Home to The Walt Disney World and perhaps best known as "The Theme Park Capital of the World", Orlando holds a special place in many people's hearts, as well as the overall economy of Florida. It is the largest principal city of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area ("Greater Orlando"), 26th largest metro area in the United States. In the whole of Florida, Orlando motorists will find their hometown among the top 20% priciest cities for auto insurance. However, our studies also show that there are ways to save that are as simple as comparing car insurance quotes from different companies, which we'll cover more below.

Auto insurance rates varied widely in Orlando; our sample driver's quotes differed by as much as $4,000 between the most expensive and cheapest insurance company. Depending on the neighborhood he lived in, his average quotes could rise by as much as 20%, one of the largest gaps we have seen among city neighborhoods. Overall, our 33-year-old driver saw average annual car insurance rates around $1,966 in the city. For more interesting facts regarding the price difference among the city’s different neighborhoods, as well as the suburbs within a 50-mile radius from Orlando, click to read more:

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Cost of car insurance in Orlando

To evaluate how the cost of car insurance for drivers in Orlando varies based on where they live, our analysis took into account 29 neighborhoods within the city and 16 suburbs surrounding it. We used the profile of a sample driver in The City Beautiful of a single 33-year-old man as a benchmark. With his quotes, we were able to assess how much auto insurance costs differ on a relative basis, area by area. We'll then discuss rates by neighborhood and suburb in more detail after the map.

This map below shows how his average quote across the sixteen companies changed based solely on varying where he lives and parks his car. Suburbs were chosen from a list of smaller cities and census-designated places within the larger Orlando metro area where there were more than 15,000 residents to be most generally applicable. As a result, some suburbs closer to the Orlando city proper are not shown

Neighborhoods with the best car insurance rates in Orlando

Most of the cheaper car insurance premiums found for our sample driver were in the eastern region of Orlando city proper, where our top three cheapest neighborhoods, Bithlo, Huckleberry Fields and Baldwin Park, are found. On the other hand, the annual rates rose as our sample driver "moved" toward the city center. They increased when he ventured out towards the western limits, where our top 3 most expensive neighborhoods were situated: Pine Hills, Clear Lake and Florida Center North. However, consumers living in these neighborhoods could still save on their auto insurance bills just by comparing quotes across insurers.

Bithlo

The most affordable auto insurance rates in Orlando were found in the Bithlo neighborhood, in the northeast area of the city. Our sample motorists living here can pay on average an annual insurance cost of $1,847, which is a 6% savings compared to the city average. The average commute time to work in Bithlo is 30 minutes, which is about 10 minutes higher than the average Orlando driver's commute.

Huckleberry Fields

The second-cheapest rates for insuring a car in Orlando are in the Huckleberry Fields neighborhood. Drivers here are located closer to the city center than Bithlo and are just a short 15-minute drive away. Annual auto insurance premiums can average $1,852 for basic liability coverage, which is about 6% or $114 lower compared to the typical Orlando neighborhood.

Baldwin Park

The third lowest cost neighborhood was found in the north, where the self-identified "Most Desirable Residential Neighborhood" Baldwin Park sits. The average auto insurance rates for our sample driver here was about $1,866 a year, 5% lower than the city’s average.

Most expensive neighborhoods for car insurance rates in Orlando

Our three most expensive neighborhoods' annual auto insurance costs averaged 10% higher than Orlando’s mean cost. Overall, the more expensive neighborhoods had costs that were 5% higher than the city average. However, even though these neighborhoods may be on the more expensive side, there are always opportunities for individual consumers to save by comparing car insurance quotes.

Pine Hills

The Pine Hills neighborhood was reported to have one of the most ethnically diverse groups in Orlando, FL. Our sample driver also found his highest annual premiums around this area, with rates averaging 14% higher than the city’s mean. However, it is worth noting that in our most expensive neighborhood, our sample driver was able to find individual car insurance quotes from as low as 38% less than the city’s average just by switching insurers. This simple switch can save consumers almost $800 a year compared to the Orlando average.

Clear Lake

This neighborhood is the closest to the city center among our top 3 most expensive neighborhoods for Orlando drivers. While there are several local amenities around, such as Clear Lake Park, motorists living in this neighborhood might find their bills 9% higher than the typical neighborhood in Orlando. Annual costs for our sample motorist averaged $2,147 a year to insure their vehicles.

Florida Center North

Florida Center North is just 11 miles northeast from the famed Disney World (whose costs are about the same as the city average, by the way), and it is the third most expensive place for auto insurance in Orlando. The annual average rates are 8% higher than the $1,966 average found with our sample driver in Orlando.

Auto insurance rates in Orlando suburbs

While the Greater Orlando Metro population is the 26th largest, most of this population includes residents from the suburbs as well as cities within the three other Metro region counties who commute to the city for work. Almost all of the suburbs we’ve examined had premiums lower than the city’s average for our sample driver. We found Leesburg, Eustis, Meadow Woods, Clermont and Oviedo to be the most affordable suburbs for Orlando drivers. These five suburbs averaged premiums that were 19% lower than Orlando’s average.

However, not every suburb on our list was as affordable as our top five. Out of the 16 suburbs we included in our study, only one ranked with costs more expensive than the Orlando average: Four Corners. We'll cover that in the last paragraph below.

Leesburg

Referred to as "The Lakefront City" by the locals, Leesburg sits on the other side of Eustis, across Lake Eustis and Lake Harris. Before Orlando’s rapid development led to the population growth here, Leesburg was the first town to be incorporated in the whole of Lake County and is known for its watermelon production as well as the Watermelon Festival. A few miles further away from Orlando than Eustis, Leesburg drivers could enjoy 22% savings on car insurance, on top of the great natural resources around.

Eustis

The town of Eustis is nicknamed by locals "America’s Hometown", as it is one of the several towns established during the post-Civil War settlement movement. Originally a busy port for steamboats on Lake Eustis in Lake County, it is now tightly connected with the city of Orlando for its attractions and business, while enjoying the lakes and wildlife out north. For less than an hour commute time, our sample driver found Eustis to be 22% cheaper than Orlando’s average premiums.

Clermont

Referred to as the "Choice of Champions" for its international reputation as home to many Olympics champions as well as the elite athletes' training spot, Clermont sits just 22 miles west of Orlando and is our fourth cheapest suburb with rates 17% lower than the city’s average for our sample driver.

Oviedo

Oviedo's economy was first based around steamboats ferrying citrus and celery to Orlando; today, it continues to have strong economic ties with the city. Located just 18 miles northeast of the city, Oviedo was our fifth lowest-cost suburb in our analysis. Quotes for our sample motorist averaged $1,713 a year to protect their car with insurance.

Cheap car insurance companies in Orlando

Orlando's cost of car insurance ranked higher than the Florida range and spanned $3,000 between the cheapest companies and the most expensive. In other words, one year of coverage at the most expensive company can pay for almost three and a half years of insurance protection at the cheapest. This means that drivers in Orlando must compare multiple quotes from insurance providers to ensure they find the most economical plan with the most appropriate coverage for themselves. Otherwise, they could potentially overpay when they're looking for the best auto insurance rates.

Our sample driver found his lowest quote from Amica, which gave him a $1,207 annual average premium that beats the Orlando average by 39%. We have also found that Amica is the best-rated insurer in Florida with the least share of customer complaints to their business. Electric Insurance Company's average auto insurance premium was just as competitive at $1,212 a year — 38% better than the typical company underwriting in Orlando. Our third most affordable rates were found with State Farm, which quoted $1,248 annually for our sample driver. Check out the discount section below for more savings with these low-cost car insurers and other companies.

There were a couple of insurers in the area that ranked on the most expensive costs based on the quotes our sample driver received. One of them was United Automobile, where our profiled motorist's rates were 123% higher than Orlando’s average annual premiums. The second most expensive insurer was Kingsway America, which offered plans that were 61% pricier than most. The third highest rates for our sample driver were at Direct General, where premiums could be as high as $3,052 a year on average — 56% more expensive than most.

Auto insurance agencies in Orlando, FL

We also display below several larger agencies in the area where Orlando motorists can have access to multiple insurers in one sitting. These lists are by no means comprehensive, and drivers are encouraged to seek out their own agencies if they have preferred insurers. Brightway Insurance represents a range of auto insurance companies, including Travelers, MetLife, Allied, Safeco and Mercury, among our list of insurers. Eidson Insurance, a Marsh & McLennan Agency, also collaborates with a range of insurance companies, including Auto-Owners, Nationwide, Progressive, Safeco and Travelers.

A couple of insurers on our lists, including some of the cheapest Orlando car insurance companies in our analysis, work only through their own independent agents stationed in the region:

Auto insurance discounts in Orlando, FL

Having chosen an appropriate insurer, consumers should always look for ways to save through negotiating for possible discounts. Orlando motorists could find themselves benefiting from the city’s prominent technology, recreation as well as educational institutions, for many insurers offer special discounts to members of recognized organizations. For example, GEICO offers discounts for members of the Florida State Golf Association, Florida Institute of Technology Alumni Association, as well as the University of Florida Alumni Association.

We also found special discounts from among our list of cheapest auto insurers: Amica offers E-Discounts for policyholders who sign up for an e-policy and e-bill; Electric offers Electric and Hybrid Car Discount. Last but not least, current students of the University of Florida should take note that State Farm offers up to 25% savings for those qualified for its Good Student Discount — that trends towards the higher end of good student discounts we've seen in general.

Even if you are not a member of professional or school organizations, there are other across-the-board discounts that are commonly offered by insurance companies. For example, young drivers with records of Defensive Driver classes or senior drivers with records of Mature Driver classes could find themselves eligible for further bargains.

Here are just a few examples of links to relevant courses offered for Orlando residents looking for these types of discounts:

Florida state minimum vehicle insurance coverage

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles only requires minimum coverage of $10,000 personal injury and $10,000 property damage liability coverage. However, it requires that all vehicles registered in Florida have an insurance policy issued through a licensed Florida agent.

Note that the coverage we chose for our sample driver is higher than the required minimum, with $25,000 property damage coverage, as well as additional features such as the comprehensive and collision coverage. One should judge his ideal coverage based on his total assets. Read our article about comprehensive and collision car insurance to learn about why we included them for our sample driver.

Methodology

The driver profile we chose to represent Orlando is a single 33-year-old male. He drives a basic 2010 Toyota Camry which he owns, and he has a good credit score with clean driving records. The study accounted for premium data from 16 different auto insurance providers, across 29 Orlando zip codes. The zip codes included all the standard Orlando zip codes identified by the USPS. The neighborhoods identified in this study were the ones most commonly associated with each zip code, cross-referenced through both USPS records and the Google Map. The suburb study only included cities and census-designated places with more than 15,000 people in the population, which has resulted in smaller suburbs closer to the city not being included in the analysis.

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