Finding good, cost effective insurance is confusing at best, and determining which company quotes the cheapest insurance rates for inexperienced drivers requires a bit more work.
Each insurance company has their own guidelines to set their prices, so we’ll go over the insurance companies with the most affordable rates in Virginia. It’s a good idea to know that Virginia insurance rates are impacted by many things which can substantially decrease or increase your annual premium. This is why it is critical to spend some time comparing rates when trying to find the cheapest car insurance rates for inexperienced drivers. Insurance rates are determined by many risk factors and change frequently, so the cheapest company the last time you compared rates may now cost much more than other companies.
Cheap Insurance Rates for Newbies
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Travelers generally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Virginia Beach at around $679 per year. USAA, Penn National, Cincinnati Insurance, and Utica National are also some of the best Virginia Beach, VA insurance companies.
In the rate table above, if you are a customer of Cincinnati Insurance and switched to USAA, you could realize annual savings of around $25. Policyholders with Utica National could save as much as $49 a year, and The Hartford insureds might see rate reductions of $61 a year.
It’s important to note that these policy prices are averaged across all drivers and vehicles in Virginia and are not factoring in a specific zip code for inexperienced drivers. So the auto insurance company that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the top 30 companies shown above. That illustrates why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.
For new drivers, one of the big things that aid in calculating car insurance rates is where you call home in Virginia Beach. Larger areas tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with less congestion have the luxury of cheap car insurance rates.
The illustration below lists the highest-priced areas in Virginia for inexperienced drivers to buy auto insurance in. Virginia Beach is ranked #21 with an annual cost of $910 on average, which is about $76 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burke | $1,068 |
| 2 | Centreville | $1,037 |
| 3 | Alexandria | $1,036 |
| 4 | Lake Ridge | $1,032 |
| 5 | Richmond | $1,015 |
| 6 | Dale City | $1,008 |
| 7 | Arlington | $1,003 |
| 8 | Reston | $992 |
| 9 | McLean | $985 |
| 10 | Portsmouth | $972 |
| 11 | Hampton | $972 |
| 12 | Norfolk | $970 |
| 13 | Tuckahoe | $957 |
| 14 | Suffolk | $937 |
| 15 | Leesburg | $931 |
| 16 | Newport News | $930 |
| 17 | Chesapeake | $926 |
| 18 | Danville | $922 |
| 19 | Ashburn | $920 |
| 20 | Charlottesville | $913 |
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Premium amounts are comparative as the vehicle garaging location can decrease or increase prices considerably.
Selecting a good quality auto insurance company can be challenging considering how many companies there are in Virginia Beach. The company information in the next section can help you analyze which auto insurers to look at when comparing rates. The rankings below are only made up of large nationwide companies, so smaller regional companies are not factored into the list.
| 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 |
| Mercury Insurance | 97 | 96 | 88 | 89% | A+ | 93.4 |
| 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 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Do you need full coverage?
Finding cheaper insurance is important to most drivers, and one easy way to reduce the cost of insurance for inexperienced drivers is to buy only liability coverage. The chart below illustrates the difference between auto insurance costs with full physical damage coverage and with liability coverage only. The information is based on no claims or driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are factored in.
As an average for all age groups, full coverage costs $1,466 per year more than just buying liability only. Many of you may wonder if full coverage is worth the money. There isn’t a written rule for phasing out physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general convention. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s book value is $7,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, you would only receive $6,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If it’s costing in excess of $650 a year for comprehensive and collision coverage, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
There are some circumstances where buying only liability insurance is not advised. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you cannot afford to purchase a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should keep full coverage in place.
Your cheap policy may actually be overpriced
Virginia insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the cost of coverage. Turning one year older, moving to a new city, or getting a ticket for running a stop sign may generate price changes that can now make some companies affordable when they were higher priced.
Not only that, but insurance companies change rates multiple times each year to ensure their profitability. Heavier than normal losses can cause rate hikes, while profitable underwriting can cause lower-cost Virginia Beach car insurance rates.
As an example, the bar chart below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Virginia Beach, VA for a 40-year-old female driver with a good driving record, no prior claims, and solid credit. If we look at prices based on her current risk factors, Travelers has the cheapest car insurance rates in Virginia Beach at $798 per year. This is $360 less than the average policy premium paid by Virginia drivers of $1,158. USAA, Penn National, Auto-Owners, and Cincinnati Insurance also make the list of the cheapest Virginia Beach, VA auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver in the first chart a claim surcharge, a lower credit rating, and a speeding ticket. Due to the fact that each insurance company uses their own method to establish rates, analyzing rate quotes will most likely result in a completely different list of affordable Virginia Beach car insurance companies as shown below.
Erie now has the cheapest price in Virginia Beach, VA with The Hartford, Virginia Farm Bureau, Donegal Mutual, and Nationwide also being competitive. This example illustrates why Virginia Beach drivers need to compare rates to get the most affordable insurance quotes for inexperienced drivers. Insurance rates are influenced by many factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the most economical option the last time you checked may now be costing you a lot of money.