Average Cost of Insurance: Car, Home, Renters, Health, and Pet (2019)

ValuePenguin researched and crunched the numbers to get you the average cost of car insurance by state. Use our data to see what your states average premiums are to get a better idea of what you should be paying for insurance.

To jump directly to the average cost for different types of insurance, click on the links below:

How Much Does Car Insurance Cost on Average?

The average annual cost of car insurance in the United States was $941.65 in 2019 according to a study by ValuePenguin. However, this figure varied wildly from state to state—with the most expensive state having car insurance costs over four times that of the cheapest state. Scroll through the table below to find the average cost of car insurance in your state or use the form above to find a cheaper quote for auto insurance.

Monthly Car Insurance Rates by State

Insurers use the location where you live, specifically your zip code as an important factor in pricing your auto insurance premiums. We found that the three most expensive states for car insurance are Louisiana, Michigan and Florida—whose average annual rate ranged from $1,596 to $1,824 per year. At the other end of the spectrum, North Dakota, Ohio and North Carolina had the cheapest auto insurance costs. These three states featured annual car insurance rates from $428 to $520.

Consult the following table for how the cost of insurance in your state compares to others.

Data from various states' Departments of Insurance show that annual car insurance premiums are on the rise in the majority of states across the nation—with the ten largest insurers each increasing car insurance premiums between 2.3% (Nationwide) to 15.38% (Travelers) in the last three years.

Car Insurance Rates by Age

Auto insurance quotes also vary depending on the driver's age and their years of experience. Young and inexperienced drivers tend to be more dangerous behind the wheel, which is why insurance companies charge them higher auto insurance rates.

For example, teenage drivers pay nearly four times more than those in their 20's—with 16-year-old drivers paying an average of $344.78 a month for auto insurance coverage. Contrast that to a 25-year-old driver paying only $118.89 a month on average for their auto insurance policy.

Average Car Insurance Rates by Gender

Amongst drivers that are 30 or older, and have had no violations or accidents within the past 3 years, auto insurance rates vary little by gender. However, for young drivers, males pay an average of 23% more in insurance rates each year than their female counterparts, with 16-year-old males averaging $344.78 per month versus $280.56 for 16-year-old females—a difference of $770.64 per year.

As drivers get older the gap in premiums shrinks, with both male and female 30-year-old drivers paying nearly the same for auto coverage.

Why is this the case? Insurance companies look at data trends showing that young men tend to drive more often, receive more speeding tickets, be involved in more accidents, and receive more DUI convictions than young women. Because of the increased likelihood that the car insurance company will have to pay out for a claim by insuring these drivers, they charge more for coverage.

How Much Car Insurance Costs by Company

Consumers are often advised to shop around for auto insurance because premiums can differ widely between carriers. To illustrate we sampled premiums from 128 car insurance companies across the United States for a 30-year-old male who drove a 2011 Toyota Camry.

Overall Erie (a small, regional insurer) tended to be the cheapest—with auto insurance rates 30% less than the national average—while, of the larger brands, GEICO and Progressive were very competitive overall.

Average Cost of Home Insurance

The average cost of homeowners insurance throughout the United States is $978 per year. Take a look at our table below to get an idea of how much it costs in your state:

Home insurance is designed to cover homeowners in the event of any unforeseen catastrophe that damages their home. The average cost of home insurance will be influenced primarily by the location of your residential property and the extent of your insurance coverage.

Several types of home insurance are common or typical to specific regions or locales, such as damage to floodwaters, hurricanes, earthquakes, etc. As a general rule, the Federal Reserve Bureau says you can estimate the expense of homeowners insurance by dividing the value of your home by 1,000 and then multiplying that number by $3.50.

Average Cost of Renters Insurance

The average cost of renters insurance for 2016 (for $20,000-$30,000 in coverage):

If you're one of the millions of Americans who have forgone buying a house in exchange for renting a place, you may want to consider renters insurance as a way to protect your personal belongings. Renters insurance protects your studio, walk-up apartment, or elevator apartment against events such as destruction of property from fire, vandalism, and theft.

Looking at some of the average costs of renters insurance in our four representative states, ValuePenguin thinks the monthly premium is cheap enough and worth the peace of mind knowing you can at least recover the cost of any lost or damaged items.

Average Cost of Health Insurance

Health insurance is an important investment to make in oneself, family members, and loved ones. According to the Department of Health and Human Services’ 2017 Annual Insurance Survey, the average monthly premium for individuals in the United States was $476 (or $5,712 per year). Between 2013 and 2017, average premiums increased 105% for individual policies. These figures include rates from all 39 Healthcare.gov states.

The average cost of health insurance ranges between $319 in Utah and $1,041 in Alaska. ValuePenguin's table has a few examples of average annual premiums for individuals in select states to give you an idea of the average cost of health insurance.

Average Cost of Pet Insurance

Insurance companies providing pet health coverage factor in the breed of your pet when determining quotes for your premium. In a 2017 survey of the market, ValuePenguin found that on average, medical insurance prices for the most popular breeds of pooches varied by over 18%, and rates for the most popular cat breeds varied by over 62%.

The below table shows the estimated monthly cost of pet insurance for the most popular breeds of cat, averaged across the expected monthly premiums of the different plans at several major pet insurance providers.