While most drivers know that the cost of insuring their car depends on their driving history, not many people are aware of the role that location and choice of company play. We conducted a study of auto insurance rates across North Dakota auto insurance providers using two drivers as benchmarks to see how much costs could vary. On average, the annual premium for our two profiled motorists was $1,251 in the Peace Garden State, but rates varied by 79% from the cheapest to the most expensive insurer – that was nearly a $2,500 difference in annual premiums between the lowest and highest quotes. Enter your zip above for a list of companies near you to begin searching around for great rates, or read on to learn more about car insurance quotes in North Dakota.
- Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies in ND
- Best Car Insurance Rates: by City
- Cost of Auto Insurance: by City
- Best Car Insurance Companies in North Dakota
Cheapest Auto Insurance in North Dakota
Our study obtained quotes from 15 providers for our two sample drivers across 30 cities to identify the cheapest auto insurance companies in North Dakota. The six companies that in general offered the best car insurance rates were USAA*, Allied, Nodak Mutual, State Farm, AAA and State Auto. Together, they quoted an average rate of $874 for our example North Dakota drivers - a 30% decrease from the state average.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Your Area
Most Expensive Car Insurance Companies in North Dakota
How much can you save with the cheapest auto insurance providers in North Dakota? The most expensive insurer in our analysis (Dairyland) returned quotes as much as $3,131 for a year of coverage from our benchmark drivers - roughly 2.5x the cost. Other expensive companies quoted for less than Dairyland, but were still 13 to 30% higher than the North Dakota benchmark cost. They were Liberty Mutual ($1,630), North Star ($1,473) and MetLife ($1,414).
List of Auto Insurance Companies in North Dakota
Where does your current insurance company stand compared to other insurers in the North Dakota? Here is a list of all 15 auto insurance companies we’ve included in our study, ranked in the order of their average annual premiums for our two male drivers from low to high. Note that your rates are most likely different from what is shown as they are based on your personal situation, and the list is for comparison purpose.
There is one specialty insurer on the list, and that is USAA. The United States Automobile Association only offers coverage to affiliated military members and their families. On the other hand, note that in North Dakoda motorists can get AAA (fifth cheapest ND insurer on the list) coverage without being an AAA member (which is sometimes required in other states.) Benefits of being an AAA member include receiving a 7% discount on your car insurance, but it also comes with a $57 annual membership dues.
| Rank | Car Insurance Company | Annual Average Rates |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA* | $648 |
| 2 | Allied | 792 |
| 3 | Nodak Mutual | 823 |
| 4 | State Farm | 861 |
| 5 | AAA | 1,011 |
| 6 | State Auto | 1,108 |
| 7 | Allstate | 1,108 |
| 8 | Auto-Owners | 1,130 |
| 9 | American Family | 1,140 |
| 10 | EMC | 1,242 |
| 11 | GEICO | 1,247 |
| 12 | MetLife | 1,414 |
| 13 | North Star | 1,473 |
| 14 | Liberty Mutual | 1,630 |
| 15 | Dairyland | 3,131 |
Cheapest Car Insurance in North Dakota: by City
We found that for our sample North Dakota motorists, the cheapest insurers varied depending on where they lived. Taking the 10 largest places in North Dakota as example, the insurance companies with the best rates were usually Nodak Mutual, USAA, and State Farm. Check out the table below to see who are the three cheapest insurers in North Dakota's 10 largest cities, and continue to read more about finding affordable auto insurance in each of the five largest North Dakota cities.
| City | Cheapest Insurer # 1 | Cheapest Insurer # 2 | Cheapest Insurer # 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fargo | Nodak Mutual | $618 | USAA | $660 | State Farm | $732 |
| Bismarck | USAA | 606 | State Farm | 768 | Nodak Mutual | 792 |
| Grand Forks | USAA | 600 | State Farm | 678 | Nodak Mutual | 756 |
| Minot | USAA | 564 | Allied | 804 | Nodak Mutual | 816 |
| West Fargo | Nodak Mutual | 618 | USAA | 660 | Allied | 714 |
| Mandan | USAA | 606 | Nodak Mutual | 792 | Nodak Mutual | 792 |
| Dickinson | USAA | 648 | State Farm | 690 | Allied | 834 |
| Williston | USAA | 660 | Allied | 834 | Nodak Mutual | 924 |
| Jamestown | USAA | 660 | Nodak Mutual | 714 | Allied | 732 |
| Wahpeton | Nodak Mutual | 642 | USAA | 660 | State Farm | 750 |
Fargo, ND
First up is Fargo, which ranked as city with the second lowest rates for insuring our two drivers' cars in our North Dakota study - $1,148. Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota and part of the Fargo-Moorhead, a North Dakota-Minnesota statistical area. Home to a growing number of over 113,000 residents, the city was named after William Fargo, the founder of Wells Fargo Express Company and director of the Northern Pacific Railway. Residents of the city have access to recreational parks, sports, museums, and theaters. North Dakota State University, also located in Fargo, is the city’s largest employer.
For motorists looking for the lowest car insurance rates in Fargo, our profiled drivers found theirs with Nodak Mutual, USAA, State Farm, Allied, and Auto Club Group (AAA) insurance companies. Generally speaking, we found these insurers to be around 37% cheaper than most other providers in the city with a mean annual rate of $724.
Bismarck, ND
Home to nearly 62,000 people, Bismarck was among our top 23% for cities with cheap auto insurance quotes in North Dakota. Once proclaimed to be the seventh fastest growing city in the U.S. by Forbes magazine, it is now the hub of retail and health care as well as a central North Dakota economic center. We found Bismarck’s annual average cost to insure a car to be around $1,224.
For the most affordable auto insurance coverage in Bismarck, include USAA, State Farm, and Nodak Mutual when you're shopping for quotes. These were the three insurers costing less than $800 a year. Allied and AAA helped to round out the list of the top five cheap car insurance companies in Bismarck, ND.
Grand Forks, ND
Grand Forks is the third largest city in North Dakota as well as the third cheapest city for car insurance in North Dakota. At $1,154 a year, rates for our two motorists' auto insurance policies were 8% lower than if they had lived elsewhere in the state. The city sits at the forks of Red River and Red Lake River, once an important trading area for Native American and French fur trappers. Currently, it is home to over 54,000 residents, as well as the University of North Dakota and the Grand Forks Air Force Base. The city has a diverse culture of college sports, arts and parks that can be reached through U.S. Route 2, Interstate 29, and U.S. Highway 81.
To find cheapest auto insurance quotes in Grand Forks, try State Farm, Nodak Mutual, Allied and AAA. These five carriers had the lowest rates for our two men's cars out of the 15 providers we obtained quotes from. Based on our benchmark motorists, a year’s coverage with these insurers costs well below $1,000. For Grand Forks motorists who qualify, USAA had the best rates at $600 a year.
Cost of Insurance in North Dakota: by City
Beyond the 10 largest North Dakota cities featured above, here is a full list with the 20 others included in the study. They're presented in ranked order, from cheapest to most expensive.
Best Auto Insurance Companies in North Dakota
To figure out the best auto insurance companies in North Dakota, we calculated a complaint index for the largest insurers in the state. We divided a company’s complaints by its premiums, and then compared that ratio with the state’s overall complaints to premium to determine the complaint index. The index measures how well companies are performing compared to its competitors, and takes into consideration the company market share. An index of 1 is average, so the lower the number, the better the company is doing compared to the other companies. That is, it receives fewer complaints than its competitors for the same dollar of business it writes.
| Auto Insurance Company | Written Premium | Complaint Count | Complaint Index |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto-Owners | $13,231,218 | 0 | 0.00 |
| North Star Mutual Insurance Company | 9,534,760 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Allied | 7,239,653 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Grinnell Mutual Insurance | 7,027,759 | 0 | 0.00 |
| AAA / Automobile Club | 5,811,188 | 0 | 0.00 |
| MetLife | 5,388,047 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nationwide | 3,324,800 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Secura Insurance | 3,201,170 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Nodak Mutual Insurance Company | 34,594,082 | 1 | 0.26 |
| State Farm | 62,008,182 | 2 | 0.29 |
| USAA | 16,137,924 | 1 | 0.55 |
| Center Mutual Insurance Company | 18,416,235 | 2 | 0.96 |
| American Family | 43,411,971 | 5 | 1.02 |
| Progressive | 67,704,586 | 8 | 1.04 |
| QBE Insurance | 39,028,246 | 5 | 1.13 |
| Farmers | 11,999,120 | 2 | 1.47 |
| Country Financial Insurance | 4,887,515 | 1 | 1.81 |
| EMC Insurance | 8,324,329 | 2 | 2.12 |
| Allstate | 10,554,375 | 3 | 2.51 |
| Safeco | 7,143,879 | 3 | 3.71 |
| GEICO | 14,044,264 | 7 | 4.41 |
| State Auto | 5,439,612 | 3 | 4.88 |
| Horace Mann | 3,099,370 | 2 | 5.71 |
Methodology & Coverage Requirements
We analyzed car insurance quotes in North Dakota for our two sample drivers: a 30-year-old single male and a 65 year old single male. They both own a 2010 Toyota Camry with the main purpose of commuting to work. They have good credit scores and drive 12,000 miles a year with excellent driving track record of no accidents or violations in the last five years. We compared rates for the Camry across 15 insurers in North Dakota, such as MetLife, American Family and Allied.
The costs are based on a basic liability protection policy, which is just higher than the North Dakota minimum coverage requirements, for a 2010 Toyota Camry. North Dakota state law requires minimum auto insurance of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $25,000 per accident for property damage.
| Liability Type | North Dakota Minimum Limits | Assumptions Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily Injury (BI) | $25,000 per person / $50,000 per accident | $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident |
| Property Damage (PD) | $25,000 per accident | $25,000 per accident |
| Uninsured Motorist (UM/UIM) | Not required | $50,000 per person / $100,000 per accident |
| Collision / Comprehensive Deductible | Not required | $500 |