Car Insurance in Wichita, Kansas

The city of Wichita is the capital of Kansas, as well as its largest city and the most populated urban area. It is popularly known as “The Air Capital of the World”, for the multiple major aircraft manufacturing companies located in Wichita, some since the 1920s. Aircraft manufacturing is still the largest industry in the city today. Wichita has economic ties to four neighboring counties and all five together make up the Wichita, KS Metropolitan Statistical Area. Over 600,000 people live, work, and commute within this metropolitan area every day. These commuters may be glad to know that the average rates in Wichita are lower than the mean for car insurance in the state of Kansas. There are also many discount options that are available to Wichita drivers. These options range from means as simple as taking a defensive driving course, to profession-specific discounts such as being a member of one of the many Wichita chapters of engineer societies. 

Using a sample 33-year-old married male driver, Wichita’s car insurance rates averaged $1,123 a year. The further away the driver lives from the center of Wichita, the lower his or her annual rates. The average rates by neighborhood vary within a 4% margin above and below the city’s average. Nevertheless, depending on the insurance company chosen, a driver can save as much as 21% on car insurance each year, or pay 20% more than the average Wichita car owner for the same coverage. As a good practice, we always encourage consumers to compare quotes across at least three insurers to ensure they get the best rates for auto insurance in Wichita. Enter your zip code above for a list of insurers in your area to begin shopping for great rates.

Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies in Wichita

Among the insurers we compared for our benchmark driver, the three companies with the best car insurance rates in Wichita averaged about 18% cheaper than the city’s mean. Allied had the cheapest auto insurance rates in Wichita with a mean premium of $886 for our sample driver, which is 21% less than the city’s average rate. Farmers, our second cheapest auto insurance company, offers annual rates of $900, which is 20% lower than the average annual car insurance premiums. The insurer with the third best rates for car insurance in Wichita is Auto-Owners, at $988 per year. It is worth noting that Allied’s insurance rates can fluctuate from $792 per year to $900, with the latter now higher than Farmers, depending on the region the driver lives in. The other two insurers have relatively consistent quotes throughout the city, but variation still exists.

There can be as much as 41% difference in quotes between the most expensive and cheapest insurance companies. The three most expensive companies for our driver are Electric, Shelter, and Encompass, all of which offer premiums at a rate that can be between 11% – 20% higher than the city’s average. The annual premiums drivers pay will directly depend on the quotes they receive, which is why it is in drivers' best interests to compare quotes between at least three auto insurance companies in Wichita. After entering their zip codes below, drivers will find a list of auto insurance companies active in their neighborhood to start shopping for cheap car insurance quotes from.

Auto Insurance Discounts in Wichita

Insurance companies will quote an initial insurance rate once you have provided them with your basic information. In a nutshell, they evaluate the risk of insuring you based on your age, driving records, marital status, and such other information that give them a picture of your credibility as a driver. In many cases, drivers can find him/herself in a position to bargain for discounts, once they knows what points of leverage they have. There are a number of discounts that drivers can take advantage of to get cheap car insurance in Wichita.

For example, for students attending school at institutions such as Wichita State University or Wichita East High School, Allied, GEICO, and Auto-Owners have a discount for maintaining at least a B average in school. GEICO also gives a 10% discount to Kansas drivers who can prove that they have taken defensive driving lessons. 

Sometimes insurance companies provide discounts for members of recognized business and professional organizations. Given that aircraft manufacturing is a significant industry in the city, here are a few examples of professional groups that Wichita drivers might be able to find additional discounts for: Society of Manufacturing Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, American Society of Civil Engineers, or Kansas Society of Professional Engineers. Again, different insurers have different lists of discounts available, so shop around to make sure you find one that best matches your conditions.

For more information on the different types of discounts that can be available at car insurance companies, click here.

Car Insurance Agencies in Wichita

For those who prefer to converse with an agent face-to-face, there are several large agencies in Wichita that quote for multiple local and national insurers. Midwest Insurance Agency and M&M Insurance Associates are two examples of agencies with a good range of insurance companies covered. Midwest includes Allied, Safeco, Progressive, MetLife, Traveler’s Insurance, and more, and M&M quotes for Allstate, Auto-Owners, Foremost, MetLife, Safeco, and more.

Some insurers only operate through their own local agent representatives. Farmers, GEICO, and State Farm are some of our cheaper insurers who have local agents stationed in Wichita. Here are links to a list of agents from these three companies in the Wichita city area.

Which Neighborhoods Have the Best Auto Insurance Rates in Wichita?

For the 387,000 residents living in Wichita city, this section covers how auto insurance rates differ by neighborhood. Looking at the city on a larger scale, the lowest annual rates are mostly found in the northern part of Wichita, whereas the higher premiums are concentrated in the areas from the center and south. In the Downtown region, which is also the city center, we found insurance companies quoting on average $1,158 a year to our profiled driver. In the West Wichita region, including neighborhoods such as New Market Square, the premiums on average are lowered to $1,105 a year.

Top 3 Wichita Neighborhoods with the Lowest Auto Insurance Rates

The neighborhoods with the cheapest rates in Wichita for auto insurance are 7% lower than the highest. Two out of the top three neighborhoods to have the lowest insurance rates are found in the eastern region. Our driver’s lowest average rate, at $1,094 a year, is found around the New Market Square neighborhood at the northwestern tip of the city. In the Northeast neighborhood, bordering Bel Air, the rate is $1,099. In nearby Brookhollow, the premium rate is slightly higher at $1,106 a year.

Top 3 Wichita Neighborhoods with the Most Expensive Auto Insurance Rates

The neighborhood with the most expensive insurance rates in Wichita is in the northern part of downtown, such as North Central, where quotes average $1,173 a year and 4% higher than the city’s average. The second highest rate was also found in the downtown region, near Old Town, at $1,158 a year. The third highest is found around the Riverside neighborhood. It is worth noting that Riverside is not only regarded as a historic neighborhood by the locals, but also becoming a popular residential choice for college students, perhaps because of its close proximity to three different colleges including Wichita State University. We found Riverside’s annual premium to be $1,151 for our sample driver. If you are a student living in Riverton, you can actually save on your auto insurance by maintaining a B average in school. We recommend you check with your insurer to find out their policy on “Good Student Discounts.”

How do Car Insurance Rates Vary in Wichita Suburbs?

The Wichita Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of five counties, and many cities within them. The five largest cities in population almost all have lower than average car insurance rates compared to those living in the city proper. The average commute distance among the other cities in the MSA is less than 20 miles and just 10 minutes more than the city’s average commute time, assuming one travels to the city center. It is worth noting that the distance from Wichita does not directly correspond to premium changes. For example, while Haysville is the closest among the five to Wichita and the most expensive out of the five MSA cities, Derby, as the second closest, has the lowest premium rate out of the five. The best practice is always to compare auto insurance quotes across the companies underwriting in your zip code.

Kansas Minimum Liability Coverage

The Kansas state Insurance Department requires that KS drivers must have a car insurance policy with at least $25,000 limit per person for bodily injury coverage, and $50,000 per accident. In our study, our driver chose to insure with a $50,000 per person limit bodily injury and $100,000 per accident. This means when our driver is in an accident, the insurance company will help pay up to $50,000 per person injured, and up to a total of $100,000 per accident. The driver at fault is responsible for not only the medical expenses, but likely also lost income compensation, and sometimes even legal fees should the injured party choses to take the issue to court. Generally speaking, an appropriate limit would take the driver’s total assets into consideration. Our sample driver’s quote also included a $500 deductible for both comprehensive and collision coverage. Read our article about comprehensive and collision coverage to learn more about them.

Methodology

In order to compare car insurance in Wichita across different city parts, we looked at 14 different neighborhoods and identified the major zip code within each neighborhood. The average rate within each geographical region of Wichita is found by calculating all the encompassing zip codes within each region, which often includes several neighborhoods. Our profile is a 33 year-old married man, based on Wichita demographics, driving a 2010 Toyota Camry, with good credit score and clean driving records in the last five years. With this sample profile, we then compared the premiums across 15 insurers, as well as by the 14 zip codes. The list of 15 insurers in the graph below consists of both national and regional insurance corporations, including GEICO, State Farm, and Farm Bureau Mutual (IA Group).

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