Who Has Cheap Nashville Car Insurance Rates for First-time Drivers?

One of the many considerations that aid in calculating insurance cost is where you live in Nashville. More densely populated places will most likely pay more, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates get the luxury of paying less.

The illustration below ranks the most expensive cities in Tennessee for first-time drivers in which to buy car insurance. Nashville makes the list at #10 with an annual cost of $1,177 for coverage, which is around $98 monthly.

Rates are estimated as vehicle location can change rates greatly.

The type of vehicle requiring insurance is probably the largest consideration when looking for economical insurance for first-time drivers. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, good safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than adrenaline junky models.

The table below ranks coverage rates for a number of the cheapest automobiles to insure in Tennessee.

Above prices assume single male driver age 16, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Tennessee minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Price estimates do not factor in your specific Nashville, TN location which can revise coverage rates noticeably.

Based upon the rates shown, you can figure that makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Hyundai Elantra, Volkswagen Jetta, Ford Escape, and Toyota Prius are most likely to be a few of the cheaper vehicles to insure for new drivers. Car insurance rates will trend higher just because there is a higher risk for first-time drivers, but generally speaking those specific models will have the lowest insurance rates compared to other vehicles.

Responsible drivers pay cheaper Nashville car insurance rates

The easiest way to obtain affordable car insurance prices in Nashville for new drivers is to drive safe and avoid accidents and violations. The diagram below illustrates how violations and accident claims raise insurance costs for each different age category. The data assumes a single female driver, full coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.

The data charted above shows the average cost of auto insurance per year with no violations or accidents is $1,546. Get two speeding tickets and the average cost hikes up to $2,060, an increase of $514 each year. Next add two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of car insurance for first-time drivers increases to an average of $4,216. That’s an increase of $2,670, or $222 per month, just for not being more responsible behind the wheel!

How to get discounts on Nashville insurance rates

Insurers that offer quotes for first-time drivers may have discounts that can lower rates by as much as 30% if you meet certain criteria. A list of car insurance companies and the discounts they provide are included below.

• GEICO may have discounts that include daytime running lights, defensive driver, good student, seat belt use, multi-policy, anti-lock brakes, and air bags.
• MetLife offers premium reductions for defensive driver, claim-free, good student, multi-policy, and accident-free.
• State Farm includes discounts for accident-free, anti-theft, driver’s education, safe vehicle, and good student.
• Progressive offers discounts for multi-policy, homeowner, online signing, continuous coverage, and good student.
• Mercury Insurance discounts include multi-car, accident-free, age of vehicle, anti-theft, location of vehicle, and type of vehicle.
• 21st Century may include discounts for teen driver, defensive driver, 55 and older, anti-lock brakes, air bags, and automatic seat belts.
• Allstate offers discounts including defensive driver, new car, auto/life discount, EZ pay plan discount, teenSMART discount, and good payer.

The example below visualizes the comparison of annual premium costs with and without discounts applied to the premium. The costs are based on a male driver, a clean driving record, no claims, Tennessee state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with paid-in-full, vehicle safety, good student, passive restraint, paperless filing, and continuous coverage discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, theaverage yearly reduction on car insurance for first-time drivers is 28% or $813.

Cost difference between full coverage and liability

Finding the cheapest car insurance is probably important to most vehicle owners, and one of the easiest ways to buy cheap insurance for first-time drivers is to not pay for full coverage. The example below shows the comparison of car insurance costs with full coverage compared to only the Tennessee minimum liability coverage. The costs are based on no violations or accidents, $100 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no policy discounts are applied.

Averaged for all age groups, physical damage coverage on your policy costs $2,260 per year more than insuring for liability only. Lot’s of drivers question when is it a good idea to stop buying full coverage. There isn’t a steadfast formula for dropping physical damage coverage, but there is a general convention. If the annual cost of coverage is about 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.

The benefits of price comparisons

Nashville, TN car insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can substantially change the cost of a policy. Simply turning a year older, increasing liability limits, or getting a DUI can trigger price changes that can now make some companies cheaper than competitors. Not only that, but companies modify pricing as often as every quarter to reflect underwriting profits or losses. An extended period of higher than normal claims may result in higher priced premiums, while a profitable period can produce cheaper Nashville car insurance rates.

For example, the data below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Nashville, TN for a 45-year-old male driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and a good credit rating. If we look at prices based on his current risk factors, Utica National might quote the lowest car insurance rates in Nashville at $845 a year. This is $483 less than the average premium paid by Tennessee drivers of $1,328. Cincinnati Insurance, Auto-Owners, Penn National, and USAA are the rest of the most affordable Nashville, TN auto insurance companies.

Now we will give the driver from the first rate comparison a couple of claims, a lower credit rating, and a few traffic violations. Due to the fact that every auto insurer has a different formula to set policy rates, comparing prices could now result in a substantially altered list of the cheapest Nashville car insurance companies as shown below.

Erie now has the best car insurance rate in Nashville, TN with Nationwide, Westfield, Allied, and GEICO completing the list. This example demonstrates why it is critical to do a thorough rate comparison to find cheap auto insurance quotes for first-time drivers. Car insurance prices can be determined by many different factors and can change without notice, so the cheapest company two years ago may now be costing you a lot of money.