Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes in Massachusetts?

Car insurance rates in Massachusetts average $1,866 per year, or $156 per month, for our sample driver. Rates varied widely by company, with the cheapest company in Massachusetts, Safety Insurance, costing an average of $1,090 per year, and the most expensive, Plymouth Rock Assurance, costing $2,851. We've also ranked the top car insurance companies in the state by customer service, with Travelers Insurance coming out on top.

The range of quotes shows why it’s always important for consumers to shop through several insurers to make sure they’re getting the best rates possible. Massachusetts auto insurance premiums can alter by location, company, driver profile and more. Read on below to compare rates, or enter your ZIP code above for a list of companies near you to begin shopping for quotes.

Cheapest auto insurance companies in Massachusetts

The cheapest auto insurance company in Massachusetts for our sample driver with a full coverage policy was Safety Insurance. At $1,090 per year, its average rates were 42% below the state average.

The three auto insurers in Massachusetts with the lowest costs were Safety Insurance, GEICO and Progressive. The average rate of these three insurers, $1,402, was 25% below the state average.

The table below contains a rate comparison of the eight companies in our sample ranked from those with the best auto insurance rates in Massachusetts to the most expensive. Arbella, Travelers and Plymouth Rock were all more expensive than the average car insurance price in Massachusetts.

A full coverage policy includes both liability insurance and comprehensive and collision coverage. Comprehensive and collision coverages are recommended if you're seeking to protect against the cost of damage to your own car.

This contrasts with liability-only insurance, which covers injuries or damages to other drivers for which you are at-fault.

Cheapest minimum coverage car insurance in Massachusetts

Our previous quotes were for a driver opting for full coverage car insurance. But if you're looking for the cheapest car insurance available, you can buy a policy with only the minimum coverage required by Massachusetts.

The insurer with the cheapest minimum car insurance policy is Hanover, with an average annual rate of $389. The most expensive is a Travelers policy; at $970 per year, it costs more than twice the annual rate of a Hanover policy.

The average cost of a minimum coverage policy among our sample eight insurers is $646, approximately one-third the cost of a full coverage policy. However, with regard to minimum policies, shoppers should note:

Cheapest Massachusetts car insurance after an accident

Insurers look at driver histories to determine the risk of an accident and adjust prices for their customers based on that information. Massachusetts insurers are no different: If you have a history of traffic violations or accidents, you'll be charged a higher rate than if you didn't.

If our sample driver had an at-fault accident on his record we found that GEICO had the cheapest quote, with an average annual rate of $2,081 per year. GEICO had the least severe penalty of any of our sample insurers, increasing rates by approximately $660 after an accident, while every other insurer increased rates by at least $1,200 per year.

High-risk drivers should take special care to shop around for multiple quotes. For example, the best car insurance in Massachusetts for new drivers — often considered riskier customers by insurers — could vary widely by company and location.

Best car insurance companies in Massachusetts

Shopping for car insurance shouldn't just be about affordability. You should also seek an insurer that has a great customer service reputation.

Through a measure of insurance customer complaints, we found that:

... rank as the top car insurance companies in Massachusetts for customer service. Only these three companies — plus Progressive — had a complaint index below 1.0, indicating fewer-than-expected complaints given the size of the company.

All other six insurance groups in our analysis had a complaint index above 1.0, indicating poorer than average customer service.

Minimum auto insurance requirements in Massachusetts

Massachusetts is one of 12 no-fault states and one of the 15 states that mandates all drivers carry first party medical benefits with their auto insurance policies. Required limits in the state, however, are fairly low compared to others, with drivers only requiring to carry $8,000 worth of personal injury protection (PIP).

Cheapest auto insurance in Massachusetts by city

One of the most important factors companies consider when coming up with a quote is where you live and park your car. Generally speaking, urban drivers living in more densely populated cities or towns tend to pay higher-than-average costs to insure their vehicles.

But drivers in more expensive locations can still find savings by shopping around. Even motorists living in Brockton, Revere and Chelsea (three of the most expensive locations, per our analysis), can find cheaper auto insurance quotes with some research.

In the table below, we take a look at which three companies have the lowest local rates for our driver for the 50 most populous cities in Massachusetts.

Below, we dive deeper into insurance rates for the five most populated cities in Massachusetts:

In all five cities, Safety Insurance ranks as the most affordable insurer on average.

Boston

With an average annual insurance rate of $2,276, Boston ranks as the 13th most expensive city in Massachusetts. Its auto insurance rates are 22% higher than the state average.

Worcester

The second most populous city in Massachusetts, Worcester, is also the 10th most expensive. Its average annual rate is $2,352 per year, which is 26% above the state average. Safety Insurance rates as the most affordable insurer in the city by far, with quotes more than $500 cheaper than second-place GEICO.

Springfield

Springfield is the third most populous city but the most expensive to insure of these five cities. Its average annual premium — $2,546 — is 36% higher than the state average.

Cambridge

Cambridge is easily the cheapest auto insurance location of these five cities. Despite its population density, its average annual rate is $2,021, just 8% higher than the Massachusetts average.

Lowell

Lowell rounds out the five most populous cities in Massachusetts. Its average auto insurance premium is closer to the affordability of Cambridge than Springfield, coming out to $2,054 per year, 10% higher than the state average.

Average cost of car insurance in Massachusetts by city

Car insurance in Massachusetts costs an average of $1,866 per year for our sample driver. The table below shows how the costs rank across the 50 most populous cities in Massachusetts, from the cheapest to the most expensive.

Newburyport ranked as the cheapest city in Massachusetts, while Brockton ranked as the costliest. Cities with more dense populations, such as the top five most populous cities highlighted above, tend to have higher insurance rates, though that is not the only factor affecting premiums.

Methodology

We gathered quotes from hundreds of Massachusetts cities and eight insurance companies. Our base driver was a 30-year-old male driving a 2015 Honda Civic EX. The driver was profiled as having no credit history, making him equivalent to a driver with below-fair to poor credit, according to our data source, Quadrant Information Services.

We gave the driver the following limits as part of a full coverage policy:

For a minimum-coverage policy, our sample driver simply met the minimum requirements of the state of Massachusetts, as described above.

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.