Who Has The Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Portland, OR?
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Your Area
Car insurance in Portland is among the most expensive in the state of Oregon. If you hail from the Stumptown though, you can still find affordable auto insurance by comparing multiple insurance companies. We make it a bit easier by comparing quotes from 12 auto insurers in Portland to see who has the least expensive auto insurance. When you're done reading, put in your zip code up top to start comparing quotes.
Cheapest Car Insurance Companies Portland, Oregon
In Portland, we found that Progressive offered the cheapest auto insurance rates of the 12 companies we surveyed. While the Portland city average was $1,553 per year for our sample driver, Progressive was a full $633 less expensive, at $920 per year. Country was not far behind, with an average quote of $924 per year for our 30 year old man.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Your Area
We used a single 30 year old male owner of a Toyota Camry to get our rates. It is likely your own rates will be different, reflecting your own driving history, age, marital status, the type of car you drive, and much more. To see which company will have the best rates for you, we recommend you compare quotes from at least three companies. To start you can put your zip code up top for a list of companies to start.
| Rank | Auto Insurance Company | Average Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | $920 |
| 2 | Country | $924 |
| 3 | Grange Insurance Association | $1,104 |
| 4 | GEICO | $1,112 |
| 5 | Mutual of Enumclaw | $1,140 |
| 6 | Oregon Mutual | $1,164 |
| 7 | State Farm | $1,272 |
| 8 | Allied | $1,440 |
| 9 | American Family | $1,632 |
| 10 | Encompass | $1,764 |
| 11 | Farmers | $2,352 |
| 12 | Sentry | $3,816 |
Cost of Car Insurance in Portland: by Neighborhood
Depending on where you live in Portland, your rates may be more expensive than the city average. We looked specifically at six major Portland neighborhoods to see how their pricing changed. Downtown Portland, as well neighborhoods on the west side of the river tended to be more pricey than those on the east side.
| Neighborhood | Average Annual Car Insurance Rate |
|---|---|
| Downtown | $1,607 |
| Northwest District | $1,620 |
| Southwest Portland | $1,652 |
| Pearl | $1,680 |
| Boise | $1,686 |
| East Portland | $1,730 |
To ensure you get the best price in any area, it is crucial you compare quotes from multiple auto insurance companies.
Best Auto Insurance Companies in Portland
The best car insurance in the City of Roses will depend on the driver's backgrounds, and what they are looking for. If you value customer satisfaction over price, the best company for you will be different than someone who is just looking for basic minimum car insurance. Below you can see a brief summary of what some companies are best for.
| Auto Insurance Company | Best For... |
|---|---|
|
GEICO | Claims Handling |
|
Progressive | Price and convenience |
|
USAA | Military Members |
According to the 2016 J.D Power Study of northwestern auto insurance companies, GEICO was the best for claims handling of companies we surveyed for quotes. GEICO scored 4/5 stars for claims handling, placing behind USAA, whom we discuss more below, which had 5/5 stars. GEICO was the fourth least expensive company we found in Portland for our sample driver, though it was less than $100 more expensive than Progressive. Depending on your circumstances, GEICO may end up being the cheapest auto insurer for you and thus the best overall.
As it proved for our sample 30 year old Portland driver however, Progressive was the most affordable insurer. Progressive scores significantly lower for claims handling than GEICO however (2/5 stars), so that is something to be wary of. Progressive may be the top choice if you want to get auto insurance as fast as you can. Progressive allows you to complete your insurance purchase directly online without needing to talk to an agent so the whole process is relatively fast. Just be sure Progressive is your cheapest option if you're looking to save on rates, since GEICO would be just as quick as Progressive in most cases.
Home to a Coast Guard, an Air National Guard, and a Marines Engineer Corp, military personnel and those related to them in Portland may be eligible for USAA. This company ranks as the best insurer for military personnel. As we mention above, USAA scores a perfect 5/5 when it comes to claims handling. USAA also offers great discounts for deployed members on top of other military exclusive discounts.
Fatal Accidents in Portland
Portland had 156 fatal accidents between 2011 and 2015, a number fewer than most other cities of similar size. In terms of the state of Oregon however, Portland accounted for nearly 25% of all traffic fatalities.
Most Dangerous Roads in Portland
US-26 had shared the highest amount of fatal traffic accidents in the City of Roses, though no road in the city was significantly more dangerous than another.
| Rank | Highway | Number of Fatal Accidents (2011 - 2015) | Percent That Involve Drunk Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | US-26 (ODOT 26) | 12 | 41.6% |
| 2 | SE DIVISION ST | 9 | 22.2% |
| 3 | SR-213 (ODOT 68) | 7 | 0% |
| 4 | US-30BY (ODOT 123) | 7 | 28.5% |
| 5 | NE MARINE DR | 7 | 71.4% |
Drunk drivers accounted for 41.7% of fatal accidents in Portland which was higher than much larger cities like Houston, San Antonio and Los Angeles where drunk drivers accounted for around 30 to 35% of fatal accidents. The majority of fatal accidents on NE Marine Dr involved drunk driving.
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Portland, Oregon
Oregon has relatively comprehensive carinsurance requirements compared to most other states, requiring liability insurance, uninsured motorist protection as well as personal injury protection. Below you can see the full breakdown:
- $25,000 of Bodily Injury Liability per Person
- $50,000 of Bodily Injury Liability per Accident
- $20,000 of Property Damage Liability
- $25,000 of Uninsured Motorist Insurance per Person
- $50,000 of Uninsured Motorist Insurance per Accident
- $15,000 of Personal Injury Protection
While the coverage is encompassing, the liability portion is likely to small for most drivers. We always recommend drivers get limits that equal the total amount of their assets. If your car is worth over $3,000 or less than 10 years old, we also strongly recommend you add comprehensive and collision insurance as well.
How We Compared Quotes
We collected quotes from different insurance companies across 59 towns and cities in the state of Oregon. Our sample driver was a 30 year old male who drove a Toyota Camry. To obtain quotes, we kept parameters for getting coverage the same, such as that he was single, had a good credit score and a clean driving record. The only parameter that changed was the zip code where he lived in Oregon - in this case, Portland. The amount of coverage we opted for gave our driver bit more than what is required of state minimums.
| Coverage Type | Oregon Minimum | Study Limits |
|---|---|---|
| Body Liability | $25,000 per person/ $50,000 per accident | $50,000 per person/ $100,000 Per Accident |
| Property Damage | $20,000 Per Accident | $20,000 Per Accident |
| Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist BI | $25,000 per person/ $50,000 per accident | $50,000 Per Person/ $100,000 Per Accident |
| Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist PD | None | $50,000 Per Accident |
| Personal Injury Protection | $15,000 of Personal Injury Protection | $15,000 of Personal Injury Protection |
| Comprehensive and Collision | None | $500 Deductible |
Sources:
Fatal car accident and DUI data: FARS 2011 to 2015.
Editorial Note: The editorial content on this page is not provided or commissioned by any financial institution. Any opinions, analyses, reviews, statements or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and may not have been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities prior to publication.