Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes In Connecticut?

Connecticut has one of more expensive auto insurance industries in the nation, but that doesn't mean all local drivers have to pay high costs. There are many variations depending on which companies they insure with. So who has the cheapest auto insurance in Connecticut? We pored over quotes for a typical commuter from 16 insurers across 66 cities in Connecticut. The average cost for our benchmark drivers was $2,228 annually, from $985 at the cheapest insurer to $6,736 at the most expensive company - the most expensive company cost 5.7x as much as the carrier with the lowest costs. That's why we always recommend drivers get quotes from at least three companies - enter your zip code above for a list of cheap companies in your area.

• Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies
• Best Car Insurance Rates: by City
• Best Auto Insurance Companies in CT
• Average Cost of Car Insurance in Connecticut: by City

Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Connecticut

The quotes for our 30 year old single male driver showed that he could find his cheapest auto insurance costs at Progressive, GEICO, Amica, Nationwide, and State Farm. In aggregate, the top three companies had an average cost of $1,050, which was 53% cheaper than the statewide average. The top five cheapest weren't far off, and still represented savings of 48% compared to the 16-company composite. 

California Casualty, Unitrin, and MetLife helped to round out the top eight most affordable insurers. Before you get quotes from California Casualty, check if you meet their eligibility requirements. USAA only insures drivers who have a military connection, and California Casualty insures people who work in four select professions. 

Cheapest Car Insurance in Connecticut: by City

Our research into local car insurance quotes in Connecticut showed that the most affordable city for our sample driver was Mystic, while the most expensive rates were in Hartford. Based on insuring a car alone, Hartford drivers pay 68% or $1,268 more a year than if they'd been living in Mystic. The table below shows where our profiled drivers found their cheapest quotes for auto insurance in each city. You won't get the same rates because your driving history and liability needs are different, but these companies can be a good starting point to compare quotes near you. Drivers living in Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Hamden, and Stratford will have even more incentive as they live in the five most expensive cities in our study.

Bridgeport, CT

The most populous city in Connecticut is the second most expensive place for car insurance in the state, with an average annual cost of $3,059, 37% above the state average. Bridgeport fell on hard times after World War II, when industrial restructuring and suburbanization meant losing jobs and wealthy residents. The city was governed at one point by circus promoter P.T. Barnum, and is also home to the first Subway restaurant.

Drivers in Bridgeport looking to save on their insurance costs should get quotes at Progressive, GEICO, and Nationwide. These three companies had the cheapest car insurance quotes for our sample drivers, and were about 58% lower compared to the citywide mean. Amica and California Casualty (which only insures people in four professions) round out the top five companies, and with an average cost of $1,728 for single 30-year old man, are 44% cheaper than what the typical insurer in Bridgeport charged.

New Haven, CT

New Haven is our third most expensive city for auto insurance in Connecticut. The city served as a second capital to Connecticut until 1873. Located on the northern shore of the Long Island Sound, New Haven is most renowned for being home to Yale University. The average annual cost of auto insurance in the city is $3,035, 36% above the state average. College students might want to think again about bringing a car to campus.

GEICO, Progressive, Nationwide, Amica, and State Farm had five of the lowest auto insurance rates for our drivers in New Haven. We recommend local motorists include these companies when they're comparing quotes for the best rates. On average, these companies quoted our single male driver $1,474 for basic liability coverage, which came out to be $1,561 or 49% more affordable compared to the typical company underwriting in the state.

Hartford, CT

Apparently the “Insurance Capital of the World” isn’t a great place to find affordable car insurance. Hartford houses the headquarters of many insurance companies. Insurance is the region’s largest industry, and Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, Travelers, and The Hartford all have large presences here. The average rate for car insurance in Connecticut’s capital city is $3,140 annually, a whopping 41% more than the state average.

Despite rates costing 41% more than the Constitution State average, there is still an opportunity for Hartford drivers to save with a bit of comparison shopping. Car insurance quotes at Progressive, GEICO, Amica, Nationwide, and California Casualty were the cheapest for our sample driver, and about 52% lower compared to the 16-company mean. Just bear in mind though, that California Casualty is a specialty insurer with eligibility requirements for their local policyholders.

Stamford, CT

Stamfordites have a good opportunity to bump into celebrities in their hometown. The city has been featured in many Hollywood films and television shows due to favorable tax credits ranging from "Scenes from a Mall" to "The Office". Despite being the 4th most populated city in the Constitution State, insuring a car in Stamford is a mere 2% costlier than in the rest of the state. Even though costs are closer to the mean, drivers in Stamford still have an opportunity to save about 48%. We recommend GEICO, Progressive, Nationwide, Amica, and State Farm, which were the five companies with the best car insurance quotes for our sample drivers. Rates at these five insurers averaged $1,184 for a year's worth of full coverage insurance, and represented a 48% reduction to the Stamford city average.

Waterbury, CT

Costs in Waterbury are 17% more expensive than what drivers pay for auto insurance anywhere else in Connecticut. We suggest Waterburry residents looking for cheap car insurance quotes near you start with GEICO, Progressive, Amica, Nationwide, or State Farm. When it came out our sample drivers, these were the five most affordable companies to insure their vehicle with. The mean annual rate was $1,301 a year, which was $1,303 and 50% lower than the $2,604 that the typical insurer charged in Waterbury. Beyond auto insurance. the city of Waterbury has strong roots in manufacturing, and at one point even supplied a watch to Mark Twain and various buttons to companies ranging from Brooks Brothers to Burger King.

West Hartford, CT

Though Travel and Leisure ranks West Hartford as one of the 10 “coolest” suburbs in the U.S., it is also our sixth most expensive city for auto insurance in Connecticut. West Hartford is home to the West Hartford Reservoir, a place for residents and visitors to take in nature. It is adjacent to Hartford, and comparable in terms of rates. The average annual cost is $2,900, which puts it 30% above the state average. Despite costing a quarter more than what drivers in Connecticut pay elsewhere, costs in West Hartford can be affordable. If you live in West Hartford and you're looking to lower your auto insurance costs, consider getting quotes from Progressive, GEICO, Unitrin, California Casualty, and Amica. Rates among these five companies were a 51% reduction compared to the citywide average, which translated into $1,486 back in our sample local drivers' wallets. 

Stratford, CT

Stratford, named after the Bard’s hometown, is the fifth most expensive place for auto insurance in Connecticut. It is home to the American Shakespeare Theatre and an annual Shakespeare in the Park performance in the amphitheater behind Stratford Library. The average cost of auto insurance in the town is $2,912, 31% above the state average. Affordable car insurance can still be had near you in Stratford if you know where to look, however. Based on our research into quotes for our two sample drivers, we recommend GEICO, Progressive, Nationwide, California Casualty, and Amica for cheaper rates. The five insurers quoted an average of $1,378 per year for our motorists' full coverage insurance, which came out to be a 53% decrease versus the town mean.

Mystic, CT

Mystic is a major New England tourist destination. The coastal city, nestled on the Long Island Sound, is home to one of the largest outdoor Beluga whale exhibits in America. It is also home to the largest maritime museum in the nation. Mystic makes the top of our list with an average rate of $1,872 annually, 16% less than the state average. Mystic drivers looking for an even bigger deal on their auto insurance costs may want to consider adding GEICO, Progressive, and Amica to the mix. That's because these three providers had an average annual premium for our sample drivers that was $894 or 52% lower than what they typical company charged for auto insurance here. Nationwide and State Farm help to round out the top five cheapest companies in Mystic.

Essex, CT

Essex isn’t just “The Best Small Town in America.” It now also ranks as the third cheapest in our study, coming in 16% under the state average with an average annual cost of $1,879. It is one of the few American towns that has been attacked by a foreign power (during the war of 1812). The town is chock full of early American attractions like its old steam train and an historic schoolhouse. It boasts some of the best examples of early colonial architecture like the 1776 Griswold Inn. If you live and drive in Essex, we recommend that you consider GEICO, Progressive, Amica, Nationwide, and State Farm when you're getting quotes for car insurance. These five companies had the best rates for insuring our sample drivers' vehicles in Essex; in aggregate, their mean annual premium of $995 saved our sample drivers $884 or 47% compared to going with the typical insurer here.

Old Saybrook, CT

Katherine Hepburn called this town home. Old Saybrook was also the original site of “The Collegiate School of Connecticut,” which was eventually renamed Yale University and moved to New Haven. The town also lends its seal to the Connecticut flag. It ranks second in our lineup with an average annual cost of $1,872, 16% less than the Connecticut average. Our benchmark motorists found the best car insurance quotes in Old Saybrook at Progressive, GEICO, and Amica. $885 was the average annual premium at these three companies, which saved our motorists $987, and shaved 53% off what they would have had to pay with the typical insurer in town. Even going with the 4th or 5th best companies would still save our driver money - the five carriers averaged savings our 48% versus the Old Saybrook mean.

Middlefield, CT

Located slightly inland, Middlefield's car insurance on average costs $2,011 annually, 10% less than the state average. Middlefield has everything from old 18th century saltbox houses to a variety of quintessential New England outdoor activities. Based on our sample drivers, we recommend that you include GEICO, Amica, Progressive, Nationwide, and State Farm when getting local auto insurance quotes. They had the lowest quotes for car insurance with rates averaging $1,053 for savings of $958 off of the townwide mean.

Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Connecticut

In Connecticut drivers must carry a minimum amount of car insurance in order to legally drive. Connecticut's requirements are relatively small compared to most other states and only require drivers to carry the liability portion.

Best Car Insurance Companies in Connecticut

Which are the best auto insurers in Connecticut? One way we decided to quantify and address this question was to analyze the amount of complaints generated by each company and in total, and look at how they compared against each other. We took all filed complaints with the Connecticut Insurance Department for the largest insurers with premiums greater than $10MM, and excluded the unjustified complaints to calculate an index. We divided each company's percentage of complaints by its earned premiums percentage, and compared them against each other to get the index. Hypothetically, the smaller a carrier's share of customer complaints versus its share of auto insurance business in CT, the better it is performing versus its competitors. In Connecticut, the three best rated companies are Middlesex Mutual Assurance, Ohio Mutual Insurance Company, and Amica using this metric. Below is a table of insurers ranked by complaint index. A complaint index of 1 is average, while numbers above 1 are worse. 

Auto Insurance Companies in Connecticut	# of Complaints (ex unjustified)	Total Premiums Underwritten	Complaint Index
Middlesex Mutual Assurance Company	0	$47,923,184	0.00
Ohio Mutual Insurance Company	1	186,415,619	0.02
Amica	3	100,860,211	0.09
State Auto	1	31,986,932	0.10
CSAA Insurance	1	29,494,351	0.11
State Farm	5	136,602,831	0.12
Travelers	7	184,353,835	0.12
Kemper	1	24,459,018	0.13
Hanover	2	45,255,598	0.14
Progressive	11	240,385,770	0.15
Nationwide	7	145,021,307	0.15
GEICO	21	416,237,784	0.16
21st Century	2	37,653,469	0.17
AIG	1	16,170,340	0.20
Allstate	19	287,638,673	0.21
MAPFRE Insurance	2	29,797,361	0.21
Arbella Mutual Insurance Company	2	27,559,136	0.23
Liberty Mutual	17	207,051,836	0.26
Safeco	11	130,270,662	0.27
QBE Insurance	1	11,585,179	0.28
Great Northern Insurance	2	21,767,845	0.29
Zurich Insurance Group	2	17,576,080	0.36
MetLife	12	104,777,455	0.37
Michael Karfunkel Grantor Annuity Trust	3	25,675,383	0.37
USAA	13	103,549,831	0.40
Hartford	18	130,699,592	0.44
Esurance	4	25,633,807	0.50
Ameriprise	2	12,120,650	0.53
Plymouth Rock	4	22,906,946	0.56
ACE Insurance	3	14,181,973	0.67
Foremost	5	15,661,722	1.02
Omni Insurance	8	10,283,004	2.48

Average Cost of Car Insurance in Connecticut: by City

On average, it costs $2,228 a year for our profiled driver to insure an automobile in Connecticut. From Mystic to Hartford, annual premiums can range about $1,872 to $3,140. Here are the 66 cities in Connecticut ranked from the cheapest to the most expensive.

How We Conducted the Study

We looked at rates in Connecticut for a sample driver in 66 cities within the state: a single 30 year old male who owns in full and drives a 2010 Toyota Camry back and forth from work, for the most part, about 12,000 miles a year. He also has good credit history and a great driving record with no accidents or traffic violations in the past five years.

Costs are based on basic liability protection for the 2010 Toyota Camry, and provides about twice the minimum liability required in Connecticut. Connecticut requires minimum auto insurance liability of $20,000 per person for bodily injury protection and up to $40,000 per accident, and $10,000 for property damage per accident. Included in our study are national insurance companies such as Allstate, State Farm, and GEICO, as well as local regional companies like Middlesex Mutual Auto Insurance.

Insurance Coverage	Connecticut Minimum Coverage	Study Coverage
Bodily Injury (BI) (per person / per accident)	$20,000 / $40,000	$50,000 / $100,000
Property Damage (PD)	10,000	25,000
Uninsured Motorist BI (per person / per accident)	$20,000 / $40,000	50,000 / 100,000
Uninsured Motorist PD		25,000

Included in our Connecticut study are 66 cities. Below are all 66 cities ranked with their average cost and change compared to the Constitution State.

Sources:
Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements in Connecticut: http://www.ct.gov/cid/cwp/view.asp?q=254618
Connecticut Population: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/09000.html