
| 2 | Progressive | $658 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $707 |
| 4 | NC Farm Bureau | $716 |
| 5 | GEICO | $720 |
| 6 | Penn National | $747 |
| 7 | Titan | $751 |
| 8 | State Farm | $772 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $870 |
| 10 | Allied | $901 |
| 11 | National General | $917 |
| 12 | Erie | $922 |
| 13 | Travelers | $936 |
| 14 | Peerless | $1,002 |
| 15 | MetLife | $1,007 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,032 |
| 17 | Safeco | $1,034 |
| 18 | Nationwide | $1,041 |
| 19 | Encompass | $1,063 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,097 |
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Utica National normally has some of the lowest car insurance rates in Charlotte at around $655 each year. This is $217 less than the average policy premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and GEICO would also be considered some of the cheaper Charlotte, NC car insurance companies.
In the above example, if you have coverage with NC Farm Bureau and switched to Progressive, you may see an annual premium reduction of in the neighborhood of $58. Insureds with GEICO could save as much as $62 a year, and Penn National insureds might see rate reductions of $89 a year.
Remember that these prices are averages for all types of drivers and the different vehicles they drive and do not take into consideration an exact zip code location for inexperienced drivers. So the car insurance company that is best for you may not even be in the top 20 companies shown above. That points out the importance of why you need to get rate quotes from many companies using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
Ending up with the right auto insurance company can be a challenge considering how many different insurance companies sell coverage in Charlotte. The company rank data in the lists below can help you choose which auto insurance companies to look at to insure your vehicles. These rankings are only made up of large insurance companies, so companies that only write business in North Carolina or surrounding areas will not be included in this list.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | 93 | 98 | 99 | 88% | A++ | 95.1 |
| USAA | 83 | 99 | 100 | 91% | A++ | 94.1 |
| AAA Insurance | 91 | 95 | 92 | 90% | A | 93.3 |
| Nationwide | 85 | 95 | 97 | 89% | A+ | 92.4 |
| Allstate | 77 | 100 | 97 | 88% | A+ | 90.7 |
| State Farm | 80 | 94 | 96 | 88% | A++ | 90.6 |
| The Hartford | 88 | 93 | 91 | 87% | A+ | 90.4 |
| Safeco Insurance | 91 | 95 | 85 | 88% | A | 90.2 |
| Progressive | 88 | 94 | 83 | 88% | A+ | 90.1 |
| American Family | 91 | 86 | 95 | 83% | A | 89.7 |
| Esurance | 86 | 90 | 94 | 90% | A+ | 89.5 |
| The General | 86 | 93 | 89 | 84% | A- | 88.2 |
| GEICO | 79 | 89 | 95 | 87% | A++ | 87.8 |
| Titan Insurance | 86 | 82 | 92 | 86% | A+ | 86.5 |
| 21st Century | 86 | 82 | 90 | 84% | A | 86.4 |
| Liberty Mutual | 79 | 87 | 95 | 78% | A | 85.3 |
| Farmers Insurance | 77 | 80 | 80 | 84% | A | 80.3 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Illustration showing the impact of accidents and violations
The common sense way to maintain low insurance prices for new drivers is to drive attentively and avoid accidents and keep your driving record clean. The chart below shows how violations and at-fault collisions can drive up car insurance rates for different insured age categories. The rate quotes are based on a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, $500 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
The data above shows the average cost of car insurance per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $1,521. Receive two speeding tickets and the average cost rises to $2,034, an increase of $513 each year. Then include one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of insurance for inexperienced drivers goes up to an average of $2,553. That’s an increase of $1,031, or $86 per month, just for not paying attention while driving!
The illustration below shows how choosing a deductible can affect insurance costs when searching for cheap insurance for inexperienced drivers. The prices are based on a married female driver, full coverage, and no discounts are applied.
The chart above illustrates that a 40-year-old driver could cut expenses by $170 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $258 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, such as the 20-year-old chart data, can save as much as $422 or even more just by choosing higher deductibles. When using a larger deductible, it will be important to have additional funds squirreled away to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.