Car insurance in Vermont

Posted on September 26, 2014

The state of Vermont is peculiar in many ways, including its rules regarding car insurance. Here are some helpful hints on finding the lowest possible rates for insurance on vehicles owned in Vermont. Scroll down for a brief summary of stats, facts, discount deals and recent quotes pertaining to Vermont auto insurance.

Vermont Minimum Liability Coverage

According to state law, Vermont vehicle owners do not necessarily have to purchase car insurance. Drivers in the state of Vermont have the option of providing evidence of self-insurance in the amount of $115,000, which must be filed with the Commissioner of Motor Vehicles. In other words, for the vast majority of drivers, auto insurance is mandatory. The minimum required coverage for drivers in Vermont is 25/50/10 per vehicle. This means that each car must be insured with no less than $25,000 in coverage against personal injury, $50,000 in coverage against injury to others, and $10,000 worth of property damage protection.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance in Vermont

In the state of Vermont, the penalty for getting caught driving an uninsured vehicle (and being unable to show proof of financial responsibility) is a fine of up to $500 and a suspended driver’s license until proof of insurance is provided. Additional penalties include reinstatement fees and raised premiums on future car insurance. Subsequent uninsured driving offenses may result in a driver’s license being permanently revoked.

Auto Insurance Rates in Vermont

In 2016, the average annual car insurance premium for a vehicle owned in the state of Vermont was $942, making Vermont the sixth least expensive state to buy car insurance, according to statistics. The national average for 2016 was around $1,347.

Reports suggest that the state’s relatively low annual premiums are due to a number of contributing factors. For instance, Vermont has a low rate of uninsured vehicles (roughly 7 percent). Vermont also has the third lowest percentage of DUI-related fatalities among all U.S. states. Also, Vermont ranks second highest among states in the median age (40.4) of its residents. Other premium-reducing factors include low crime rates, low population density, a steady commercial economy and the effect of certain state laws.

Low Cost Car Insurance Programs in Vermont

Insurance carriers in Vermont offer all kinds of incentive deals to encourage or reward socially responsible on-road behavior when driving. Available are good driver discounts, good student discounts, senior citizen discounts, vehicle safety discounts and car safety features discounts, among others. The best way to cut costs on car insurance premiums is to practice safe driving habits and grab every possible discount. If your agent doesn’t mention discounts, ask.

Obtaining Auto Insurance Quotes in Vermont

Many Vermont car owners contract with major insurance carriers. Providers of auto insurance with high customer satisfaction ratings in Vermont include American Family Insurance, Geico, Esurance, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Progressive, State Farm and 21^st Century Insurance. On the other hand, some drivers in Vermont opt for smaller, local carriers like Winooski and Country Financial. Call any or all of these companies, or compare free quotes online.

Most auto insurance providers offer similar services at competitive rates. Obtaining the lowest Vermont auto insurance package is basically a four-step process: Step One: Contact numerous carriers to ask about their rates and discount programs. Step Two: Compare quotes. Step Three: Choose the carrier with the lowest rates. Step Four: Practice smart driving habits. Following these simple steps can save you, the Vermont vehicle owner, hundreds of dollars a year in car insurance.

Vermont Car Insurance

Vermont car insurance enjoys some of the nation’s lowest rates, but there are ways to lower your premium rates even further. This page features facts pertaining to the state of Vermont, as well as tips on how to reduce your Vermont auto insurance rates.

Here’s where you can learn about the types of car insurance coverage Vermont drivers really need, as compared to the minimum coverage amounts required by Vermont state insurance laws. Also see a list of of the 10 largest car insurers in America, along with a list of the 10 largest car insurers in Vermont. While you’re here, be sure to check out the average annual auto insurance premium rate for the state of Vermont, so you can compare this average rate to your own rates on Vermont car insurance.

Read about the four most expensive and the four least expensive zip codes in Vermont to purchase auto insurance. Compare zip code demographics in Vermont, including poverty rates, unemployment rates, median incomes, median ages, and the percentage of uninsured drivers on the roads. Demographics such as these can (and do) affect Vermont car insurance premium costs.

Although rates will vary between zip codes, the state of Vermont is more homogenous than other states in terms of car insurance premium rates by zip code. Still, read on to see how drivers in the state of Vermont can maximize the car insurance discounts on their policies, thereby lowering their already low premium rates on Vermont car insurance.

Vermont Car Insurance Statistics

When the U.S. Census Bureau took an estimate in 2016, the calculated population of the state of Vermont was just under 625,000. The median resident age of these people is about 43.1 years.

The unemployment rate in Vermont is approximately 3.1 percent, quite far below the overall national average unemployment rate of 4.4 percent. In fact, Vermont is tied with Iowa and Wisconsin for having the 7^th lowest unemployment rate of all 50 states and Washington DC. The poverty rate in the state of Vermont is about 10.2 percent, below the national average poverty rate of 13.5 percent.

A recent study from the Insurance Research Council analyzed a sample of Vermont drivers, and determined that Vermont has a relatively low rate of uninsured drivers at only 8.5 percent. This rate is low when compared to the overall average rate of uninsured vehicles in America, which is 12.6 percent.

In another study, the statewide average yearly premium rate for a car insurance policy purchased in Vermont was around $963, nearly $400 below the overall national average car insurance rate, which was about $1,355 at the time. In fact, the state of Vermont has the 5^th cheapest average annual car insurance premium rates in the nation.

The 10 Largest Vermont Car Insurance Companies

To give you some ideas about which Vermont car insurance company to choose, here is a list of the 10 largest car insurance companies in the United States, followed by a list of the 10 largest car insurance companies in the state of Vermont. The car insurance companies listed here are placed in order of the total annual dollar amount of direct premiums written (as opposed to the number of policies written). The dollar amounts on each list can tell us something about each company’s total market share in the United States, as well as in the state of Vermont.

The ten largest auto insurance companies in the United States 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.

Scroll down to scan the following list of the 10 largest auto insurance companies in the state of Vermont:

Rank	Company	Premiums ($)	Market Share (%)
1	Progressive Insurance Group	$50,729	15.77
2	Berkshire Hathaway Insurance	$40,343	12.54
3	Liberty Mutual Insurance	$26,894	8.36
4	State Farm Insurance Group	$26,467	8.23
5	Allstate Insurance Group	$21,633	6.72
6	Concord Group Insurance Pool	$19,225	5.97
7	The Hartford Insurance Group	$14,630	4.55
8	Nationwide Group	$14,528	4.52
9	VT Mutual Group	$13,901	4.32
10	USAA Group	$13,503	4.2

It looks like Progressive Insurance is the most popular car insurance company in Vermont, followed by Berkshire Hathaway. Liberty Mutual, State Farm, and Allstate are next. However, you may or may not choose any of the largest Vermont car insurance companies. Maybe a smaller, regional carrier works better for you. Or maybe the car insurance carrier you select will depend on your situation. There is really no such thing as The Single Best Vermont Car Insurance Company For Everyone.

Whichever company you end up with, here are some ways in which Vermont drivers can save money each year on their car insurance premium rates.

Cutting Costs on Vermont Car Insurance

Here is a step by step approach to lowering the premium rates on your Vermont car insurance policy:

Read at least a few consumer reviews of at least half a dozen Vermont car insurance companies.
Create a list of the car insurance companies that seem most suitable to your lifestyle.
Visit each car insurance company website to retrieve some online quotes.
Check several different zip codes for each car insurance company. For instance, try your home zip code, your work zip code, your school zip code, or even the zip code of a friend or family member.
Look over the discounts each car insurance company offers. Some of these discounts will be factored in automatically to your online quote, but you may find others. Available additional discounts may include a family member discount or an occupation discount.
If you are unsure about a discount, call an agent to see if you qualify.
Compare quotes and grab the cheapest available policy that provides adequate coverage.

What Types Of Car Insurance Do Vermont Drivers Need?

Insurance laws in the state of Vermont require that each registered vehicle must have minimum insurance coverage amounts of $25,000 for bodily injury to others, $50,000 in per-accident coverage, and $10,000 to cover the cost of property damage.

Drivers in Vermont are also required by state law to buy coverage amounts of $50,000 per injury and $100,000 per accident in uninsured and underinsured motorist insurance (UMI), as well as $10,000 coverage against uninsured motorist property damage. You may notice that states where UMI is required have far fewer uninsured drivers.

Despite the extra coverage requirements in Vermont, state minimum coverage amounts are not usually high enough to cover the cost of car repairs, property damage, and/or medical bills that can result from a traffic accident. That’s why insurance analysts suggest coverage amounts of $100,000 for personal injury protection, $300,000 against bodily injury to others, and at least $50,000 to cover the cost of property damage.

Vermont Traffic Laws You May Not Know

In the state of Vermont, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole.
It is illegal in the state of Vermont to place billboards along roadways.
Vermont is one of the few states to attach points to a driving record if the driver is convicted of texting while driving.

Best And Worst Zip Codes For Vermont Car Insurance

Annual premium rates on car insurance policies in the state of Vermont will vary across the different zip codes. This happens because of variances in population densities, unemployment rates, poverty levels, crime statistics, and other demographic data that can affect Vermont car insurance rates.

Shown below is a list of the four most expensive neighborhoods (on average) in the state of Vermont to buy car insurance. Annual premiums in these zip codes run the range from about $475 to around $1,305, with an average annual rate of roughly $1,000.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05079 (Vershire)	20	8.20%	17.50%

Only about 700 people live in this Orange County neighborhood. Although the population density is very light, the unemployment rate in this zip code is well over twice the 3.1 percent state average. The poverty rate around here is also quite a bit above the 10.2 percent state average. Still, it remains unclear exactly why this neighborhood is calculated to be the most expensive zip code in Vermont to buy car insurance.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05058 (Post Mills)	69	6.30%	45.20%

This Orange County neighborhood is home to only around 300 people. Unemployment is high at more than twice the state average, but that’s nothing compared to the crushing poverty level in this zip code, which is well over four times the 10.2 percent state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05083 (West Fairlee)	297	5.10%	25.70%

Roughly 200 people live in this Orange County zip code, which measures less than one square mile. The unemployment rate here is above the state average, but not by as much as in the previous zip codes. The poverty level here is about two and a half times the 10.2 percent state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05045 (Ely)	38	5.00%	11.50%

This Orange County zip code is home to about 2,000 people. The unemployment rate is higher than the 3.1 percent state average, but could be worse. The poverty rate is just above the Vermont state average of 10.2 percent.

Now compare the Vermont zip codes listed above to the neighborhoods shown below. Here is a list of the four least expensive zip codes (on average) in the state of Vermont to buy car insurance. Annual premium rates in these areas can range from around $490 to about $1,160, with an average annual premium rate of roughly $915.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05403 (South Burlington)	1,115	4.80%	6.70%

The city of Burlington is located on the shores of Lake Champlain, bordering the state of New York. This Chittenden County zip code is home to more than 18,000 people. The population density is considered low, and the poverty rate falls well below the state average, although the unemployment rate is higher than the 3.1 percent state average.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05446 (Colchester)	431	2.50%	9.10%

Colchester is located about five miles north of Burlington, and has a population of roughly 16,000. The unemployment and poverty rates are both below the state average in this neighborhood.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05404 (Winooski)	4,960	7.30%	26.60%

Winooski is located just north of the city of Burlington. This zip code is home to roughly 7,000 people. The population density is said to be average. However, the unemployment and poverty rates are both more than twice the state average. One reasonable guess why car insurance rates are so cheap around here is the town’s close proximity to Burlington. Winooski is situated immediately north of the University of Vermont. It is a very walkable town.

Zip Code	Pop Density	Unemployed %	Poverty %
05439 (Colchester)	9,087	8.60%	89.80%

This Chittenden County zip code is home to only just over 1,600 people. The population density is high in this area. This zip code is home to St. Michael’s College and the Albany College of Pharmacy, which helps explain the very young median age of 20 years in this area. Unemployment is understandably high, but it is almost unbelievable that nearly nine out of ten people here live at or below the poverty line.

All in all, the state of Vermont is home to 308 zip codes occupying 14 counties that hold 286 cities, towns, and census designated places, from Addison to Worcester and everywhere in between. The difference in average annual premium rates between the cheapest zip codes and the priciest zip codes in the state of Vermont is only about $85. Yet, you can lower your rates in any neighborhood when you factor in all the available discounts to your Vermont car insurance policy.

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