Cheapest Liability-Only Car Insurance (2025)
State Farm has the cheapest liability-only car insurance for most drivers, at around $55 per month.
Find Cheap Liability-Only Car Insurance in Your Area
Liability insurance costs an average $69 per month nationwide. But you can find cheap liability insurance for around $43 per month or less.
Liability-only insurance is the cheapest coverage you can get. It must include at least the minimum coverage required by your state. It won't cover damage to your own car after a crash.
Cheap liability car insurance quotes
How we chose the top companies
Who has the cheapest liability-only car insurance?
At $55 per month, State Farm has the cheapest liability-only car insurance among national insurance companies.
State Farm's quotes are $15 per month cheaper than the national average rate of $69 per month. Erie and Auto-Owners are regional companies with even cheaper liability rates, at less than $54 per month.
Find Cheap Liability-Only Car Insurance in Your Area
USAA is the cheapest company for liability-only coverage, at just $36 per month. However, only current or former military members and their families can get car insurance from USAA.
Local car insurance companies are sometimes cheaper than national brands. Some major names like Allstate and Farmers can be quite expensive.
Cheapest liability-only car insurance rates
Company | Monthly rate | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie | $43 | |
| Auto-Owners | $53 | |
| Farm Bureau Insurance | $53 | |
| State Farm | $55 | |
| COUNTRY Financial | $57 | |
*USAA is only available to current and former military members and their families.
How to find the best cheap liability auto insurance
The best way to find affordable liability-only car insurance is to compare liability quotes from multiple insurance companies.
The cheapest liability insurance for you may be different because of things like your accident history, credit score and location.
And make sure you compare quotes with the same level of coverage. The cheapest insurance companies for liability-only coverage don't always have the cheapest full coverage policies.
What's the cheapest liability-only car insurance near me?
The average cost of liability-only auto insurance changes by state.
This is because each state has its own insurance requirements. And there are different things that can damage your car, such as hurricanes or more crime, depending on the state where you live.
Wyoming has the cheapest rate for minimum coverage, at $31 per month on average. Michigan is the most expensive, with an average rate of $133 per month.
Cheap liability car insurance rates
State | Avg. Rate | Cheapest company |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $76 | State Farm |
| Alaska | $45 | Geico |
| Arizona | $91 | State Farm |
| Arkansas | $60 | State Farm |
| California | $58 | Geico |
How much cheaper is liability-only coverage?
Liability car insurance costs an average of 61% less than full coverage.
The main reason that liability-only car insurance is much cheaper than full coverage insurance is because it doesn't include collision and comprehensive coverage. These protect your car against damage, no matter whose fault it is.
If you have a liability-only policy, your insurance company won't pay to fix your car after a crash.
Find Cheap Liability-Only Car Insurance in Your Area
Monthly cost of liability-only vs. full coverage car insurance
Liability only | Full coverage | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Erie | $43 | $115 | $72 |
| Auto-Owners | $53 | $145 | $92 |
| Farm Bureau Insurance | $53 | $159 | $106 |
| State Farm | $55 | $134 | $79 |
| COUNTRY Financial | $57 | $125 | $68 |
*USAA is only available to military members, veterans and their families
Why is liability-only car insurance so much cheaper?
Full coverage is typically more expensive than a liability-only policy because it offers much more protection for you and your car.
A full coverage policy includes liability plus comprehensive and collision coverages, plus it usually has higher coverage limits. This gives you better coverage after an accident.
Full coverage insurance generally includes:
- More liability protection than required by your state
- Collision and comprehensive coverage
- Any other coverages required by law, such as personal injury protection (PIP)
Comprehensive and collision coverage pay for damage to your car if:
- You cause an accident
- Weather, like hail or flooding, damages your car
- You hit a deer or another animal
- Someone steals or vandalizes your car
- You're the victim of a hit-and-run (except when your state requires uninsured motorist coverage)
In comparison, liability-only insurance doesn't pay for damage to your car. You'll only be reimbursed for repairs if another driver damages your car.
Dropping collision and comprehensive coverage helps you save on car insurance. However, you'll spend much more for repairs after an accident because you'll have to pay to fix your car yourself.
Is cheap liability-only car insurance worth it?
Liability-only coverage is usually a good idea if your car is worth less than $5,000 or is more than eight years old.
With an older car, collision and comprehensive coverage may cost more in the long run than your car is worth. That's because the most that the insurance company will pay after a crash is your car's actual cash value (ACV).
Example
- For a new car that's worth $20,000, the insurance company will pay you a maximum of $20,000 after an accident. This makes it worth it to have full coverage because of the high possible insurance payout.
- For an older car that's worth $5,000, you could be paying more than $1,000 per year just for comprehensive and collision coverage. But you'd only get up to $5,000 if your car is totaled in an accident. In a few years without a car accident, you would have paid more for insurance than the value of your car.
When to drop comprehensive and collision coverage
You should drop full coverage when you can reasonably afford to replace your vehicle after an accident.
Full coverage insurance becomes a worse deal the longer you have your vehicle, or the older the vehicle is.
If you have an older or less expensive car, it's a better deal to drop full coverage and pay for your own car repairs or replace your car after an accident. However, those without a savings cushion may want to pay for full coverage. It can help you avoid unexpected bills after an accident.
When to get liability-only coverage
- Your car is older or not valuable.
- You don't have a daily commute.
- You don't often drive at night.
- You are older than 25.
- You have enough savings to replace your car.
- You park your car indoors at night.
- You don't have a car loan or lease.
Even if you don't need to add comprehensive and collision to your policy, you should still consider getting higher liability limits than your state requires.
The amount of liability insurance required by law often isn't enough to cover the cost of a serious accident. Raising your liability limits typically doesn't cost very much. And it could save you a lot of money if you cause a major accident.
What is liability-only car insurance?
Liability-only car insurance pays for other people's medical care and car repairs after an accident you cause. The most basic liability-only coverage you can buy is the minimum amount of car insurance you need to legally drive your car. But you can also get higher limits with a liability-only policy.
In most states, liability-only car insurance includes:
- Bodily injury liability: Pays for the medical bills of anyone injured in an accident you cause.
- Property damage liability: Pays for damage to other cars and property caused by an accident that's your fault.
You can get more liability insurance coverage without comprehensive and collision coverage. It doesn't cost much to raise your liability limits.
In 22 states, you only need your liability insurance to meet minimum coverage requirements. Elsewhere, drivers must also buy one of the following — or both — in order to meet the minimum insurance requirements:
- Personal injury protection or medical payments: Covers medical bills for you and your passengers after a crash, no matter who is at fault.
- Uninsured motorist coverage: Pays for your injuries or damage to your car if you're in an accident caused by a driver who doesn't have insurance.
What's not included with liability-only car insurance?
Liability-only coverage doesn't include collision and comprehensive coverage. Besides liability, these two coverages generally make up the largest portion of a full coverage car insurance bill.
- Collision coverage pays for damage to your car if you cause a crash or no one is at fault.
- Comprehensive coverage pays for damage caused by elements out of your control, such as weather, animals, theft or vandalism.
Some car insurance companies won't let you add other types of coverage, like roadside assistance, without full coverage.
Frequently asked questions
How much is liability insurance?
Liability-only car insurance costs $69 per month, on average. However, rates vary depending on where you live, your driving history and your insurance company.
What is the cheapest liability-only car insurance company?
State Farm is the cheapest widely available liability-only car insurance company, at $55 per month. Smaller regional companies, like Erie and Auto-Owners, tend to have cheaper rates. USAA is also an excellent option for liability-only insurance, but is not available to all drivers.
What is liability car insurance?
Liability car insurance pays for property damage or injuries to others when you cause an accident. Nearly every state requires liability insurance.
Methodology
To find the cheapest car liability insurance, ValuePenguin gathered rates across ZIP codes in all 50 states. Rates are included for all the insurance companies that offer policies in at least five states.
Rates are for a 30-year-old driver who drives a 2015 Honda Civic EX. He has good credit and a clean driving history.
To compare full coverage versus liability-only insurance rates, ValuePenguin collected quotes from 40 insurance companies across the U.S.
Full coverage rates include liability limits above state minimum levels. They also include uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury, comprehensive and collision coverage.
- Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person; $100,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $25,000 per accident
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage: $50,000 per person; $100,000 per accident
- Personal injury protection: Minimum required by state
- Comprehensive and collision coverage: $500 deductible
ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurance company filings and should be used for comparative purposes only. Your own quotes may be different.
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.