Car insurance in Missouri
Looking for the lowest possible rates on Missouri car insurance? Shown here are the latest rates, stats, laws and facts pertaining to auto insurance in the state of Missouri. Scroll down for helpful hints on how to custom design the perfect Missouri car insurance package for your budget.
Missouri Minimum Liability Coverage
Missouri state law mandates no less than 25/50/10 coverage for each owned vehicle. In other words, Missouri drivers must purchase at least $25,000 in Personal Injury Protection, $50,000 in per-accident coverage for others who are injured, and $10,000 of insurance against property damage. However, legal minimums on car insurance often do not cover all of the actual costs involved, according to researchers at the Insurance Information Institute. They recommend at least 100/300 coverage for all privately owned vehicles. They also recommend Uninsured Motorist (UMI) coverage to protect against being hit by a driver who is uninsured or leaves the scene of the accident.
Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in Missouri
The legal penalty for getting caught driving an uninsured vehicle in the state of Missouri is a suspended driver’s license or the assessment of four points on an active driver’s license. Subsequent violations result in harsher penalties, including hefty fines.
Auto Insurance Rates in Missouri
The average annual premium for auto insurance in the state of Missouri was $1,056 in 2016. This number was significantly below the national average, which was $1,347.
Auto insurance agents calculate premiums based partly on site-specific variables like local climate, topography, commercial economy, percentage of uninsured drivers, insurance plan availability, crime statistics and population density, to name just a few determining factors. Other influences on annual premiums are driver demographics like age, gender, marital status, driving history, criminal record and vehicle type, among other things.
Low Cost Car Insurance Programs in Missouri
Most auto insurance companies serving the state of Missouri offer discounts. Among the available low cost car insurance programs are Accident-Free discounts, Good Driver discounts, Good Student discounts, Multiple Automobiles discounts, Multiple Policy discounts, Vehicle Safety discounts and Defensive Driving Course discounts, to mention some examples. When comparison shopping for insurance quotes, find and qualify for as many discounts as are available to you. This is the best way to cut car insurance costs, short of moving to another state that offers cheaper premiums.
Obtaining Auto Insurance Quotes in Missouri
According to consumer reports, Missouri’s top ten auto insurance carriers are Amica Mutual, Erie, Auto Owners Insurance, Shelter Insurance, State Farm, Geico, Alfa, Kemper, Country and Encompass. Still, many Missouri drivers opt for smaller local insurance providers like Direct General. Either way, Missouri is home to the offices of many auto insurance agents who offer adequate coverage at competitive rates. Call around and compare costs. Then go for the carrier with the friendliest agent who offers the biggest discounts.
Missouri Car Insurance
This post reveals the newest, most updated, must-know facts about Missouri car insurance.
Here’s where you’ll find Missouri population data, Missouri income, statewide statistics, and how to reduce your car insurance rates in the state of Missouri. You can also scan quotes and average premium rates from different Missouri zip codes, and find out about all the auto insurance discounts available to Missouri drivers.
Learn all you need to know about auto insurance policies and rates in the state of Missouri. This page features a list of the largest auto insurance companies in Missouri, the kinds of car insurance coverage Missouri drivers need, outdated Missouri state laws, and all else pertaining to Missouri car insurance.
This page also offers a descriptive list of the four most expensive and the four least expensive (on average) zip codes in Missouri to buy car insurance.
Scroll down to learn more about Missouri car insurance.
Missouri Car Insurance Statistics
As of 2015, the state of Missouri was home to well over 6 million people. Missouri is a middling state, ranking 21st among states in square miles of land area, 18th among states in total population, and 30th among states in population density. The median resident age of Missouri residents is about 38.4 years.
The statewide average poverty rate in Missouri is about 14.8 percent. This is a just a bit above the United States average poverty rate of 13.5 percent. Missouri’s unemployment rate is 3.9 percent, just a drop below the national average unemployment rate of 4.4 percent.
Based on a study conducted by the Insurance Research Council, about 13.5 percent of drivers in the state of Missouri are operating uninsured vehicles. Once again, Missouri is a middling state, ranking 18th among states in the percentage of uninsured drivers on the road. Still, it is important to note that roughly one out of seven cars on the roads of Missouri is uninsured.
Drivers in the state of Missouri often want to know the statewide “average” annual premium rate for Missouri car insurance, as a way of estimating their own premium rates. However, statewide averages are unhelpful in determining the premium rates on our personal auto insurance policies. For one thing, a statewide average is based on an imaginary driver, for instance, a 30 year old single female living in Missouri with a clean driving record, a full time job, and a 2016 Honda Accord with dual airbags and automatic seat belts, which she drives somewhere between 15,000 and 25,000 miles per year. Even if, by some coincidence, you fit the description of this imaginary person, your car insurance rates will still depend on your Missouri zip code.
For those who still want to know, the statewide “average” annual premium rate for a car insurance policy in the state of Missouri was about $1,074 last year. This figure is quite a bit below the national “average” car insurance premium, which was about $1,224 at that time. Missouri is one of the less expensive states to buy car insurance.
Still, drivers in the state of Missouri can slash the cost of car insurance premiums even further, simply by obtaining at least few online quotes for Missouri car insurance from various insurance company websites. Get quotes for several Missouri zip codes in your area, using your own demographics. Simply doing some homework can save you literally hundreds of dollars a year on Missouri car insurance.
The Largest Missouri Car Insurance Companies
The top ten car insurance companies in the United States, according to statistical research from insure.com, are Allstate Insurance, State Farm Insurance, Geico, Progressive Insurance, Nationwide Group, AAA, Liberty Mutual Insurance, 21st Century Insurance, GMAC, and AIG, in that order. In this statistical study, researchers ranked auto insurance companies in terms of the actual dollar amount of annual premiums written, which provided an indication of each company’s total market share.
Shown below is a list of the top ten Missouri car insurance companies, based on each carrier’s total revenue / market share in the state of Missouri.
Rank | Company | Premiums ($) | Market Share (%) |
1 | Nationwide Group | $813,502 | 17.23 |
2 | State Farm Group | $660,842 | 14 |
3 | NC Farm Bureau Insurance Group | $459,393 | 9.73 |
4 | Allstate Insurance Group | $433,231 | 9.18 |
5 | Berkshire Hathaway Insurance | $406,096 | 8.6 |
6 | USAA Group | $334,296 | 7.08 |
7 | National General Group | $329,869 | 6.99 |
8 | Progressive Insurance Group | $216,486 | 4.59 |
9 | Liberty Mutual Insurance | $173,513 | 3.68 |
10 | Erie Insurance Group | $153,557 | 3.25 |
Obviously, there are quite a lot of Missouri car insurance companies to choose from, along with a number of smaller, regional carriers. As you can probably guess, there is really no such thing as The One Best Missouri Car Insurance Company.
Drivers in Missouri, and all over America, should be sure to read current consumer reviews of car insurance companies, in order to decide which one is best for your individual purposes. Car insurance companies are as different as they are competitive. They all have different deals and discounts, which essentially add up to the same thing.
It’s also important to keep in mind that all car insurance companies get more than a few customer complaints, and all car insurance companies sometimes get sued by unhappy policyholders. This is just a natural result of being a big business that serves so many millions of customers. Still, consumer reviews should give you some idea of the integrity of a car insurance company. To find out more about the financial strength of a car insurance company, you can also visit the website of A.M. Best.
In any case, Missouri drivers should try comparing car insurance quotes among several zip codes, and from several different Missouri car insurance companies, if they really want to save some extra money on Missouri car insurance rates.
What Types Of Car Insurance Do Missouri Drivers Need?
The minimum automobile liability coverage required for vehicles registered in the state of Missouri is $25,000 in bodily injury liability for each person injured, $50,000 in bodily injury liability per accident, $10,000 insurance coverage against property damage, and the same liability amounts again for uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage (UMI). However, even these minimum amounts, which are higher than in most states, are rarely enough to cover the cost of traffic accidents.
Insurance experts throughout the United States suggest that drivers in Missouri (and everywhere else) buy more than the lowest legal amount of car insurance coverage. Insurance analysts recommend coverage in the amounts of $100,000 for personal injury liability protection, $300,000 in per accident liability protection, and at least $50,000 to cover the cost of property damage.
Missouri drivers who really treasure their vehicles have the option of buying extra insurance, such as comprehensive and collision coverage. These insurances will cover the cost of repairs to vehicles that are damaged by collisions, fires, floods, falling trees, vandalism, car theft, and other unforeseen events.
Dubious Missouri Traffic Laws
- In St. Louis, it is illegal to sit on the curb of any city street and drink beer from a bucket.
- In University City, it is illegal for one person to honk another person’s car horn.
- Also in University City, it is illegal to request that someone “watch over” your parked vehicle.
Best And Worst Zip Codes For Missouri Car Insurance
Auto insurance premium rates run high and low among the zip codes in Missouri. Rates are affected by variables such as population density, median annual income, median resident age, and neighborhood crime rates, among other factors that change from one zip code to another, even within the same state.
A comparison study of Missouri zip codes has yielded a list of the four most expensive zip codes (on average) to buy car insurance in the state of Missouri. Annual premium rates in the priciest zip codes in the state can be as low as around $1,080, or as high as more than $3,400.
It happens that the four priciest zip codes in Missouri are all located in St. Louis, a major Missouri city situated along the banks of the Mississippi River. St. Louis is the 2nd largest city in the state of Missouri, and is home to about 318,000 people.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
63147 (St. Louis) | 1,744 | 22.40% | 25.60% |
The poverty rate in this neighborhood is creeping its way up to twice the state average of 14.7 percent. What’s more, the unemployment rate here is almost six times the state average of 3.9 percent. Population density is average. This neighborhood may have a high rate of uninsured drivers.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
63115 (St. Louis) | 4,559 | 27.90% | 0% |
This neighborhood of about 20,000 people features an average population density. However, the unemployment rate is more than six times higher than the 3.9 percent Missouri state average. As a result, the estimated median household income in 2015 was less than half the state average. Still, this zip code’s average premium rate on car insurance is about $26 cheaper than the above-mentioned zip code.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
63113 (St. Louis) | 4,772 | 25.60% | 40.60% |
As you can see, the poverty rate is quite high in this neighborhood, as is the unemployment rate. This can raise rates to the sky on Missouri car insurance premiums.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
63120 (St. Louis) | 3,883 | 33.20% | 41.60% |
The poverty rate in this neighborhood is very near three times the state average of 14.8 percent. The unemployment rate here is almost eight times the state average of 3.9 percent. It is paradoxical that the poorest areas suffer the highest car insurance premium rates.
Now compare the above info to the list shown below of the four least expensive zip codes (on average) in the state of Missouri to buy car insurance. Annual premium rates in these neighborhoods can range anywhere from around $640 to about $1,420.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
65109 (Jefferson City) | 476 | 3.60% | 11.10% |
Jefferson City is the capital of the state of Missouri, situated about 100 miles west of St. Louis. Jefferson City is home to more than 43,000 people. The unemployment rate and poverty rate in this particular zip code are both comfortably beneath the state average. Population density is also on the low side. This is why Missouri car insurance rates are low around here.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
65101 (Jefferson City) | 230 | 6.50% | 15.70% |
Population density is very low in this neighborhood of about 40,000 people. Unemployment is a bit above the 3.9 percent state average. The poverty rate is also slightly above the 14.8 percent state average. However, the economy is still relatively strong here.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
65053 (Lohman) | 37 | 7.20% | 5.30% |
Lohman is situated about 10 miles to the west of Jefferson City. This sparsely populated zip code is home to about 1,300 people. Population density is very low here. Unemployment is slightly high, but the poverty rate in this neighborhood is at a relieving low of just over one third of the state average.
Zip Code | Pop Density | Unemployed % | Poverty % |
65536 (Lebanon) | 73 | 9.50% | 19.10% |
Lebanon is a town in central Missouri, situated about 50 miles northeast of Springfield. In this partly rural, partly urban zip code, Missouri car insurance features some of the state’s lowest rates, despite that poverty and unemployment are noticeably above the state averages.
All in all, the state of Missouri is home to 1,155 zip codes spanning 115 counties that enclose 934 cities, from Adrian to Wyatt and everywhere else. There’s a definite variance in rates between the cheapest zip codes and the most expensive zip codes to buy Missouri car insurance.
Go online and grab a few quotes. See how much money you can save!
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