Cheap Car Insurance Quotes in Minnesota

Posted on September 25, 2014

Car insurance in Minnesota

Shown below is a useful summary of info to help Minnesota car owners get the lowest possible rates on auto insurance. Scroll down for rates, laws, facts and stats. Read on and see how easy it is to customize the Minnesota auto insurance package that works best for you.

Minnesota Minimum Liability Coverage

Minnesota drivers must buy no less than 30/60/10 coverage for each owned vehicle. In other words, $30,000 in coverage for personal injury to the driver, $60,000 in coverage for per-accident protection (pays the expenses of others injured in the accident) and $10,000 in coverage against property damage. The minimum required coverage in Minnesota is high, as compared to other U.S. states, perhaps partly because Minnesota ranks fifth among states in DUI deaths. Roughly 125 deaths of this kind are reported each year throughout the state.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in Minnesota

For a first offense, the penalty for driving without insurance in Minnesota is a fine of up to one thousand dollars and/or a maximum of ninety days in jail. Subsequent convictions within a ten-year time span result in fines of up to $3,000 and up to one year of jail time, not to mention a suspended license.

Auto Insurance Rates in Minnesota

In Minnesota, the average annual premium on car insurance was $1,257 in 2016. Minnesota’s mean annual premiums dipped a bit below the national average of $1,347. The figure would probably be even lower, if not for the state’s inflated DUI rate, harsh climate, and the fact that Minnesota is a “no-fault” state for car insurance. No-fault laws generally result in slightly higher premiums, although details vary from state to state.

So, why are Minnesota’s car insurance premiums still slightly lower than average? According to Top50States.com, the reason probably has to do with the state’s strong economy, low population density, low crime rates and a relatively small percentage of uninsured drivers on the road.

Low Cost Car Insurance Deals in Minnesota

Minnesota auto insurance companies with driver discount programs are not hard to find. Carriers typically offer Accident-Free discounts and Good-Driver discounts for car owners who practice intelligent driving habits. Discounts are also available to senior citizens who complete a defensive driving course, and to full time students who earn good grades. Other available discounts may include Multiple Auto discounts, Multiple Policy discounts, Vehicle Safety discounts and more. It literally pays to ask insurance agents about their discounts, and run your own discount comparison study.

Obtaining Auto Insurance Quotes in Minnesota

Some Minnesota car owners prefer nationwide insurance carriers with big, familiar names like Auto Owners Insurance, The Hartford, Geico, and 21^st Century. Other Minnesota drivers opt for lesser known local favorites like American Family Insurance, Farm Bureau, Western National or Insurance Brokers of Minnesota. In any case, Minnesota is scattered with auto insurance carriers providing coverage at competitive rates. Call several brokers near you for further information. Obtain and compare free online quotes. Don’t forget to ask about their discounts.

Minnesota Car Insurance

On this page you’ll find many facts and stats regarding Minnesota car insurance.

Scan Minnesota income reports, Minnesota driver statistics, and Minnesota population data. Look up averages for car insurance quotes in the state of Minnesota, and for various Minnesota zip codes. Learn how Minnesota drivers can reduce the cost of their car insurance policy premium rates, and grab all the available discounts. See a list of the largest car insurance companies in Minnesota. Find out about the types of car insurance Minnesota drivers need. Just for fun, you can even read a selection of outdated Minnesota traffic laws that are still on the books.

This page also outlines the four costliest and the four cheapest zip codes (on average) in the state of Minnesota to buy car insurance. Premium rates on auto insurance are different not only between states, but also between zip codes within the same state. The reasons for this variance in car insurance rates are explained under each zip code mentioned here.

Basically, here is all the info you need to know about Minnesota car insurance.

Minnesota Car Insurance Statistics

According to a 2015 population estimate, the state of Minnesota is home to nearly 5.5 million people. Roughly 14 percent of these people live in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area (also known as the “Twin Cities”), which is Minnesota’s most populous region. The Twin Cities area has an average population density of about 515 people per square mile. Compare this figure with the average population density for the entire state of Minnesota, which is only about 69 people per square mile.

The median resident age of the population of Minnesota is approximately 37.9 years.

The average poverty rate in all of Minnesota is roughly 10.2 percent, quite far beneath the national average poverty rate of 13.5 percent. The unemployment rate in Minnesota is 3.8 percent, again a good distance below the national average unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. At this time, the economic landscape of the the state of Minnesota is a relatively wealthy one.

In terms of car insurance, the Insurance Research Council conducted a study of Minnesota drivers. Researchers concluded that about 10.8 percent of drivers in Minnesota are traveling in uninsured vehicles. For the number of uninsured vehicles on Minnesota roads, this is not too bad an average among states. Still, it should be noted that more than 1 in 10 vehicles in the state of Minnesota is uninsured.

A Minnesota driver will typically try to find out the statewide “average” annual premium rate for a Minnesota car insurance policy. According to information posted on carinsurance.com, the statewide “average” annual premium rate for an auto insurance policy in the state of Minnesota was about $1,273 last year, as compared to the national average car insurance rate, which was about $1,224 at that time.

However, statewide averages do nothing to help drivers learn their premium rates on car insurance. One reason is that statewide averages are based on fictional characters, with deliberately chosen demographics. Even if you fit the chosen demographics, your auto insurance premium rates will still depend on the Minnesota zip code where your car is usually parked.

The 10 Largest Minnesota Car Insurance Companies

Shown here is a list of the ten largest auto insurance companies in Minnesota, ranked in terms of each company’s total market share within the state of Minnesota.

Rank	Company	Premiums ($)	Market Share (%)
1	State Farm Group	$703,638	23.74
2	Progressive Insurance Group	$409,758	13.82
3	American Family Insurance Group	$335,542	11.32
4	Farmers Insurance Group	$250,636	8.46
5	Allstate Insurance Group	$161,117	5.44
6	Liberty Mutual Insurance	$112,373	3.79
7	Auto Owners Insurance	$85,182	2.87
8	Berkshire Hathaway Insurance	$82,491	2.78
9	USAA Group	$77,017	2.6
10	Auto Club Group	$76,964	2.6

It seems obvious that State Farm Group is the largest insurance company in Minnesota, holding almost one quarter of the total market share. Still, there are many other major Minnesota car insurance companies around, as well as smaller, regional carriers that serve the state of Minnesota. Obviously, there is no such thing as The One Best Minnesota Car Insurance Company.

Just for the record, the ten largest auto insurance companies in the nation, are Allstate Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Geico, Progressive Insurance, Nationwide Group, AAA, Liberty Mutual Insurance, 21^st Century Insurance, GMAC, and AIG, in that order. In this case, car insurance carriers were ranked by the annual dollar amount of premiums written. This provided an indication of the total market share of each insurance company.

Cutting Costs on Minnesota Car Insurance

Minnesota is the 19^th most expensive state in terms of the average annual premium rates on car insurance. This is not so bad, but Minnesota drivers still have many ways to reduce their car insurance premium rates.

Minnesota drivers need to get several online quotes for Minnesota car insurance from the company websites, before deciding on a car insurance carrier. Input your own demographics to research quotes for several Minnesota zip codes in your area. For instance, you might try both your home zip code and your work zip code.

Don’t forget to learn about the discounts!

Minnesota drivers are also encouraged to read recent consumer reviews of their chosen car insurance carriers. All legitimate auto insurance companies are competitive, and each car insurance company has its own special money-saving deals. Of course, all auto insurance companies are hit with consumer complaints. Also, all auto insurance companies sometimes get sued by consumers. However, if you study the content of these reviews, they should provide some idea of the overall customer experience.

When you are done reading reviews, compile a list of your preferred auto insurance carriers. Compare online quotes across several zip codes, and from at least a few Minnesota car insurance companies. Comparing quotes and factoring in the discounts will certainly save you money on Minnesota car insurance.

What Types Of Car Insurance Do Minnesota Drivers Need?

By state law, Minnesota drivers need at least $30,000 in bodily injury protection for each person injured, $60,000 in per accident coverage, and $10,000 insurance to cover the cost of property damage. Unfortunately, the minimum liability limits on car insurance in the state of Minnesota (and other states) are not usually high enough to cover the cost of an accident.

Other required liability limits for Minnesota drivers include $25,000 (per person) and $50,000 (per accident) in uninsured / underinsured motorist insurance (UMI). The fact stands that more than 10 percent of drivers on Minnesota roads are operating uninsured vehicles. What’s more, due to the low state minimum requirements, even insured vehicles are underinsured.

In Minneapolis, drivers also need $40,000 coverage in personal injury protection (PIP).

United States insurance experts recommend that Minnesota drivers (in fact, all drivers in America) purchase more than the minimum amount of auto insurance coverage required by the state. Analysts suggest amounts of $100,000 coverage for personal injury liability protection, $300,000 coverage against bodily injury to others, and at least $50,000 to cover the cost of property damage.

For additional coverage, Minnesota drivers might also select comprehensive and collision insurance. This will cover the cost of auto repairs due to damage caused by those harsh Minnesota winters, as well as by collisions, animal strikes, falling objects, fires, floods, vandalism, and car theft, among other vehicular misfortunes.

Outdated Minnesota Traffic Laws

In Minnesota, it is illegal for a man to ride shirtless on a motorcycle.
In Cottage Grove, airplanes may not land in city parks.
In Minnetonka, it is illegal to drive a truck with dirty tires.
In Minneapolis, it is illegal to walk down alleyways.
Also in Minneapolis, it is illegal to drive a red car on Lake Street.

Best And Worst Zip Codes For Minnesota Car Insurance

Premium rates on Minnesota car insurance will vary widely between zip codes within the state of Minnesota. The rates in St. Paul are actually higher than they are in Minneapolis, and rates are much cheaper in other parts of the state. Car insurance rates are affected by things like population density, unemployment, median income, poverty rates, median resident age, crime statistics, and the percentage of uninsured drivers on local roads, among other features that change between zip codes, even within the same state.

Here are two lists of the four most expensive (and the four least expensive) zip codes in Minnesota to buy auto insurance. In Minnesota’s priciest neighborhoods, annual premium rates can be as low as less than $1,100, or as high as around $2,525. As it happens, the four priciest zip codes in the state of Minnesota are all in St. Paul, where the poverty rate is higher than it is in Minneapolis.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
55107 (St. Paul)	3,680	10.50%	28.80%

Roughly 15,000 people live in this neighborhood. The unemployment rate here is virtually three times the state average of 3.8 percent. The poverty rate also far exceeds the state average of 10.2 percent.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
55106 (St. Paul)	6,537	11.00%	28.40%

This neighborhood has a population of more than 56,000. The median resident age here is 29.2 years, more than 8 years younger than the average median age for the state of Minnesota. This zip code is similar to the above zip code in terms of the unemployment and poverty rates.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
55103 (St. Paul)	6,589	13.80%	34.30%

This zip code is home to nearly 14,000 people. The median resident age here is 28.7 years, almost a decade younger than the state average median age. Population density is heavy in this neighborhood, with the unemployment and poverty rates quite a bit above the state averages.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
55155 (St. Paul)	3,273	0.00%	0%

This neighborhood is primarily an industrial area with many major environmental and government offices. This district is mainly for workers, with not too many residences.

Now compare the above data to the list shown below. This is a list of the four least expensive zip codes (on average) in the state of Minnesota to buy car insurance. Annual premium rates in these areas can range from about $730 up to around $1,650.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
55332 (Fairfax)	14	3.90%	11.70%

Fairfax is a town of about 1,500 people in Renville County, situated about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The median resident age in Fairfax is 50.8 years, almost 13 years above the state average. That may be one reason for the low premium rates on Minnesota car insurance in this neighborhood. Poverty and unemployment here are not too far off the state average. Also, the population density is very light in this zip code.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
56088 (Truman)	15	1.00%	10.20%

Less than 2,000 people live in this Martin County zip code, which is also located about 100 miles southwest of Minneapolis. The poverty rate here exactly matches the state average. Unemployment is nearly nonexistent in this neighborhood.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
56285 (Sacred Heart)	12	8.60%	8.20%

This Renville County zip code is home to only about 1,200 people. The population density is extremely light, and the poverty rate falls well below the 10.2 percent Minnesota state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
56244 (Hancock)	11	4.30%	8.00%

Hancock is a town in Stevens County, about 150 miles northwest of Minneapolis. This town is home to less than 1,400 people. The unemployment rate and the poverty rate are both at very manageable levels in this neighborhood.

Altogether, the state of Minnesota contains 985 zip codes spanning 87 counties that enclose 807 cities from Ada to Zumbrota, and more than 300 cities in between. There is a vast difference in premium rates between the cheapest zip codes and the priciest zip codes in Minnesota to buy car insurance.

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