Car Insurance Calculator: Estimate Your Costs

Shopping for a new car or just savvy and want an idea of how much you should pay for auto insurance? You can quickly and easily get an estimate of how much car insurance costs with Forbes Advisor’s car insurance calculator.

Calculate Car Insurance Cost

How to Calculate Your Car Insurance Coverage Needs

Because a car insurance policy can be made up of several components, the best way to calculate how much car insurance you need is to look at each one separately.

How to choose the right amount of liability insurance

Liability car insurance is required in most states and pays for accidental property damage and injuries you cause to others. It also covers the cost of your legal defense and judgments and settlements if you’re sued because of an accident.

Understanding liability insurance limits is critical to choosing the right amount of car insurance. A general rule of thumb is to buy enough liability insurance to cover what could be taken from you in a lawsuit.

Liability limits are written as a group of three numbers, such as 15/30/15, and breaks down to mean:

• 15 = $15,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per person
• 30 = $30,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per accident
• 15 = $15,000 of property damage liability coverage per accident

Buying only your state’s minimum amount of liability car insurance could be a costly mistake because these amounts are usually inadequate if you cause an expensive accident.

Do you need collision and comprehensive insurance?

Collision and comprehensive insurance are often sold together and cover a wide range of problems, like accident damage to your own vehicle, car theft, collisions with animals, floods, fires, hail, vandalism and falling objects (like a tree branch).

State laws don’t require you to carry collision and comprehensive insurance, but if you have a car lease or loan, your leasing company or lender usually requires this coverage.

You don’t need to choose a collision or comprehensive amount—your coverage will be based on the value of your vehicle, or the payout to you if your car is totaled. You only need to choose a deductible. This is the amount subtracted from your payout if you make a collision or comprehensive insurance claim, such as $500.

Even if you own your car outright, it’s worth considering buying collision and comprehensive insurance if you want coverage to replace or repair your car if it’s damaged due to a problem covered by your policy.

Related: When to drop collision and comprehensive insurance

What other car insurance could be required?

Some states, such as California, require only liability insurance. Others, such as  New York, require additional coverage types. Here are other types of car insurance that may be required in your state:

• Uninsured motorist (UM). Mandatory in some states and optional in other states. Uninsured motorist insurance pays for medical expenses of you and your passengers if injured by someone driving without liability insurance. UM limits usually match your liability limits.
• Underinsured motorist (UIM). Similar to uninsured motorist, UIM is required in some states and optional in others. It pays the medical bills of you and your passengers if the at-fault driver has insufficient car insurance to cover injuries they caused. UIM limits typically match your liability limits.
• Personal injury protection insurance (PIP). Required in some states. If you live in a no-fault insurance state, you use your own personal injury protection insurance to pay for medical bills related to a car accident, regardless of fault. PIP also covers other costs such as lost wages and replacement services, such as child care if you cannot do it yourself after the accident.
• Medical payments (MedPay). Required in some states. Medical payments coverage pays medical expenses for injuries to you and your passengers due to an auto accident, regardless of fault.

What Factors Impact Your Car Insurance Estimate?

When you shop around for auto insurance among multiple car insurance companies, the best way to get an accurate quote is to provide detailed information about yourself and other drivers who will be on the policy. Here are the factors that generally affect a car insurance quote.

Your age

Young drivers pose a greater risk for accidents, so those under age 25 see much higher car insurance rates than other age groups.

Auto insurance companies use age as a car insurance pricing factor when setting rates except in California, Hawaii or Massachusetts. Car insurance rates remain fairly steady in your middle years—30s through 50s—and then start to creep up as you approach your 70s. Car insurance rates for seniors steadily rise as you get into your 70s and 80s due to age-related impairments that make you a higher risk for accident claims.

Know More: How age and gender affect car insurance rates

Driving experience

The less time you’ve had behind the wheel, the more you’ll pay for auto insurance. Younger and inexperienced drivers are more likely to be in more accidents, which results in higher car insurance rates.

Driving record

Driving safely and keeping a clean driving record leads to cheaper rates. Here’s how certain infractions can result in rate increases:

• At-fault accidents. Your car insurance rates go up after an accident 45% on average if you cause property damage. If there are injuries, it bumps up to a 47% increase.
• Speeding. Your car insurance rates go up after a speeding ticket 24% on average.
• DUI. Your car insurance rates go up after a DUI 74% on average.

Your location

Auto insurance companies look at your location to see what types and how many claims are filed in your area. Location-driven risk factors include accidents, theft, vandalism and other car-related crimes and claims, plus weather claims, such as hail or flooding. The cost of vehicle repairs and medical care will also affect car insurance costs where you lice.

If you live in an urban area, you’ll normally pay more than drivers in the suburbs or rural areas. Cities have higher rates of car accidents, car theft and vandalism, which will be reflected in your car insurance rates even if you’re a great driver.

Related: Car Insurance Rates by State

Your vehicle model

The type of car you drive impacts your car insurance estimate. Insurers analyze past claims that have been paid for specific car models, including the cost of repairs and theft rates, which can impact the cost of optional coverage types like collision and comprehensive insurance. If your vehicle model costs more to repair or replace, expect to pay more for car insurance.

Related: Most and least expensive cars to insure

Credit

Car insurance companies usually use a person’s credit when setting rates—except in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan.

The use of a credit-based insurance score in setting car insurance rates is controversial, but car insurance companies point to a Federal Trade Commission report that correlates a person’s credit score and the likelihood of making an insurance claim. As a result, you can see a car insurance rate increase if you have poor credit.

Our data analysis found drivers with poor credit pay 76% more on average for car insurance than those with good credit. But not all insurers use credit in the same way, which is why it’s crucial to shop around for better rates.

Lapses in car insurance coverage

If you have a gap in your car insurance coverage, you will pay higher rates than drivers who kept continuous coverage. Your risk as a driver is higher to car insurance companies when you have gaps in your car insurance history. Maintaining insurance shows stability, making you less of a risk.

Coverage and deductibles selected

Selecting a bare-bones liability car insurance policy will cost less than buying full coverage car insurance that includes comprehensive and collision coverage. But the trade-off is that you’ll leave yourself vulnerable to large car accident lawsuits that aren’t fully covered by insurance.

Car insurance deductibles are associated with collision and comprehensive coverages. You select your deductible, which typically range from $500 to $2,500. The higher the deductible you choose, the less you’ll pay. This is because your deductible is the amount subtracted from a claim check, so your insurance company pays less when you choose a higher deductible.

How to Lower Your Car Insurance Costs

Here are ways to save money on car insurance:

• Shop around. The best way to find a good policy at a fair price is to compare car insurance quotes among multiple insurance companies.
• Ask for discounts. There are more than a dozen common car insurance discounts you may be eligible for, such as a good driving discount or multi-vehicle discount. Many discounts are applied automatically when you qualify. Others you’ll have to ask for because your car insurance company won’t know you’re eligible—such as a good student discount if you have a teen driver who has a B average or better.
• Raise your deductible. You can save money by raising your car insurance deductible if you have collision and comprehensive insurance. Since your insurer will pay less if you file a claim, you’ll pay less in premiums.

Methodology

We used data from Quadrant Information Services, a provider of insurance data and analytics. Rates are based on liability coverage of 100/300/100 ($100,000 in bodily injury liability per person, $300,000 per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability), uninsured motorist coverage, and collision and comprehensive coverage insurance with $500 deductible for a 40-year-old female. 

Car Insurance Calculator FAQs