Low-cost car insurance in North Carolina

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In North Carolina, Erie Insurance offers the cheapest average premium at $1,168 per year. For comparison, the statewide average monthly cost is $216, though individual rates vary depending on your driving profile, location, and vehicle.

Every state sets its own car insurance rules. In North Carolina, the minimum liability requirement is $50,000 for bodily injury per person, $100,000 for bodily injury per accident, and $50,000 for property damage per accident.

For drivers who want greater protection, full coverage can be a smart investment. It combines liability with both collision and comprehensive coverage, ensuring that your own car is also covered in the event of an accident, theft, weather damage, or other unexpected events.

Below, we highlight which insurers provide the most affordable rates across different driver categories.

Key Takeaways

Erie Insurance has the cheapest average premium in North Carolina, coming in at $1,168 per year – about $1,419 compared to the state average.
For drivers with an at-fault accident on their record, Erie Insurance offers the lowest rates, with annual costs averaging $1,868.
The 28575 ZIP code is the least expensive area in North Carolina for car insurance, with an average yearly premium of $2,039.

Low-cost car insurance businesses in North Carolina

When comparing insurers in North Carolina, Erie Insurance leads the pack with an annual average of $1,168. That’s $1,419 less than the statewide average. Individual premiums vary depending on your driving record, vehicle type, age, and ZIP code.

To make sure you’re getting the best price, it’s always smart to check quotes from multiple carriers.

Here are the annual averages from the most affordable insurance companies in North Carolina.

Company	Average annual rates
Erie Insurance	$1,168
Progressive	$1,480
State Farm	$1,714
Nationwide	$2,452
Farmers	$2,479
North Carolina Farm Bureau	$2,795
Penn National Insurance	$2,797
GEICO	$3,233
Utica National Insurance Group	$3,496
Allstate	$4,643

How we choose low-cost car insurance companies in North Carolina

170+

Carriers reviewed

78M+

Quotes analysed

34K+

ZIP codes examined

ZIP codes with the cheapest car insurance in North Carolina

Drivers in 28575 benefit from the lowest average premium in the state, at $2,039 per year. See the table below to find other ZIP codes in North Carolina where insurance tends to be cheaper.

ZIP code	City	Average annual rates
28575	Salter Path	$2,039
28579	Smyrna	$2,048
28556	Merritt	$2,052
28533	Cherry Point	$2,063
28528	Gloucester	$2,063
27510	Carrboro	$2,164
27514	Chapel Hill	$2,165
27517	Chapel Hill	$2,168
27516	Chapel Hill	$2,170
28467	Calabash	$2,186

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Auto insurance premiums vary significantly from city to city, so drivers need to be sure they’re getting the best deal. Insure.com has done the research for you. Get more information on auto insurance rates by city below.

Car insurance rates in North Carolina by city

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Low-cost car insurance in North Carolina by age

Young drivers often face the highest premiums. In North Carolina, for example, a 16-year-old pays $5,317 more than a 40-year-old driver.

The table below shows how rates change by age group.

Age group	Full coverage annual premiums
Teens (16-19)	$5,950
Young Adults (20-24)	$2,804
Adults (25-60)	$2,547
Seniors (65-75)	$2,680

Low-cost car insurance in North Carolina by driver history

Your driving record is one of the biggest factors in your insurance price. Tickets or accidents will raise your premium, while drivers with clean records are considered lower risk and typically receive more affordable coverage.

Low-cost car insurance after a speeding ticket in North Carolina

One speeding ticket in North Carolina can cause your insurance rates to jump by 47%, or roughly $1,220 per year. Combined with the cost of the fine, a violation can get expensive fast. The table below highlights insurers with lower-priced options even after a ticket.

Company	Average annual premium	New rate after accident	% Increase	$ Increase
Erie Insurance	$1,168	$1,815	55%	$647
Progressive	$1,480	$2,070	40%	$589
State Farm	$1,714	$2,387	39%	$673
Nationwide	$2,452	$3,426	40%	$973
Farmers	$2,479	$3,491	41%	$1,012
North Carolina Farm Bureau	$2,795	$3,973	42%	$1,179
GEICO	$3,233	$5,073	57%	$1,840
Allstate	$4,643	$7,075	52%	$2,432

Low-cost car insurance after an accident in North Carolina

Being at fault in an accident will drive your premiums up, but some insurers remain more affordable than others. Erie Insurance is the lowest-cost option for these drivers, with an average annual premium of $1,868.

If you’ve had an accident, comparing quotes can help you avoid overpaying. See the table below for the cheapest companies after one at-fault accident.

Company	Average annual premium	New rate after accident	% Increase	$ Increase
Erie Insurance	$1,168	$1,868	60%	$700
Progressive	$1,480	$2,129	44%	$649
State Farm	$1,714	$2,458	43%	$744
Farmers	$2,479	$3,592	45%	$1,113
North Carolina Farm Bureau	$2,795	$4,091	46%	$1,297
Nationwide	$2,452	$4,709	92%	$2,256
GEICO	$3,233	$7,164	122%	$3,931
Allstate	$4,643	$9,013	94%	$4,370

Low-cost car insurance after a DUI in North Carolina

A DUI places you in the high-risk driver category, which usually leads to much higher premiums. Still, some insurers in North Carolina are more affordable than others. The table below shows which companies offer the lowest average rates after a DUI conviction.

Company	Average annual premium	New rate after accident	$ Increase	% Increase
Erie Insurance	$1,168	$4,886	$3,718	318%
Progressive	$1,480	$5,490	$4,010	271%
State Farm	$1,714	$6,371	$4,658	272%
Nationwide	$2,452	$9,126	$6,673	272%
Farmers	$2,479	$9,360	$6,881	278%
GEICO	$3,233	$14,594	$11,361	351%
North Carolina Farm Bureau	$2,795	$16,680	$13,885	497%
Allstate	$4,643	$19,237	$14,594	314%

Average cost of car insurance North Carolina

Full coverage insurance costs more than minimum liability insurance, but the extra cost is worth it for most drivers. That’s because minimum liability only pays for injuries or damage you cause to others, leaving you to cover repairs or replacement of your own car out of pocket. Full coverage, on the other hand, includes collision and comprehensive insurance, so your vehicle is protected in situations like accidents, theft, storms, or vandalism.

The average cost of full coverage car insurance in North Carolina is $74 more than the national average car insurance rates in the U.S.

We recommend that you carry at least coverage limits of 100/300/100 – that’s $100,000 in bodily injury coverage per person, $300,000 per accident, and $100,000 in property damage coverage. These limits provide a better safety net if you’re involved in a serious accident where costs could quickly exceed minimum requirements.

What is full coverage car insurance?

Full coverage refers to liability insurance plus both collision and comprehensive. Collision pays for damage to your vehicle after an accident, while comprehensive covers non-collision events like theft, fire, or hail damage.

If you lease or finance your vehicle in North Carolina, your lender may require collision and comprehensive insurance on top of the state’s liability minimums.

The bottom line on saving and staying protected

It’s natural to look for ways to lower your insurance costs, but cutting corners on coverage can leave you financially vulnerable after an accident.

Make sure you choose a policy that balances affordability with protection. Always compare quotes from at least three companies to find low-cost car insurance in North Carolina.

Methodology

Insure.com gathered data from Quadrant Information Services to get car insurance rates in North Carolina. The rates are based on a sample profile of a 40-year-old male and female driving a Honda Accord LX with a good insurance score and no violation on record for a full coverage insurance policy with limits 100/300/100 and $500 comprehensive and collision deductibles.

We analyzed 53,409,632 insurance quotes from 170 insurance companies across 34,588 ZIP codes nationwide.

To determine car insurance rates for high-risk drivers with a history of traffic violations, we used a sample profile of a 40-year-old male and female driver who own a Honda Accord LX.

We also used sample profiles of drivers from different age groups: Teen drivers (Age 16-19), young drivers (Age 20-24), adult drivers (Age 25-60) and senior drivers (Age 65-75)

We determined the premiums for a high-risk driver with the following incidents applied

1 At-fault property damage accident over $2K
1 At-fault property damage accident under $2K
At-fault bodily injury accident
Poor credit
DUI/DWI first offense
Speeding 30+ over limit
Speeding ticket 1-10 MPH over limit
Speeding ticket 11-29 MPH over the limit

These are sample rates, and your exact rates may vary.

Shivani Gite

Contributing Writer

Shivani Gite is a personal finance and insurance writer with a degree in journalism and mass communication. She is passionate about making insurance topics easy to understand for people and helping them make better financial decisions.