You have most likely watched the catchy advertisements from auto insurance companies like Liberty Mutual and GEICO claiming enormous savings. So you should just choose the one with the best commercial, right?
It’s not quite that easy, unfortunately, as there are a whole bunch of unknown aspects like what coverage limits you need, if you have ever had a coverage lapse, and your driving record. We are going to cover the best ways to compare rates and should give you a solid foundation to find cheaper car insurance.
The car, truck, or SUV you are trying to insure is one of the biggest factors when consumers are trying to find the most economical car insurance for Lyft drivers. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, a plethora of safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than higher performance models. The list below illustrates insurance premiums for a handful of the most cost-effective automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $2,226 |
| Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $2,234 |
| Toyota Prius | $2,463 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $2,585 |
| Honda Odyssey EX W/Rear Entertainment | $2,590 |
| Ford Edge Limited 2WD | $2,585 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $2,590 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD | $2,636 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $2,687 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $2,694 |
| Honda Civic LX 4-Dr Sedan | $2,724 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport Islander Package 4WD 4-Dr | $2,731 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 2.5 Station Wagon | $2,772 |
| Start a Quote Go | |
Table data represents single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Louisiana minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, safe-driver, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and claim-free. Rate information does not factor in vehicle location which can change premiums greatly.
Based on these rates, we can tell that makes and models like the Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius, Chevrolet Impala, and Honda Odyssey will be some of the cheapest vehicles to insure for Lyft vehicles.
Finding decent, low-cost auto insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and finding out which company has the best insurance rates for Lyft drivers will take a bit more work. Each auto insurer uses their own formula for determining rates in each state, so we need to take a look at the most affordable insurance companies in Louisiana.
Best Car Insurance Prices for Your Lyft Vehicle
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,594 |
| 2 | MetLife | $1,854 |
| 3 | Progressive | $1,927 |
| 4 | GEICO | $1,965 |
| 5 | Safeway | $2,198 |
| 6 | Southern Farm Bureau | $2,204 |
| 7 | California Casualty | $2,269 |
| 8 | State Farm | $2,383 |
| 9 | Safe Auto | $2,549 |
| 10 | Allstate | $2,975 |
| 11 | Encompass | $3,138 |
| 12 | Liberty Mutual | $3,608 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
USAA quotes some of the lowest car insurance rates in New Orleans at around $1,594 annually. This is $820 less than the average price paid by Louisiana drivers of $2,414. MetLife, Progressive, GEICO, and Safeway would also be considered some of the most economical New Orleans, LA insurance companies.
As shown in the table above, if you have coverage with GEICO and switched to MetLife, you might realize a yearly savings of upwards of $111. Drivers with Safeway could save as much as $344 a year, and Southern Farm Bureau policyholders might lower prices by $350 a year.
Remember that these estimates are averages for all drivers and vehicles in Louisiana and do not factor in an exact vehicle garaging location for Lyft drivers. So the car insurance company that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the top 12 companies in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.
One of the many components that are used to help calculate the amount you pay for auto insurance is where your residence is. More populated areas tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas that tend to be more rural profit from lower rates.
The next table sorts the most costly cities in Louisiana for Lyft drivers to buy auto insurance in. New Orleans shows up at #1 with an annual rate of $2,856 for the average insured, which is approximately $238 each month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans | $2,856 |
| 2 | Marrero | $2,544 |
| 3 | Harvey | $2,487 |
| 4 | Terrytown | $2,455 |
| 5 | Metairie | $2,254 |
| 6 | Kenner | $2,225 |
| 7 | Shenandoah | $2,204 |
| 8 | Prairieville | $2,191 |
| 9 | Baton Rouge | $2,143 |
| 10 | Central | $2,135 |
| 11 | Hammond | $2,065 |
| 12 | Alexandria | $2,054 |
| 13 | Laplace | $1,971 |
| 14 | Lafayette | $1,936 |
| 15 | Monroe | $1,931 |
| 16 | New Iberia | $1,928 |
| 17 | Lake Charles | $1,915 |
| 18 | Slidell | $1,899 |
| 19 | Sulphur | $1,896 |
| 20 | Houma | $1,846 |
| Find Cheaper Insurance Go | ||
Premium costs are estimated as the specific garaging location can lower or raise premiums greatly.
How to get discounts on New Orleans car insurance
Insurance providers that offer coverage for Lyft drivers could also offer policy discounts that could reduce prices by 30% or more if you are eligible. A few of the larger companies and the discounts they provide can be read below.
- Progressive offers discounts for multi-policy, good student, online signing, multi-vehicle, and homeowner.
- SAFECO discounts include teen safety rewards, anti-theft, teen safe driver, accident prevention training, safe driver, homeowner, and multi-car.
- American Family has discounts for mySafetyValet, defensive driver, multi-vehicle, accident-free, early bird, and bundled insurance.
- MetLife may include discounts for accident-free, good student, claim-free, defensive driver, multi-policy, good driver
- GEICO has savings for emergency military deployment, good student, multi-policy, daytime running lights, driver training, seat belt use, and defensive driver.
- The Hartford policyholders can earn discounts including defensive driver, bundle, air bag, anti-theft, driver training, vehicle fuel type, and good student.
The illustration below illustrates the difference between insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The premium estimates are based on a female driver, no violations or accidents, Louisiana state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with multiple policy, vehicle safety, accident-free, passive restraint, homeowner, and anti-theft discounts applied. In this example, theaverage yearly reduction on insurance for Lyft drivers is 28% or $697.
Drive safe and save
The easiest method to snag low insurance premiums for Lyft vehicles is to be an attentive driver and avoid accidents and violations. The illustration below illustrates how violations and at-fault fender-benders drive up car insurance rates for each different age category. The information is based on a single male driver, full physical damage coverage, $500 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
The data above shows the average cost of an auto insurance policy in New Orleans per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $2,958. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost jumps to $3,339, an increase of $381 each year. Now add in two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of insurance for Lyft drivers increases to an average of $6,728. That’s an increase of $3,770, or $314 per month, just for not being attentive to the road!
Full coverage or liability only
Buying cheaper insurance is the goal of most people, and one way to pay less for insurance for Lyft drivers is to only pay for liability coverage. The chart below shows the comparison of insurance costs with and without full coverage. The rates are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied.
If we average all the age groups together, physical damage coverage costs $2,433 per year more than insuring for liability only. Many drivers may wonder if buying full coverage is worth the expense. There is no definitive formula of when to exclude full coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of having full coverage is 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.
There are some situations where buying only liability insurance is not a good plan. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you must maintain physical damage coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest in the vehicle. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should keep full coverage in place.