Best Car Insurance Rates in West Virginia

Our team of analysts compared quotes to see which cities and companies had the cheapest auto insurance rates in West Virginia. We used one sample driver, a single thirty year old male, as our benchmark, and compared quotes across the Mountain State. While costs for our profiled drivers averaged $1,709 a year, the highest rates were about $2,955 more or 3.3x the cost of the cheapest to give you a sense of the range. That's why to find the best car insurance rates near you in WV, drivers should compare at least three quotes. Enter your zip code to start with a list of insurers in your area.

Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies in West Virginia

To find which providers had the cheapest car insurance rates in West Virginia, we looked at quotes from nine companies in 31 cities across the state. Here are the most affordable insurers in West Virginia, and how they compare to the overall average. These rates were for our sample driver who had a great driving record - your actual auto insurance quotes will be different.

Progressive, GEICO, Erie, Westfield, and State Farm ranked as the cheapest local auto insurance companies in West Virginia. The five companies had the lowest rates for insuring our sample driver’s Toyota, and averaged $1,101 a year. With that annual cost, our male driver was saving roughly 36% compared to the nine-company mean. In dollar terms, that's on average $600 back in the sample driver's pockets by insuring with the five most affordable carriers.

Most Expensive Auto Insurance Companies in West Virginia

The most expensive insurers in West Virginia are Sentry, MetLife, and Motorist Mutual based on this analysis. For our profiled driver, these three companies had the highest rates with an average annual cost of $2,760, a 61% premium over West Virginia’s average. Sentry had the highest rates, with an average annual premium more than double the state average.

List of Auto Insurance Companies in West Virginia

We looked at 9 auto insurance companies across West Virginia to find the most affordable providers. The table below ranks the insurers from the lowest rates to the most expensive.

Cheapest Car Insurance in West Virginia: by City

The table below shows a more local version of the cheapest car insurance companies in West Virginia. We've shown which three carriers have the best auto insurance rates within the state’s largest cities and towns. For the most part, Erie, Progressive, Westfield and GEICO dominated much as they did statewide. These rates and rankings were based on our sample single male driver with a Toyota Camry, good credit score and great driving history. Your quotes may differ based on your own background factors and desired limits of liability coverage.

Charleston, WV

The largest city and capital of West Virginia, Charleston has a population of 49,000. Charleston offers plenty for its residents, from nature and recreation such as Coonskin Park, Kanawha State Forest, and Magic Island Park, to exciting arts and entertainment events like Charleston's Live on the Levee concert series. In terms of auto insurance, our sample drivers got an average premium of $1,717 per year, which is $8 more than living in the typical WV city. This shouldn't lull drivers into a sense of complacency - the difference in quotes between companies was quite wide. We recommend drivers looking to save money on their auto insurance start by comparing quotes from Progressive, GEICO, Erie, Westfield, and State Farm. These five companies ranked with the best local auto insurance quotes out of the companies we surveyed, for an annual average quote of $1,111. That's 35% less than what our Charleston driver spend would have spent versus the city average, and this translates into an extra $606 of savings per year.

Huntington, WV

West Virginia's second largest city, Huntington is also the proud titleholder of "America's Best Community" as awarded by a competition sponsored by several communications firms. In its early years, Huntington was a port town and steamboats shipping lumber and coal out west stopped there daily. Today, the city is home to Marshall University, which is the largest employer in the town. Visitors in Huntington can explore exhibits and trails at the Huntington Museum of Art or eat locally produced food at The Wild Ramp. Our profiled motorist in Huntington paid an average of $1,748 annually for auto insurance - 2% higher than his West Virginia average. The five cheapest companies for auto insurance in Huntington for our 30-year old driver are Progressive, Westfield, GEICO, Erie, and State Farm. Together, the top five carriers quoted him an annual average of $1,135, which was 35% less than the citywide average.

Morgantown, WV

The 31,000 residents of Morgantown make the city the 3rd most populated city of West Virginia. Morgantown is known for its outdoor activities with both the West Virginia Botanic Gardens and BOPARC municipal park system close by. The city is also home to the West Virginia University football and basketball team, and hosts visitors to the Big 12 games. Car insurance in Morgantown runs about 6% cheaper than the state average, with an annual rate of approximately $1,606 for our example driver's Toyota. Still, drivers looking to save on their premiums should consider Progressive, GEICO, Erie, Westfield, and State Farm when obtaining quotes. These companies ranked as the top five most affordable auto insurers in Morgantown and had an average annual rate of $1,038 for our driver. That's a 35% discount to the Morgantown average and $568 back in his pocket for the year.

Martinsburg, WV

This city of 18,000 residents ranks with Charles Town and Romney among the best rates for auto insurance in West Virginia. The annual rate here for our benchmark motorists was $1,595 a year, which meant that their car insurance costs here were 7% cheaper compared to living elsewhere in the state. Martinsburg is located in the easternmost part of the state, and is less than 15 miles from the Maryland border. The city was a major site for manufacturing until many mills and factories shut down in the mid-20th century. Today, Martinsburg's economy relies mainly on healthcare and government for employment, with the Berkeley Medical Center and the Veterans Affairs Medical Center as two large employers.

Berkeley Springs, WV

Berkeley Springs has been recognized as one of the “100 Best Art Towns in America” for the artists, studios, and galleries located around town. Another plus about being a resident here would be its rank as the location with the second cheapest car insurance costs in the state. The small town of 600 is located in the Martinsburg metropolitan area near the Potomac River, and minutes away from the Widmeyer Wildlife Management Area and the Maryland border. Interstate 522 runs through the Berkeley Springs, providing a convenient main route for drivers and tourists alike to navigate the town. Annual premiums for our benchmark drivers averaged $1,562, placing the town 10% more affordable than the state mean.

Clarksburg, WV

Clarksburg is located in the northern region of West Virginia conveniently along Interstate 79 and Route 50. The city and its 16,000 inhabitants have played host to a diverse set of festivals and programs, celebrating wine, music, arts, heritage, and the Cecil Jarvis Greater Clarksburg 10K race. Our sample drivers living in this cultural center of north-central West Virginia saw car insurance rates that were approximately 5% cheaper than the state mean (Clarksburg average annual premiums: $1,618).

Moorefield, WV

Moorefield takes the first spot on our list of the most affordable places for auto insurance in West Virginia with an average annual rate of $1,558 – 9% lower than the typical city in West Virginia. The town of Moorefield sits atop the Allegheny Plateau and is located between two branches of the Potomac and surrounded by mountains.

Keyser, WV

Keyser ranks ninth in our roundup of the best locations in the Mountain State for the cheapest car insurance. Rates for our drivers in Keyser were 6% cheaper for our drivers at $1,598 per year compared to living and driving in the typical WV city. Keyser occupies the county seat for Mineral County, and is located in the northeastern portion of the state. The city’s most famous son is historian and academic Henry Louis Gates.

Williamson, WV

Ranking as the most expensive location for car insurance costs in the state is Williamson, WV. This city is located along the Tug Fork River, which separates it from South Williamson, Kentucky. Coal mining and transportation fuel the local economy. The city is the final stop in the Hatfield-McCoy Marathon. Running may very well be an excellent and healthy alternative for some commuters; at $2,199, average annual premiums in Williamson were 29% more expensive than the state mean.

Logan, WV

In Logan, motorists might see rates averaging $2,190, which is 28% less favorable than the typical location in West Virginia for our sample driver. Logan is located along the Guyandotte River, and is home to 1,800 denizens. The county seat of its eponymous county, Logan is a trading hub for mining and coal in the region.

Madison, WV

Madison is located in Boone County, in the western part of the Mountain State. It is considered the “Gateway to the Coalfields,” since it is an entry point to the coal mines west of the city. Rucker Branch and Pond Fork wend their way through the 7 square miles of land alongside the Veterans Memorial Bypass, State Street, and Madison Avenue. Our sample driver living here saw average annual rates of $1,936, which were 13% higher than the state average.

Wayne, WV

In Wayne, benchmark car insurance rates for our sample driver were $1,959 a year, which placed the town as the third most expensive in West Virginia, and 15% worse than the state mean. Wayne measures just under a square mile in land that is located in the westernmost county of the state. The town is relatively densely populated, with around 1,500 residents calling it home.

Grantsville, WV

Grantville rounded off our list of the most expensive car insurance in the state with a mean rate that was 3% greater than the state mean. Our example drivers saw basic liability coverage rates around $1,768 a year here. With almost 600 residents, Grantsville is the least populous location on our list of the most expensive places, and is located further east along the Little Kanawha River.

Cost of Car Insurance in West Virginia

While we highlighted ten locations as the cheapest or the most expensive in the Mountain State, there were more than twenty other places included in our study. To see how your hometown compared to other locations in West Virginia, refer to the graph below. We've presented the 31 cities and towns in order from the cheapest to the most expensive using our male driver’s annual car insurance rates as the benchmark.

For readers' reference, we've also included a table of the local cities and towns surveyed in our research. Locations are displayed in alphabetical order, from Beckley to Williamson, along with the average annual rates for car insurance that our sample motorists were quoted, and the increase or decrease relative to the WV mean.

Best Auto Insurance Companies in West Virginia

To find the best car insurers near you in West Virginia, we computed a complaint ratio to compare the amount of complaints a company received per $1 million in premiums written. Using this ratio, we can infer how "efficient" these companies are with not generating complaints. The lower the ratio, the better the company is performing in terms of complaints, and we infer from this how satisfied customers are with their provider. Progressive, USAA, and Nationwide performed the best by this metric. Westfield and Erie, two of our most affordable auto insurers in WV, were also rated very well compared to some of its other peers.

Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements in West Virginia

Drivers in West Virginia need to carry a minimum amount of car insurance in order to legally drive. In addition to standard liability insurance, WV drivers also need uninsured motorist insurance. The limits are as follows:

How We Conducted the Study

For the study, we collected auto insurance quotes for one sample driver in more than 30 cities in the state. We averaged rates for a single male 30-year-old as the benchmark. The sample man drove his fully-owned 2011 Toyota Camry to work and back. He had a good credit score and spotless driving record over the past five years. By keeping these variables constant, we were able to get an accurate estimate of the fluctuations in price by location.

We ensured that the drivers exceeded the minimum requirement for liability insurance coverage in the state. West Virginia requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability protection of $20,000 per person and $40,000 per person. It also requires that drivers are insured for up to $10,000 for property damage and $20,000 per person for uninsured motorists. West Virginia is one of the few states that has a maximum cap for uninsured motorists, at $100,000 per person for physical injury. We included national insurers such as GEICO, Allstate, and State Farm in our study along with other regional carriers.

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