Cheap Car Insurance in Georgia for 2024
Georgia can be an expensive state for drivers, but auto insurance rates vary wildly from county to county, area to area and from carrier to carrier. The good news is that, if you don’t need full coverage, you can save hundreds of dollars per year.
See our overall recommendations for Best Car Insurance
Who has the cheapest car insurance in Georgia?
- Auto Owners
- Esurance
- GEICO
- State Farm
- Allstate
We sampled information from a number of sources and developed a range of what cheap car insurance usually costs in Georgia. We based these samples on a driver with at least a decade of driving experience, a clean driving record, driving America’s most popular, non-exotic vehicles.
The important thing to remember is that insurance rates can vary widely, and prices can change almost daily. This range is only a GUIDE to give you a basic idea about the rates insurance companies charge today in Georgia.
DISCLAIMER: There are numerous other factors that are going to impact the cost of insurance on your car, crossover, or truck. We’ll provide info on some of those variables, but your best bet is to read our deep dive on Cheap Car Insurance for 2024
Pros And Cons Of Insuring in Georgia
- Drivers in the state’s vast rural areas don’t pay as much for insurance
- Minimum coverage offered at low cost by large carriers
- DUIs appear to not drive up rates as hard in the state
- Large metro areas are expensive to insure a vehicle in
- Young drivers will pay dearly for insurance
Who has the best cheap car insurance in Georgia?
Best Large Insurance Carrier - State Farm. In almost every instance, State Farm provided the least expensive car insurance in the state of Georgia.
Cheapest Insurance with Bad Credit - Georgia Farm Bureau. In Georgia, people with bad credit are best served by Georgia Farm Bureau, which undercuts its competition by nearly $1,000.
Cheapest Insurance with One Accident - Georgia Farm Bureau. Just like its pricing for drivers with bad credit, Georgia Farm Bureau’s rates for drivers with one at-fault crash are lower than anyone else.
Cheapest Insurance for Higher Mileage - GEICO. Georgia Farm Bureau doesn’t list rates for high-mileage drivers, but GEICO’s stated rates land well below that of its competitors for drivers that travel 12,000 or more miles each year.
How much does car insurance cost in Georgia?
Our larger study of car insurance rates found that average insurance costs in Georgia land around $1,800, but drivers can pay up to 50% more than that, depending on driving record and geographic location.
| Rates we found reported as “typical” or “average” (annual) online | Average (annual | Adjusted average* (annual) |
|---|
(*) The “adjusted average” is computed by eliminating the highest and lowest values and averaging the remaining values.
(**) The lowest rates listed are either for minimum coverage or elderly drivers and may not apply to everyone.
(***) Only an average rate could be found.
What causes rates to go up in Georgia?
We can start by examining why insurance rates in Georgia may seem lower than other states with large populations. In urban areas surrounding Atlanta and a few other cities, insurance rates are typically higher because there are more accidents and crime in densely populated areas. Auto insurers pull your zip code, along with all of your driving information, to determine which rates are more appropriate.
Like other states, auto insurers in Georgia factor in driving history, credit history, and personal factors like age and gender to determine their rates. Similarly, people with alcohol-related driving infractions and accidents on their records pay more.
It’s also important to remember that young drivers pay more. A 20-year-old driver in Georgia pays almost twice as much as a 30-year-old for the same level of coverage. Good or bad, it’s how things play out.
The bottom line is that, in Georgia, the best way to get and maintain a low insurance rate is to keep a clean driving record. That may not always be possible, but you can avoid speeding tickets and never drive drunk.
How do accidents affect rates in Georgia?
Speeding violations raise insurance rates by $100-$200, but accidents are where the real financial pain starts. One accident can cause Georgians’ insurance rates to skyrocket by as much as $1,000 per year in some cases.
Here are the best estimates we could find from various sources on how much one accident will raise your policy premium in Georgia:
| Range of Rate Increases for One Accident | Average of Rate Increases | Adjusted Average of Rate Increases |
|---|
How do tickets affect rates in Georgia?
If you have accumulated points on your license in Georgia due to speeding and other traffic violations, you can count on your insurance rates going up. Insurers don’t reference points directly when making a rate decision, but they do see violations. Even if you have an existing policy, your rates can be increased after a speeding ticket.
It’s important to note that, even after a ticket, drivers may be able to reduce the penalty of both the infraction and the resulting insurance rate hike by taking a remedial drivers education course. Take a look at our online drivers ed coverage for Georgia here.
Here is the data we could dig up on the percent increase range a ticket will raise your car insurance policy premium in Georgia:
| Range of Rate Increases for One Speeding Violation | Average of Rate Increases | Adjusted Average of Rate Increases |
|---|
How can you get car insurance discounts in Georgia?
There are two things that you can do to make sure you’re getting the best insurance rates available in Georgia. The first is to work hard at maintaining a clean driving record. That means no tickets and no at-fault accidents. The second is to move (if possible) away from the densely populated neighborhoods of the Atlanta metro area. Atlanta suburbs have some of the highest insurance rates in the state, while rural areas surrounding Valdosta are much less expensive for drivers of all ages.
Another way to manage your insurance costs in Georgia, if you can stomach less coverage, is to opt for minimum coverage insurance. We’d never recommend this for a newer vehicle, or for one that is rare or costly to repair, but for drivers of older vehicles it can add up to real savings.
Another way to find discount insurance rates is to shop with a specific discount program in mind. This can be a military-related discount for active duty and veterans, or could even be related to your vehicle’s safety or anti-theft features. We also have an entire story on the tens of thousands of discount programs available, based on memberships, military service, and other associations. Some of the more common meaningful discounts relate to low mileage driving, bundling with your home owner’s policy, and carrying high deductibles. Students take note: Many insurers will offer good students a discount. Parents take note: If your kid is at college more than 100 miles away you may see big savings.
What’s the minimum coverage allowed in Georgia?
Getting caught without insurance in Georgia is a bad look. The first offense results in a 30-day grace period to provide proof of insurance to the state, which is pretty lenient, compared to a lot of other states that would tow your car off the side of the road on the spot. If the insurance information is received during that period and there has been no lapse in coverage, you won’t owe the state anything else. If there has been a lapse, you’ll be on the hook for up to $185, depending on other factors surrounding the offense. If you don’t provide any proof of insurance to the state, you’ll be issued a notice of pending suspension, which just means that if you can’t provide proof of insurance your vehicle’s registration will be suspended at the end of a second 30-day period.
Keeping insurance on your vehicle is important, but how much are you required to have? In Georgia, the law requires that coverage includes bodily injury liability of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per occurrence, and property damage liability of $25,000 per person.
