Trying to find low-cost car insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and deciding which company has the best insurance rates for drivers with accidents may require a bit more work.
Every insurance provider uses slightly different criteria to determine rates, so to begin we’ll rank the insurance companies with the overall best prices in Durham. It’s important to know that Durham, NC insurance rates are based on many factors that control the price you have to pay. That is why it is critical to perform a complete rate comparison to find the cheapest auto insurance rates for drivers with accidents. Insurance rates are made up of many different factors and can change without notice, so the best price two years ago may now be quite expensive.
Best Auto Insurance Prices for Accident Prone Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $655 |
| 2 | Progressive | $658 |
| 3 | Penn National | $717 |
| 4 | Liberty Mutual | $728 |
| 5 | NC Farm Bureau | $737 |
| 6 | Titan | $737 |
| 7 | GEICO | $742 |
| 8 | State Farm | $749 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $844 |
| 10 | Erie | $895 |
| 11 | Allied | $901 |
| 12 | National General | $917 |
| 13 | Travelers | $936 |
| 14 | Peerless | $992 |
| 15 | MetLife | $1,018 |
| 16 | Nationwide | $1,031 |
| 17 | Unitrin | $1,042 |
| 18 | Safeco | $1,044 |
| 19 | Encompass | $1,063 |
| 20 | Allstate | $1,064 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
Utica National may have some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Durham at around $655 each year. Progressive, Penn National, Liberty Mutual, and NC Farm Bureau also rank well as some of the more affordable Durham, NC car insurance companies.
In this example, if you are currently insured with Penn National and switched to Utica National, you may realize a yearly savings of in the vicinity of $62. Drivers with Liberty Mutual could save as much as $73 a year, and NC Farm Bureau customers might cut rates by $82 a year.
Understand that those premiums are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and are not factoring in a specific zip code for drivers with accidents. So the insurer that has the cheapest price for you may not even be in the list above. That affirms the importance of why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own specific driver information and vehicle.
The type of vehicle you are buying coverage for is one of the biggest factors when consumers are trying to find the most economical car insurance for drivers with accidents. Vehicles with lower performance, excellent safety ratings, or low incidents of liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than adrenaline junky models.
The table below features car insurance premiums for a selection of the most cost-effective vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $2,584 |
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $2,729 |
| Toyota Prius | $2,769 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $2,870 |
| Ford F-150 STX Super Cab 4WD | $2,900 |
| Ford Edge SEL AWD | $2,991 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $3,024 |
| Ford Explorer XLT AWD | $3,066 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $3,174 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $3,182 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $3,181 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LTZ Crew Cab 4WD | $3,211 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ AWD | $3,216 |
| Honda Odyssey Touring | $3,211 |
| Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $3,220 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $3,235 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $3,243 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD LT Crew Cab 2WD | $3,244 |
| Dodge Ram Crew Cab ST 2WD | $3,300 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $3,310 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $3,349 |
| Ford Fusion SEL AWD 4-Dr Sedan | $3,398 |
| Toyota Camry XLE | $3,401 |
| Compare Cheap Rates Go | |
Prices above based on single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, homeowner, and multi-policy. Price estimates do not factor in specific location information which can increase or decrease prices greatly.
Based upon the table data, we can infer that models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, and Jeep Wrangler are going to be the most affordable vehicles to insure for drivers with at-fault accidents. Rates will be higher anyway because there is more liability exposure for drivers with accidents, but in general those models will most likely have the best insurance prices that you are likely to find.
One of the more important criteria that aid in calculating the amount you pay for auto insurance is where you live in Durham. Regions with more people or even just more weather-related claims tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents have the luxury of lower rates.
The table below ranks the most costly cities in North Carolina for drivers with accidents to buy an auto insurance policy in. Durham comes in at #5 costing $765 on average, which is around $64 each month.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $923 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $873 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $808 |
| 4 | Gastonia | $779 |
| 5 | Durham | $765 |
| 6 | Greensboro | $763 |
| 7 | Raleigh | $760 |
| 8 | Wilmington | $758 |
| 9 | High Point | $753 |
| 10 | Indian Trail | $753 |
| 11 | Cary | $749 |
| 12 | Goldsboro | $743 |
| 13 | Huntersville | $742 |
| 14 | Greenville | $738 |
| 15 | Hickory | $732 |
| 16 | Wilson | $724 |
| 17 | Rocky Mount | $718 |
| 18 | Apex | $717 |
| 19 | Winston Salem | $709 |
| 20 | Chapel Hill | $703 |
| 21 | Burlington | $699 |
| 22 | Kannapolis | $690 |
| 23 | Concord | $690 |
| 24 | Salisbury | $684 |
| 25 | Asheville | $661 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||
Prices are estimated as the garaging address in Durham can raise or lower rates considerably.
Discounts on Durham car insurance rates
Car insurance companies that provide coverage for drivers with accidents may also give you rate discounts that could lower prices by as much as 35% if you qualify for them. A few of the larger companies and some of their more popular discounts are outlined below.
- GEICO may have discounts that include seat belt use, anti-lock brakes, daytime running lights, good student, emergency military deployment, and air bags.
- MetLife offers discounts including good student, multi-policy, accident-free, claim-free, and defensive driver.
- Progressive offers discounts for continuous coverage, online quote discount, homeowner, multi-policy, and good student.
- Travelers may include discounts for multi-car, hybrid/electric vehicle, IntelliDrive, new car, and payment discounts.
- SAFECO policyholders can earn discounts including accident prevention training, bundle discounts, safe driver, teen safe driver, and homeowner.
- AAA offers premium reductions for multi-policy, good driver, pay-in-full, education and occupation, multi-car, AAA membership discount, and anti-theft.
The information below shows the comparison of insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the policy rates. The data is based on a male driver, no traffic citations and one accident, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $500 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with vehicle safety, multiple policy, homeowner, multiple vehicle, paid-in-full, and marriage discounts applied. When taking advantage of discounts, theaverage amount saved on insurance for drivers with accidents is 28% or $588.
Finding the top insurer is hard considering how many companies sell insurance in North Carolina. The information below could help you pick which insurers to look at shopping prices with. These rankings only include companies that write coverage in many states, so smaller companies are not taken into consideration for this list.
Top 10 Major Car Insurance Companies in Durham Ranked by A.M. Best Rating
- Travelers – A++
- USAA – A++
- GEICO – A++
- State Farm – A++
- Titan Insurance – A+
- Esurance – A+
- Progressive – A+
- Nationwide – A+
- The Hartford – A+
- Allstate – A+
Top 10 Major Car Insurance Companies in Durham Ranked by Customer Satisfaction
- USAA – 91%
- AAA Insurance – 90%
- Esurance – 90%
- Nationwide – 89%
- Travelers – 88%
- Progressive – 88%
- Safeco Insurance – 88%
- State Farm – 88%
- Allstate – 88%
- The Hartford – 87%
Why you should shop around
Durham insurance rates are based on many factors that will increase or decrease the policy price. Getting older, getting married, or getting a driving violation may cause policy rate changes that can cause some rates to be cheaper than before.
Not only may your situation change, but car insurance companies amend pricing at least once a year as an adjustment for underwriting gains or losses. Heavy losses can result in higher priced premiums, while long-term profits can produce cheaper Durham car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the chart below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Durham, NC for a 30-year-old male driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and solid credit. If we look at prices based on his personal profile, Utica National may have the best car insurance rates in Durham at $744 per year. This is $128 less than the average premium paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, Penn National, and GEICO round out the rest of the top five cheapest Durham, NC auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first chart a chargeable claim, bad credit, and a blemish on his driving record. Because every insurance company has their own unique process to determine rates, analyzing rate quotes may now present a different list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Durham as shown below.
State Farm now has the best auto insurance rate in Durham, NC with Titan, Auto-Owners, Allied, and Travelers now rounding out the top five. This example proves why it is critical to shop around with many companies when trying to get affordable auto insurance rates for drivers with accidents. Insurance prices are determined by many things and can change substantially, so the best option three years ago may now be an over-priced policy.