You have most likely seen the catchy advertisements from auto insurance companies like Liberty Mutual, Progressive, and Farmers guaranteeing big savings. So you just need to choose the one with the most memorable commercial, right?
It’s just not that simple, as there are a whole bunch of unknown elements like whether or not you have had gaps between policies, the type of vehicle you drive, if you have any tickets or accidents, and the miles you drive each year, that all impact the cost of coverage. This article will discuss the causes of high insurance rates and hopefully give you enough understanding to have a good beginning to your search for cheaper coverage.
One of the more important factors that are used to help calculate car insurance rates is where you normally keep your vehicle. Areas with more people or even just a higher incidence of claims likely pay more, whereas areas that tend to be more rural have the enjoyment of a little cheaper coverage.
The information below lists the most expensive cities in Missouri for 17 year olds to buy auto insurance in. Kansas City is listed at #5 with an annual rate of $1,295 for coverage, which is approximately $108 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saint Louis | $1,444 |
| 2 | Florissant | $1,401 |
| 3 | University City | $1,366 |
| 4 | Raytown | $1,316 |
| 5 | Kansas City | $1,295 |
| 6 | Chesterfield | $1,257 |
| 7 | Wildwood | $1,251 |
| 8 | Mehlville | $1,235 |
| 9 | Independence | $1,227 |
| 10 | Liberty | $1,201 |
| 11 | Kirkwood | $1,199 |
| 12 | Ballwin | $1,196 |
| 13 | Joplin | $1,160 |
| 14 | Lee’s Summit | $1,146 |
| 15 | Saint Joseph | $1,134 |
| 16 | Saint Charles | $1,129 |
| 17 | Saint Peters | $1,128 |
| 18 | Blue Springs | $1,126 |
| 19 | O’Fallon | $1,123 |
| 20 | Wentzville | $1,112 |
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Information shown are comparative as zip code location can decrease or increase prices significantly.
Buying cost effective car insurance is not easy, and finding out which company quotes the most affordable insurance rates for 17 year olds will require even more work. Every car insurance company has their own unique process to determine premium rates, so first we will examine the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in Kansas City.
It’s important that you understand Kansas City, MO insurance rates are impacted by many things which can substantially change the price of coverage. Improving your credit score, marrying your spouse, or having an accident may prompt premium changes that can make some companies more affordable than the competition.
Best Insurance Companies for Teens
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $662 |
| 2 | The Hartford | $817 |
| 3 | Electric | $841 |
| 4 | Allied | $849 |
| 5 | Auto-Owners | $1,027 |
| 6 | Travelers | $1,028 |
| 7 | MO Farm Bureau | $1,052 |
| 8 | Farmers | $1,117 |
| 9 | Nationwide | $1,131 |
| 10 | Cameron Mutual | $1,190 |
| 11 | State Farm | $1,234 |
| 12 | American Family | $1,253 |
| 13 | Safeco | $1,370 |
| 14 | Safe Auto | $1,377 |
| 15 | Shelter | $1,404 |
| 16 | GEICO | $1,406 |
| 17 | Progressive | $1,410 |
| 18 | MetLife | $1,430 |
| 19 | California Casualty | $1,439 |
| 20 | Auto Club | $1,488 |
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USAA offers some of the best car insurance rates in Kansas City at around $662 annually. The Hartford, Electric, Allied, and Auto-Owners would also make the list of some of the lowest-priced Kansas City, MO car insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you buy coverage from Allied and switched to USAA, you might realize an annual savings of in the vicinity of $187. Policyholders with Auto-Owners may save as much as $365 a year, and Travelers insureds might see rate reductions of $366 a year.
To discover how much you can save, click here to start your free quote or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
Be aware that those premiums are averaged for all types of drivers and the different vehicles they drive and are not factoring in a specific zip code for 17 year olds. So the auto insurance company that is best suited for you may not even be in the top 23 companies shown above. That points out the importance of why you need to compare rates from multiple companies using your own driver data and vehicle information.
The vehicle model you are buying coverage for is one of the largest considerations when looking for economical car insurance for 17 year olds. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, good safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost less to insure than high performance models. The table below ranks auto insurance costs for the cheaper automobiles to insure.
| Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $4,459 |
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $4,466 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $4,502 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,828 |
| Ford Edge SE 2WD | $4,963 |
| Ford F-150 FX2 Super Cab 2WD | $5,006 |
| Ford Explorer XLT 2WD | $5,011 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $5,006 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon | $5,110 |
| Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $5,245 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 2WD | $5,287 |
| Toyota Camry LE | $5,292 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LS AWD | $5,287 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LT | $5,332 |
| Honda Civic EX 4-Dr Sedan | $5,527 |
| Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $5,537 |
| Chevrolet Impala LTZ | $5,569 |
| Honda Odyssey EX-L W/Navigation | $5,575 |
| Toyota Corolla XRS | $5,614 |
| Ford Fusion SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $5,619 |
| GMC Sierra SLE Regular Cab 4WD | $5,614 |
| Nissan Altima Hybrid 4-Dr Sedan | $5,620 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 4WD | $5,614 |
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Price data assumes single female driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Missouri minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Price information does not factor in specific location which can lower or raise coverage rates greatly.
Looking at the numbers, you can infer that models like the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Toyota Prius, and Ford Edge are likely to be the cheaper vehicles to insure for teen drivers. The price for car insurance will be more expensive because there is more liability exposure for 17 year olds, but generally speaking those models will have the lowest insurance prices that you are likely to find.
Full coverage versus liability only rates
Saving money when shopping for insurance is important to most vehicle owners, and a good way to buy cheap insurance for 17 year olds is to only pay for liability coverage. The diagram below illustrates the difference between annual premium costs with and without full coverage. The premiums are based on no violations or claims, $1,000 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
Averaged out for all age groups, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $1,518 per year over liability only. That raises the question if you should buy full coverage at all. There isn’t a written rule to stop buying comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of coverage is more than about 10% of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $10,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, you would only receive $9,000 after paying your deductible. If it’s costing you more than $900 a year for full coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.
The example below illustrates how your deductible choice can raise or lower insurance prices when quoting cheap insurance for 17 year olds. The data is based on a married male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The chart above illustrates that a 30-year-old driver could lower rates by $246 a year by switching from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $372 by using a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, like the age 20 example, could reduce their rates $740 each year by choosing a larger deductible amount.
If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it will be necessary to have additional savings on hand to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some people from using high deductibles.
Buying coverage from a high-quality company is hard considering how many choices drivers have in Missouri. The company ratings listed below may help you decide which providers to look at shopping prices with.
These rankings only include companies that insure vehicles nationwide, so smaller regional companies will not be included in the list. To compare price quotes from these top-rated insurers and more, follow this link.
Top 10 Major Car Insurance Companies in Kansas City Ranked by Customer Service
- State Farm
- Nationwide
- Safeco Insurance
- American Family
- Travelers
- Liberty Mutual
- GEICO
- Allstate
- The Hartford
- Farmers Insurance
Top 10 Major Car Insurance Companies Overall in Kansas City
- USAA
- 21st Century
- GEICO
- Nationwide
- AAA Insurance
- Liberty Mutual
- Safeco Insurance
- State Farm
- Travelers
- American Family
Why you should be shopping around
Kansas City insurance rates are impacted by many factors that may substantially change the price you have to pay. Simply having a birthday, filing a claim, or having a fender bender can trigger price changes that can make some companies cheaper than others. Not only may things change on your end, but auto insurance companies file new Missouri car insurance rates as often as every quarter to help ensure profitability. Larger than normal claims can cause additional premium costs, while less frequent claims can cause more affordable Kansas City car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the graph below demonstrates which company has the cheapest car insurance in Kansas City, MO for a 45-year-old female driver with a clear driving record, no claims, and a decent credit rating. If we estimate rates based on her current risk profile, USAA quotes the lowest car insurance rates in Kansas City at $800 a year. This is $462 less than the average premium paid by Missouri drivers of $1,262. The Hartford, Allied, Electric, and Auto-Owners are also on the list of the cheapest Kansas City, MO auto insurance companies.
Let’s now give the driver from the first example a claim, slightly worse credit, and a couple of points charged on her driving record. Because each insurer has a different formula to set policy rates, comparing quotes may result in a new list of the cheapest Kansas City car insurance companies as shown below.
MO Farm Bureau now has the cheapest rate in Kansas City, MO with Nationwide, The Hartford, Farmers, and Cameron Mutual now being in the top five. This demonstrates why it is so important to compare many different companies when trying to find the most budget-friendly car insurance quotes for 17 year olds.
Insurance prices are influenced by many different factors and can change substantially, so the cheapest company the last time you compared rates may now not even be in the top five.