Cheapest auto insurance in Atlanta: State Farm

The average cost of car insurance in Atlanta is $75 per month, or $900 per year, for a minimum-coverage policy.

The cheapest car insurance in Atlanta is offered by State Farm and Georgia Farm Bureau, based on a rate analysis of Georgia minimum liability quotes. On average, those insurers were 24% cheaper than the city's average overall, which translates to a savings of $212 per year.

State Farm, the cheapest coverage in the analysis, came in at $644 per year, or $54 per month. Georgia Farm Bureau was $726 per year. Those two companies and USAA — which is only available to members of the military, veterans and some of their family members — were the only rates below the state average.

Minimum liability coverage only offers the lowest level of protection and may not cover all costs in the event of an accident. We suggest you purchase more coverage if you can, especially if you have an expensive vehicle.

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Atlanta: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau offers Atlanta's cheapest widely-available option for full-coverage car insurance. Geico offers the second-best rate, well ahead of the next-best option, Progressive.

Georgia Farm Bureau’s rate of $1,599 per year was $797 less than Geico. Those two companies and USAA, at $1,572, were all less than the city average of $2,929.

The key differences between minimum and full-coverage auto insurance are that full coverage has higher liability limits and includes collision and comprehensive coverages, which protect a driver's own car.

* Comprehensive coverage: covers damage from theft, natural disasters and other events outside the driver's control, sometimes called "acts of God".

* Collision coverage: covers damage to a vehicle that results from hitting another vehicle or object.

Cheap car insurance for drivers with prior incidents

Drivers in Atlanta and anywhere else will likely pay more for the same insurance if their driving record includes a speeding ticket, DUI or accident.

Cheapest car insurance in Atlanta after an accident

The best full-coverage rates after an at-fault accident came from Georgia Farm Bureau, which was considerably cheaper than Geico, the second-best option. The difference between the two companies was $2,436 per year.

The average Georgia Farm Bureau rate was $1,749 per year, an increase of 9% from the cost with a clean record. On average, an accident raised Atlanta insurance rates 49%.

The average rate increase for an accident in Georgia is 48%, so the rate increase in Atlanta is in line with the rest of the state.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a speeding ticket: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau had the best rates for Atlanta drivers looking for full-coverage insurance after a speeding ticket. The annual rate from the company was $1,749, which was notably cheaper than Geico, at $2,697.

The city’s average annual rate was $3,404. Overall, speeding tickets raised the average premium by $475, an increase of 16%.


Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI: Georgia Farm Bureau

On average, a DUI increases the full-coverage insurance rate for an Atlanta driver by $1,882, an increase of 64%.

The best rates in the city are from Georgia Farm Bureau, at $3,108. That rate is an increase of $1,509, which comes out to 94% more. That said, Georgia Farm Bureau's rate is better than Progressive, at $3,982, and State Farm, at $5,339.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with poor credit: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau and State Farm offer the best rates for drivers with poor credit who are looking for full-coverage auto insurance.

Credit problems can have a significant impact on your rates — more significant than a speeding ticket in Atlanta. Poor credit, on average, increases rates $831 per year.

Cheapest car insurance for married drivers: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau offers the best rates for married drivers in Atlanta, with an average annual cost $534 less than Geico. Progressive was the third-cheapest option.

Georgia Farm Bureau's rate of $1,599 came in at $1,211 less than the city average overall. Insurers tend to see married drivers as less risky, and as a result, they often pay lower rates.

Cheapest car insurance for young drivers: Georgia Farm Bureau

Eighteen-year-old drivers tend to pay considerably more for auto insurance because insurers consider them higher risk. On average, a younger driver paid well over three times more than a 30-year-old.

In Atlanta, drivers in that category save the most with Georgia Farm Bureau. Geico offered the next-best rate, and the only other one considerably cheaper than the city average. Georgia Farm Bureau’s rate came in $2,327 less than Geico, and 49% less than that average rate for the city.

Options for young drivers looking to lower insurance costs include:

* Looking for discounts: good grades, avoiding accidents and safe driving are all ways to get discounts from insurers. You should speak with your insurer about what you are eligible for and which options are available.

* Joining a parent's car insurance policy: although it will raise the price of the parent's policy, it should be considerably cheaper than separate policies.

Best auto insurance companies in Atlanta, Georgia

The top companies for customer satisfaction in Georgia were USAA, Allstate, State Farm and Progressive, according to a survey conducted by ValuePenguin. USAA is only available to members of the military and certain family members.

Average car insurance costs in Atlanta by neighborhood

The Atlanta metro area is the ninth largest in the country. More than 500,000 people live in the city itself, and the metro area is six times that size.

Atlanta encompasses numerous neighborhoods across its 39 ZIP codes. The price of full-coverage insurance varies by $921.

Atlanta's least expensive ZIP code for car insurance was 30342, which includes East Chastain Park and runs from North Buckhead to the southern edge of Sandy Springs. The most expensive, at $3,451, was 30315, which includes South Atlanta.

Auto theft statistics in Atlanta

Atlanta ranks last among Georgia's 15 largest cities in car thefts per 100,000 residents. That rate was 666.8 cars stolen per 100,000 in 2018.

Johns Creek, a city of 85,446 in the northeast corner of the Atlanta metro, ranked at the top, with only 17.6 cars stolen per 100,000 residents. Atlanta overall had 3,308 auto thefts.

Methodology

Data was collected from six of the largest insurers in Georgia. The sample driver is a 30-year-old man with a 2015 Honda Civic EX. The driver has average credit, unless otherwise stated. Rates are for a full-coverage policy unless otherwise noted.

The analysis uses insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services publicly sourced from insurer filings. Rates should be used for comparative purposes only, as your rates will likely be different.

Sources: FBI 2018 Georgia crime report

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