The words “economical” and “auto insurance” really should not be used together, especially when you are trying to find the best car insurance for retired military. Let’s take a look at some situations that significantly impact car insurance rates, and find a few ways to reduce the cost of your next policy.
For veterans, one of the more important criteria that are looked at to help calculate insurance cost is where you normally keep your vehicle in Nashville. Cities with larger populations or higher claim trends will most likely pay more, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates receive better rates.
The illustration below sorts the priciest cities in Tennessee for retired military in which to buy car insurance. Nashville shows up at #11 with an annual premium of $1,177 for the average insurance policy, which is around $98 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Memphis | $1,505 |
| 2 | Bartlett | $1,377 |
| 3 | Collierville | $1,323 |
| 4 | Germantown | $1,320 |
| 5 | Jackson | $1,253 |
| 6 | Knoxville | $1,218 |
| 7 | Oak Ridge | $1,210 |
| 8 | Clarksville | $1,206 |
| 9 | Spring Hill | $1,193 |
| 10 | Columbia | $1,190 |
| 11 | Nashville | $1,177 |
| 12 | Maryville | $1,172 |
| 13 | Brentwood | $1,168 |
| 14 | Gallatin | $1,167 |
| 15 | Chattanooga | $1,161 |
| 16 | Murfreesboro | $1,159 |
| 17 | La Vergne | $1,151 |
| 18 | Smyrna | $1,148 |
| 19 | Cookeville | $1,147 |
| 20 | Franklin | $1,140 |
| 21 | Morristown | $1,137 |
| 22 | Hendersonville | $1,124 |
| 23 | Cleveland | $1,102 |
| 24 | Kingsport | $1,057 |
| 25 | Johnson City | $1,031 |
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Price information shown is approximated as specific location information can increase or decrease coverage rates noticeably.
Shopping around for budget insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and finding out which companies quote the lowest-priced car insurance rates for retired military will take more quotes for comparison. Every insurance company has their own formula for establishing rates, so we need to take a look at the car insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Nashville, TN.
It’s a good idea to be aware that Nashville, TN car insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can substantially change the cost of your policy. This price variability is why consumers need to take the time to shop around when trying to find affordable auto insurance rates for retired military. Insurance rates are made up of many different factors and change frequently, so the best price six months ago may now be quite expensive.
Best Insurance Companies for Vets
Utica National may offer some of the best car insurance rates in Nashville at around $760 a year. Auto-Owners, Cincinnati Insurance, USAA, and Penn National also make the cut as some of the cheapest Nashville, TN car insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you are a customer of USAA and switched to Auto-Owners, you might achieve annual savings of about $67. Policyholders with Penn National could save as much as $74 a year, and Tennessee Farmers policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $99 a year.
Bear in mind that those premium estimates are averaged for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and and are not figured with a specific zip code for retired military. So the insurer that is best for you may not even be in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.
The vehicle you are seeking coverage for is one of the largest factors that determines whether or not you find cheap auto insurance for retired military. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, modern passenger safety features, or low incidents of liability claims will cost less to insure than adrenaline junky models. The data below estimates coverage prices for a selection of the most affordable vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $1,087 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $1,112 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $1,114 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,155 |
| Ford Edge SE AWD | $1,164 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $1,177 |
| Honda Accord EX-L 4-Dr Sedan | $1,213 |
| Ford F-150 XL Crew Cab 2WD | $1,216 |
| Toyota Corolla XLE | $1,243 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,248 |
| Toyota Camry SE | $1,243 |
| Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4WD 2-Dr | $1,265 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ AWD | $1,272 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $1,287 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $1,296 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $1,312 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $1,317 |
| Volkswagen Jetta LE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,328 |
| Honda Odyssey EX-L | $1,357 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT Crew Cab 4WD | $1,382 |
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Data rating is based on single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Tennessee minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, claim-free, multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Table data does not factor in specific location information which can increase or decrease prices noticeably.
Based upon these rates, you can see that models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Ford Explorer will definitely be some of the cheaper vehicles to insure for veterans.
Discounts on Nashville insurance
Insurance providers that offer coverage for retired military may also provide special discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 30% if you meet certain criteria. Large car insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are included below.
- GEICO has savings for emergency military deployment, multi-policy, driver training, daytime running lights, and multi-vehicle.
- Auto-Owners Insurance has discounts for safe driver, anti-lock brakes, multi-policy, company car, teen driver, and multiple vehicles.
- American Family policyholders can earn discounts including mySafetyValet, defensive driver, good driver, TimeAway discount, accident-free, and early bird.
- Esurance discounts include online quote, Switch & Save, claim free, multi-policy, defensive driver, DriveSense, and good driver.
- Progressive offers premium reductions for online signing, multi-vehicle, good student, multi-policy, online quote discount, continuous coverage, and homeowner.
- State Farm offers discounts for good driver, student away at school, accident-free, good student, and Steer Clear safe driver discount.
- AAA includes discounts for AAA membership discount, good student, multi-car, education and occupation, good driver, and multi-policy.
The example below compares annual premium costs with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. The rates are based on a male driver, no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, Tennessee state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with accident-free, multiple policy, passive restraint, claim-free, vehicle safety, and homeowner discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, the average savings per year on car insurance for retired military is 28% or $453.
Cost of full coverage in Nashville
Buying cheaper car insurance is the goal of most drivers, and one easy way to buy cheaper insurance for retired military is to buy only liability coverage. The chart below compares car insurance costs with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The information is based on no accidents or driving violations, $250 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
If we average the cost for all age groups, physical damage coverage on your policy costs $1,521 per year over and above liability coverage. At some point, almost every driver questions if buying full coverage is a waste of money. There isn’t a written rule to exclude physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than around 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
Why you should be comparing rates
Tennessee car insurance rates are based on many factors that may substantially change the price you have to pay for coverage. Improving your credit rating, becoming a homeowner, or getting a DUI may cause policy rate changes that may make certain companies cheaper than competitors.
In addition to those changes, insurance companies change the rates they charge in Tennessee without warning in order to be able to pay unexpected claims. Higher than normal claims can cause higher priced premiums, while a better loss history may result in cheaper Nashville car insurance rates.
To help illustrate this point, the bar chart below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Nashville, TN for a 40-year-old male driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and a decent credit rating. If we estimate rates based on his current risk profile, Utica National offers the cheapest car insurance rates in Nashville at $828 a year. This is $500 less than the average premium paid by Tennessee drivers of $1,328. Auto-Owners, Cincinnati Insurance, Penn National, and Tennessee Farmers round out the rest of the cheapest Nashville, TN auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver from the first rate comparison a claim, bad credit, and a traffic citation. Since every car insurance company has a proprietary method to determine rates, analyzing rate quotes could now result in a different set of cheap Nashville auto insurance companies as shown below.
Erie now has the best car insurance rate in Nashville, TN with Nationwide, Allied, Westfield, and GEICO completing the list. This example shows why it is critical to shop around with many companies when trying to get the most affordable insurance rates for retired military. Prices are made up of many different factors and can change without notice, so the best company the last time you compared rates may now be wasting a lot of money.
Tips for finding low-cost auto insurance for retired military
Below you’ll find many penny-pinching solutions that can help Nashville drivers buy cheaper car insurance.
- Maintaining good credit helps earn cheaper rates
- Keep your driving record clean
- Buy safe vehicles
- Do not waste money insuring older vehicles for full coverage
- Higher deductibles mean lower rates
- Being accident-free can lower rates significantly
- Compare rate quotes frequently
That last tip is especially crucial, as we emphasized in this write-up. Rates adjust frequently, so drivers shouldn’t be resistant to change insurance companies if a better rate can be found.
Staying with the same car insurance company is fine, but it’s not recommended if that loyalty results in overpaying hundreds of dollars year after year. Spend a few minutes and compare rates to find cheaper insurance for retired military in Nashville.
The auto insurance agents in Nashville shown below can provide answers to your questions and help you determine which coverage fits your budget, as some people have coverage questions and would like to have a little guidance when trying to find the best insurance rates for veterans. It’s not always easy to find the best coverage yourself, so insurance agents can provide peace of mind knowing your policy gives you suitable coverage if you ever need to use it. To find a Nashville insurance agency using an interactive map, click the button link following the list.
Roy Arnold – State Farm Insurance Agent
2600 Lebanon Pike a – Nashville, TN 37214 – (615) 871-0663
Barbara Stewart – State Farm Insurance Agent
3055 Lebanon Pike #2103 – Nashville, TN 37214 – (615) 391-5300
Eric Osborne – State Farm Insurance Agent
2301 21st Ave S #350 – Nashville, TN 37212 – (615) 837-9000
Arnie Phipps – State Farm Insurance Agent
4811 Trousdale Dr c – Nashville, TN 37220 – (615) 833-1300