Best Car Insurance in Alabama

Whether you’re headed to Gulf Shores for spring break, making your way to Tuscaloosa to cheer on the Crimson Tide, or taking a trip to visit the historic sites in Montgomery, all drivers in The Heart of Dixie must maintain the minimum amount of auto insurance coverage required in the state. Finding the best Alabama auto insurance policy for your needs may require a bit of searching, but we have you covered.

The search for an excellent policy can be daunting at first since the insurance marketplace is chock-full of great rates and coverages, but we’ll break it down into steps so you know exactly how and where to look when you’re ready to bind a policy. Keep reading to find out how you can come out on top when it comes to finding the right insurer, price, and coverage in The Heart of Dixie. 

Finding the right car insurance in Alabama for your needs will come down to a compromise between price, coverage, and insurer. Policies are subjective to each driver, as everyone has different values when it comes to insurance. Typically, the first step to finding the right policy for you is deciding what you value more: cost or coverage. 

Drivers who value coverage over cost will likely want a full coverage policy rather than a minimum one from an insurer that offers a vast array of coverage options. Those who value cost over coverage will likely want a minimum coverage policy from an insurer with low base rates and plenty of opportunities for coverage. 

However, drivers who value cost and coverage equally don’t have to choose one to get a great policy. Those who want excellent coverage at a low cost may find the cheapest full coverage policy in the state through an insurer that offers low base rates and various discounts on top of a wide selection of optional coverages.

It’s crucial for Alabamans to always maintain at least the minimum legal amount of coverage. Car insurance laws in The Heart of Dixie state all drivers must have at least $25,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage liability coverage per accident. 

Those who lease or finance their vehicles may also be legally required to carry comprehensive and collision coverages as a stipulation on their contracts. Driving without insurance in the Heart of Dixie is illegal, so those who fail to maintain adequate coverage will be subject to legal punishments. 

When analyzing Alabama auto insurance companies, finding the insurer that best suits your needs may take some extra effort. The best way to narrow your search is to decide whether you value cost or coverage more or value them equally. From there, you can gather quotes from several insurers to discover what company most aligns with your policy values.

Policies will often vary from person to person, as a policy is subjective to the driver it covers. Just as policies are personal, premiums are too. Insurers use several factors to assess a diver’s risk level, translating into premium costs. Insurers use driving and non-driving factors to calculate a driver’s risk level, but driving factors typically carry more weight in premium determination.  

Some non-driving factors insurers often use to determine premiums are a driver’s gender, age, and ZIP code, among other factors that may affect your rates. Insurers use statistics associated with drivers in these categories to calculate risk. For example, drivers from densely populated ZIP codes, like those in Birmingham, are likelier to get into accidents and file claims than those from less populated ZIP codes. Hence, drivers in bigger cities end up paying higher premiums even if they have clean driving records. 

However, insurers typically weigh a driver’s driving factors more heavily than non-driving ones. Some driving factors insurers may use to determine one’s premiums are one’s driving record, insurance record, or history of filing claims. Those considered high-risk drivers, or those with poor driving or insurance records, will almost always pay higher premiums than those with a clean record. This especially applies to those who have an active or recent SR-22 form on file.

If the factors that insurers use to determine your rates work against you, hope for the cheapest policy in the state isn’t completely lost. Many insurers offer lower-than-average base rates and plenty of opportunities for discounts to help you lower your premiums while still maintaining an excellent policy. 

Plenty of car insurance companies in Alabama offer competitive rates for full coverage policies. The average premium for a full coverage policy in the Heart of Dixie is about $1,670 annually, precisely on par with the national average. While focusing on getting the coverage you need is essential to choosing the best policy, getting a policy at a lower-than-average rate is an added bonus. 

Let’s check out some of the top insurers in the Heart of Dixie that offer low base rates, several optional coverages, and plenty of opportunities for stackable discounts. 

Our partner, Progressive, is one of the top insurers in the Heart of Dixie because they offer competitive rates for drivers of all different age groups and risk levels. In Alabama, the average full coverage policy from Progressive costs about $1,840 annually, or about 10% higher than the state average. While the average premium is slightly higher than the state average, Progressive offers plenty of opportunities for stackable discounts to lower your premiums.

Progressive offers criteria-based and enrollment-based discounts, with savings that can add up fast. They have a discount for young drivers who earn good grades in school, one for drivers who have multiple cars insured on one policy, and a pay-per-mile program for those who drive less than the national average of 12,000 miles per year., among several other ways to save.

Geico is another insurer in the Heart of Dixie that offers competitive base rates and a wide range of optional coverages to suit any driver’s needs. The average full coverage policy for Alabamans with Geico is about $1,450 annually, or about 15% below the state average. While the low base rates are certainly a selling point, Geico also offers a plethora of optional coverages so drivers can tailor their policies to their unique needs. Plus, Geico offers many stackable discounts that can reduce one’s premiums even further, like a discount for having anti-theft or other safety devices on your vehicle or for bundling home and auto insurance. 

Many drivers in Alabama have policies with State Farm because they offer exceptional coverage at a lower-than-average base rate. On average, a full coverage policy with State Farm in Alabama costs about $1,400 annually, which is nearly 20% lower than the state average. State Farm offers a variety of discounts for those who wish to further reduce their premiums, like a usage-based discount for those who opt to use a telematics device to track their driving habits. 

Our partner Travelers is another top insurer among Alabamans. Travelers offers a variety of optional coverage options for those who want to tailor their policies to their individual needs and highly competitive base rates. The average full coverage policy with Travelers in Alabama costs about $1,280 annually, or about 25% less than the state average. If the low base rates and wide selection of coverage aren’t reason enough to bind with Travelers, they also offer a range of stackable discounts to further reduce your premiums. 

Nationwide takes the cake as one of the top insurers in the Heart of Dixie based on their low base rates, opportunities for additional coverage, and range of stackable discounts. A full coverage policy with Nationwide costs about $1,230 annually, or about 27% less than the state average. Nationwide offers low base rates for drivers of all different backgrounds and risk levels, plus plenty of opportunities to obtain and stack discounts to reduce premiums even further. 

The best way to find the insurance company in Alabama that offers the best liability coverage is to get and compare quotes from several insurers. It’s essential to know what you value in a policy before gathering quotes so you can make the most informed decisions during your search. If you value cost over coverage, you’ll probably want to search for a liability-only policy. If you value coverage over cost, you may want to search for a full coverage policy instead of a liability-only one. 

While maintaining a liability-only policy is perfectly legal and the most significant way to reduce premiums, it may not be the safest. In many cases, paying the initial cost of a premium on a full coverage policy is more cost-effective than cashing in on the short-term savings of a liability-only policy and risking financial ruin in the worst-case accident scenario.

Nationwide has the best car insurance rates in Alabama, with the average full coverage premium costing about $1,230 annually. However, any liability-only policy will be significantly less expensive than the average cost of a full coverage one, often costing half as much. 

Finding great policies from Alabama insurance companies isn’t too hard; it’s narrowing the search to the best policy for your needs that may take some effort. However, some stand-out insurers make it easier to make an informed decision on your policy. 

If you’re reading to bind a policy, getting and comparing quotes from several insurers online is the best way to start your search for that perfect fit. Luckily for you, you’re in the right place for quotes. Here at Clovered, we have a free quoting tool you can use to get and compare quotes from several insurers in minutes.

If you prefer to speak to an agent about your quote or need help on your journey to find the best insurer, contact one of our licensed agents at 833-255-4117 or at [email protected].