Wouldn’t it be awesome if we knew the single company that has the best rates for low income drivers? It’s just not that easy, however, as there are a ton of unknown elements like where you live, how much you actually drive in a year, and if you own or rent your home. If you keep reading, we will teach you about some of these things and will hopefully give the reader a jump start in finding the best auto insurance.
One of the more important factors that determine the cost of insurance is where you keep your vehicle. Areas with more people or more claims will most likely pay more, whereas more rural areas benefit from lower coverage costs.
The following table lists the priciest cities in Pennsylvania for low income drivers to purchase car insurance in. Philadelphia comes in at #1 with an annual premium of $2,057 for the average policyholder, which is around $171 per month.
Rank | City | Average Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | Philadelphia | $2,057 |
2 | Drexel Hill | $1,489 |
3 | Levittown | $1,407 |
4 | Chester | $1,379 |
5 | Norristown | $1,281 |
6 | Reading | $1,110 |
7 | Allentown | $1,108 |
8 | Erie | $1,071 |
9 | Easton | $1,069 |
10 | Pittsburgh | $1,063 |
11 | Wilkes-Barre | $1,057 |
12 | Hazleton | $1,056 |
13 | Bethlehem | $1,055 |
14 | Scranton | $1,049 |
15 | Municipality of Monr | $1,049 |
16 | Plum | $1,047 |
17 | Harrisburg | $1,025 |
18 | New Castle | $1,015 |
19 | Altoona | $1,012 |
20 | Bethel Park | $989 |
21 | Lancaster | $965 |
22 | Williamsport | $956 |
23 | York | $944 |
24 | Lebanon | $932 |
25 | State College | $878 |
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Information shown are estimated as the specific garaging location can revise premiums considerably.
The car, truck, or SUV you are buying coverage for is probably the largest consideration when comparing the best car insurance for low income drivers. Vehicles with economical engines, an excellent safety record, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost much less to insure than higher performance models. The table below showcases insurance rates for the most cost-effective automobiles to insure.
Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $3,835 |
Honda Accord LX-P 4-Dr Sedan | $3,841 |
Volkswagen Jetta S 2.5 Station Wagon | $4,161 |
Ford F-150 STX Super Cab 2WD | $4,214 |
Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $4,329 |
Toyota Camry LE | $4,541 |
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD | $4,548 |
Chevrolet Silverado LS Extended Cab 4WD | $4,541 |
Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD | $4,547 |
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $4,629 |
Toyota Prius | $4,664 |
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $4,695 |
Nissan Rogue SL 2WD | $4,863 |
Honda Odyssey EX W/Rear Entertainment | $4,867 |
Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $4,881 |
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4WD 2-Dr | $4,888 |
Chevrolet Impala LT | $5,119 |
Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD | $5,125 |
Chevrolet Malibu LS | $5,119 |
Toyota Camry Hybrid | $5,198 |
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Data assumes single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Pennsylvania minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-policy, homeowner, safe-driver, and multi-vehicle. Price estimates do not factor in vehicle garaging location which can raise or lower prices substantially.
By looking at the data, we can expect models like the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Jetta, Ford F-150, and Honda CR-V should be a few of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for poor drivers.
Figuring out which insurers offer the cheapest auto insurance rates for low income drivers takes a little more effort in order to find the best price.
Every auto insurer uses a little different formula for establishing rates, so we’ll go over the lowest cost auto insurance companies in Philadelphia.
Compare Cheap Insurance Quotes in Pennsylvania
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | General Casualty | $726 |
2 | Travelers | $779 |
3 | Erie | $792 |
4 | Penn National | $808 |
5 | USAA | $809 |
6 | Auto-Owners | $963 |
7 | Atlantic States | $1,005 |
8 | Amica | $1,012 |
9 | Donegal Mutual | $1,058 |
10 | GEICO | $1,111 |
11 | Allied | $1,190 |
12 | State Farm | $1,198 |
13 | California Casualty | $1,222 |
14 | State Auto | $1,229 |
15 | Encompass | $1,385 |
16 | Harleysville | $1,410 |
17 | Progressive | $1,429 |
18 | Nationwide | $1,447 |
19 | Mutual Benefit Group | $1,454 |
20 | Chubb | $1,598 |
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General Casualty has some of the best car insurance rates in Philadelphia at around $726 per year. This is $931 less than the average rate paid by Pennsylvania drivers of $1,657. Travelers, Erie, Penn National, and USAA would also be considered some of the cheapest Philadelphia, PA insurance companies.
In the above example, if you are currently insured with Penn National and switched to Travelers, you could realize savings of in the vicinity of $29. Customers with USAA might save as much as $30 a year, and Auto-Owners policyholders might see rate reductions of $184 a year.
Be aware that those rates are averages across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and are not factoring in an exact zip code location for low income drivers. So the company that can offer you the best price may not even be in the top 30 companies in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.
The information below illustrates how choosing a deductible can impact insurance costs when researching cheap insurance for low income drivers. The rate quotes are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
The data above shows that a 30-year-old driver could lower their policy premium by $260 a year by changing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $394 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the age 20 example, can cut up to $558 each year just by choosing larger deductibles.
If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it is important to have enough savings set aside to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main drawback of higher deductibles.
Finding the right car insurance provider can be a challenge considering how many companies are available to choose from in Philadelphia. The ranking data below could help you pick which car insurance companies to look at comparing rates with. The ratings below are for the companies with a significant amount of written premium nationwide, so companies without a large exposure will not be included in these rankings.
Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The General | 96 | 100 | 92 | 91% | A- | 95 |
Titan Insurance | 87 | 96 | 94 | 93% | A+ | 92.9 |
The Hartford | 88 | 96 | 91 | 93% | A+ | 92.6 |
Progressive | 84 | 94 | 99 | 90% | A+ | 92.4 |
Travelers | 84 | 93 | 100 | 87% | A++ | 92.3 |
State Farm | 84 | 93 | 95 | 87% | A++ | 91 |
Farmers Insurance | 87 | 92 | 90 | 85% | A | 90.6 |
Erie Insurance | 79 | 93 | 90 | 87% | A+ | 88.6 |
Safeco Insurance | 85 | 91 | 87 | 86% | A | 88.4 |
USAA | 71 | 93 | 98 | 87% | A++ | 88 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Full coverage rates compared to liability-only
Buying cheaper auto insurance is important to most people, and one good way to pay less for insurance for low income drivers is to only buy liability insurance. The diagram below compares insurance costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The prices are based on a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, marital status is single, and no policy discounts are applied.
On average, comp and collision coverage costs an extra $1,385 per year over liability only. That is a large expense which might make you wonder when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no definitive rule to delete full coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is about 10% or more of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then it might be time to buy liability only.