Find The Best and Cheapest Car Insurance in Your 30s
Find Cheap 30-Year-Old Auto Insurance Quotes
For a liability-only policy, the average cost of car insurance for a 30-year-old is $937 per year, or about $78 per month. The average cost of car insurance for a full-coverage policy — which has higher liability limits and comprehensive and collision insurance — is $2,390 per year for 30-year-old drivers.
USAA offers the cheapest liability and full-coverage policies for drivers in their 30s based on our analysis of thousands of rates across nine of the most populous states. To insure you get the best rate, you should compare car insurance quotes from different insurers, as rates for 30-year-olds can vary by $1,039 per year.
How much is car insurance for a 30-year-old?
Although the average cost of car insurance is $937 per year for minimum coverage, the rates charged by insurers can vary greatly. We found the cheapest insurance company for a minimum-coverage policy for a 30-year-old was offered by USAA for $430 per year.
Find Cheap 30-Year-Old Auto Insurance Quotes
While USAA is the cheapest insurer, their policies are only available to current and former military members and their families. The second-cheapest option is Erie Insurance, which is only available in 13 states. The third-cheapest option is Auto-Owners insurance, which is available in 26 states.
At a rate of $712 per year, State Farm is the cheapest insurance company for a 30-year-old that is available in all 50 states.
Average annual car insurance costs for a 30-year-old
Insurer | Average cost per year | |
|---|---|---|
| USAA | $430 |
| Erie | $451 |
| Auto-Owners Insurance Co. | $649 |
| State Farm | $712 |
| American Family | $811 |
| Geico | $819 |
| Progressive | $924 |
| Nationwide | $1,004 |
| Allstate | $1,390 |
| Farmers | $1,469 |
Average car insurance rates by age
The average cost of car insurance for a 30-year-old depends on the policy you buy. We've provided the nationwide average cost based on the following two policies:
A minimum-coverage policy costs an average of $937 per year for a 30-year-old. This type of policy only includes the mandated level of car insurance, which differs in each state.
A full-coverage policy costs an average of $2,390 per year for a 30-year-old. This policy includes extra liability coverage and collision and comprehensive insurance.
After you turn 30, the effect of age on car insurance tends to flatten. Whereas a 25-year-old might pay less than half as much for a full-coverage policy than an 18-year-old would, a 30-year-old might only pay around 25% less compared to a 25-year-old. And from your 30s to your 60s, the change in the cost of car insurance is much smaller.
The difference in car insurance rates between 30-year-old male and female drivers is minor. The largest rate differences occur when drivers are young. For example, insurance companies consider men in their teens and 20s to be high-risk drivers and sometimes charge them up to 10% more than their female counterparts.
Experience also has a significant affect on the cost of insurance. The rates for a new driver are four times as expensive on average, indicating how much insurance companies value not just age but also experience.
Company | Experienced driver | New driver | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercury | $508 | $1,512 | $1,004 |
| Progressive | $526 | $1,659 | $1,133 |
| State Farm | $732 | $1,726 | $994 |
| Allstate | $713 | $2,012 | $1,299 |
| CSAA | $438 | $2,213 | $1,775 |
| Geico | $369 | $2,430 | $2,061 |
| Farmers | $741 | $4,184 | $3,443 |
The experienced driver is 30 years old and has been licensed since he was 16. The new driver is 30 years old and recently obtained his license. All other factors affecting rates were held equal.
How to find the cheapest car insurance company for a 30-year-old
To find the cheapest car insurance, we recommend that drivers of any age compare quotes among multiple insurers.
Our recommendations above indicate some of the cheapest companies on average, but different insurers charge different types of drivers in a variety of ways. The cheapest car insurance company for your neighbor could be expensive for you. And it's easier than ever to compare quotes online.
When comparing insurance quotes online, make sure you always select the same amount of coverage. If you aren't using identical (or similar) policies in each quote, you won't be making a fair comparison.
Insurers also offer different discounts, so you should make sure you're incorporating all available discounts into your quote estimate.
For car insurance prices, age matters, but so does experience. If you're 30 and a new driver, you're going to pay much higher rates for a policy than someone who has had their license since age 16.
Your car insurance rates will decrease as you gain more experience, but in the meantime, there are ways to immediately lower your rates.
If you are looking for cheap car insurance, there are a couple more steps you can take to get lower rates:
- Bundle policies: If you have a homeowners or renters insurance policy, you could bundle your car insurance with the same insurer and get big savings. Discounts for a home and auto bundle could be as much as 10%.
- Pay up front: If you pay your entire six-month or annual premium up front, you could get some minor savings on your policy.
- Take advantage of available discounts: Be sure to ask an insurer about all available discounts to see what you could qualify for. For example, almost all insurers offer discounts for completing a defensive driving class.
How to find the best car insurance company for customer service
Most interactions with your insurance company will occur when you make a claim for an incident that has major financial implications. During this time, you'll want a company that's efficient and communicative; in other words, one with good customer service.
We've recommended what we believe to be the top car insurance companies based on customer service and value, a good starting point to get familiar with the best insurers.
If you're looking to analyze insurance company customer service reputations on your own, we recommend you check out the following resources:
- J.D. Power's insurance satisfaction studies. This analytics company surveys policyholders every year on a variety of customer service factors.
- National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) Complaint Index. The Complaint Index shows how often customers complain about a company, adjusted for size.
Methodology
We analyzed insurance quotes from 51 insurance companies in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Our sample driver was a 30-year-old with a minimum-coverage policy. They drove a 2015 Honda Civic EX and had a clean driving record. When we referenced a full-coverage policy, it had the following limits and deductibles:
Coverage type | Study limits |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Property damage | $25,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist bodily injury | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Comprehensive and collision | $500 deductible |
| Personal injury protection (PIP) | Minimum when required by state |
ValuePenguin's analysis collected insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services in order to calculate average rates for 30-year-olds. The rates used were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should only be used for comparative purposes. Your actual quotes may vary from the averages we discussed.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.