Best Cheap Auto Insurance Rates in Delaware (2019)

We compared auto insurance quotes from the largest insurers to find the best car insurance rates in Delaware. Our research compared annual auto premiums for a 30-year-old single male across nearly 40 cities in Delaware. Depending on which insurance company drivers select, local rates range from $1,861 to $4,863, with the average cost of car insurance in Delaware being $2,513.

Even within Delaware, the gap between the most expensive and the cheapest car insurance companies for some policy types, was as high as $4,651 — 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 rates in Delaware

The cheapest car insurance companies in Delaware, based on our study of annual premiums, are: GEICO and State Farm. GEICO's average annual full coverage car insurance rate was $1,861 and State Farm's was $2,014. Both insurers offered full coverage auto insurance quotes well below the average cost of car insurance in Delaware, which is $2,513.

We compared quotes from six auto insurance companies for drivers across dozens of cities in Delaware and ranked the insurers based on their average costs 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 among several companies to guarantee the lowest rate.

Full-coverage car insurance typically includes liability insurance, personal injury protection (PIP), and comprehensive and collision coverage. Drivers who wish to protect themselves against damage to their vehicles should consider purchasing a full-coverage policy with comprehensive and collision coverage.

Best minimum coverage auto insurance in Delaware

For minimum coverage car insurance, the cheapest insurance companies in Delaware were: GEICO and State Farm. Together, these two insurers had an average premium of $1,042, or 21% cheaper than the Delaware average of $1,316.

Below we include minimum coverage car insurance rates for all six insurers analyzed in Delaware.

The difference between the average cost of full coverage ($2,513) and minimum coverage ($1,316) car insurance policies in Delaware was $1,197.

Minimum coverage car insurance only meets Delaware law's minimum required coverage levels. Unlike a full-coverage policy, minimum coverage auto policies do not include comprehensive and collision coverage. Though you can purchase a minimum coverage policy at a lower cost, lower coverage limits may put you at risk of insufficient protection against damages claimed following a car accident.

Cheapest Delaware auto insurance rates with one prior accident

For full coverage car insurance with one prior accident on your driving record, the cheapest insurers in Delaware were: State Farm and GEICO. Together, these companies offered an average rate of $2,718, which was 24% cheaper than the Delaware average of $3,592.

Below we include full-coverage car insurance premiums with an accident history for all six insurers analyzed in Delaware. Given the variability in Delaware auto insurance quotes, we always recommend shopping around for car insurance.

Accidents on one's driving record typically lead to more expensive car insurance rates than those without any accident history. In Delaware, the difference in annual auto insurance premiums between a full coverage policy with no accident history ($2,513) versus one with a single prior accident ($3,592) was $1,079.

Best car insurance companies in Delaware

Nationwide, State Farm and GEICO were the top-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 doing the best job at keeping their policyholders satisfied. We used National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) complaint index data, which divides a company’s share of complaints by their share of business, and then ranked insurers 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 a minimum, the following coverage limits:

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 event of a lawsuit. If you have a lot of at-risk assets like nondwelling real estate or cash on-hand, we recommend you increase your liability limits and consider adding umbrella insurance, as well.

The cheapest 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 among insurers within the same city. The cheapest city in our Delaware analysis was Selbyville, with an average local cost of $2,099, while the most expensive was Wilmington, at $3,131. In Wilmington, prices differed by as much as $3,726 per year depending on your auto insurer.

Take a look at the three cheapest auto insurance companies by city in our table below. In all Delaware cities, either GEICO or State Farm offered the cheapest rates.

Given that where you live substantially affects your auto rates, we compared Delaware car insurance quotes for the five most populated cities:

Best car insurance in Wilmington, Delaware

Delaware’s largest city, Wilmington, ranks as the most expensive city for car insurance in the state. Auto insurance costs, on average, $3,131 to insure a vehicle in Wilmington each year.

If you’re looking for cheap car insurance in Wilmington, start by getting quotes from GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. These companies offered the three lowest costs for insurance in Wilmington, and averaged about $2,699 per year in car insurance premiums. That's about 14% less than the city average.

Cheap car insurance in Dover, Delaware

Dover is the second-largest city and capital of Delaware. The cost of auto insurance in Dover is cheaper than the state average, at $2,340 a year. We found that local drivers could save up to 25% when insuring with two companies in particular: GEICO and State Farm. The average annual rate for these insurers was $1,765.

Best auto insurance rates in Newark, Delaware

In Newark, Delaware, average car insurance costs are $2,782. Residents there pay rates that are 11% higher than elsewhere in Delaware. People looking for affordable car insurance quotes in Newark should consider GEICO and State Farm which had lower than average auto insurance premiums—together with an average annual price of $2,087. Going with these local companies could shave 25% off of what the typical driver in Newark pays.

Compare cheap car insurance quotes in Middletown, Delaware

Drivers in Middletown, Delaware, pay about $2,697 annually on car insurance, or slightly above the state average.

We recommend that consumers start with quotes at GEICO and State Farm, which had the lowest auto insurance costs in Middletown. Together, they had an average cost of $1,899 for the Middletown driver—a reduction of 30% compared to the citywide average. For reference, the most expensive carrier in Middletown, Allstate, had a mean annual premium of $5,628, which cost more than getting insured at GEICO and State Farm combined!

Cheapest auto insurance in Smyrna, Delaware

Smyrna, Delaware, had annual car insurance rates of $2,570, which is nearly on par with the Delaware state average.

For those seeking to pay low car insurance costs, we recommend Smyrna drivers consider GEICO, State Farm and Progressive. Going with these three insurers would cost on average $2,117 and could reduce Smyrna drivers’ car insurance payments by 18%.

The average cost of car insurance in Delaware by city

How much does car insurance cost in Delaware? By looking at the most populated cities in the state, we found that the average car insurance rate in Delaware was $2,513 for a single man in his early 30s. Annual premiums can vary by as much as $2,099 in Selbyville to $3,131 in Wilmington.

The table below illustrates the average cost in each city in Delaware for our sample driver.

Methodology

We obtained quotes for insuring a 2015 Honda Civic EX owned by our benchmark driver, a single 30-year-old male. Quotes were drawn from all available ZIP codes in Delaware. The driver was profiled as having no credit history, which makes him equivalent to a driver with below-fair to poor credit, according to our data source, Quadrant Information Services.

When our driver had a full-coverage policy, we gave him coverage limits slightly above Delaware's minimum requirements.

Full coverage auto insurance policy

Our rates for minimum coverage represent the average cost of a policy that meets Delaware's minimum required car insurance coverage.

ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.