Car Insurance for Drivers with Good Credit | Bankrate (2024)

Angelica Leicht

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Best car insurance companies for drivers with good credit

We based our picks for the best car insurance for people with good credit based on average rates, types of coverage available, discounts available, financial strength ratings from AM Best and other third-party ratings, such as J.D. Power customer satisfaction scores. If you have a good credit score, these five companies might be worth considering:

Key takeaways

• Geico offers some of the cheapest full coverage premiums for drivers with good credit, with an average cost of $1,353 per year.
• The cheapest minimum coverage comes from Auto-Owners and costs an average of $325 per year.
• On average, drivers with good credit pay $1,735 less per year for car insurance than drivers with bad credit.

Amica

Amica is a highly-rated auto insurance company — so much so that it tied for the best auto insurance company overall in the 2023 Bankrate Awards. It is known for its affordable rates, good customer service and robust coverage. You may customize your policy with accident forgiveness, roadside assistance, full glass replacement coverage, gap insurance and more. Amica also offers a long list of generous discounts, in addition to dividend policies, where you might get back up to 20 percent of your premium at the end of your policy period. If you are interested in getting a quote from Amica, you can visit its website at amica.com.

Learn more: Amica Insurance review

Auto-Owners

Auto-Owners could be a solid choice for many drivers who have a good credit score. Not only does the company offer low average rates, but you could also include add-on coverage types for more protection. Auto-Owners sells a variety of endorsem*nts, like gap insurance, diminished value coverage, roadside assistance and the Personal Automobile Plus package, which includes 10 additional coverage types, like cell phone replacement insurance. Auto-Owners also offers a number of discounts.

Learn more: Auto-Owners Insurance review

Erie

Erie only sells coverage in 12 states, but it could be a great option for drivers with good credit. The company includes several coverage types standard on its auto insurance policies, including pet coverage and locksmith services. The company has over 13,000 local agents available, so if you prefer to handle your insurance in person, Erie could be a good choice. The Rate Lock feature may also be appealing if you want to keep your premium steady. With Rate Lock, your rate will only change if you make changes to your policy like adding or removing a vehicle (which could be a boon with 2023’s expensive average car insurance premiums).

Learn more: Erie Insurance review

Geico

Geico is well known for being one of the cheapest car insurance companies on the market. In fact, Geico won the 2023 Bankrate Award for the best budget auto insurance company. Geico’s car insurance coverage options are somewhat limited, but there are more than a dozen discounts available. Geico has potential savings for military personnel, federal employees, good students, employer/membership groups, bundling your policies, having a vehicle with safety features, wearing your seatbelt, taking a defensive driver course and more.

Learn more: Geico Insurance review

USAA

USAA sells car insurance to active duty and retired military service members and qualifying family members. If you are affiliated with any branch of the military, you may be able to take advantage of USAA’s highly-rated customer service, reliable coverage and generous discounts, like savings for good drivers, being claims-free, taking a defensive driver course and garaging your vehicle on base. USAA also consistently gets high customer satisfaction scores from J.D. Power, although it doesn’t qualify for official ranking due to its eligibility restrictions.

Learn more: USAA Insurance review

How credit affects your car insurance

Your credit score can have an impact on your car insurance rate in most states. When you apply for a policy, most car insurance carriers will run a credit report to check your score. In most cases, the higher your credit score is, the lower your car insurance premium will be. Drivers with a poor credit score tend to pay the most expensive rates.

Insurance companies generally consider individuals with poor credit to be high-risk drivers, meaning they are more likely to file claims, pay their premium late or stop paying their premium altogether. To offset the potential risk, insurance companies tend to charge these drivers more for coverage. If your credit score increases or decreases significantly during your policy period, you may see the rate change when your policy renews.

What, then, is a good credit score to get a car insurance policy with competitive prices? A score in the “good” range — between 670 and 739, according to the FICO scoring model — is generally considered to be the baseline for competitive pricing. Keep in mind, though, that insurance companies don’t actually use your credit score directly. Instead, that number, along with other factors, is translated into your credit-based insurance score. That score is what is used to determine rates.

The table below illustrates the difference in average annual full coverage premiums for the different credit tiers.

Bankrate’s take:You may wonder, “Do car insurance quotes affect credit score?” The answer is no. Insurance quotes use soft credit pulls, which look into your credit history but do not affect your credit in the way that applying for a loan or mortgage does.

Providers that don’t factor credit into your insurance rate

It is standard practice for most insurance providers to look into your credit score before they give you a quote. However, some providers do not check your credit score when you apply for a policy. Here are some insurance carriers that may not look at your credit score:

• CURE Insurance
• Dillo Insurance
• Equity Insurance

These insurance providers may not be available in all states.

In some states, it is against the law for insurance companies to use your credit score to calculate your rate. Currently, insurance companies in California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan cannot use your credit score as a rating factor when selling you a policy. But keep in mind that if you fail to make the payments, insurance companies in these states could still cancel your coverage.

What else impacts my insurance rate?

Your credit score is only one factor that affects your car insurance rate. Even if you have great credit, you might still pay an expensive rate based on other criteria. Here are some additional factors that could cause someone with good credit to have a high insurance rate:

• Age: Your age is one of the biggest factors that impacts your insurance premium. Younger drivers tend to pay among the highest rates because they lack experience. As you get older, your insurance rate will typically decrease, assuming you maintain good credit. (Hawaii and Massachusetts ban the use of age as a rating factor.)
• Driving record: Drivers with a good credit score but a lengthy history of insurance claims, at-fault accidents, tickets or DUI convictions are likely going to pay a higher rate. Maintaining a clean driving record can help you avoid expensive policy surcharges.
• Where you live: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan ban the use of credit as a rating factor. This means that in those states, your credit will not affect your car insurance premium. Additionally, each state has its own set of insurance laws and regulations, which can impact average premiums.
• Coverage selections: The coverage selections and limits you choose are one of the biggest factors for your car insurance premium. Choosing higher limits and adding on optional coverage types like roadside assistance or car rental coverage will generally result in higher premiums, but will provide you with more financial protection.

Methodology

Bankrate utilizes Quadrant Information Services to analyze 2023 rates for ZIP codes and carriers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Rates are weighted based on the population density in each geographic region. Quoted rates are based on a 40-year-old male and female driver with a clean driving record, good credit and the following full coverage limits:

• $100,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $50,000 property damage liability per accident
• $100,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per person
• $300,000 uninsured motorist bodily injury per accident
• $500 collision deductible
• $500 comprehensive deductible

To determine minimum coverage limits, Bankrate used minimum coverage that meets each state’s requirements. Our base profile drivers own a 2021 Toyota Camry, commute five days a week and drive 12,000 miles annually.

These are sample rates and should only be used for comparative purposes.

Credit-based insurance scores: Rates were calculated based on the following insurance credit tiers assigned to our drivers: “poor, average, good (base) and excellent.” Insurance credit tiers factor in your official credit scores but are not dependent on that variable alone. Four states prohibit or limit the use of credit as a rating factor in determining auto insurance rates: California, Hawaii, Massachusetts and Michigan.