You’ve seen the catchy commercials from car insurance companies like GEICO, Farmers, and Nationwide that claim enormous savings, so you just need to choose any one of them, right?
It’s not quite that easy, unfortunately, as there are a whole bunch of unknown elements such as the vehicle you are insuring, the amount of liability insurance you need, and your gender, that help determine the price you have to pay. In this article, we will cover the best ways to shop for cheaper coverage and will hopefully give you a good start to your coverage search.
The vehicle driven is probably the most important factor when quoting the most affordable insurance for uninsured drivers. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, modern passenger safety features, or low incidents of liability claims will cost significantly less to insure than fast, unsafe models.
The table below features auto insurance prices for a number of the most economical automobiles to insure in Tennessee.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $1,000 |
| Ford Edge SE 2WD | $1,071 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,085 |
| Ford F-150 STX Regular Cab 4WD | $1,091 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $1,098 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $1,091 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LT | $1,176 |
| Toyota Camry SE | $1,216 |
| Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $1,238 |
| GMC Sierra SLE Crew Cab 4WD | $1,243 |
| Toyota Corolla XRS | $1,238 |
| Nissan Rogue S AWD | $1,246 |
| Ford Explorer XLT 4WD | $1,240 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon | $1,256 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 2WD | $1,263 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 2WD 4-Dr | $1,272 |
| Hyundai Sonata SE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,301 |
| Ford Focus SES 4-Dr Sedan | $1,310 |
| Kia Optima SX | $1,323 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT Crew Cab Diesel 4WD | $1,333 |
| Honda Odyssey EX-L W/Navigation | $1,334 |
| Honda Civic LX-S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,342 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $1,334 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | |
Premium data assumes single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Tennessee minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Price information does not factor in specific Nashville, TN garaging location which can increase or decrease price quotes greatly.
By looking at the data, you can assume that cars like the Ford Escape, Ford Edge, Toyota Prius, Ford F-150, and Honda CR-V should be the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for drivers with no prior coverage.
For drivers with no prior coverage, one of the big things that aid in calculating the annual cost of car insurance is where you keep your vehicle. Regions with larger populations or more claims will most likely pay more, whereas areas that tend to be more rural have the gratification of cheaper auto insurance rates.
The next table rates the priciest cities in Tennessee for uninsured drivers to purchase auto insurance in. Nashville shows up at #6 with an annual rate of $1,213 for the average insurance policy, which is approximately $101 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis | $1,446 |
| 2 | Bartlett | $1,405 |
| 3 | Collierville | $1,363 |
| 4 | Germantown | $1,360 |
| 5 | Jackson | $1,253 |
| 6 | Nashville | $1,213 |
| 7 | Oak Ridge | $1,210 |
| 8 | Maryville | $1,208 |
| 9 | Knoxville | $1,194 |
| 10 | Murfreesboro | $1,194 |
| 11 | La Vergne | $1,186 |
| 12 | Cookeville | $1,182 |
| 13 | Columbia | $1,178 |
| 14 | Clarksville | $1,170 |
| 15 | Hendersonville | $1,170 |
| 16 | Brentwood | $1,168 |
| 17 | Franklin | $1,164 |
| 18 | Morristown | $1,159 |
| 19 | Spring Hill | $1,157 |
| 20 | Smyrna | $1,148 |
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Rates are approximated as the garaging address in Nashville can affect premium rates significantly.
Finding good, cost effective car insurance is challenging, and determining which company quotes the cheapest car insurance rates for uninsured drivers calls for even more work. Each insurer has a proprietary method to set premium rates, so let’s begin by examining the car insurance companies with the overall best prices in Tennessee.
It’s a good idea to know that Nashville, TN car insurance rates are based on many factors that control the price you pay for coverage. That is why consumers need to do a thorough rate comparison when trying to get the cheapest auto insurance quotes for uninsured drivers. Prices are determined by many factors and can change without notice, so the best option the last time you shopped around may now be one of the more expensive options.
Best Insurance Companies in Tennessee
Utica National quotes some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Nashville at around $767 annually. Auto-Owners, Cincinnati Insurance, Penn National, and USAA are also some of the lowest-priced Nashville, TN auto insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you are a customer of Cincinnati Insurance and switched to Utica National, you could earn an annual savings of about $117. Drivers with Penn National may save as much as $132 a year, and USAA customers might lower prices by $162 a year.
These estimates are averaged for all types of insureds and vehicles and do not factor in a specific vehicle garaging location for uninsured drivers. So the insurer that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the top 30 companies shown above. That affirms the importance of why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
Insurance rate increases from tickets or accidents
The easiest way to get low car insurance premiums for drivers with no prior coverage is to drive safely and avoid traffic citations and accidents. The illustration below illustrates how speeding tickets and accidents can raise car insurance costs for each different age category. The data is based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.
The chart shows that the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Tennessee per year with no violations or accidents is $1,893. Add in one speeding ticket and the average cost jumps to $2,173, an increase of $280 each year. Then include one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the 12-month cost of car insurance for uninsured drivers increases to an average of $2,977. That’s an increase of $1,083, or $90 per month, just for not maintaining a clean driving record!
Ending up with the highest-rated car insurance provider is difficult considering how many different insurance companies sell coverage in Nashville. The rank data in the lists below could help you decide which insurers to look at when shopping car insurance rates for uninsured drivers.
These rankings are only made up of companies that insure vehicles across America, so companies that focus mainly on Tennessee business will not be included in this list. To compare prices from these top insurers and more, click here.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | 93 | 98 | 99 | 88% | A++ | 95.1 |
| USAA | 83 | 99 | 100 | 91% | A++ | 94.1 |
| AAA Insurance | 91 | 95 | 92 | 90% | A | 93.3 |
| Nationwide | 85 | 95 | 97 | 89% | A+ | 92.4 |
| Allstate | 77 | 100 | 97 | 88% | A+ | 90.7 |
| State Farm | 80 | 94 | 96 | 88% | A++ | 90.6 |
| The Hartford | 88 | 93 | 91 | 87% | A+ | 90.4 |
| Safeco Insurance | 91 | 95 | 85 | 88% | A | 90.2 |
| Progressive | 88 | 94 | 83 | 88% | A+ | 90.1 |
| American Family | 91 | 86 | 95 | 83% | A | 89.7 |
| Esurance | 86 | 90 | 94 | 90% | A+ | 89.5 |
| The General | 86 | 93 | 89 | 84% | A- | 88.2 |
| GEICO | 79 | 89 | 95 | 87% | A++ | 87.8 |
| Titan Insurance | 86 | 82 | 92 | 86% | A+ | 86.5 |
| 21st Century | 86 | 82 | 90 | 84% | A | 86.4 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Full coverage versus liability-only
Finding cheaper car insurance is important to most drivers, and an effective way to pay lower rates for insurance for uninsured drivers is to only buy liability coverage. The illustration below shows the difference between auto insurance rates with full coverage and liability only. The rate quotes are based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are factored in.
If all age groups are averaged, comp and collision coverage costs $1,366 per year over liability only. That raises the question when is it a good idea to stop buying full coverage. There is no exact rule of when to stop paying for physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general school of thought. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is more than 10% of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s replacement cost is $8,500 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, you would only receive $7,500 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are currently paying more than $750 a year for physical damage coverage, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
Ideas to find economical auto insurance for uninsured drivers
It’s not impossible to find cheaper rates, and here are some of the better money-saving suggestions that can help you locate lower-cost coverage.
- Remain accident-free and save
- Better credit scores save money
- Bundle home or renters insurance to earn a discount on car insurance
- Don’t have frequent claims
- Do not get traffic violations
- Higher physical damage deductibles lower rates
- Shop around for lower rates once a year
The last suggestion is remarkably significant, as we pointed out in the article above. Prices charged by car insurance companies can be modified anytime, so don’t be tentative to change to a new company if you can save money. Loyalty to a specific company is fine, but it isn’t a good idea if that devotion results in you overpaying potentially thousands of dollars a year. In less than five minutes you could shop around to find cheaper insurance for uninsured drivers in Nashville.
The Nashville, TN, insurance agents below can provide answers to your questions and help you determine which policy is best, since some people prefer to have a little guidance when buying car insurance for drivers with no prior coverage. It can be complicated to find the best coverage on your own, and professional agents can give comfort knowing your coverage gives you enough protection.
To find an agent close to you, click the button at the bottom.
LaShawnda Bryant – State Farm Insurance Agent
7648 Hwy 70 S #10 – Nashville, TN 37221 – (615) 662-9989
Greater Nashville Insurance
208 McGavock Pike A – Nashville, TN 37214 – (615) 885-5882
Jordan Drake – State Farm Insurance Agent
345 Harrison St – Nashville, TN 37219 – (615) 826-1200