The best, cheapest car insurance in Iowa

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Best car insurance company in Iowa

Drivers in Iowa pay an average of $1,630 a year or $136 a month for car insurance coverage which makes it the 41^st most expensive state in the country.

Even though car insurance is pretty expensive in Iowa, it’s possible to find affordable coverage with top insurers such as Travelers, State Farm, Auto-Owners, and other insurers.

Auto-Owners is our choice for the best car insurance in Iowa. It finished first in our rankings with 4.73 out of 5 stars and an average premium of $1,461 a year, or $122 a month, which is $169 less than the state average.

State Farm was second with a score of 4.48 stars followed by Travelers with 4.25 stars.

The best car insurance companies in Iowa

How we picked the top auto insurance companies

When choosing the top car insurance companies in the state, we not only looked at the average cost of coverage but also J.D. Power customer satisfaction scores, AM Best financial strength ratings and National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) complaint rankings. National averages were used where state and regional data was not available.

For each of the four metrics, we gave companies in each state from 1 to 5 (5 being the best) based on how they performed in each category. Those components were then given the following weights, to arrive at an overall star rating.

• Premiums: 25%
• JD Power: 30%
• AM Best: 25%
• NAIC: 20%

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Cheapest car insurance in Iowa

Travelers is the cheapest option for car insurance in Iowa.

Insurers consider a wide variety of factors when setting a premium including your driving record, credit score, age and marital status as well the vehicle. Where you live also affects rates.

“States that have a higher rate of severe weather that damages cars or helps cause accidents will typically have higher rates,” says Chong Gao, director of product management R&D at Mercury Insurance. “Florida, for example, is prone to extreme weather like hurricanes and its car insurance costs are consequently much higher.”

Insurance companies crunch all this data with proprietary algorithms, which can result in dramatic differences in premium quotes.

The numbers highlight these differences. Allstate is the most expensive insurer in Iowa with an average premium of $2,126 a year.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the average premium for Travelers policyholders in Iowa is $1,238 a year. State Farm had the second cheapest coverage in Iowa at $1,306 and Auto-Owners rounded out the top three cheapest at $1,461.

Below is a list of the cheapest full-coverage car insurance rates in Iowa for a 40-year-old driver of a 2023 Honda Accord LX.

Cheapest full-coverage insurance in Iowa

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.

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Full coverage car insurance in Iowa

As noted, the rates above are for full coverage car insurance. Residents of Iowa will often be advised to get full coverage, which includes both liability protection as well as collision and comprehensive. Liability helps pay medical and legal bills for injuries or damages you are responsible for after an accident. However, liability doesn’t cover damage to your vehicle or your injuries.

Collision will pay to repair your vehicle if it is damaged after colliding with another vehicle or object. Comprehensive covers perils such as fire, theft, flooding, vandalism and more.

You can find out more about liability, collision, and comprehensive coverage here.

Shopping for car insurance in Iowa

Shopping around for coverage is a great way to make sure you are getting the best rates on your auto insurance. Experts often tell consumers to shop for insurance yearly. But that doesn’t necessarily mean you should be looking to switch.

“I recommend that people stay with the same insurance company, as they tend to get a better rate when they have been with the same carrier for more than 12 months. The more tenure you have with a carrier, the more potential there is to earn benefits,” says Tim Bottini, a Country Financial insurance agent based in St. Louis. “The carrier can also review your claims history and provide information about applicable discounts.”

But make sure you are comparing like coverage levels and deductibles.

“It is extremely important to make sure you start off with an apples-to-apples comparison,” Bottini says. However, if a person has low limits, say 25/50/25 – limit per person/per occurrence/limit for property damage – he will recommend higher coverage.

“Depending on their age/income and profession,” he says, “I would quote higher limits to protect their net worth and earnings potential.”

Bottini also says people can save money on their car insurance by keeping their credit score up, following the speed limit and placing both home and auto insurance with the same carrier.

Cheapest car insurance in Iowa by age

Insurance companies consider your age when setting a premium and teens and young adults pay more for coverage as statistics show that young drivers, because they are inexperienced, have more accidents and claims.

Regardless of your age, in Iowa, Travelers is the most affordable coverage with an average rate of $1,238 a year.

As teens transition into young adults and get more experience under their belt rates start to drop. By their mid to late-20s – assuming they keep their record clean – driver rates should stabilize and then stay stable until the driver moves into their 70s when rates will start climbing again.

Cheapest car insurance for senior drivers in Iowa

Seniors in the state pay more for coverage than all other driver groups, except for teens. Travelers is the most affordable option for seniors with a yearly premium of $1,162 or $97 a month. State Farm was the second cheapest at $1,180 and Auto-Owners rounded out the top three at $1,334.

Seniors tend to pay more for coverage due to age. Many seniors suffer from vision and hearing issues as well as slowing reflexes. In addition, medications they may take can impact their driving. All of these factors combined lead to more accidents and claims which will result in a higher premium.

The chart below shows the average premium for senior drivers.

Average rates for seniors in Iowa

Car insurance for young drivers in Iowa

Young drivers (21-25) have seen their premiums drop from their teen years, but they still pay more than more experienced drivers. In Iowa, Travelers is the cheapest option for young adults with a yearly premium of $1,917 or $160 a month.

State Farm is the next most affordable with an average rate of $2,055 followed by Auto-Owners at $2,454.

Young drivers who maintain a clean driving record can expect their rates to drop even more as they reach their late 20s.

The table below shows the best insurers for young drivers in Iowa:

Average rates for young drivers in Iowa

Car insurance for teen drivers in Iowa

Adding a teen to a car insurance policy will always push up the rate. Teens are the least experienced drivers out on the road which leads to more accidents and claims and higher premiums.

“Teen drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in accidents due to their lack of driving experience and tendency to engage in risky behaviors like speeding,” says Eliezer Zupnick, founder of East Leads Group LLC. “Teens are involved in three times as many auto accidents per mile compared to drivers aged 20 and up, making them a high-risk category for insurers.”

For Iowa teens, State Farm is the most affordable option with a premium of $3,380 a year or $282 a month. Auto-Owners is the next most affordable at $3,595 a year or $300 a month followed by Travelers running $3,731 a year.

If your teen has a B average or better, ask for a good student discount to help save a bit of money. Having your teen drive an older vehicle will also help save some money. If the car is old enough that you wouldn’t repair it after an accident, you may be able to drop collision and comprehensive.

The chart below shows average premiums for teens in Iowa:

Average rates for teens in Iowa

Average cost of car insurance in Iowa

The average cost of car insurance in Iowa is $1,630, which makes it the 41^st most expensive state in the country behind Louisiana and Florida.

Metropolitan areas – and all states have them – equals lots of drivers, which often leads to car crashes and claims.

“States with a higher population density have more cars on the road and thus more accidents and claims, increasing insurance rates. A more rural state like Iowa will have significantly lower average yearly car insurance costs compared to a highly metropolitan state like Iowa,” says Gao.

Below are the cheapest car insurance rates by state. To calculate these rates, we used data for a 40-year-old driver of a 2023 Honda Accord LX – one of the most commonly insured vehicles – to provide a consistent and realistic comparison across states.

Average rates for a 40-year-old in Iowa

Which Iowa ZIP codes are the most expensive for car insurance?

Insurers consider the ZIP code where your car is parked when setting a premium. High crime rates or frequent severe weather will result in a higher premium.

According to our analysis, the following ZIP codes are the most expensive in Iowa for car insurance. Bedford tops the charts at $2,053 a year.

Here are the most expensive ZIP codes in Iowa for car insurance:

Most expensive ZIP codes in Iowa

Which Iowa ZIP codes are the cheapest for car insurance?

When it comes to cheap car insurance in Iowa, these ZIP codes have the most affordable coverage. The area around Coralville has the lowest premiums in Iowa with an average premium of $1,311.

Least expensive ZIP codes in Iowa

Cheapest car insurance for high-risk drivers in Iowa

If you have an incident on your driving record, you may be considered a high-risk driver, and you will pay more for coverage. A speeding ticket, at-fault accident, or DUI can send your premium skyrocketing.

When we ran the numbers, we found that a speeding ticket in Iowa will push the average rate to $1,647 and an at-fault accident will push it to $1,877.

An accident will stay on your record for at least three years so you will be paying a higher premium for quite a while after an accident.

A DUI will usually result in a massive increase and could push your premium into unaffordable territory. If you are convicted of a DUI, your rate on average will climb to $2,133 a year. A DUI will be reported to insurers for three years, and if you are a commercial driver, it stays on your record for 55 years.

The table below shows the average increase for drivers with various incidents on their record:

How much rates increase in Iowa after a traffic incident

Minimum car insurance requirements in Iowa

Most states require all drivers to carry a minimum amount of liability coverage to drive legally. Iowa requires drivers to carry 20/40/15 in liability coverage, which translates into:

• $20k for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for a person involved in an accident
• $40k for bodily injury and $100,000 for death for two or more people in an accident
• $15k for property damage for a single accident

These required minimums are fairly average when compared to other states. However, these minimums are rarely enough coverage if you are involved in a serious accident. Once your coverage levels are exceeded, you will be on the hook for any remaining damage.

Experts typically recommend carrying 100/300/50 as a minimum liability coverage level.

What our expert says

Q: How does a state’s population affect car insurance rates?

Chong GaoDirector of product management R&D at Mercury Insurance.

“States with a higher population density have more cars on the road and thus more accidents and claims, increasing insurance rates. A more rural state like Iowa will have significantly lower average yearly car insurance costs compared to a highly metropolitan state like Iowa.”

Mark Vallet

Contributing Researcher

 

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Mark Vallet is a Denver-based insurance expert and journalist with 18 years of experience covering the car insurance industry. He specializes in breaking down complex insurance topics into clear, expert-backed insights that help drivers make smarter insurance coverage decisions.

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