Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Mississippi?

Where a driver lives in Mississippi and the insurance company he or she chooses are two major determinants in getting cheap auto insurance rates. We compared local car insurance quotes for a benchmark driver in 50+ cities across the Magnolia State, and found that costs varied widely. The most expensive provider cost nearly 1.6x what the cheapest auto insurance company in Mississippi charged, for example. That's why to find the best car insurance rates, drivers should compare rates from a few different companies. To get started, use the tool above and type in your zip code to see the top providers near you or read more from our research.

Cheapest Car Insurance in Mississippi

We analyzed auto insurance quotes in Mississippi for our two sample drivers, a 30 year old single man, as a benchmark to compare costs across eight companies. The average cost for these profiled drivers in Mississippi came out to $1,690, and below are the top five cheapest car insurance companies in Mississippi.

Unitrin, Alfa and State Farm, and Mississippi Farm Bureau had the best auto insurance rates for our sample drivers’ Toyota Camry. Just note that the MS Farm Bureau charges an annual membership fee, which can range from $25 to $40 based on which county drivers live in. They averaged $1,414 a year for the limits we set which included collision and comprehensive coverage. We suggest that drivers looking for low rates add these four insurers to their list of companies to get and compare quotes from.

Most Expensive Auto Insurance Companies in Mississippi

On the other end of the spectrum, the top three most expensive companies in our Mississippi analysis were Safe Auto, Shelter and Nationwide for our two benchmark drivers. On average these companies cost about 20% than what the typical insurer in Mississippi charged. Their mean annual premiums were $1,395, which was higher than the state average for our motorists by $236. Check out the list below to see the least to most expensive insurers in Mississippi:

Cheapest Car Insurance in Mississippi: By City

Rates can depend on where drivers live, so take a look at our table below to see who the most affordable auto insurers are at the local level. We've listed the cheapest insurer results from our analysis for ten of the largest cities in Mississippi. Just keep in mind that these rates represent averages for our sample drivers, who have good credit scores and driving records; your actual quotes will differ since they are tailored to your own driving profile and coverage needs.

Places with the Cheapest Auto Insurance in Mississippi

The top five cheapest rates for car insurance in Mississippi are actually shared by six locations; there was a tie between two places for the third best rates. For the most part, our most affordable cities and towns were located in the northern half of Mississippi, and have a history rich in civil rights movement. They averaged an annual auto insurance premium of $1,537. Compared to the state average of $1,690 per year, our benchmark drivers in these six locations were paying 9% less.

Starkville, MS

Starkville ranks as the city with the cheapest auto insurance costs in Mississippi. Annual rates here for our sample drivers were $1,467, which was 13% less compared to the state average in our study. 21,000 residents call Starville home, along with the student population over at Mississippi State University. MSU is the largest university in Mississippi, and doubles as the largest local employer in Starkville. MSU students greatly contribute to the city’s economy, with community events such as the Dudy Gras Parade. The Cotton District in Starkville was recorded as the first development modeled after the new urbanism style, meaning that it is a walkable and mixed-use neighborhood.

Corinth, MS

Corinth, the small town of 15,000 in northern Mississippi is the 2nd cheapest place for car insurance in the state. Local drivers can get rates for 9% under the state average. The best companies were Alfa, State Farm and Unitrin where rates were about 25% below the city average.

Tupelo, MS

Tupelo has the third best rates for car insurance in our Mississippi list. Rates based on our benchmark are $1,549 a year, which is 8% lower than the typical city in Mississippi. Tupelo ranks as the 7th largest city in Mississippi and is accessible via U.S. Route 78. Fans of the "King of Rock and Roll" know Tupelo as the birthplace of Elvis Presley, and indeed, the city has developed into a tourist attraction for his fans around the world, with Elvis memorabilia lined along the streets.

Westpoint, MS

Another small town from northern Mississippi, Westpoint is part of the "Golden Triangle" region of the state. Rates in Westpoint were about 8% the Mississippi average. Going with Alfa in West Point will save you about another 70% off the state average.

Houston, MS

Houston is a small town of 3,000 located in north central Mississippi. The town, know for its semi-annual "Flywheel Festival" has rates about 8% under the state average.

Places with the Most Expensive Car Insurance in Mississippi

Based on our review of auto insurance quotes for our two sample drivers, the five locations in Mississippi with the highest annual costs had an annual average rate of $1,847. That makes them in aggregate 9% more expensive compared to the state average.

Natchez, MS

The second highest rates were in Natchez, where our sample drivers saw an annual average that was 11% higher than the state mean. Natchez is located on the Mississippi River, and is the only city in Adams County. It has more than 500 buildings registered on the National Register of Historic Places, and one example is the Natchez Trace. Once a Native American trail more than 8,000 years ago, the Trace is currently a scenic parkway that extends to Nashville, Tennessee. Six major highways, including four U.S. Routes, and Mississippi Highways 554 and 555 serve the city and its 16,000 people.

Picayune, MS

A city that is actually part of the New Orleans metro area, Picayune is the 2nd most expensive city for car insurance in Mississippi. Rates are on average, 11% greater than the state average. Nonetheless, going with a company like Unitrin would save drivers roughly 22% from the city average, and 14% on the state average.

Bay Saint Louis, MS

Rounding out our most expensive list is Bay Saint Louis, which at $1,252, has the fifth highest rates. That ranks costs for our sample drivers here to be 9% more than the typical Mississippi city in the analysis. 17 square miles wide, Bay Saint Louis is home to a population of around 9,000, and is gradually rebuilding itself after the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. The hurricane destroyed numerous family homes, the city library, and the Bay St. Louis Bridge on US Highway 90. Since then, the rebuilt bridge was awarded with America’s Transportation Award with local artwork featured along the pedestrian walkway of the new bridge.

Monticello, MS

Monticello ranks with the fourth most expensive rates for auto insurance in Mississippi for our typical drivers with an annual average rate of $1,255 (9% higher vs. state mean). This city spreads over 3 square miles around a bend in the Pearl River, and is home to over 1,500 residents. With its close proximity to water source, Monticello offers its denizens access to a variety of recreational, camping, hiking, fishing, and boating activities.

Hazelhurst, MS

Only 30 miles south of Jackson, this small farming town is the fifth most expensive spot for car insurance in the states. Rates measured about 8% above the state average. Luckily, a company like Unitrin will be able to save drivers roughly 29% compared to the city average.

Cost of Car Insurance in Mississippi: by City

Quote data for two sample drivers was averaged across a number of insurers to determine the average cost per city. This average premium figure was then used to rank and compare the cities relative to one another from the cheapest rates to the most expensive. For an alphabetical list, please refer to the study methodology and assumptions below.

Best Auto Insurance Companies in Mississippi

One way of evaluating which local carriers are the best for car insurance is to analyze how many complaints they received relative to their competitors - a complaint index. To calculate this, we compared each company's share of complaints versus their share of the market (premiums underwritten). The lower each company's complaint index figure, the more the company outperforms its competitors. By this measure, six companies ranked as the best car insurance companies in Mississippi. Among the six top carriers, the three largest are Safeco, Shelter, and Safeway. Below is a table with the results ranking the insurance companies from the lowest (best) to highest complaint ratio:

How We Conducted the Study

We looked at auto insurance quotes in Mississippi for two sample drivers in 43 cities: a single 30 year old male and a 65 year old single male driver. They both own and are the principal operators of a 2010 Toyota Camry that they drive for 12,000 miles a year. They mainly use their Camry to commute to work and have had great driving records with no accidents or violations in the past five years. Additionally, the study also assumes that the drivers have good credit history.

Costs are based on a basic liability protection for the 2010 Toyota Camry for these two sample drivers across national insurers like GEICO, Allstate, and State Farm, and regional providers such as Shelter Insurance. The Mississippi Insurance Department requires minimum auto insurance liability of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury and $25,000 for property damage per accident.

Our analysis looked at 50 locations in the state of Mississippi, and here they are presented in alphabetical order from Aberdeen to Wiggins. The rank refers to how each city or town places when arranged from the cheapest to the most expensive.

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