Buying affordable car insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and figuring out which companies offer the cheapest car insurance rates for 16 year olds requires even more shopping around. Each auto insurance company uses a slightly different approach for determining prices, so we’ll go over the car insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Durham.
It’s important to understand that Durham car insurance rates are calculated based on many things which can substantially change the price you have to pay for coverage. Improving your credit rating, getting married, or getting a reckless driving citation can cause premium changes that can cause some rates to be more affordable than others.
Best Insurance Companies for Teens
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $636 |
| 2 | Progressive | $658 |
| 3 | Liberty Mutual | $707 |
| 4 | Penn National | $725 |
| 5 | NC Farm Bureau | $730 |
| 6 | GEICO | $742 |
| 7 | Titan | $759 |
| 8 | State Farm | $772 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $844 |
| 10 | National General | $881 |
| 11 | Travelers | $909 |
| 12 | Allied | $928 |
| 13 | Erie | $931 |
| 14 | Peerless | $1,002 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,002 |
| 16 | MetLife | $1,018 |
| 17 | Nationwide | $1,041 |
| 18 | Encompass | $1,063 |
| 19 | Safeco | $1,076 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,097 |
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Utica National generally has some of the best car insurance rates in Durham at around $636 per year. This is $236 less than the average price paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Penn National, and NC Farm Bureau also are some of the cheapest Durham, NC auto insurance companies.
In this example, if you are currently insured with NC Farm Bureau and switched to Progressive, you could realize annual savings of around $72. Drivers with GEICO might save as much as $84 a year, and Titan policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $101 a year.
Understand that those prices are averaged across all drivers and vehicles in North Carolina and do not take into consideration a vehicle location for 16 year olds. So the insurer that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the list above. That illustrates why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
For new drivers, one of the more important considerations that are looked at to determine insurance cost is where your residence is in Durham. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population will most likely have higher rates, whereas less populated areas tend to receive cheaper rates.
The table below lists the most expensive areas in North Carolina for 16 year olds to buy auto insurance in. Durham is listed at #7 with a yearly cost of $765 for the average policyholder, which is about $64 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $923 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $873 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $832 |
| 4 | Gastonia | $811 |
| 5 | Wilmington | $781 |
| 6 | Cary | $765 |
| 7 | Durham | $765 |
| 8 | Greensboro | $763 |
| 9 | Greenville | $760 |
| 10 | Raleigh | $760 |
| 11 | Huntersville | $756 |
| 12 | Wilson | $754 |
| 13 | Indian Trail | $753 |
| 14 | High Point | $753 |
| 15 | Apex | $747 |
| 16 | Hickory | $740 |
| 17 | Goldsboro | $735 |
| 18 | Rocky Mount | $718 |
| 19 | Salisbury | $705 |
| 20 | Chapel Hill | $703 |
| Quote Best Rates Go | ||
Prices are comparative as the vehicle garaging location can modify rates substantially.
The vehicle requiring coverage is probably the most important factor when shopping for cheap insurance for 16 year olds. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, a plethora of safety features, or a low likelihood of liability claims will cost less to insure than high performance models. The data below shows car insurance premiums for a number of the cheapest automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $4,320 |
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $4,328 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $4,358 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sport 4WD 2-Dr | $4,557 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,661 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $4,857 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon | $4,923 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $5,082 |
| Ford Edge SEL AWD | $5,091 |
| Ford Focus S 4-Dr Sedan | $5,082 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT 2WD | $5,120 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $5,130 |
| Ford Fusion S 4-Dr Sedan | $5,120 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $5,130 |
| Ford F-150 FX4 Super Cab 4WD | $5,160 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Crew | $5,167 |
| Ford Explorer Limited 2WD | $5,160 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LT | $5,166 |
| Honda Civic LX 4-Dr Sedan | $5,344 |
| Toyota Corolla LE | $5,382 |
| GMC Sierra SL Crew Cab 2WD | $5,422 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 4WD | $5,432 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT Crew Cab 4WD | $5,422 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | |
Data 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 garaging location which can impact insurance rates substantially.
Looking at the data, we can conclude that vehicles like the Hyundai Elantra, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Jeep Wrangler, and Toyota Prius are the more affordable vehicles to insure for new drivers. The price of auto insurance will be higher anyway because of the fact that there is more liability risk for 16 year olds, but overall those particular vehicles will tend to have the cheapest car insurance rates compared to all other vehicles.
Rate difference between full and liability-only coverage
Saving money when shopping for car insurance is probably important to most vehicle owners, and an easy way to buy cheap insurance for 16 year olds is to not buy full coverage. The example below visualizes the comparison of insurance costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The premium estimates are based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, marital status is single, and no policy discounts are applied.
As an overall average, full coverage costs an extra $1,918 per year over and above liability coverage. That amount may make you wonder if buying full coverage is a waste of money. There is no set rule that is best for determining when to drop physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the yearly cost of full coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
For example, let’s say your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $7,500 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would receive is $6,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If premium cost is more than $650 annually for physical damage coverage, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.
Ending up with the best car insurance company can be difficult considering how many different companies sell coverage in Durham. The company information shown next could help you choose which providers you want to consider when insurance shopping for 16 year olds. The rankings below are only comprised of companies that write coverage in many states, so companies with more of a regional focus are not included in these rankings.
Top 10 Large Car Insurance Companies in Durham Ranked by Value
- Travelers
- American Family
- AAA Insurance
- Safeco Insurance
- Progressive
- The Hartford
- The General
- 21st Century
- Esurance
- Titan Insurance
Cautious Durham drivers save money
The ideal way to snag good car insurance prices for new drivers is to be a careful driver and avoid getting tickets or having accidents. The chart below demonstrates how citations and fender-benders can drive up yearly insurance costs for each age group. The data assumes a single female driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.
The data above shows the average cost of an auto insurance policy per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $1,849. Get one speeding ticket and the average cost swells to $2,094, an increase of $245 each year. Next add one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the annual cost of car insurance for 16 year olds increases to an average of $2,792. That’s an increase of $943, or $79 per month, just for not driving responsibly!
Who has the cheapest Durham car insurance?
Durham car insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially decrease or increase the price of your policy. Simply having a birthday, getting divorced, or getting a speeding ticket may prompt premium changes resulting in some rates now being affordable when they were higher priced.
Not only may your risk profile change, but insurance companies modify rates as needed to adjust for heavy claims or excess profits. A period of increased losses can result in rate hikes, while lower claim expenses can produce cheaper Durham car insurance rates.
The chart below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Durham, NC for a 35-year-old male driver with no prior claims, no tickets, and a good credit history. If we estimate prices based on his personal profile, Progressive might offer the most affordable car insurance rates in Durham at $771 annually. This is $101 less than the average rate paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, Liberty Mutual, Penn National, and Titan round out the rest of the cheapest Durham, NC auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first chart an accident surcharge, bad credit, and a few blemishes on his driving record. Since every car insurance company has their own unique process for filing rates in each state, comparing insurance quotes may now present a different set of affordable Durham car insurance companies as shown below.
GEICO now has the lowest price in Durham with State Farm, Auto-Owners, National General, and Allied now being in the top five. This illustrates why North Carolina drivers need to do a thorough rate comparison to get the most economical car insurance quotes for 16 year olds.
Prices are calculated by many different factors and can decrease or increase without notice, so the most economical option the last time you checked may now be quite expensive.