Best Cheap Car Insurance For Veterans And Military Families

While USAA stands out as a military car insurance company because of its membership requirements, military members and veterans can find great rates from a number of good companies, even without a military discount.

The best way to figure out the cheapest car insurance company for you is to compare car insurance quotes from multiple insurers. Then decide if USAA’s other benefits outweigh any price difference.

USAA car insurance is only available to current and former military members and their eligible family members, which can include:

• Children and stepchildren
• Spouses
• Widows
• Former spouses who haven’t remarried (if the member joined USAA before or during the marriage)

Current USAA members can also extend membership eligibility to their qualified family members. If you qualified to become a USAA member because a parent was in the military, for example, you can extend membership eligibility to your spouse and child.

USAA has the cheapest average car insurance rates for good drivers when compared to top competitors, based on the companies in our analysis.

Company	Average monthly car insurance cost for good drivers
USAA	$118
Auto-Owners	$136
Geico	$143
Westfield	$147
Travelers	$154

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Factors that impact the cost of auto insurance

How much you pay for car insurance will vary depending on several factors, which typically include:

• Your age
• Your driving record
• Where you live
• Your vehicle model
• Your car insurance history
• The car insurance coverage selections you make
• The deductible amount (if you buy collision and comprehensive insurance)
• Your credit-based insurance score (except in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan)

You may find cheaper car insurance at one of USAA’s competitors.

Most insurers do not offer a special military car insurance discount, but they may still have great rates. Even in cases where companies advertised a military discount on their websites, we did not see any significant savings in our analysis.

Only two states mandate that all car insurance companies in their states provide a military discount:

• In Louisiana, auto insurance companies must give a 25% discount on any auto liability policy to active military personnel based in the state.
• In Montana, a discount must be given to members of the Montana national guard who have taken a defensive driving course. The discount lasts for three years but the law doesn’t specify a discount percentage.

The following steps can help you get your car insurance in order before deployment.

1. Don’t cancel your car insurance policy if you’re being deployed. That could result in a “lapse of coverage” which could make it difficult for you to secure car insurance again.
2. Call your insurance company instead and ask if you can suspend your policy. You can typically suspend some or all of your car insurance coverage if you won’t be driving for an extended period of time—depending on where you live.
3. Check your state’s DMV website to see if you have to fill out an “affidavit of non-use.” This document lets your state know that your vehicle won’t be driven for an extended period of time.
4. Check to see if you qualify for any deployment discounts. Some car insurance companies like USAA and Geico offer discounts for storing your vehicle on-base or being deployed to an emergency zone.

To reinstate your car insurance after returning from deployment:

1. Contact your insurance company. Ask to reinstate your coverage. Make sure you have your car insurance policy number on hand. If too much time has passed since suspending your car insurance, you may need to apply for a new policy.
2. Contact your state’s DMV. Check that your vehicle’s registration is still valid and submit any required paperwork with your updated insurance information.
3. Don’t drive until your information is updated. If you drive without valid registration and insurance, you could be subject to fines.

To find the best military car insurance for veterans, these steps may help.

1. Think about what you want in an insurance company. When deciding on the best car insurance for you, are you looking for the lowest price? Are you looking for the best customer service? Reading car insurance reviews can help narrow down your options.
2. Consider military-specific concerns. Do you want a company that understands your unique considerations as current or retired military personnel? If so, look into USAA, a company that only offers auto insurance only to military members, veterans and their family members. It offers specific offerings that may be useful to military personnel such as coverage for cars left on base.
3. Decide how much coverage you want. Buying more coverage offers greater peace of mind but comes at a higher upfront cost. To determine how much car insurance you need, ask yourself if you’re comfortable with the minimum car insurance required in your state. If you can afford it, you’ll get better protection with full coverage car insurance that bundles liability, collision and comprehensive insurance. You can purchase varying levels of these coverage types—and you can also purchase add-on coverage options, such as gap coverage, roadside assistance and uninsured motorist coverage.
4. Get quotes from multiple insurance companies. Compare car insurance quotes from a handful of different companies.

To identify the best car insurance companies for military members and veterans we evaluated companies based on the following.

Auto insurance rates (50% of score): We used data from Quadrant Information Services to find average rates from each company for good drivers with a military discount, when available. Not all insurers offer a military discount.

Rates are based on a 40-year-old female driver insuring a Toyota RAV4 and coverage of:

• $100,000 for injuries to one person, $300,000 for injuries per accident and $100,000 of property damage (known as 100/300/100).
• Uninsured motorist coverage of 100/300.
• Collision and comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductible.

Coverage features available (25% of score): In this category we awarded points for companies that offer accident forgiveness, new car replacement, vanishing deductibles, usage-based or pay-per-mile insurance, and SR-22s.

Complaints (20% of score): We gave points based on each company’s complaint ratio for auto insurance, which reflects the upheld complaints for each company in relation to its size of business. Data is from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

Collision repair (5% of score): We gave points based on the grades of insurance companies from collision repair professionals. We used data provided by CRASH Network, a weekly newsletter covering the collision repair and auto insurance market segments. CRASH Network’s Insurer Report Card uses insurer grades from more than 1,100 collision repair professionals.

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