Cheapest car insurance for seniors

What is the cheapest car insurance for senior citizens?

Nationwide has the lowest rates available, with annual premiums averaging $1,456. Travelers comes in second, with annual premiums of $1,573. Geico, State Farm, Progressive, Farmers, and Allstate also offer some of the most affordable rates of the carriers we compared. USAA offers more affordable rates to military members and their families. 

The chart below shows five national companies with the lowest premiums available to seniors.

Cheapest car insurance for seniors with tickets or accidents 

If you’ve had tickets or an accident, how much you pay for car insurance will go up. It’s best to shop around for a company with the best rates if you’ve had an accident or a ticket.

State Farm offers the cheapest car insurance for seniors who have had a ticket or an accident, with premiums less than $2,000 annually. USAA is a close second, but only offers policies to military members and their families, so availability is limited.

*USAA is only available to military members and their families

How much is auto insurance for seniors?

Insurance.com data shows that 65-year-olds pay an average of $486 a year, or $41 a month, for state minimum coverage and $1,740, or $145 a month for full coverage. Rates rise as you get into your 70s and 80s.

When you hit 65, you'll likely see a bump in your car insurance premium. It's a good time to re-evaluate your current insurance company and compare it to others that cater to car insurance for seniors. 

Below are the average costs for three different age groups and three types of insurance coverage. We include the cost of a bare-bones state minimum policy, a liability-only policy with higher limits of $50,000 for bodily injury coverage per person, $100,000 per incident and $50,000 in property damage coverage, written as 50/100/50. We also included a policy with liability limits of 100/300/100 plus collision and comprehensive, with a $500 deductible.

Expert tip: You need collision and comprehensive coverage if you have a financed or leased car or a newer car you can't afford to replace.

While car insurance for seniors isn’t nearly as expensive as other groups, notably teens, it’s much higher than for people in their 50s. People in their middle age tend to have the lowest premiums because it statistically has the safest record on the road.

"Seniors have experience driving, so it is not comparable to teens," said Janet Ruiz, director of strategic communications at the Insurance Information Institute. "Many companies do have safe driving courses for seniors to alert them to the specific things they may encounter as they age. Some give a discount if you take the safe driving course, which is usually offered online."

How to find cheap insurance rates if you’re a senior citizen

A great way to get cheaper car insurance is to take advantage of discounts. This applies to senior citizens and people of any age. Several auto insurance companies offer discounts that are specifically applicable to mature drivers.

Many states mandate a discount for senior drivers who take a defensive driving course. Check with your state to find out which courses are approved for the discount. AARP's mature driver courses are usually approved and can reduce your premiums by 5% to 15%.

Customer loyalty can earn you a 30% discount on premiums. Geico, Nationwide and Progressive are among those companies that promote loyalty savings programs. You should still shop around, however. Most experts agree that loyalty savings rarely outweigh saving by switching providers.

Good driver and safe driver discounts are available to all ages and from most companies and can get you between 5% and 25% in savings. The insurance company usually requires that you have a clean driving record for at least three years. That means no DUIs, no moving violations and no at-fault collisions.

Daniel Ferrara, owner of Ferrara Insurance Group, has several suggestions for getting the best rates as a senior driver:

• Bundle your auto and home insurance with the same carrier for a multi-policy discount.
• Take a defensive driving course. Even if you have a clean driving record, you’ll likely get about 10% off your rates.
• Raise your deductibles on the collision and comprehensive portions of your coverage.
• Ask about senior citizen discounts or a low mileage discount. Even though rates tend to increase as you get older, some carriers offer a senior citizen discount.
• Consider usage-based insurance for a discount. After monitoring your driving habits for some time, you'll earn a discount of as much as 30%.
• Buy a newer car. "Newer cars have many benefits for seniors with automated driving assistance features, backup cameras, etc. IIHS Safety ratings are often considered by insurance companies when putting together the cost of the auto policy,” the Insurance Information Institute’s Ruiz says.
• Ask about low-mileage discounts or consider pay-per-mile insurance. Perhaps you have retired, and you're driving a lot less. "Driving fewer miles means you have less road time, resulting in a lower risk of getting into an accident," Ruiz says. "Most insurers ask for yearly mileage to give a lower rate to drivers who are on the road less."

Why do auto insurance rates for seniors go up?

Car insurance companies base rates on how much risk a driver poses to them. If statistics show you are in a group more likely to file a claim, you'll pay more for auto insurance. Mature drivers have experience but also start to see a decline in vision, response time and other things that affect driving skills.

Drivers aged 70 and older have higher crash death rates per mile than middle-aged drivers (ages 35-54), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Much of that’s due to increased vulnerability to injury in a crash. In 2019, the latest statistics available, about 8,000 older adults, 65 years of age and up, were killed in traffic crashes and more than 250,000 were treated in emergency departments for crash injuries.

The CDC notes that age-related physical issues, such as arthritis, reduced flexibility and limited range of motion and decline in vision, plus diminishing cognitive function, can affect senior drivers' driving abilities. This is why keeping a stellar driving history will be important to get cheaper car insurance rates. If you drive beyond your current abilities and get a ticket or are in an accident, this will signal to insurers that you pose a higher risk.

Expert Advice

Daniel Ferrara

Emeritus Sales Rep for Liberty Mutual, based out of Katonah, N.Y.

“Car insurance rates tend to rise as drivers get older because insurance carrier statistics prove that older drivers get into more accidents as their reflexes get slower. Drivers' reactions’ time slow as they age,” Ferrara says. “What age do rates go up? That varies from carrier to carrier but generally, it is around age 64.”

Shop wisely for senior car insurance

Navigating scams means being alert and cautious. Make certain to shop around with multiple car insurance companies to get the best auto rates for seniors. Start with your current insurance provider to get a baseline for costs, and then, using the same policy parameters (liability limits, coverages and deductibles), shop with at least three other car insurance companies. You may find other insurers that don't rate as harshly for aging drivers as your present one, or finding who you have is still the best choice.

If you find a cheaper, smaller insurance company, don't switch until you do some research. Check out the company's financial strength with AM Best and then check for customer and claims service reviews. You want your insurance company to have the means to pay out on claims and good customer service so you don't feel ignored after an accident.

Beware of senior car insurance scams

Make sure you don't fall victim to scams when scouting for affordable auto insurance. According to the National Council on Aging, financial scams "targeting seniors have become so prevalent that they're now considered 'the crime of the 21st century.'"

There are several scams that seniors should watch out for, according to AARP:

• Stealing your premiums: An agent pockets your insurance premiums instead of sending them to the insurer.
• Selling phony insurance: An agent or company rep sells you fake coverage from a phony insurance company. Or the agent sells you bogus coverage using a legitimate company's name or a name that's similar to a legitimate insurer. You might receive an official-looking policy or proof of insurance that's worthless. You could lose thousands of dollars if you suffer a loss and don't have a real policy to pay your claim.
• Selling coverage you don't want or need: Maybe the coverage is real, but it's expensive and unnecessary, and your current policy may already cover that risk.
• Worthless investments: You may be urged to invest in insurance-like instruments. One is viaticals, which are investments in life policies taken out on sick or terminally ill people. Viaticals can be a legitimate investment, but some can also be phony or misleading. Another scam is promissory notes, in which agents promise quick, high and certain returns for investing in promissory notes supposedly backed by insurance. Often the promissory notes don't exist.

If you're looking for low-income auto insurance for seniors and find a rate that seems too good to be true, make sure to check the company out first. You can check out their financial strength with AM Best and check with your state's Department of Insurance to make sure they are a legitimate company.

Methodology

Insurance.com commissioned Quadrant Data Services to field rates in 2023 for all available ZIP codes from top insurance companies for drivers aged 65 and up. Rates are based on a 2023 Honda Accord LX, good credit, and a clean driving record. Rates were fielded for state minimum coverage, liability only coverage at limits of 50/100/50 ($50,000 per person and $100,000 per incident for bodily injury and $50,000 per incident for property damage) and full coverage with 100/300/100 liability limits and $500 deductibles.

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