Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance for Lyft Drivers in Durham?

The words “low-cost” and “insurance” probably shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, in particular when shopping around for the lowest insurance prices for Lyft drivers. To help control this cost, let’s teach you some situations that determine car insurance premiums, and find some ways to shave a little off the next policy you buy.

For Lyft vehicles, one of the big criteria that are used to help calculate the price you pay for insurance is where you live. Larger areas are more likely to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion tend to receive cheaper rates.

The illustration below rates the priciest cities in North Carolina for Lyft drivers to purchase auto insurance in. Durham makes the list at #7 with the yearly price of $765 for coverage, which is around $64 per month.

Rate information is estimated as specific Durham zip code can increase or decrease coverage prices significantly.

The type of vehicle you are seeking coverage for is probably the most important factor that determines whether or not you find low-priced coverage for Lyft drivers. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, poor safety features, or high incidents of liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than more modest models. The next table showcases coverage rates for a selection of the cheapest vehicles to insure.

Data variables include single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and North Carolina minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, safe-driver, claim-free, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Price estimates do not factor in vehicle garaging location which can change premiums significantly.

Looking at the rates, you can expect cars like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Honda Odyssey are the less-costly vehicles to insure for Lyft vehicles.

Discount Durham auto insurance

Insurance companies that provide policies for Lyft drivers may also give you price discounts that can lower rates by 30% or more if you meet specific criteria. Larger car insurance companies and some of the premium reductions they offer can be read below.

• Progressive offers discounts including multi-vehicle, online signing, homeowner, continuous coverage, and good student.
• Farmers Insurance may offer discounts for alternative fuel, youthful driver, multi-car, teen driver, and switch companies.
• Farm Bureau has discounts for driver training, renewal discount, 55 and retired, multi-vehicle, and good student.
• State Farm may have discounts that include defensive driving training, multiple autos, accident-free, Drive Safe & Save, driver’s education, safe vehicle, and passive restraint.
• GEICO offers discounts for emergency military deployment, multi-vehicle, daytime running lights, good student, anti-theft, membership and employees, and defensive driver.
• SAFECO policyholders can earn discounts including anti-lock brakes, multi-car, teen safety rewards, teen safe driver, anti-theft, and safe driver.
• Liberty Mutual has savings for teen driver discount, exclusive group savings, safety features, newly married, and new move discount.

The illustration below visualizes the comparison of insurance premiums with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. The data assumes a male driver, no violations or accidents, North Carolina state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second shows the rates with anti-theft, defensive driving course, passive restraint, claim-free, homeowner, and safe-driver discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, the average savings per year on car insurance for Lyft drivers is 28% or $314.

Do you need full coverage?

Paying a lower price for car insurance is probably important to most vehicle owners, and one of the best ways to buy cheaper insurance for Lyft drivers is to not insure for full coverage. The information below shows the comparison of insurance prices when comparing full coverage to liability only. The rates are based on no violations or accidents, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no other discounts are factored in.

Averaged for all age groups, physical damage coverage costs an extra $1,181 per year more than buying just liability insurance. That amount may make you wonder if you should buy full coverage at all. There isn’t a written rule that works best for making the decision to drop physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than about 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s replacement cost is $11,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most you would get paid by your company is $10,000 after you pay the deductible. If you are paying over $1,000 a year for your policy with full coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

There are a few situations where dropping physical damage coverage is not a good plan. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should not drop full coverage.

Low rates today, overpriced tomorrow

Durham, NC car insurance rates are impacted by many factors that control the price you pay. Simply having another birthday, filing a claim, or having an at-fault accident can trigger changes in premium resulting in some companies being much cheaper than others. Additionally, insurance companies change prices as often as every quarter in order to offset underwriting gains or losses. Higher than normal claim frequency or severity can result in higher rates, while less frequent claims may cause cheaper Durham car insurance rates.

To illustrate this point, the data below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Durham, NC for a 40-year-old male driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and a high credit rating. If we estimate rates based on his current rating profile, Progressive may offer the cheapest car insurance rates in Durham at $733 annually. This is $139 less than the average rate paid by North Carolina drivers of $872. Utica National, Liberty Mutual, NC Farm Bureau, and GEICO are the remainder of the top five cheapest Durham, NC auto insurance companies.

In this example, we will give the driver in the first example a claim surcharge, less-than-perfect credit, and a blemish on his driving record. Due to the fact that each insurance company has their own guidelines for determining rates, analyzing rates most likely will result in a new list of the cheapest companies as shown below.

Titan now has the lowest price on auto insurance in Durham with State Farm, Auto-Owners, National General, and Allied now being in the top five. This example demonstrates why it is critical to shop around to find the cheapest car insurance quotes for Lyft drivers. Auto insurance prices consist of many risk factors and can decrease or increase without notice, so the cheapest company the last time you shopped around may now be quite expensive.