What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for College Students in Madison?

Establishing which company offers the lowest-priced insurance rates for college students involves a tad more effort in order to find coverage that fits your budget. Each insurance company uses their own formula to set policy rates, so let’s take a look at the most competitive insurance companies in Wisconsin.

It’s important that readers know that Madison insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that will increase or decrease the cost of coverage. Improving your credit rating, buying a new vehicle, or getting caught speeding can produce rate changes resulting in some rates now being more affordable than the competition.

Best Insurance Companies for College Students

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USAA quotes some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Madison at around $586 annually. This is $575 less than the average rate paid by Wisconsin drivers of $1,161. Partners Mutual, Erie, Rockford Mutual, and Nationwide are also some of the lowest-priced Madison, WI car insurance companies.

As illustrated above, if you are a policyholder with Partners Mutual and switched to USAA, you could realize an annual premium reduction of around $46. Drivers with Erie may save as much as $138 a year, and Rockford Mutual customers might cut rates by $160 a year.

Remember that these premiums are averaged across all drivers and vehicles and do not take into consideration an exact vehicle garaging location for college students. So the company that is best suited for you may not even be in the top 30 companies shown above. That underscores the importance of why you need to get quotes using your own personal information and vehicle type.

The car, truck, or SUV that needs insurance is probably the largest consideration when looking for the most economical coverage for college students. Vehicles with average performance, excellent safety ratings, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost less to insure than higher performance models. The next table estimates insurance prices for the cheaper vehicles to insure.

Data rating is based on single female driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Wisconsin minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Premium amounts do not factor in specific location which can lower or raise premium rates significantly.

Looking at the rates, we can conclude that vehicles like the Honda Accord, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius, and Ford Edge are going to be a few of the cheapest vehicles to insure for students in college. Auto insurance rates will trend higher because of the fact that there is more claim risk for college students, but in general those makes and models will tend to have the lowest prices compared to all other vehicles.

Best insurance in Madison

Picking the best insurance company is hard considering how many companies are available to choose from in Madison. The company information below can help you analyze which insurers to look at buying from. The ratings below are only comprised of insurance companies that insure vehicles in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in Wisconsin will not be included in this list.

Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Madison Ranked by Claims Service

1. Progressive
2. Travelers
3. Liberty Mutual
4. Nationwide
5. USAA
6. AAA Insurance
7. Safeco Insurance
8. GEICO
9. Esurance
10. The General

Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Madison Ranked by Customer Satisfaction

1. USAA – 92%
2. Erie Insurance – 88%
3. American Family – 88%
4. State Farm – 88%
5. Nationwide – 88%
6. 21st Century – 88%
7. AAA Insurance – 87%
8. Liberty Mutual – 87%
9. Farmers Insurance – 87%
10. The Hartford – 87%

The information below highlights how deductible selection can influence premium costs when researching cheap insurance for college students. The costs are based on a married male driver, full physical damage coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.

In the chart above, a 50-year-old driver could lower their policy premium by $160 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $242 by using a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, like the 20-year-old example, can cut $536 each year just by choosing higher deductibles. When insureds make the decision to increase the deductibles on their policy, it will be required to have additional savings on hand to be able to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.

Low rates today, overpriced tomorrow

Madison insurance rates are influenced by many factors that control the cost of having a policy. Improving your credit rating, moving to a different location, or getting a ticket for careless driving can trigger changes in premium that can now make some companies more affordable than the competition. Not only may things change on your end, but car insurance companies modify rates as often as every three months to help ensure profitability. Significantly higher losses may result in rate hikes, while a better claims history can result in more affordable Madison car insurance rates.

The graph below demonstrates which company has the cheapest car insurance in Madison, WI for a 35-year-old male driver with a good driving record, no prior claims, and a good credit rating. If we look at prices based on his personal profile, USAA may have the most affordable car insurance rates in Madison at $681 per year. This is $480 less than the average premium paid by Wisconsin drivers of $1,161. Partners Mutual, Erie, Rockford Mutual, and Pekin Insurance also make the list of the top five cheapest Madison, WI auto insurance companies.

In this next rate comparison, we will give the driver from the first rate comparison a couple of claims, a lower credit rating, and an imperfect driving record. Due to the fact that every auto insurer has a proprietary method for determining rates, comparing prices may now present a significantly different list of the cheapest Madison car insurance companies as shown below.

Nationwide now has the cheapest car insurance in Madison with Western National, Rural Mutual Insurance, Travelers, and Partners Mutual now rounding out the top five. This demonstrates why it is important to spend some time comparing rates to find the most economical insurance rates for college students.

Rates are calculated by many things and change frequently, so the cheapest company three years ago may now not even be in the top five.

The insurance agencies listed below can probably provide answers to your questions and help you determine which auto insurance policy fits you best, since lots of people like to get some professional input when comparing insurance rates for students in college. It can be difficult to find the best policy yourself, so getting advice from a licensed Wisconsin insurance agent can add satisfaction knowing your policy gives you adequate coverage when you need it most.

To find a Madison insurance agent close to where you live, click the button below the list.

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