The car, truck, or SUV needing coverage is one of the largest considerations in finding affordable insurance for college students. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, good safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost much less to insure than high performance models.
The next table presents coverage prices for a handful of the cheaper vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $5,079 |
| Ford Escape Limited 4WD | $5,400 |
| Toyota Prius | $5,476 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Regular Cab 4WD | $5,534 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $5,609 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $5,617 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $5,855 |
| Ford Edge Limited 2WD | $5,864 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT 2WD | $5,931 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $5,936 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $5,931 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Crew | $6,006 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab 4WD | $6,012 |
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Prices above based on single female driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Louisiana minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Table data does not factor in specific garaging location which can influence auto insurance rates noticeably.
Based upon the table data, we can conclude that models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, and Chevrolet Silverado will definitely be some of the less-costly vehicles to insure for students in college. Rates will tend to be more expensive just because there is more liability exposure for college students, but overall those makes and models will probably have the lowest insurance rates compared to other vehicles.
For students in college, one of the big components that determine car insurance rates is where your residence is in New Orleans. Regions with larger populations or more claims tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents have the benefit of cheaper auto insurance prices.
The illustration below shows the highest-priced areas in Louisiana for college students in which to buy car insurance. New Orleans ranks #1 with an annual cost of $2,943 for the average policyholder, which is around $245 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Orleans | $2,943 |
| 2 | Marrero | $2,544 |
| 3 | Harvey | $2,487 |
| 4 | Terrytown | $2,480 |
| 5 | Baton Rouge | $2,231 |
| 6 | Metairie | $2,188 |
| 7 | Kenner | $2,159 |
| 8 | Central | $2,157 |
| 9 | Hammond | $2,128 |
| 10 | Shenandoah | $2,118 |
| 11 | Prairieville | $2,105 |
| 12 | Alexandria | $2,096 |
| 13 | Laplace | $2,051 |
| 14 | Lafayette | $1,936 |
| 15 | Lake Charles | $1,934 |
| 16 | Slidell | $1,919 |
| 17 | Sulphur | $1,916 |
| 18 | Monroe | $1,911 |
| 19 | New Iberia | $1,871 |
| 20 | Shreveport | $1,838 |
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Rate quotes are approximated as vehicle location can decrease or increase price quotes greatly.
Finding dependable, cheap car insurance is not always easy, and deciding which companies have the lowest-priced insurance rates for college students will take even more shopping around. Each company has their own guidelines for setting rates, so let’s rank the insurance companies with the most affordable rates in Louisiana.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance for College Students
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,578 |
| 2 | MetLife | $1,910 |
| 3 | GEICO | $1,945 |
| 4 | Progressive | $1,986 |
| 5 | Southern Farm Bureau | $2,204 |
| 6 | Safeway | $2,220 |
| 7 | California Casualty | $2,269 |
| 8 | State Farm | $2,431 |
| 9 | Safe Auto | $2,653 |
| 10 | Allstate | $2,975 |
| 11 | Encompass | $3,234 |
| 12 | Liberty Mutual | $3,645 |
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USAA generally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in New Orleans at around $1,578 annually. This is $836 less than the average price paid by Louisiana drivers of $2,414. MetLife, GEICO, Progressive, and Southern Farm Bureau would also make the list of some of the more affordable New Orleans, LA car insurance companies.
As shown in the table above, if you currently have a policy with Southern Farm Bureau and switched to MetLife, you may realize an annual savings of around $294. Policyholders with Safeway could save as much as $310 a year, and California Casualty policyholders might see rate reductions of $359 a year.
If you want to see how much you could save, click here to get a free quote or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
Understand that those policy rates are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and are not factoring in an exact vehicle garaging location for college students. So the car insurance company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the top 12 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to compare rates from as many companies as possible using your own specific driver and vehicle information.
Rate increases following a ticket or accident
The ideal way to earn cheap insurance rates in Louisiana for students in college is to drive cautiously and not get tickets or have accidents. The diagram below demonstrates how traffic citations and at-fault collisions influence auto insurance rates for different insured age categories. The rates are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The chart shows that the average cost of auto insurance in Louisiana per year with no violations or accidents is $1,651. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost increases to $1,903, an increase of $251 each year. Then add in one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the 12-month cost of insurance for college students increases to an average of $2,594. That’s an increase of $943, or $79 per month, just for not driving carefully!
The chart below shows how choosing a deductible can increase or decrease premium costs when quoting cheap insurance for college students. The premium estimates are based on a married male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are factored in.
In the chart above, a 30-year-old driver could pocket $498 a year by changing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $756 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the 20-year-old, could drop their prices up to $1,510 each year by using a higher deductible.
When increasing deductibles, it’s a good idea to have enough funds in savings to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one inconvenience of using high deductibles.
Last year’s bargain might be this year’s rip off
New Orleans, LA insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can substantially change the cost of having a policy. Simply turning a year older, buying higher coverage limits, or getting a reckless driving citation can produce rate changes resulting in some rates now being more affordable than the competition.
In addition, auto insurance companies change their prices without warning in order to remain profitable. Significantly higher losses can result in additional premium costs, while profitable underwriting can cause cheaper New Orleans car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the data below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in New Orleans, LA for a 30-year-old female driver with no violations or accidents, and good credit. If we estimate rates based on her current risk factors, USAA quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in New Orleans at $2,727 each year. This is $313 more than the average premium paid by Louisiana drivers of $2,414. MetLife, GEICO, Progressive, and Safeway are also on the list of the cheapest New Orleans, LA auto insurance companies.
In this next rate comparison, we will give the driver from the first rate comparison a claim or two, a lower credit rating, and an imperfect driving record. Since each company has a different process to determine rates, comparing quotes may now present a significantly different list of companies as shown below.
California Casualty now has the lowest car insurance rate in New Orleans with State Farm, USAA, Safe Auto, and Progressive now rounding out the top five. This illustrates why it is critical to perform a complete rate comparison when trying to get the most budget-friendly auto insurance quotes for college students.
Rates are influenced by many risk factors and can decrease or increase without notice, so the cheapest company a year ago may now be one of the more expensive options.