Cheapest Car Insurance in Alabama (2024)

State Farm has the cheapest car insurance in Alabama for most drivers. It charges an average of $313 a year for liability-only car insurance, and $1,025 a year for full coverage.

However, Progressive is cheapest for drivers with bad credit or with a DUI on their record.

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Alabama: State Farm

State Farm offers the cheapest full-coverage car insurance for most Alabama drivers. Its quotes average $1,025 a year, or just over $85 a month.

USAA has even cheaper full-coverage rates than State Farm, but USAA is only available to current and former military members and their immediate families.

The average cost of full-coverage car insurance in Alabama is $1,979 a year, or $165 a month.

Be aware that the actual price you pay will depend on factors such as:

• Your driving record and credit history
• Your age and ZIP code
• The type of car you drive
• Any discounts you may be eligible to receive

Since each auto insurance company weighs these factors differently, you may get a much lower rate from one company than you do from others. This is why you should compare quotes from multiple companies when you shop.

Alabama’s cheapest liability-only car insurance: State Farm

State Farm also offers the cheapest liability-only auto insurance in Alabama, at $313 a year, or about $26 a month.

The next-best rates are available from Progressive ($517 a year) and Travelers ($638 a year).

Liability-only insurance vs. full coverage

Liability-only auto insurance satisfies the state’s minimum insurance requirements. Liability covers injuries and property damage you cause to others in a car accident, but not injuries or damage to you or your car.

Full coverage includes collision and comprehensive, which cover your car for damage and theft. Although collision and comprehensive coverage aren’t required by law, you usually need them if you have a car loan or lease.

Cheapest rates for young drivers in Alabama: State Farm

State Farm has the cheapest liability-only and full-coverage car insurance quotes for young drivers in Alabama.

For liability-only policies, State Farm’s rates for 18-year-olds average $1,078 a year, or $90 a month. The next-best rates are available from Travelers ($1,819 a year) and Progressive ($2,438 a year).

Cheapest liability-only car insurance for 18-year-olds

Meanwhile, State Farm’s full-coverage rates for 18-year-olds average $2,985 a year, or $249 a month.

The next-best rates are available from Travelers ($4,478 a year), followed by Allstate ($6,511 a year).

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance for 18-year-olds

Insurance companies consider teens to be risky to insure because they tend to have higher crash rates than other age groups. This translates into high auto insurance rates for young drivers.

If you’re a teen, you can usually get a lower rate by getting added to a parent’s policy rather than taking out a policy on your own.

Many insurance companies also offer good student discounts to young drivers who maintain a B average or better in school.

Cheapest rates after a ticket in Alabama: State Farm

State Farm has the cheapest car insurance quotes for Alabama drivers with a speeding ticket. Its rates for this category average $1,109 a year (about $92 a month) for full coverage.

In Alabama, a speeding ticket increases the average price of auto insurance by 20% to $2,372 a year, or $198 a month.

Cheapest rates after an accident in Alabama: State Farm

State Farm has the cheapest auto insurance rate for Alabama drivers with a prior at-fault accident, $1,234 a year, or $103 a month.

Alabama drivers with an accident pay an average of $2,870 a year ($239 a month) for car insurance — roughly 45% more than those with a clean record.

Best rates for Alabama drivers with a DUI: Progressive

Progressive has the best auto insurance rates for Alabama drivers with a DUI (driving under the influence) conviction, at $2,212 a year, or about $184 a month.

The next-cheapest rates are available from Travelers, followed by State Farm.

In Alabama, drivers with a DUI pay an average of $3,135 a year, or $261 a month, for car insurance. This is 58% more than the amount drivers with a clean record pay for car insurance.

Best rates for Alabama drivers with poor credit: Progressive

Progressive has the best car insurance quotes for Alabama drivers with poor credit, $2,867 a year, or roughly $239 a month.

In Alabama drivers with poor credit pay an average of 76% more for car insurance than those with good credit.

The credit inquiries that auto insurers use to prepare quotes are known as soft pulls, which do not affect your credit score.

Insurance companies see factors such as your payment history and the type of credit you use as indicators of how risky you may be to insure.

Alabama auto insurance rates by city

Birmingham is Alabama’s most expensive city for auto insurance. Its rates average $2,231 a year for full coverage.

Enterprise is the state’s cheapest city for car insurance, with an average rate of $1,793 a year, while Dothan is right behind it at $1,794 a year.

Huntsville, the state’s largest city by population, has the ninth-lowest car insurance rate, $1,906 a year.

Alabama auto insurance laws

Alabama requires you to have auto insurance to register your vehicle and renew your registration each year.

The state also uses an online system to verify your insurance status.

This makes it important to make sure your name, vehicle identification number (VIN) and other details are printed accurately on your insurance documents. Otherwise, the system may flag you as being uninsured.

The penalties for driving without insurance include fines and a suspension of your vehicle registration. You also have to pay a reinstatement fee and file an SR-22 certificate to restore your driving privileges.

Minimum car insurance requirements in Alabama

The minimum amounts of insurance required by Alabama law are:

• Bodily injury liability: $25,000 per injured person/$50,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $25,000

If an accident victim’s medical or car repair bills exceed your liability limits, you can be held personally responsible for the shortfall in an accident you cause. Since this can put your savings or future earnings at risk, you should consider liability limits at or above your net worth.

The following auto insurance coverages are available on an optional basis for more protection:

• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: Covers injuries you and your passengers suffer in an accident caused by a driver with no insurance or not enough insurance to cover your medical bills.
• Medical payments: Covers injuries you and your passengers suffer in a car accident, regardless of fault.
• Collision: Pays to repair or replace your car after a collision with an object or other vehicle, or if it overturns.
• Comprehensive: Covers your vehicle for theft or damage from non-collision causes such as fire, flood, falling objects and vandalism.

How SR-22 insurance works in Alabama

You usually have to get SR-22 insurance to restore your driving privileges after certain offenses, including DUI, reckless driving and driving without insurance.

An SR-22 is a certificate that your car insurance company files for you with the state. Many companies add a small filing fee for this to your bill, usually about $25.

The actual rate you pay for SR-22 insurance depends largely on the offense that leads to the filing requirement. You can expect to pay more for SR-22 insurance after a DUI or reckless driving conviction than you will after getting caught driving without insurance.

Consider adding The General and Dairyland to the companies you contact for SR-22 car insurance quotes. Both specialize in drivers with multiple tickets and/or accidents.

Methodology

LendingTree obtains rates from insurance company filings reported to Quadrant Information Services. Rates shown in this article are based on an analysis of nearly 300,000 car insurance quotes for sample drivers in every ZIP code in Alabama.

Unless stated otherwise, our sample driver is a 30-year-old male with good credit and no tickets, accidents or DUIs driving a 2015 Honda Civic EX. Our sample teen driver is an 18-year-old male with no prior violations or accidents.

Minimum-liability policies include the state’s minimum liability limits. Full-coverage includes:

• Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
• Property damage liability: $25,000
• Uninsured/underinsured motorist: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
• Collision: $500 deductible
• Comprehensive: $500 deductible

Prices are shown for comparative purposes only. Your rates may vary.

*USAA is only available to current and former members of the military and their families.