Best Auto Insurance Rates in Michigan

On average, your neighbors pay $102 a month.

Cheapest Car Insurance in Michigan

Monday, April 27 2020 By Bryan Ochalla

Chubb offers the cheapest car insurance rates in Michigan, according to a QuoteWizard survey of the state’s providers.

The average Michigan driver pays $1,056 per year for full-coverage car insurance if they get it from Chubb, based on our data. And they pay $615 per year if they get the minimum amount of car insurance the state requires from the same company.

These rates are a lot more affordable than the state averages for such types of car insurance. The average driver in Michigan pays $1,571 a year for state-minimum coverage. That is the highest rate in the U.S. for a state-minimum policy, our research shows. The average Michigan driver also pays $2,280 a year for full coverage — a figure that is second only to Florida in this area.

Why is car insurance in Michigan so expensive? The state’s no-fault insurance requirement is a big reason, though other factors play a role, too.

This article will tell you more about why auto insurance costs so much in Michigan. It’ll also tell you about:

What is the cheapest car insurance in Michigan?

Chubb offers the cheapest minimum auto insurance in Michigan, with a $615 average annual premium. This is based on rates collected from the state’s providers for a typical driver.

Chubb offers the cheapest full-coverage auto insurance in Michigan, too, with a $1,056 average annual premium. Full coverage usually includes liability, collision and comprehensive car insurance protection.

Chubb isn’t alone in offering affordable car insurance to Michigan drivers, however. For instance, Travelers offered an average rate of $685 per year for state-minimum coverage. Westfield offered an average rate of $702 per year for the same type of policy.

Both rates are more than $800 per year lower than what we found to be the state average for minimum car insurance.

cheapest minimum car insurance in michigan

Westfield and Travelers offered our sample driver low rates for full-coverage car insurance as well, but a few other insurers offered our driver even lower rates.

USAA had an average rate of $1,202 per year for a full-coverage policy. Auto-Owners had an average rate of $1,359 per year. These rates were more than $900 lower than the state average of $2,280 for this kind of auto insurance coverage.

cheapest full-coverage car insurance in michigan

Check out the other companies highlighted in the graphs above as well if you want to get your best rates for car insurance. The rates these insurers offered our sample driver weren’t as low as the ones Chubb, Travelers and USAA offered, but the same may not hold true for you. This is because several rate factors determine the cost of auto insurance, such as where you live.

As an example, people who live in Detroit tend to pay a lot more for car insurance than people who live elsewhere in Michigan. According to our survey, Detroit drivers pay an average of $3,456 per year for state-minimum coverage. Drivers in Chelsea, however, pay an average of $1,245 per year. And drivers in Belmont pay an average of $1,178 per year for minimum auto insurance.

Also, we found that Detroit drivers pay an average of $4,975 per year for full-coverage auto insurance. Drivers in Belmont and Chelsea, though, pay an average of $1,766 and $1,826 for this kind of coverage, respectively.

What are the best car insurance companies in Michigan?

Chubb, Travelers and Auto-Owners offer the best car insurance rates in Michigan, based on our research of the state’s providers.

Chubb is our top choice overall because it offers Michigan drivers the cheapest rates for both full-coverage and state-minimum car insurance. Travelers is our runner-up for cheap minimum coverage, while Auto-Owners is our runner-up for cheap full coverage.

Chubb: best rates overall

Chubb had the cheapest rates for state-minimum and full-coverage auto insurance when we surveyed Michigan’s insurance companies.

Chubb offered our typical driver an average rate of $615 per year for minimum coverage. That’s $956 per year, or nearly $80 per month, less than the state average of $1,571 per year for this type of car insurance policy.

For full coverage, Chubb offered our driver an average rate of $1,056 per year. This is $1,224 per year, or $102 per month, less than the state average of $2,280 per year.

Travelers: runner-up for cheap minimum coverage

The average rate of $685 per year Travelers offered our sample driver for state-minimum car insurance is second only to the average rate Chubb offered for the same kind of policy.

This amount is just $70 per year, about $6 per month, higher than Chubb’s rate. It’s also $886 per year, or nearly $74 per month, lower than the state average for minimum auto coverage.

Travelers also offered a fairly affordable average rate of $1,513 per year for full-coverage car insurance. That’s $767 per year cheaper than the Michigan state average for such coverage — or a savings of $64 per month.

Auto-Owners: runner-up for cheap full coverage

Although USAA had the second-best rate for a full-coverage policy, we’re calling Auto-Owners our runner-up for cheap full coverage instead. The reason for this: Only military members and their families can buy car insurance from USAA.

The average rate of $1,359 a year Auto-Owners offered our sample driver was $157 a year, or $13 a month, more than USAA’s rate. That’s not much, all things considered. More importantly, Auto-Owners’ rate was $921 a year, or around $77 a month, less than the state average for full-coverage car insurance.

We may have declared Chubb, Travelers and Auto-Owners the best car insurance providers in Michigan, but only one of them is among the state’s most popular car insurance companies.

That company is Auto-Owners. According to data provided by S&P Global, it writes just over 12% of Michigan’s auto policies. This makes it the fourth-largest provider of car insurance in the state.

Michigan’s largest car insurance company, or most popular car insurance company, is Auto Club. It writes almost 16% of the state’s auto policies (15.95%, to be exact). Progressive is right behind it in second place, writing 15.6% of the state’s policies.

most popular car insurance companies in michigan

Chubb, our choice as Michigan’s best car insurance company, writes only 0.16% of the state’s auto coverage. That puts it in 27th place in terms of market share.

As for Travelers, our runner-up for cheapest minimum coverage in Michigan, it writes 0.05% of the state’s car insurance policies. This makes it Michigan’s 37th-largest auto insurance company.

What are the auto insurance requirements in Michigan?

Michigan drivers must purchase no-fault car insurance before they can register their vehicles with the state. Specifically, they must buy at least the following amounts of coverage:

  • Personal injury protection, or PIP, coverage (no dollar limit)
  • $1,000,000 of property protection insurance (PPI) coverage
  • $20,000 of bodily injury liability (BIL) coverage per person
  • $40,000 of BIL coverage per accident
  • $10,000 of property damage liability coverage for accidents outside of Michigan

No-fault car insurance compensates drivers for damages that result from an accident regardless of who is at fault. In other words, if you live in a state with a no-fault car insurance law, your insurance provider will cover all or some of your expenses even if you cause the crash.

Sounds good, right? It is — for the most part. One negative aspect of no-fault car insurance, though, is that it often costs more than traditional car insurance. This helps explain why Michigan drivers pay so much for auto coverage.

While shopping for no-fault car insurance in Michigan, you may come across this acronym: PLPD. PLPD stands for “Personal Liability and Property Damage.” It typically refers to the bodily injury and property damage liability coverages mentioned above.

You could face several penalties if you’re caught driving without car insurance in Michigan. The state may suspend your driver’s license, for starters. It also might fine you up to $500, put you in jail for up to one year or both.

Michigan drivers used to be able to buy "7-day insurance" policies to meet the state’s car insurance requirements. This kind of coverage is no longer legal.

Methodology

We conducted a comprehensive study of auto insurance rates in Michigan through Quadrant Information Services. The quotes we collected were for a 35-year-old male. He is single and has an excellent credit score and a clean driving record. He owns a 2012 Honda Accord and drives it 15,000 miles a year, on average. His car insurance policy has 100/300/50 coverage limits and a $1,000 deductible, where applicable.

QuoteWizard.com LLC has made every effort to ensure that the information on this site is correct, but we cannot guarantee that it is free of inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. All content and services provided on or through this site are provided "as is" and "as available" for use. QuoteWizard.com LLC makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or to the information, content, materials, or products included on this site. You expressly agree that your use of this site is at your sole risk.