The words “low-cost” and “insurance” really shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, especially when shopping around for the cheapest coverage for homeowners. In an attempt to save some money, let’s learn about some situations that impact car insurance prices, and find out if you can slash the price of your next policy.
Finding out which companies offer the most affordable car insurance rates for homeowners will involve a bit more effort in order to find the best policy. Each auto insurance company has their own unique process for filing rates in each state, so to begin we’ll rank the car insurance companies with the overall best prices in North Carolina.
It’s important that readers know that Durham car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that control the price you have to pay. Improving your credit rating, marrying your spouse, or having an accident can trigger rate changes that may make certain companies much cheaper than others.
Find the Best Cheap Insurance for Homeowners
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $636 |
| 2 | Progressive | $658 |
| 3 | Penn National | $725 |
| 4 | Liberty Mutual | $728 |
| 5 | NC Farm Bureau | $730 |
| 6 | Titan | $737 |
| 7 | GEICO | $742 |
| 8 | State Farm | $756 |
| 9 | Auto-Owners | $878 |
| 10 | National General | $881 |
| 11 | Allied | $928 |
| 12 | Erie | $931 |
| 13 | Travelers | $936 |
| 14 | Peerless | $992 |
| 15 | MetLife | $1,007 |
| 16 | Safeco | $1,034 |
| 17 | Nationwide | $1,041 |
| 18 | Unitrin | $1,042 |
| 19 | Allstate | $1,054 |
| 20 | Encompass | $1,063 |
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Utica National offers some of the best car insurance rates in Durham at around $636 a year. Progressive, Penn National, Liberty Mutual, and NC Farm Bureau are also some of the best Durham, NC auto insurance companies.
As illustrated above, if you are a customer of Liberty Mutual and switched to Utica National, you could see annual savings of approximately $92. Insureds with NC Farm Bureau could save as much as $94 a year, and Titan customers might reduce rates by $101 a year.
To get a fast rate comparison, click here to start your custom quote or click through to the companies below.
Be aware that those premiums are averages across all drivers and vehicles and do not factor in a specific vehicle garaging location for homeowners. So the auto insurance company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the top 20 companies shown above. That is why you need to get quotes using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
For people who own their homes, one of the largest criteria that are looked at to determine car insurance rates is where you keep your car in Durham. Areas with more people or higher crime rates tend to have more expensive car insurance rates, whereas areas that tend to be more rural tend to receive cheaper rates.
The information below lists the highest-priced areas in North Carolina for homeowners to purchase a policy in. Durham ranks #5 with a yearly cost of $789 for the average policy, which is approximately $66 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fayetteville | $932 |
| 2 | Jacksonville | $873 |
| 3 | Charlotte | $808 |
| 4 | Gastonia | $803 |
| 5 | Durham | $789 |
| 6 | Wilmington | $781 |
| 7 | Raleigh | $767 |
| 8 | Goldsboro | $765 |
| 9 | Huntersville | $756 |
| 10 | Greensboro | $756 |
| 11 | Greenville | $752 |
| 12 | Cary | $749 |
| 13 | Rocky Mount | $748 |
| 14 | Hickory | $732 |
| 15 | Wilson | $732 |
| 16 | High Point | $731 |
| 17 | Indian Trail | $731 |
| 18 | Apex | $725 |
| 19 | Winston Salem | $709 |
| 20 | Salisbury | $705 |
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Rate information is comparative as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can modify rates considerably.
The make and model of vehicle that is being insured is a significant factor that determines the availability of cheap car insurance for homeowners. Vehicles with lower performance, good safety features, or low incidents of liability claims will cost significantly less to insure than high performance models.
The list below showcases auto insurance prices for a number of the most budget-friendly automobiles to buy insurance for.
| Insured Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $1,216 |
| Ford Fusion S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,285 |
| Ford F-150 XL Regular Cab 2WD | $1,292 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Off-Road Package 4WD | $1,311 |
| Ford Escape XLT 2WD | $1,332 |
| Honda CR-V LX 2WD | $1,339 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,351 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,375 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $1,396 |
| Honda Civic EX-L 4-Dr Sedan | $1,417 |
| Ford Focus SES 2-Dr Coupe | $1,446 |
| Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab Hybrid 4WD | $1,467 |
| Hyundai Sonata Limited 4-Dr Sedan | $1,472 |
| Kia Optima EX | $1,481 |
| Honda Accord EX-L 2-Dr Coupe | $1,472 |
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Data variables include single female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, claim-free, safe-driver, and multi-vehicle. Table data does not factor in specific location information which can increase or decrease coverage rates substantially.
Based upon the table data, you can figure that models like the Jeep Wrangler, Ford Fusion, Ford F-150, and Toyota Tacoma are most likely going to be the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for people who own their homes.
How violations and accidents impact rates
The obvious way to find affordable car insurance premiums in Durham for people who own their homes is to drive carefully and have a clean driving record. The illustration below demonstrates how traffic citations and fender-benders can raise car insurance costs for each different age group. The rates are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $100 deductibles, and no additional discounts are factored in.
In the example above, the average cost of a car insurance policy per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,227. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost swells to $1,694, an increase of $467 each year. Now throw in one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the annual cost of car insurance for homeowners jumps again to an average of $2,162. That’s an increase of $935, or $78 per month, just for not driving responsibly!
The example below illustrates how choosing a deductible can raise or lower insurance premiums when researching cheap insurance for homeowners. The premiums assume a married male driver, comp and collision included, and no other discounts are factored in.
The chart above illustrates that a 40-year-old driver could cut expenses by $234 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $352 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, such as the 20-year-old chart data, could potentially save up to $788 or more by choosing a larger deductible amount.
When increasing deductibles, it is necessary to have enough spare savings to offset the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.
Why you should be shopping around
Durham, NC car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can substantially change the price you have to pay for coverage. Simply getting older, having a teen driver, or getting a ticket for careless driving may generate price changes that can make some companies cheaper than before.
In addition, companies file new North Carolina car insurance rates at least once a year in order to be able to pay unexpected claims. Larger than normal claims can cause high rates, while a better claims history can result in lower-cost Durham car insurance rates.
For instance, the chart below shows rates for the cheapest car insurance in Durham, NC for a 30-year-old male driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and a good credit rating. If we look at prices based on his current situation, Utica National quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in Durham at $752 a year. This is $120 less than the average price paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Progressive, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and Penn National are also included in the top five cheapest Durham, NC auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from above an accident surcharge, poor credit, and a traffic ticket or two. Because each company has their own formula to determining premium rates, analyzing rates may now show a completely different list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Durham as shown below.
State Farm now has the cheapest price in Durham, NC with Titan, Auto-Owners, National General, and Allied also having competitive pricing. This example demonstrates why it is critical to perform an extensive rate comparison to get cheap insurance rates for homeowners. Insurance rates are influenced by many different factors and can change without notice, so the cheapest company a year ago may now not even be in the top five.