Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Memphis, TN?
Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Memphis, TN?
Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in Memphis
The cheapest auto insurance in Memphis, Tenn., is offered by Erie — $565 per year, according to a ValuePenguin analysis.
That rate is 23% less than the city average.
In Tennessee's second-largest city, the average rate for minimum-coverage car insurance is $734 per year, which is 44% higher than the state average overall. The best way to find the cheapest rates is to shop around and learn how factors in your driving history affect your price.
Rates for widely available full coverage in Memphis ranged by $2,304 from most to least expensive. Depending on the company, rates for minimum coverage could more than double.
Cheapest auto insurance in Memphis: Erie
The cheapest widely available car insurance in Memphis comes from Erie, with an annual rate of $565. That’s slightly cheaper than State Farm, at $567.
Both State Farm and Erie are at least 22% cheaper than the Memphis City average. Geico, at $606 per year, and Farm Bureau, at $682, are other widely available options that come in with below-average prices.
The cheapest rates in Memphis come from USAA, at $475 per year, but it is not available to everyone. Only current and former military members, as well as some of their family, can get a USAA policy.
Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in Memphis
You can save money in the short term with a minimum liability policy, but it will leave your vehicle unprotected. If you are at fault in an accident or your vehicle is vandalized or broken into, you will have to pay for repairs yourself.
We recommend if you have a newer or more expensive vehicle that you consider investing in more protection or a full-coverage policy.
Rank | Company | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erie | $565 |
| 2 | State Farm | $567 |
| 3 | Geico | $606 |
| 4 | Farm Bureau | $682 |
| 5 | Progressive | $784 |
| 6 | Allstate | $884 |
| 7 | Nationwide | $1,311 |
| N/A* | USAA | $475 |
*USAA is not ranked because only military members (current and former) and their families are eligible.
Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Memphis: State Farm
The cheapest widely available full-coverage insurance in Memphis is offered by State Farm. The company’s rate of $1,750 per year is $154 cheaper than Geico.
Nationwide has the smallest increase in price from minimum coverage to full coverage, at $1,162 per year. This is in part because Nationwide has the most expensive minimum coverage we found in Memphis.
In the city, overall, going from minimum to full coverage raises rates 226%.
Rank | Company | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Farm | $1,750 |
| 2 | Geico | $1,904 |
| 3 | Farm Bureau | $2,142 |
| 4 | Nationwide | $2,473 |
| 5 | Erie | $2,743 |
| 6 | Progressive | $2,882 |
| 7 | Allstate | $4,054 |
| N/A* | USAA | $1,208 |
*USAA is not ranked because only military members (current and former) and their families are eligible.
Full-coverage car insurance includes comprehensive and collision coverages, as well as liability limits that are higher than the state-mandated minimums.
Comprehensive
Protects against damage caused by "acts of God", theft, vandalism and other circumstances out of your control.
Collision
Covers damage in situations where you are at fault, including an accident, hitting another object, driving into a ditch or flipping a car.
We recommend that you get a full-coverage policy if your car is worth more than $3,000 or is less than 10 years old. Comprehensive protects you in some situations out of your control, while collision covers some of the most common ways vehicles are damaged.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with prior incidents
In Memphis — and anywhere else — incidents on your record, such as a speeding ticket, DUI or accident, may raise your rates considerably. This means it's even more important to shop around if you're looking to secure the best rate.
We found the cheapest car insurance for Memphis drivers who have:
Cheapest car insurance in Memphis after an accident: State Farm
The best option for full coverage following an at-fault accident in Memphis is State Farm. The company charges $2,084 per year, only $334 more than for drivers with a clean record.
Farm Bureau has the second-best rate, at $2,142, while Geico's rate is $2,983. The average for the city overall is $3,352. An accident raises the average rate in Memphis 40%.
Rank | Company | Rate before accident | Rate after accident | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Farm | $1,750 | $2,084 | $334 |
| 2 | Farm Bureau | $2,142 | $2,142 | - |
| 3 | Geico | $1,904 | $2,983 | $1,079 |
| 4 | Nationwide | $2,473 | $3,658 | $1,185 |
| 5 | Erie | $2,743 | $3,717 | $974 |
| 6 | Progressive | $2,882 | $4,452 | $1,570 |
| 7 | Allstate | $4,054 | $6,056 | $2,002 |
| N/A* | USAA | $1,208 | $1,721 | $513 |
*USAA is not ranked because only military members (current and former) and their families are eligible.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket: Geico
Geico charges $1,904 for an annual policy, $13 less than State Farm. Farm Bureau, at $2,142, is the only other widely available company with rates lower than the city average of $2,726.
In Memphis, a speeding ticket may raise your rates 14%, or $332 per year.
Rank | Company | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,904 |
| 2 | State Farm | $1,917 |
| 3 | Farm Bureau | $2,142 |
| 4 | Erie | $2,996 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $3,075 |
| 6 | Progressive | $3,719 |
| 7 | Allstate | $4,607 |
| N/A* | USAA | $1,448 |
*USAA is not ranked because only military members (current and former) and their families are eligible.
The increase in Memphis auto insurance rates after an accident is almost in line with the state average, coming in at 1% greater.
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI: State Farm
State Farm's rate overall is $1,917 annually, $1,255 cheaper than Progressive, the next most affordable option. Farm Bureau, at $3,418 per year, is the only other widely available option cheaper than the city average.
1 | State Farm | $1,917 |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Progressive | $3,172 |
| 3 | Farm Bureau | $3,418 |
| 4 | Erie | $4,440 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $4,663 |
| 6 | Geico | $5,054 |
| 7 | Allstate | $5,746 |
| N/A* | USAA | $2,341 |
*USAA is not ranked because only military members (current and former) and their families are eligible.
Cheapest car insurance for young drivers: State Farm
Insurers consider younger drivers to be much riskier than adults because they are inexperienced behind the wheel and more likely to get into accidents. That means young drivers should expect to pay considerably higher rates in almost any scenario.
For an 18-year-old driver in Memphis, the most affordable rates are offered by State Farm, with an average rate of $5,566. That rate is $229 cheaper than Erie.
The average 18-year-old driver in the city pays $8,181, 47% more than State Farm and 242% more than a 30-year-old driver. Farm Bureau and Geico also offer rates below the city average.
Getting quotes from multiple insurers is a good first step in identifying the best insurance rates for young drivers. This is especially important because of the higher rates young drivers already pay.
Rank | Insurer | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | State Farm | $5,566 |
| 2 | Erie | $5,795 |
| 3 | Farm Bureau | $6,179 |
| 4 | Geico | $6,669 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $9,871 |
| 6 | Progressive | $13,153 |
| 7 | Allstate | $15,023 |
| N/A* | USAA | $3,195 |
*USAA is not ranked because only military members (current and former) and their families are eligible.
Two good options to keep costs down are:
- Talking to parents or an older family member about joining their policy.
- Inquiring about discounts from insurers.
Most insurers offer discounts that can help younger drivers, such as price breaks for good grades or being away at school. The best way to save money is a combined policy with an older relative, as ValuePenguin found that can cut rates for young drivers in half.
Car insurance companies with the best customer service in Tennessee
Strong customer service is a crucial part of your experience with an insurer. Although good prices matter, an easy, quick claims process can be invaluable if you find yourself in a difficult situation following an accident. According to a ValuePenguin survey, the insurers with the best customer service in Tennessee are:
Only members of the military, veterans and certain family members can get USAA policies, but they often get the lowest rates. Go to our page on Tennessee car insurance for our full analysis of the top-rated auto insurers in the state.
Overall rank* | Insurer | Respondents overall extremely satisfied with most recent claim | Respondents who rated customer service as "excellent" |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | 78% | 62% |
| 2 | Nationwide | 78 | 53% |
| 3 | State Farm | 73% | 46% |
| 4 | Allstate | 72% | 47% |
| 5 | Erie | 67% | 50% |
| 6 | Progressive | 74% | 34% |
| 7 | Geico | 64% | 42% |
| N/A | Farm Bureau | N/A | N/A |
*Overall rank takes both overall satisfaction and customer service rankings into account.
Average car insurance cost in Memphis by neighborhood
The neighborhood you live in can have a notable impact on your insurance rates. Factors such as crime and traffic often impact prices.
In Memphis, average rates differ by $354 for full coverage from the most expensive ZIP code to the cheapest. The highest rates are in 38118, which includes Oakhaven and Capleville, to the southwest of the city. The lowest are in 38135, which sits on the Northeast edge of the city.
ZIP code | Full coverage | Minimum coverage |
|---|---|---|
| 38016 | $2,239 | $705 |
| 38018 | $2,236 | $705 |
| 38103 | $2,366 | $715 |
| 38104 | $2,394 | $730 |
| 38105 | $2,390 | $716 |
Auto theft statistics in Memphis
Memphis has one of the highest rates of car theft of any city in Tennessee. The city had 6.2 auto thefts per 1,000 residents in 2019, the sixth-most in the state among cities of any size.
Only one of the cities with a higher rate than Memphis, Chattanooga, has more than 100,000 residents. Memphis had 4,046 total auto thefts, 1,298 more than metro Nashville, which had the second-most.
Rank | City | Population | Car thefts | Thefts per 1,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rocky Top | 1,766 | 20 | 11.3 |
| 2 | Newport | 6,786 | 61 | 9.0 |
| 3 | Berry Hill | 515 | 4 | 7.8 |
| 4 | Tazewell | 2,273 | 17 | 7.5 |
| 5 | Chattanooga | 181,848 | 1,314 | 7.2 |
Motor vehicle theft data was pulled from the FBI 2019 Tennessee crime report.
Methodology
ValuePenguin collected thousands of quotes from eight insurers across Tennessee. Our sample driver is a 30-year-old man who drives a 2015 Honda Civic EX and has average credit. Unless otherwise noted, rates are for a full-coverage policy.
Rate data was sourced from public insurer filings through Quadrant Information Services. This article should be used for comparative purposes only, as your rates will likely differ.
Source: FBI 2019 Tennessee crime report
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