How to get cheap car insurance

Allow us to off load some heaviness from your research and decision-making process as we provide details on short- and long-term ways you can get cheaper car insurance. We also share additional services and benefits available to you from Dairyland®—because “cheap” doesn’t need to mean lesser value. Let’s get started!

Review cheap car insurance coverages

What’s your first step to get cheap car insurance? Review all your auto insurance coverage options. This helps you find the coverages you want at the prices you want to pay—and helps inform you about car insurance requirements.

Required car insurance coverages

To help ensure your safety and protection on the road, every state in the country [except for New Hampshire] has a minimum limit requirement for insurance coverages. Here’s a list of the most commonly required:

Bodily injury liability: This coverage helps pay for bodily injury to another person if you cause an accident.
Property damage liability: If you cause an accident, this coverage helps with costs associated with damage to another person’s property.
Uninsured/underinsured motorist protection: If you’re hurt in an accident caused by a driver who doesn’t have insurance or enough insurance, this coverage can help with the cost of your injuries. Different than the required liability coverage, insurance companies are often required to offer you uninsured/underinsured coverage, but in many states, you have an option to reject it.

Be sure to look up your state’s minimum liability limits to understand the specific insurance requirements in your state. This coverage not only helps protect you if you’re in an accident, you’ll also avoid fines for driving without insurance.

Optional, affordable auto insurance

Although driving with your state’s minimum liability limits helps provide you with protection and keeps you legal, we recommend looking at additional, low-cost insurance options to help maximize your protection.

Here are some of the options Dairyland offers:

Collision: This coverage helps with costs for damages to your car after it hits another car, regardless of who’s at fault.
Comprehensive: If your car is impacted or damaged due to theft, severe weather, vandalism, or falling objects, this coverage is designed to help with those costs.
Special equipment: Pays for damage to special equipment you may have installed on your car. Some restrictions can apply.

How does liability insurance coverage work?

Your auto liability insurance policy is made up of three distinct elements. If your state requires you to hold 25/50/15 (or $25,000/$50,000/$15,000) for auto liability insurance, that means:

$25,000: The maximum bodily injury liability amount your insurance will pay per person injured in an accident
$50,000: The maximum total amount your insurance will pay for bodily injury per accident
$15,000: The total maximum amount your insurance will pay for property damage per accident

How much is liability insurance?

If you opt to carry only your state’s minimum requirement of liability insurance and no other types of coverage, your monthly payment can be fairly low. However, your insurance costs will always depend on a variety of factors including your driving history, where you live, and your age.

What doesn’t liability car insurance cover?

Auto liability coverage is wide-ranging, but it doesn’t cover everything. Notably, it doesn’t cover items and scenarios like:

Expenses for your own bodily injuries or property damage in an accident you cause
Theft
Damage or injuries from hitting an animal
Hail damage
Towing costs
Windshield replacement

Don’t worry—you can purchase other car insurance coverages to help protect against risks not covered by your liability car insurance.

How does liability car insurance protect me?

If you’re determined to be at fault in an accident, your standard liability auto insurance covers the costs of injuries to other drivers and pedestrians, along with property damage.

But what if you’re in an accident, you aren’t at fault, and the other driver doesn’t have the necessary insurance? That’s where underinsured or uninsured motorist coverage comes in. This is separate from your standard auto liability insurance, but is also required in many states.

What is liability-only auto insurance?

Liability-only insurance refers to the lowest or most basic amount of required coverage you can legally hold for your vehicle. Having a liability-only policy means you’ve opted out of holding any additional coverage—like personal injury or physical damage—and only carry the state-required minimum.

Does liability insurance cover rental cars?

Typically, if you cause an accident while driving your rental car, your liability insurance will apply to that vehicle. To make sure, review your insurance policy or give us a call at 800-334-0090.

Carrying liability car insurance—even the minimum required amount—not only helps keep you legal on the road, it can also help protect you from potentially life-altering costs associated with an accident. When the unexpected happens, it’s reassuring knowing you’re covered.

What factors into my car insurance rate?

One thing that does impact insurance policy rates for all insureds, but particularly at younger ages, is whether an insurance score is factored into the cost. Some insurance companies, like Dairyland®, won’t pull an insurance score for teenage drivers.

A 25-year-old who has done some work to establish and improve his or her credit score—which ultimately relates to their insurance score—may reap rewards as it relates to his or her car insurance premiums.

Other factors that may impact insurance rates of young drivers include the year, make, and model of the vehicle; driving habits (like the number of miles driven each year); the garaging location of the car; safe driving record; deductible; and how the vehicle’s used.

Young drivers who are homeowners or are married may qualify for car insurance discounts, providing additional savings.

Of course, there are also things that will increase rates. If your driving history has traffic violations or accidents, if you’re living in a more populated area, you had your credit score drop, or you added drivers, you may see higher premiums that have you paying more for collision coverage.

So, remember, your 25th birthday isn’t the end-all determining factor when it comes to insurance premiums. This myth is debunked.