Determining which companies quote the cheapest auto insurance rates for a school permit will involve a little more sweat in order to find the best policy. Each insurance company has a unique formula for setting rates, so we’ll go over the auto insurance companies with the overall best prices in Durham.
It’s important that readers know that North Carolina auto insurance rates are based on many factors that will increase or decrease the price you pay for coverage. Simply turning a year older, getting divorced, or having a fender bender can trigger price changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than others.
Cheap Insurance Rates for Students
Utica National may offer some of the lowest car insurance rates in Durham at around $636 each year. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and Penn National also are some of the most economical Durham, NC car insurance companies.
In the rate table above, if you are insured with Liberty Mutual and switched to Utica National, you could see a yearly price reduction of around $71. Drivers with NC Farm Bureau may save as much as $94 a year, and Penn National policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $103 a year.
Understand that those estimates are averaged across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not take into consideration a specific vehicle garaging location for a school permit. So the car insurance company that fits you best may not even be in the top 20 companies shown above. That illustrates why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
One of the more important components that are looked at to determine the cost of insurance is where you live in Durham. Areas with more people or more claims tend to pay slightly more, whereas more rural areas have the benefit of cheaper car insurance.
The next table shows the most expensive cities in North Carolina for a school permit to purchase auto insurance in. Durham comes in at #7 with an annual cost of $765 for the average policy, which is about $64 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $923 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $900 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $840 |
| 4 | Gastonia | $803 |
| 5 | Wilmington | $788 |
| 6 | Cary | $772 |
| 7 | Durham | $765 |
| 8 | Greensboro | $763 |
| 9 | Raleigh | $760 |
| 10 | Goldsboro | $758 |
| 11 | Huntersville | $742 |
| 12 | Hickory | $740 |
| 13 | Greenville | $738 |
| 14 | Wilson | $732 |
| 15 | Indian Trail | $731 |
| 16 | High Point | $731 |
| 17 | Rocky Mount | $726 |
| 18 | Chapel Hill | $724 |
| 19 | Apex | $717 |
| 20 | Kannapolis | $697 |
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Rate information is comparative as the specific Durham residence address can lower or raise premiums considerably.
The make and model of vehicle requiring coverage is probably the largest consideration that determines the availability of cheaper car insurance for a school permit. Vehicles with higher performance characteristics, poor safety features, or an increased likelihood of liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than safer models.
The next list outlines car insurance rates for the most budget-friendly automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $4,034 |
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $4,039 |
| Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $4,034 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $4,316 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,352 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $4,542 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $4,552 |
| Ford F-150 XL Super Cab 4WD | $4,542 |
| Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4WD 2-Dr | $4,549 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $4,750 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $4,787 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $4,793 |
| GMC Sierra SLE Crew Cab 2WD | $4,787 |
| Volkswagen Jetta LE 4-Dr Sedan | $4,794 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $4,787 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $4,823 |
| Toyota Corolla S | $5,034 |
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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 safe-driver, and claim-free. Rates do not factor in zip code location which can affect coverage prices greatly.
Based on these rates, you can expect models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Honda Accord will be some of the cheaper vehicles to insure for a learners permit. The price for car insurance will tend to be more expensive anyway because there is more risk for a school permit, but in general those models will probably have the least expensive rates compared to other vehicles.
Buying coverage from a high-quality car insurance company is hard considering how many companies there are to choose from in Durham. The ranking information in the next section can help you pick which companies you want to consider when comparing rate quotes. These ratings are for major nationwide insurance companies, so companies without a large exposure are not 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 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
The example below demonstrates how choosing different deductibles can raise or lower insurance rates when searching for cheap insurance for a school permit. The costs are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.
The chart above illustrates that a 40-year-old driver could pocket $204 a year by switching from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $306 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the 20-year-old, could reduce their rates as much as $504 each year just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage. If you do raise deductibles, it’s a good idea to have enough funds in savings to offset the extra out-of-pocket expense associated with higher deductibles.
Here’s why you should compare rates often
Durham, NC auto insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the price you pay. Getting older, increasing liability limits, or getting a DUI can produce rate changes that can make some companies affordable when they were higher priced.
Not only may things change on your end, but insurers file new North Carolina auto insurance rates as often as every quarter to adjust for heavy claims or excess profits. An extended period of higher than normal claims may result in additional premium costs, while profitable underwriting may result in lower-priced Durham car insurance rates.
The graph below shows the cheapest car insurance in Durham, NC for a 40-year-old male driver with a good driving record, no prior claims, and excellent credit. When quoting prices based on his personal profile, Utica National may offer the best car insurance rates in Durham at $750 annually. This is $122 less than the average price paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, GEICO, and Penn National are the rest of the cheapest Durham, NC auto insurance companies.
In this next rate comparison, we will give the driver from the first set of rates a claim, less-than-perfect credit, and a few traffic violations. Since each auto insurer uses their own method to determine rates, analyzing rates could now result in a slightly different list of companies as shown below.
NC Farm Bureau now has the cheapest rate in Durham with State Farm, Auto-Owners, Progressive, and Allied completing the list. This example demonstrates why it is important to compare rates to find the most affordable insurance quotes for a school permit.
Insurance rates are determined by many factors and change frequently, so the cheapest option when you bought your policy may now not even be in the top five.