Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes in Alabama?

Our team analyzed auto insurance quotes across thousands of ZIP codes and multiple insurance companies in Alabama to find who had the best rates. The average cost of car insurance in Alabama was $2,078 per year, or about $173 per month, for our sample driver. The cheapest Alabama car insurer is Nationwide, with an average annual rate of $1,764 per year, and the most expensive, Progressive, charges our driver $2,566 per year, on average.

The wide range of rates show why motorists looking for affordable car insurance in Alabama should compare several quotes. Below we've compared average rates by location, company, driver profile and other factors.

Enter your ZIP code above to start shopping among the top insurers in your area for great car insurance rates.

Cheapest auto insurance in Alabama

Alabama's cheapest auto insurance company on average is Nationwide, with annual rates of $1,764, 15% lower than the state average. Nationwide is followed closely in affordability by Alfa Insurance. Allstate was the third cheapest insurer in our seven-company sample, but it's not necessarily cheap: At $2,301 per year, its prices are above the Alabama average.

Only Nationwide and Alfa priced below our statewide average, but the most affordable option for qualifying customers is USAA. At $1,190 per year, rates for USAA were for cheaper than average, but only current or former military members or their families can qualify for a policy.

Other major insurers such as Allstate, State Farm, GEICO and Progressive were pricier for our sample driver, but consumers should consider shopping around for the best rate.

Your actual rates are dictated by your coverage levels, your record as a driver, your age and other factors.

We always recommend that consumers compare at least three insurers to find the best match. Below we break down rates across these companies — using the same sample driver — but with a minimum coverage policy and after the driver gets into an accident.

Cheapest minimum coverage car insurance in Alabama

Nationwide also ranks as the cheapest insurer in Alabama if you buy the bare minimum car insurance. Buying less coverage means you'll pay less in monthly premiums, but it also means you'll have fewer protections in case of an accident.

A minimum coverage policy costs $736 per year on average in Alabama, 65% cheaper than our sample full coverage policy.

Affordability rankings for our minimum policy are similar to those of our full coverage, with the notable exception of Progressive, which offers the third-cheapest minimum coverage policy, despite offering the most expensive full coverage policy.

Cheapest car insurance in Alabama after an accident

An insurer may consider you a riskier customer if you have a history of accidents or traffic violations. The cheapest insurer in Alabama after an at-fault accident is Nationwide, which didn't raise rates for our sample driver.

The rest of the Alabama insurers in our sample raised rates by approximately $300 to $1,500 per year after an accident. Progressive penalized drivers the most, increasing rates by $1,530 per year.

Our picks for the best car insurance companies in Alabama

Alabama residents should look for more than just an insurance company with a cheap quote; they should also seek out providers with the best service experience. Excluding price, our picks for the top insurance companies in Alabama are:

We selected our list using the customer complaint ratio from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which adjusts the number of complaints relative to the size of the company. By this standard, Alfa stands out, with only a 0.03 complaint index versus a national median of 1.0, while Nationwide ranks third.

Alfa and Nationwide's combination of cheap rates and low customer complaints make the insurers great starting points for Alabamans who are auto insurance shopping.

Integon, a National General subsidiary, and GEICO rank as some of the worst insurers in Alabama for customer service, with complaint indexes above 1.0.

Alabama's minimum car insurance requirements

Drivers have to have a certain amount of liability car insurance in Alabama by law, as is typical in the U.S. Those that are caught driving without insurance coverage risk being fined, having their vehicle registration suspended and even imprisonment. Below we detail the liability insurance requirements for Alabama drivers:

We suggest purchasing more coverage than is required by state law, but shoppers should balance the increased protection against the increased premiums of paying for more coverage. The full coverage policy with increased liability limits in our sample costs approximately $1,300 more per year than a minimum coverage policy.

Cheap car insurance in Alabama by city

The table below lists the companies with the cheapest auto insurance rates in the 50 most populous cities in Alabama, where quotes were available.

In all 50 Alabama cities, USAA, Nationwide and Alfa Insurance were the cheapest car insurance providers.

Note that these annual premiums are composite rates based on our sample driver in the Yellowhammer State. Your actual quotes will be different and tailored to your individual circumstances. This table merely shows who tends to offer the best rates, and in which cities.

Next we dig into insurance prices for the five biggest cities in Alabama by population:

For each city, we show average annual rates for our seven sample insurers and explain how costs compare to the state average. USAA is technically the cheapest insurer in each city, but it is only available to current or former military members and their families.

Birmingham, Alabama

Birmingham has the largest urban population in the state of Alabama, and it is the second most expensive city for car insurance, after Center Point. Our sample driver pays an average of $2,344 to insure his car each year in Birmingham, 13% higher than the state average.

Drivers looking for the cheapest auto insurance in Birmingham should consider starting their search with Nationwide or Alfa Insurance. Both offer rates cheaper than the Birmingham average of $2,344.

Montgomery, Alabama

Despite being the second largest city in the state, Montgomery's average annual rate of $2,152 was only 3.5% higher than the state average.

As in other large cities, we suggest looking at Nationwide and Alfa when shopping for cheap auto insurance companies in Montgomery. Rates at these two insurers are below $2,000 per year for our sample driver.

Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville is the third largest city in Alabama, but auto insurance costs in the city don't reflect the number of people: The average cost of insuring a vehicle in Huntsville is $2,057 for our sample driver, 1% below the state average.

Car insurance rates in Alabama are fairly consistent across cities, so Nationwide and Alfa are once again the cheapest providers in this town, with the exception of USAA.

Mobile, Alabama

Mobile ranks as one of the most expensive cities for auto insurance in Alabama. Its average annual rate of $2,279 is 10% higher than the state average.

Our sample driver could only get rates cheaper than Alabama's average if he went with USAA or Nationwide. All other insurance companies — including Alfa — charged Mobile residents in excess of $2,000 per year.

Tuscaloosa, Alabama

Rounding out our top city analysis in Alabama is Tuscaloosa, the second-cheapest city for car insurance of the largest five. Our sample driver paid $2,131 per year on average, trailing only Huntsville for affordability.

USAA — accessible only to military families — remains far and away the cheapest insurer, but Tuscaloosa residents should make sure to look into Nationwide and Alfa Insurance. As with other major cities in Alabama, big names like State Farm, Allstate, GEICO and Progressive are notably expensive.

Average cost of car insurance in Alabama by city

The average cost of full coverage car insurance in Alabama was $2,078 per year, as measured for our sample 30-year-old male driver. The range between the cheapest city in Alabama and the most expensive city was only $519 per year, on average.

The table below ranks the 50 most populous cities in Alabama from the cheapest to most expensive car insurance.

Methodology

We collected rates for hundreds of cities in Alabama from seven insurance companies. Our sample driver was a:

The driver was profiled as having no credit history, making him equivalent to a driver with below-fair to poor credit, according to our data source, Quadrant Information Services.

Our base policy was full coverage auto insurance with the following limits:

For a minimum-coverage policy, our sample driver had coverage equivalent to the minimum requirements of the state of Alabama.

ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.