Best Auto Insurance Rates in Delaware (2019)

We analyzed auto insurance quotes from the largest insurers to find the best car insurance rates in Delaware. Our research compared annual premiums for a single 30 year old male across nearly forty cities in Delaware. Depending on which company drivers are insured with, local rates could range from $1,176 to $3,710, with the average cost of car insurance in Delaware being $2,044.

Even within the same city, the gap between the most expensive and the cheapest car insurance companies was as high as $4,647—underscoring the need to comparison shop auto insurance quotes. Read more below, or enter your zip code above to compare quotes from car insurance companies in your area.

Cheap Car Insurance in Delaware

The top five cheapest car insurance companies in Delaware, based on our study of annual premiums, are: GEICO, Atlantic States, Grange, Progressive and Donegal Mutual. We compared quotes from auto insurance companies for drivers across dozens of cities in Delaware, and ranked the insurers based on their average cost in the state. The mean cost among the five cheapest local insurers is $1,582—a 29% savings compared to the average cost for car insurance in the state.

While your actual car insurance quotes will depend on where you live and your driving record, these companies are good ones to start with if you’re looking for low-cost auto insurance near you in Delaware. Not every company sets rates for policyholders the same way, so drivers should always compare quotes between several companies to guarantee the lowest rate. Here is a table of car insurance companies ranked in the order of lowest annual insurance cost to the highest:

Best Car Insurance in Delaware

State Farm, USAA, Liberty Mutual, GEICO, and Progressive were five best-rated auto insurance companies in Delaware. These companies were able to provide insurance coverage without garnering a lot of complaints from consumers.

To determine which auto insurance companies were the best in Delaware, we looked at complaints filed against the largest insurers in the state. Companies with the least complaints as a proportion of their business are be doing the best jobs keeping their policyholders satisfied. We calculated this complaint index by dividing a company’s share of complaints by their share of business, and then ranked them from the lowest index number (best) to highest (worst). To be relevant to most consumers, we only looked at the largest car insurance companies in Delaware.

Auto Insurance in Delaware: Minimum Coverage Requirements

Delaware requires that car insurance policies include, at minimum, the following limits of coverage:

While these limits represent the minimum amount of insurance coverage you can have, you should consider adding more, as damage that exceeds these limits could require you to pay out-of-pocket after an accident. The amount of liability insurance you should have typically depends upon the amount of assets you have at risk in the case of a lawsuit. If you have a lot of at-risk assets like non-dwelling real estate or cash on-hand, we recommend you increase your liability limits and consider adding umbrella insurance as well.

Cheap Car Insurance in Delaware: by City

The cost of auto insurance varies significantly from city to city, and can even differ by hundreds of dollars between insurers within the same city. The cheapest city in our Delaware analysis was Lewes, with an average local cost of $1,830, while the most expensive was Wilmington, at $3,185. In Wilmington, prices differed by as much as $4,647 per year. Take a look at the three cheapest auto insurance companies by city in our table below.

Wilmington, DE

Delaware’s largest city is home to 71,000 residents, and ranks as the most expensive city in our study. It’s the headquarters of major credit card businesses and the conglomerate Dupont, and hosts the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival. It can cost on average $3,158 to insure a vehicle garaged in Wilmington each year.

If you’re looking for cheap car insurance in Wilmington, start by getting quotes from GEICO, Progressive and Atlantic States. These companies offered the three lowest costs for insurance in Wilmington, and averaged about $2,061 per year in insurance premiums. That's about 53% less than the city average.

Dover, DE

Dover is the second-largest city and capital of the First State. Dover International Speedway and Dover Downs are two popular racetracks in the city, with the Monster Mile hosting two NASCAR races a year. The Dover Air Force Base is also located here (we break the AFB out separately in our table above).

The cost of auto insurance in Dover is cheaper than the state average, at $2,003 a year. We found that local drivers could save up to 47% when insuring with three companies in particular: GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange Insurance. The average annual rate among these insurers was $1,362.

Newark, DE

Lying midway between Philadelphia and Baltimore is the city of Newark. It measures nine square miles in area, and is surrounded by verdant parks, with ample green space from White Clay Creek State Park to Glasgow Park. The city is served by several interstate highways, including I-95 and Route 896, which makes it convenient for the city's 32,000 residents to commute. It's also home to the main campus of the University of Delaware and a major hub for figure skating.

It costs on average $2,620 a year to cover your car in Delaware’s third-largest city. Residents here pay rates that are 21% higher than elsewhere in the state, which ranks the city as the 2nd most expensive spot in Delaware. People looking for affordable car insurance quotes near you should consider Atlantic States, GEICO and Grange Insurance which had three of the lowest auto insurance premiums in Newark—with an average annual price of $1,705. Going with these local companies could shave 54% off of what the typical driver in Newark pays.

Middletown, DE

Middletown once played host to the filming of the “Dead Poets Society” – the city’s St. Andrews School served as the main setting for the popular movie. Depending on when residents drive around, they can find streets blocked off for several annual parades and events. Among these are the Old Tyme Peach Festival, the Big Ball Marathon, and the Hummers Parade. Drivers in Middletown can pay average rates of about $2,057 for car insurance—right around the state average.

We recommend that consumers start with quotes at GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange Insurance, which had the three lowest auto insurance costs in Middletown. Together, they had an average cost of $1,193 for the Middletown driver—a reduction of 34% compared to the citywide average. For reference, the three most expensive carriers in town had a mean annual premium of $4,096, which cost more than getting insured at Allianz, Ameriprise, and MetLife combined!

Smyrna, DE

Smyrna is home to 10,000 residents, and is centrally located between the state capital of Dover, Newark and Wilmington. Most recently, the town announced the construction of a solar power generation building aimed at creating more renewable energy sources and lowering costs. The typical single male in his early 30s could see annual rates here of $1,983 on average, which is 3% lower than the Delaware mean.

When it comes to lowering car insurance costs, we recommend that Smyrna drivers consider GEICO, Atlantic States, and Grange. Going with these three insurers would cost on average $1,344 and could reduce drivers’ costs by 48%. On the other hand, making the mistake of going with one of the three most expensive companies in Smyrna would have cost you about $3,000 more each year.

Milford, DE

The town of Milford started from a mill powered by the crossing of the Mispillion River. Motorists in this town of 9,800 pay premiums of about $1,883 a year to insure their cars, or 19% less than elsewhere in the state. For affordable auto insurance in Milford, GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange are three good companies for locals to start comparison shopping for quotes. The average among those three insurers is $1,344, making them $539 cheaper than what the typical insurer charged in the city.

Seaford, DE

The first occupants of Seaford relied on the Nanticoke River as their main means of transport, and it wasn’t until 1720 that roads were started. Today, those roads are better paved and more frequently traveled. Drivers in Seaford can pay about $1,936 when it comes to auto insurance. While it is generally cheaper to insure a car in Seaford compared to other cities in Delaware (by about 6%), there is always room for additional savings. We found that GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange Insurance were the companies with cheapest auto insurance in Seaford. Together the three had an annual premium of $1,344, 44% less than the city average.

Georgetown, DE

Georgetown is located in Sussex County, and was established in 1791 in an effort to designate a centralized county seat convenient for all citizens to travel to. Today, it costs $1,936 a year to protect residents' cars with liability coverage, or about 6% cheaper than the Delaware average. Affordable auto insurance near you in Georgetown can be found at GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange Insurance, where costs averaged $1,344—$591 less than the average of other insurers. That's also $2,940 cheaper on average than going with one of the three most expensive companies in Georgetown.

New Castle, DE

This city was once ruled by Swedish, Dutch, and English settlers. Today, its population numbers 5,300 and its average cost of car insurance is $2,486 a year, or 18% higher than the average in Delaware. For cheap car insurance in New Castle, go with Atlantic States, GEICO, and Donegal Mutual (average annual premium: $1,503). In comparison, the three priciest companies have an average cost of $2,574 a year.

Bethany Beach, DE

One of the cheapest places for car insurance in Delaware is Bethany Beach, a town of 1,000 residents. Recognizable by its landmark totem pole statue, the town is a beach resort area popular in the summertime. Auto insurance here costs $1,834 a year – about 11% cheaper than its other neighbors in the state. Between GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange Insurance, the three cheapest, your auto insurance rates would be 36% under the city average. Just make sure to comparison shop - winding up with one of the expensive insurers could cost you $2,116 a year.

Ocean View, DE

Bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, a bay, a canal, and a creek, the town of Ocean View is a seaside community and the second best city for auto insurance. Its 1,900 residents pay a total of $1,834 for automobile insurance, which makes costs here 11% cheaper than elsewhere in the state. If you're looking for low cost automobile insurance in Ocean View, we recommend getting quotes from GEICO, Atlantic States and Grange Insurance. Together their average cost is $1,344, which is $490 lower than the citywide average.

Cost of Car Insurance in Delaware: by City

How much does it cost to insure a car in Delaware? We found that the overall average across the state was $2,044 for a single man in his early 30s. Annual premiums can vary by as much as $1,830 in Lewes to $3,185 in Wilmington. This graph below illustrates the average cost in each city in Delaware for our sample driver.

Methodology

We analyzed quotes from 35 cities in Delaware for a single 30 year old male who hasn't had any accidents or traffic violations within the last three years. Our sample motorist drove 12,000 miles a year. We chose insurance limits a bit above the state minimum required in Delaware.