The best, cheapest car insurance in Nebraska

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Best car insurance company in Nebraska

In Nebraska, the average premium for car insurance is $1,902 a year or $159 a month, which is the 24^th highest in the country – Louisiana was number one.

For drivers looking for cheap car insurance in Nebraska, Auto-Owners, Nationwide, Shelter Insurance, Progressive and others on our list are great options, offering plenty of coverage options at affordable rates.

Our research found Auto-Owners offers low rates when compared to its competitors and received high marks when we look at other factors including J.D Power customer satisfaction scores, financial strength rankings and complaint data. Auto-Owners was our top scorer and was awarded 4.64 out of 5 stars.

Shelter Insurance finished second in our rankings with a score of 4.52 stars and Nationwide was third at 4 stars.

The best car insurance companies in Nebraska

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/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 Nebraska

Auto-Owners is the cheapest option for car insurance in Nebraska.

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 Nebraska with an average premium of $2,621 a year.

On the other hand, as mentioned above, the average premium for Auto-Owners policyholders in Nebraska is $1,193 a year. Nationwide had the second cheapest coverage in Nebraska at $1,216 and Shelter Insurance rounded out the top three cheapest at $1,647.

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

Cheapest full-coverage insurance in Nebraska

Full coverage car insurance in Nebraska

As noted, the rates above are for full coverage car insurance. Full coverage car insurance adds collision and comprehensive to your liability insurance coverage, so your vehicle is repaired or replaced after an incident.

Full coverage insurance includes collision and comprehensive which will pay to repair your vehicle. Collision covers damage caused by a collision with another vehicle or object while comprehensive repairs damage done by perils such as fire, theft, flooding, vandalism, and more.

Learn more about liability, collision and comprehensive coverage.

Shopping for car insurance in Nebraska

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 Nebraska by age

Statistics show that young drivers, because they are inexperienced and tend to take more risks, have more accidents and claims, all of which lead to higher premiums for younger drivers.

“Data indicates that teenagers and seniors are riskier drivers, so they often pay more for auto insurance than other policyholders in different age groups,” says Chong Gao, director of product management R&D at Mercury Insurance. “For teenagers, the lack of driving experience is a significant factor that impacts their rates; younger drivers with little experience behind the wheel tend to pay higher insurance premiums.”

Auto-Owners is the cheapest insurer in Nebraska for teens.

Age factors into a premium as the data clearly shows. Teens pay the highest rates by far with the lowest premium coming in at $3,296 which is 217% more expensive than the most affordable coverage for seniors at $1,040 and 67% more than young drivers’ best rate of $1,972.

Rates start to drop, assuming their driving record stays clean as teens move into their young adult years and tend to stay stable until a driver gets into their 70s when rates will go up a bit.

Cheapest car insurance for senior drivers in Nebraska

Seniors pay more for car insurance than other drivers, excluding teens. Nationwide is the best choice for seniors in Nebraska, according to our data, with an average premium of $1,040 annually, which translates to $87 a month.

Auto-Owners was the second most affordable at $1,178 and Shelter Insurance was next with a premium of $1,530.

“Seniors tend to have slower reaction times and may suffer from vision or hearing impairments, which can impair their driving ability. This makes them more prone to accidents and thus considered high-risk by insurance companies,” says Tariro Goronga, CEO of DriveSafe driving schools in Colorado.

The table below shows the average premium for senior drivers.

Average rates for seniors in Nebraska

Car insurance for young drivers in Nebraska

Young drivers (21-25) have seen their premiums drop from their teen years, but they still pay more than more experienced drivers. In Nebraska, Nationwide is the cheapest option for young adults with a yearly premium of $1,972 or $164 a month.

Auto-Owners is the next most affordable with an average rate of $2,031 followed by Progressive at $3,051.

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 Nebraska:

Average rates for young drivers in Nebraska

Car insurance for teen drivers in Nebraska

Insuring a teen is always expensive; statistics show that inexperienced teen drivers get into more accidents and file more claims than more experienced drivers. In Nebraska, the best insurer for teen drivers is Auto-Owners with an annual premium of $3,296 or $275 a month. Nationwide was second most affordable at $3,918 a year or $327 monthly while Shelter Insurance was number three at $5,152.

While teens are expensive to insure, there are a few ways to save some money. Most insurers offer a good student discount so if your teen is carrying a B average or above you should ask for a discount. Putting them in an older vehicle will also lower your insurance costs.

The chart below shows average premiums for teens.

Average rates for teens in Nebraska

Average cost of car insurance in Nebraska

Nebraska is the 24^th most expensive state (Louisiana is number one) when it comes to car insurance with an average premium of $1,902.

The table below shows the average rate in each state for a 40-year-old driver of a 2023 Honda Accord LX.

Average rates for a 40-year-old in Idaho

Which Nebraska ZIP codes are most expensive for car insurance?

Car insurance costs in Nebraska can vary significantly based on your location, as insurers consider the ZIP code where your vehicle is primarily parked when determining your premium.

Our data shows that the Hayes Center area came out as the most expensive with an average annual premium of $2,273. Hyannis was No. 2 and Benkelman was No. 3.

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

Most expensive ZIP codes in Nebraska

Which Nebraska ZIP codes are the cheapest for car insurance?

Rural areas are almost always cheaper than urban areas when it comes to car insurance. Fewer people and cars on the road mean fewer accidents and claims. The cheapest zip code for car insurance in Nebraska is in Lincoln with an annual premium of $1,668.

Least expensive ZIP codes in Nebraska

Cheapest car insurance for high-risk drivers in Nebraska

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 Nebraska will push the average rate to $2,380 and an at-fault accident will push it to $2,842.

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 $4,374 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 Nebraska after a traffic incident

Minimum car insurance requirements in Nebraska

Most states require all drivers to carry a minimum amount of liability coverage to drive legally. Nebraska requires drivers to carry 25/50/25 in liability coverage, which translates into:

• $25k for bodily injury and $50,000 for death for a person involved in an accident
• $50k for bodily injury and $100,000 for death for two or more people in an accident
• $25k 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 Nebraska.”

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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