Best Car Insurance Rates in Florida

The cost of insuring a car in Florida is one of the highest in the nation, but that doesn't mean individual consumers' car insurance premiums need to be high. ValuePenguin conducted a study of auto insurance quotes in the Florida to arm drivers with information in their search for the best rates in the state.

We discovered that car insurance rates can range widely from company to company, even in the same city. For example, our study found that in Jacksonville, FL, one year’s premium at the most expensive company could have paid for almost seven years at the cheapest insurer. This is why to find the best rates, consumers have to shop around. Enter your zip code above now to start shopping for great auto insurance rates among top U.S. insurers in your area, or read more by jumping directly to each section in our study.

Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Florida

To find the companies with the best rates in Florida, we reviewed quotes from some of the largest companies for our three policyholder scenarios as a benchmark: a family of four, a married senior couple, and a single 25 year old female across multiple counties.

So who has the cheapest auto insurance in Florida? Based on our rate analysis, the top three cheap car insurance companies in Florida are: the Florida Farm Bureau Insurance Company, United Service Automobile Association (USAA), and GEICO. Travelers and State Farm rounded out the top five most affordable companies in Florida. Your rates will differ depending on where you live, and your driving record, among other factors, and only comparison shopping will yield good rates. Start by entering your zip code below for a list of cheap insurers in your area to shop for rates.

Cheap Car Insurance in Florida: by City

Location is one of the most important factors in the cost of insurance. Prices can differ drastically from city to city. For example, the average cost to insure a car in Liberty County, are $836 a year, which is 38% of the cost in Miami-Dade County. That's about an extra $1,362 a year that a driver in Miami could pay over a driver in Bristol, FL.

Furthermore, each insurer has different claims experience in each city, so the prices within a city can be quite different as well. In Jacksonville, FL, the premium at the most expensive company could pay for nearly seven years (6.75x) the cost at the cheapest insurer. Below are auto insurance costs and the three cheapest companies for the largest cities in Florida averaged across our three policyholder scenarios.

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville's 823,000 residents live in one of the most spacious cities in the United States. The city has a number of superlatives behind its name: the largest urban park network, the second biggest jazz festival, and the largest concrete cable bridge. For the largest city, Jacksonville's auto insurance costs actually aren't that expensive. The average citywide annual premium is $1,230 a year, or 12% higher than the state average. Rates for retired senior citizen couples average just $490 a year, while families with two teenagers can see rates of about $2,275 a year.

For cheap car insurance in Jacksonville, get quotes from Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and State Farm. These three auto insurers, in addition to USAA (limited to military families), had the cheapest costs in Jacksonville of $618 a year - savings of 50% over the average city premium.

Miami, FL

The most expensive place for car insurance in Florida is the urban metropolis of Miami. Between its miles of beaches and its three-time NBA champions, the Miami Heat, the city's residents do not shy away from high temperatures. Average premiums here are just as high. Auto insurance in Miami costs about $2,198 a year - insuring a car here easily doubles a driver’s car insurance rates compared to other Florida cities.

There are always opportunities to save, however. If you're looking for cheap car insurance in Miami, we recommend the Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and Travelers (avg premium: $1,083). Going with these insurers will save drivers about 51% or $1,100 a year compared to the Miami average.

Tampa, FL

Located in Hillsborough County, Tampa is the third largest city in Florida with 336,000 residents. It is here that Ray Charles began his music career, and Babe Ruth hit his longest home run.

Drivers can pay on average $1,841 a year to buy auto insurance in Tampa, which is about 68% higher than the Florida average. For cheap auto insurance in Tampa, we suggest the Florida Farm Bureau, Travelers, and GEICO, which had the lowest rates in our study. Together, these companies would save you 56% compared to the average city cost with an average annual premium of $807.

St. Petersburg, FL

With over 360 days of sunshine a year, St. Petersburg is a haven of sandy retreats. Perhaps just as important as its beaches is the city's distinction of being the birthplace of commercial aviation and Major League Baseball training.

It costs on average $1,497 to insure a car for PIP and Property Damage in St. Petersburg - that's 36% higher than the state average. But if you go with Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and Travelers, three companies offering the most affordable rates in St. Petersburg, you can see an average rate of $713 - 52% lower than the city average.

Orlando, FL

Home to Disney’s Magic Kingdom, Universal Studio’s Islands of Adventure, and SeaWorld, Orlando is a dear national tourist destination. The Orlando Magic and 239,000 other residents also call this city home.

Car insurance in Orlando costs about $1,417 a year averaged among our three profiles. This makes Orlando at 29% more expensive than the typical city in the Sunshine State. If you’re looking for cheap auto insurance in Orlando, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance, GEICO, and Travelers had the lowest rates in our study (excluding USAA, which, for military members, would have been the actual third cheapest). Between the three, their rates of $661 represent a 53% decrease versus the typical insurer in the city.

Hialeah, FL

The sixth largest city in Florida, Hialeah is located just nine miles northwest of Miami. Named for the pretty prairie the city was founded on, Hialeah is known for Hialeah Park, a grand Thoroughbred horse race track. Equestrians and other residents can see car insurance in Hialeah costing around $2,198, likely in large part due its proximity to Miami. For nearly half that cost, consider Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and Travelers, which are the lowest cost providers in the Miami-Dade County according to our analysis.

Tallahassee, FL

181,000 residents, one pre-historic mastodon skeleton, and the largest magnet laboratory call this city home. It costs $994 to insure a car in Tallahassee, which makes it the only Top Ten city in Florida below the state’s average premium. Florida Farm Bureau, Auto-Owners Insurance, and State Farm had three of the most affordable rates in Tallahassee, averaging $428 a year. At the mid $400s level, residents are paying 50% below the city average, and 61% below the state average.

Fort Lauderdale, FL

With access to over 23 miles of sandy coasts and a sunny and warm tropical climate, Fort Lauderdale is a great beach town. It’s known as the Venice of America with more than 300 miles of inland waterways. Auto insurance in Fort Lauderdale costs $1,748 a year, which is 59% pricier than the average city in Florida. You can shave off half of those costs, however, if you go with Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and Travelers, the three cheapest auto insurers in Fort Lauderdale (mean annual premium $868).

Port St. Lucie, FL

You can find the world’s largest tropical bonsai tree collection at the Heathcote Botanical Gardens or the world’s only museum on the Navy SEALs here in Port St. Lucie. Insuring a vehicle here costs about $1,258 a year – 14% costlier than elsewhere in Florida. Getting quotes from Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and State Farm should be a good start for cheap auto insurance in Port St. Lucie. Based on our analysis, these three averaged to $640 a year, and were 49% cheaper than the typical insurer in the city.

Pembroke Pines, FL

The city of Pembroke Pines is bordered by the Florida Everglades to the west and is situated for easy access to the I-75 and the Florida Turnpike highways. Its 160,000 residents can see average car insurance costs of $1,748. Our data indicates that Florida Farm Bureau, GEICO, and Travelers had cheaper rates of $868 on average, which is a 50% decrease from the citywide cost.

Gainesville, FL

Home to the University of Florida, the Florida Gators, and a resident population of 188,000, Gainesville is the 17th largest urban area in Florida. The average cost of car insurance in Gainesville is $961 per year, or 12% cheaper than the average premium paid in Florida. Florida Farm, GEICO, and Travelers had some of the cheapest rates in Gainesville, averaging about $476 a year.

Fort Walton Beach, FL

Fort Walton Beach, located in Okaloosa County, has annual auto insurance costs of $1,014. We saw low rates in Fort Walton Beach at Florida Farm Bureau, State Farm, USAA, and GEICO, which averaged $461 for a reduction of $553 from the citywide average.

Leesburg-Eustis-Tavares, FL

$1,064 is the mean annual premium for drivers in the urban area of Leesburg, Eustis, and Tavares. The four cheapest companies from the study were Florida Farm Bureau, State Farm, Travelers, and USAA. Rates here were 47% lower than the typical company underwriting auto coverage in the city.

Panama City, FL

If you live in Panama City on Florida’s Emerald Coast. Here, the average annual auto insurance quote for motorists is $567. On the lower end are GEICO’s rates for older adults of $338, and on the higher end, are Liberty Mutual rates of $836. The lowest premium data point in our study turned up in this city: $297 per year for 50 year old males, as quoted by GEICO.

Best Auto Insurance Companies in Florida

To find the best auto insurance companies in Florida, we looked at which companies received the fewest complaints at the Florida Office of Insurance Regulations in 2012. We consolidated individual underwriters into their parent group, since most drivers can't determine who issues their policy. Next, we weighted the companies' share of complaints by their share of premiums, and lastly looked at the thirty largest insurance groups in Florida to make it relevant to the majority of drivers.

By this metric, the top car insurance companies with the best ratings are: Amica, Allied, Auto-Owners, Florida Farm Bureau, and Progressive. As we mentioned above, Florida Farm Bureau Insurance ranked as the best auto insurance company with the lowest rates in Florida, so it's great to see that they are also one of the top-ranked auto insurers in the state. GEICO, State Farm, and Progressive, three of the largest companies in Florida, perform better than average as well with underweight complaint index numbers. At the other end were Direct General, Equity Insurance Company, and Windhaven, which received the most complaints relative to their market share size.

This is our summary of the Florida Auto Insurance Complaint Index (the lower the Complaint Index number, the better; Index of 1 = average):

Cost of Car Insurance in Florida: by City

The average cost of car insurance in Florida is $1,098 per year, averaged for three driver scenarios across sixty seven counties in the state. The cheapest country was Liberty County, with average rates of $836, up to Miami-Dade on the higher end with $2,198 a year. This table breaks down the costs for seventy five cities in Florida, with at least one city in each of the sixty seven counties. Note that these costs are indicative averages and will not represent the quotes you'll actually get. Car insurance quotes will be tailored to your background and circumstances, so it's best to enter your zip code below for a list of cheap companies to begin your comparison shopping.

Auto Insurance in Florida: Minimum Coverage Requirements

We have included the minimum insurance coverage you are required to have on your car per the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Bodily injury and uninsured motorist coverage come standard and recommended with your policy by insurers, but they are rejectable. Florida's minimum coverage limits are as follows:

Something to consider is that though you may meet the state's minimum requirement, always consider opting in for a higher level of coverage. If you are in a particularly expensive accident, your minimum coverage may not be enough to fully cover the damages and you may have to incur out-of-pocket expenses. This applies whether you're a college student at the University of Central Florida, a new family starting out in Tallahassee, or a retiree in the Sunshine State.

How We Conducted the Analysis

We averaged rates for three policyholder scenarios across twenty six auto insurance companies in sixty seven counties for the results in this data. Premiums are averaged at the parent company level, since drivers can't choose which affiliate underwrites their insurance. Coverage encompasses just bodily injury and property damage.

The family here consists of a 50 year old couple with children aged 20 and 18 who have good driving records for the past three years. They drive a 2012 Toyota Camry and a 2007 Toyota Corolla for a combined 20,000 miles per year. They carry a basic liability coverage of $25,000 / $50,000 for bodily injury, and $50,000 for property damage. The 65 and 70 year old senior married couple have had a great driving history with their 2007 Toyota Camry. There are liability limits of $50,000 / $100,000 in bodily injury and $100,000 of property damage on the car. The 25 year old female has had one minor traffic violation and one not-at-fault accident in the past three years. She has her 2012 Toyota Camry insured for $25,000 / $50.000 in bodily injury plus $50,000 in property damage.

Average premiums are for illustrative purposes, as individual quotes will differ based on driving history, zip codes, vehicle type, coverage limits chosen, and other factors.

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