Erie has the cheapest car insurance in North Carolina for full coverage, at $66 per month.

Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in North Carolina

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Best cheap car insurance in North Carolina

How we chose the top companies

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442,000+ quotes from 7 top companies
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856 North Carolina ZIP codes for accurate rates

Best and cheapest car insurance in North Carolina

Monthly rates based on full coverage car insurance for a 30-year-old man. Some rates use different ages or coverage limits.

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Erie and State Farm offer a good mix of affordable rates and reliable customer service. Although Progressive has cheaper rates for some drivers, its customer service isn't as good.


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Erie and State Farm offer online quotes, so you can quickly compare rates and find the best policy for you.

Cheapest car insurance in NC for full coverage: Erie

Erie has the cheapest car full coverage insurance in North Carolina, at $66 per month.

Full coverage from Erie costs $73 per month less than the state average.

Cheapest car insurance companies in North Carolina

Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in North Carolina

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The average cost of car insurance in North Carolina is $139 per month for full coverage. That's 20% cheaper than the national average, which is $174 per month.

Cheap full coverage car insurance quotes in NC

Company
Monthly rate
Erie logo
Erie$66
Progressive logo
Progressive$69
State Farm logo
State Farm$80
Nationwide logo
Nationwide$158
Geico logo
Geico$171
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Cheapest liability insurance in NC: Erie

Erie has the cheapest minimum liability insurance in North Carolina, at $29 per month.

That's $40 per month less than the statewide average, which is $69 per month.

Cheapest North Carolina liability insurance

Company
Monthly rate
Erie$29
Progressive$45
State Farm$46
Nationwide$65
Geico$86
Show All Rows

Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in North Carolina

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Cheapest car insurance in NC for new drivers: Erie

Erie has the cheapest minimum liability and full coverage rates in North Carolina for new drivers.

A minimum liability policy from Erie costs $64 per month for an 18-year-old driver. That's less than half the North Carolina average.

Erie also has the cheapest full coverage for young drivers in NC, at $136 per month. That's less than half the state average. Erie also has excellent customer service, which means the company can help walk teen drivers through challenges.

Cheap insurance in NC for new drivers

Company
Liability only
Full coverage
Erie$64$136
State Farm$94$159
Progressive$97$142
Geico$139$308
Nationwide$144$315
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It's illegal for insurance companies to use your age to set your car insurance rates in North Carolina. However, companies can consider your driving experience.

New drivers typically pay much more for insurance than more experienced drivers.

An 18-year-old driver in North Carolina who got their license at 16 pays more than twice as much for car insurance as a 30-year-old with more than a decade of driving experience. That's because new drivers are more likely to cause an accident.

Young drivers in North Carolina can get the cheapest rates by sharing a policy with their parents.

Cheap auto insurance in NC after a speeding ticket: Progressive

Progressive has the cheapest car insurance in NC for drivers with a ticket on their record. Full coverage costs $90 per month with Progressive, which is less than half the state average.

Erie is slightly more expensive, but at $97 per month, it's still much cheaper than the state average. Erie has better customer service reviews than Progressive, so it could be a better option for many drivers.

Best auto insurance in NC after a ticket

Company
Monthly rate
Progressive$90
Erie$97
State Farm$104
Nationwide$210
Geico$245
Show All Rows

A speeding ticket raises rates by an average of 38% in North Carolina. That's an average of $53 per month more than drivers with a clean record pay for full coverage insurance.

Best cheap auto insurance in NC after an accident: Erie

Erie is the cheapest insurance company for North Carolina drivers who have caused an accident. Full coverage insurance from Erie costs just $73 per month after an accident, which is less than a third of the North Carolina average.

Most affordable car insurance in NC after an accident

Company
Monthly rate
Erie$73
Progressive$107
State Farm$124
Farm Bureau$299
Nationwide$334
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The cost of car insurance in North Carolina goes up by an average of 75% after an at-fault accident. But not all companies raise rates by the same amount.

Erie raises rates by less than 10%, making it the only company with an increase of less than 50% after a crash. Geico has the largest increase: Its rates more than double after one accident.

Best for NC new drivers with a ticket or accident: Erie

Erie has the cheapest auto insurance quotes for new drivers with either a ticket or an accident on their driving record.

Minimum liability coverage from Erie costs $80 per month for an 18-year-old driver with a recent speeding ticket. That's $93 per month cheaper than the North Carolina average, which is $173 per month.

Erie also has the most affordable quotes for new drivers after an at-fault accident. At $70 per month, minimum coverage from Erie is less than half the statewide average.

Cheap insurance in NC for new drivers with a ticket or accident

Company
Ticket
Accident
Erie$80$70
State Farm$110$120
Progressive$110$121
Geico$153$245
Nationwide$165$230
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New drivers can expect to pay 17% more for insurance after getting a single speeding ticket, and 37% more after causing a crash.

Cheap car insurance in North Carolina after a DUI: Progressive

Progressive has the most affordable car insurance in NC for drivers with a conviction for DUI (driving under the influence). Full coverage from Progressive costs $253 per month, which is less than half the North Carolina state average after a DUI.

Cheapest car insurance after a DUI in NC

Company
Monthly rate
Progressive$253
Erie$278
State Farm$292
Geico$574
Nationwide$604
Show All Rows

North Carolina drivers with a DUI pay more than four times as much for car insurance as drivers with a clean driving record, on average. That's because insurance companies believe drivers with a DUI are more likely to cause an accident in the future.

Cheap auto insurance in NC for drivers with poor credit: Progressive

Progressive has the cheapest full coverage quotes for NC drivers with poor credit, averaging $69 per month. That's around a quarter of the North Carolina average, and $27 per month less than the second-cheapest option, Erie.

Best rates for car insurance in NC with bad credit

Company
Monthly rate
Progressive$69
Erie$96
Nationwide$205
Geico$248
Farm Bureau$254
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On average, North Carolina drivers with bad credit pay nearly twice as much for full coverage insurance as those with good credit. Insurance companies believe drivers with lower credit scores tend to file more insurance claims, so companies often charge more to make up the extra costs.

Best car insurance in NC

State Farm has the best car insurance in North Carolina because of its good customer support, coverage options and affordable rates.

Erie also offers reliable customer service, along with some of the cheapest rates in the state.

Top insurance companies in North Carolina

Company
Editor's rating
J.D. Power
AM Best
State Farm
657A++
Erie
700A+
Farm Bureau
673A
Geico
637A++
Nationwide
641A
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Average cost of car insurance in NC by city

Harkers Island, located in the Outer Banks, has the cheapest auto insurance in NC.

Full coverage in Harkers Island costs just $116 per month.

The most expensive city for car insurance in North Carolina is Newell, just outside Charlotte. Full coverage in Newell costs around $194 per month.

Full coverage NC car insurance quotes by city

City
Monthly rate
% from average
Aberdeen$134-3%
Advance$128-8%
Ahoskie$1423%
Alamance$1444%
Albemarle$133-4%
Show All Rows
Compare Rates

The average cost of full coverage car insurance in North Carolina is $139 per month. But depending on where you live in the state, average full coverage auto insurance rates can vary by $78 per month.

Large cities with more traffic and higher crime rates typically have more expensive car insurance quotes. For example, Charlotte, the largest city in North Carolina, has some of the highest rates in the state, at $168 per month. That's because insurance companies have found that people in big cities are more likely to be in an accident or have their car stolen.

North Carolina car insurance requirements

North Carolina requires that drivers have a minimum amount of bodily injury, property damage and uninsured motorist coverage to drive legally. These limits are sometimes written as 30/60/25.

What's the best car insurance to get in North Carolina?

Full coverage is the best car insurance in NC if you can afford it.

Full coverage car insurance in North Carolina costs $70 per month more than minimum liability coverage. That's because it comes with coverage that pays for damage to your car after an accident, called comprehensive and collision coverage.

If you have a loan or lease on your car, your lender will require you to have full coverage insurance. You should also consider full coverage if you have a car that's worth more than $5,000 or less than 8 years old, or if you don't have enough money to repair or replace your car on your own.

Minimum liability limits in North Carolina are increasing in 2025

Drivers with minimum coverage won't have to do anything — your insurance company will automatically raise your limits to meet the legal requirements. But you should expect your rates to go up since you'll have more coverage.

The new liability limits will be:

You only need minimum liability to drive legally, but it's usually not the best choice. Minimum coverage is often not enough to pay for an expensive accident. And if you have a car loan or lease, your bank will require that you add collision and comprehensive coverage to your policy.


Frequently asked questions

Who has the cheapest car insurance in NC?

Erie offers by far the cheapest car insurance in North Carolina, at $29 per month for a minimum coverage policy. The cheapest full coverage also comes from Erie, at $66 per month.

How much is the average cost of car insurance in NC?

The average cost of auto insurance in North Carolina is $69 per month for a minimum liability policy. Full coverage costs $139 per month, on average.

What is NC minimum car insurance coverage?

Minimum car insurance in North Carolina, up until Jan. 1, 2025, needs to have $30,000 of bodily injury liability coverage per person and $60,000 per accident, which pays for other people's injuries. It also includes $25,000 of property damage liability, to pay to repair anything you damage.

Who has the best car insurance in NC?

Erie and State Farm are the best car insurance companies in North Carolina. Both companies have dependable customer service and some of the cheapest rates in the state.

How much is car insurance in Raleigh, NC?

Car insurance in Raleigh costs an average of $144 per month for full coverage. That's 4% more expensive than the North Carolina state average. In comparison, drivers in Charlotte pay $168 per month for full coverage.


Methodology

To find the best cheap car insurance in NC, ValuePenguin collected thousands of rates from ZIP codes across North Carolina from the state's largest insurance companies. Quotes are for a 30-year-old man with a 2015 Honda Civic EX who has good credit.

Full coverage rates include liability coverage, plus collision and comprehensive coverage.

  • Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
  • Property damage liability: $50,000 per accident
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
  • Uninsured and underinsured motorist property damage: $50,000 per accident
  • Comprehensive and collision: $500 deductible

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.

Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author's opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.