Best Car Insurance Rates in Louisiana

The cost of car insurance in Louisiana ranks it among the top ten most expensive states in the nation, but individual drivers' rates don't have to be that costly. Our research analysts compared two sample drivers' quotes across 40 cities and towns to identify where drivers could find the cheapest auto insurance rates in Louisiana.

Depending on the provider, car insurance quotes for our sample driver in Louisiana ranged from $1,023 to $2,146 for a 6-month policy. This difference of $1,124 means that one period of coverage at the most expensive company could actually pay for two terms of insurance at the cheapest provider. That's why it is in consumer's best interests to shop around and compare across as many companies as possible if they're looking for the cheapest auto insurance quotes in Louisiana. 

Contents

• Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies in Louisiana
• Best Car Insurance Rates by City
• Cost of Car Insurance in Louisiana by City
• Best Auto Insurance Companies in Louisiana

Cheapest Auto Insurance in Louisiana

We obtained car insurance quotes for our sample male motorists driving in a Toyota across the major national carriers and 40 towns and cities in Louisiana in order to determine which providers had the best rates. We then ranked each company from the cheapest to the most expensive based on their average for a 6-month policy for our benchmark car and driver. Here are the companies with the four best car insurance rates in Louisiana:

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Our example motorist's data showed that GEICO, Southern Farm Bureau, State Farm, and Allstate had the lowest rates for car insurance across the various cities in Louisiana. Their composite rate was 15% cheaper than the statewide average, with Allstate's rates hovering right around the Louisiana mean. The table below shows the average 6-month rate our driver saw across the other companies included in our survey. Note that your actual quotes will differ depending on your driving history, the coverage you choose, and other factors.

*Note that auto insurance products from the Louisiana Farm Bureau requires membership, which has dues of $35 - $50 depending on the parish drivers live in. California Casualty is a specialty insurer that only serves people of select professions, including nurses, teachers, and public safety officers.

Cheapest Car Insurance in Louisiana: by City

Combined, the five cheapest cities in Louisiana had a mean cost of $1,429 for half a year of coverage - that's approximately 14% better than the statewide average cost. They tend to be smaller cities with a lower population per square mile of space. Coincidentally, the majority of the cities are situated along Interstate 20, with one located on Interstate 165. The most expensive cities in our state spanned from the Southwest corner of Louisiana to the largest city in the state, with an average 6-month cost of $2,008. They include some of the most densely populated places and the largest city in the Pelican State.

Who has the cheapest auto insurance rates in your hometown? Let's take a look at the three insurers with the best rates for insuring a car, and what level of rates they quoted for our sample motorist's Toyota Corolla.

New Orleans, LA

The largest city in Louisiana, New Orleans is also the most expensive city for auto insurance. Its roads are flanked by beautiful antebellum French and Spanish Creole architecture, and twenty districts have been designated as National Register Historic Districts. Auto insurance in the Big Easy can cost $2,454 for half a year, or about 48% more than the state average. Within our sample, some of the cheapest costs were in the neighborhood of Lakeview, which, if ranked separately, would have been the third most expensive in Louisiana at $2,057. The costliest in our sample was in the Mid-City area, where drivers would have to shell out $2,693 for 6-months of coverage.

We found cheap auto insurance quotes in New Orleans at GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, State Farm, and Allstate. On average, the four companies' rates for six months of coverage were just shy of two grand at $1,956, which resulted in them costing him almost $500 less than what the typical insurer was charging in the city. That's a 20% cost reduction and more money back in our New Orleans driver's pocket.

Baton Rouge, LA

Baton Rouge places as the 2nd most populated city in the Pelican State with 229,000 people residing there. Residents here have access to the Perkins Road Community Park, LSU games at Death Valley (geaux Tigers!), and the Bluebonnet Swamp Nature Center, among others, for recreation and entertainment. Despite what seems like traffic at every hour of the day, drivers can at least take solace in the fact that auto insurance costs here aren't as expensive as they could be. Our single male driver saw 6-month rates of $1,747 for basic liability protection, which meant the city was only 5% more expensive to insure a car in compared to the rest of Louisiana. Nevertheless, rates can be reduced even further. GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, MetLife, and State Farm had four of the best car insurance rates in Baton Rouge. We recommend including any one of these companies in consumers' short list of providers to shop for auto insurance quotes at, because rates were on average 15% cheaper at these four companies compared to the citywide average.

Shreveport, LA

Across the Red River from Bossier City is Shreveport, the third largest city in the Pelican State and the commercial center of the Ark-La-Tex region. Our benchmark drivers in Shreveport pay about $1,454 to insure their vehicles for six months, which makes it the fourth cheapest city in the state and 12% less than other cities on average. Even with rates so low already, there's always opportunity to shave off some more by comparing quotes. Shreveport drivers searching for lower costs on their auto insurance should consider shopping for quotes at GEICO, MetLife, Louisiana Farm Bureau, and State Farm. The four lowest rates in Shreveport averaged to $1,226, which meant our example driver paid about 16% or $229 less for half a year of basic liability coverage for his Toyota Corolla versus the Shreveport mean.

Lafayette, LA

At $1,677 of auto insurance costs for six months, Lafayette placed in the middle-of-the-road for our single man and his Toyota. Costs were just 1% over the overall Louisiana average in this city of 121,000 citizens. Among the many attractions here are various institutions and festivals celebrating the area's Cajun, Creole, and Acadian heritage. The University of Louisiana also has a large presence in Lafayette, with 145 acres set aside for 17,000 students on its main campus. Residents and students looking for affordable car insurance in Lafayette would do well to add the four companies when they're shopping for cheap quotes: GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, Allstate, and State Farm. Rates for half a year of coverage among these four companies were $237 or 14% cheaper for our single male motorist when compared to what the typical insurer would have charged for his Corolla.

Lake Charles, LA

The cheapest auto insurance rates in Lake Charles were at GEICO, State Farm, and the Louisiana Farm Bureau. Quotes for our unmarried male driver ranged from $1,008 at GEICO to $1,560 with the Farm Bureau, and averaged to about $1,356 for six months and 14% more affordable compared to the Lake Charles mean. Bear in mind that the Louisiana Farm Bureau and California Casualty don't cover the general consumer or driver. In order to be eligible for the Farm Bureau's auto insurance coverage, you must first be a member (annual dues can run from $35 to $50 in Louisiana, depending on which parish you live in); California Casualty only insures a select group of people: educators, nurses, firefighters, and peace officers. While their average quote was a bit higher than average for our single male driver, they may still be worthwhile to get a quote from if you're employed by McNeese State University, the Calcasieu Parish's public schools, or the Lake Charles police department, to name a few.

Kenner, LA

Measuring fifteen square miles in area, the city is the site of Louis Armstrong Airport, New Orlean’s international airport. It is the third most expensive city to insure a car in Louisiana. Our sample drivers in Kenner pay about $1,886 for six months' worth of car insurance. While rates for our sample driver were the third highest in the state, we found opportunity for him to reduce his auto insurance costs by going with GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, Allstate, or State Farm. In total, these four companies had the cheapest quotes in Kenner for single man at $1,520, and cost almost $300 cheaper for half a year of basic liability protection - that's a 16% discount to the going rate in Kenner.

Bossier City, LA

Rates in Bossier City netted the city the third spot for the best auto insurance rates on our list in Louisiana. With average car insurance costs of $1,419 for a 6-month term, drivers in Bossier City pay less than 14% compared to other cities in the state. Situated on the banks of the Red River, Bossier City is home to several Air Force bases and more than 61,000 residents. Who has the cheapest auto insurance rates in Bossier City? That would be GEICO, State Farm, MetLife, and the Louisiana Farm Bureau. For basic liability coverage for our single male driver's Toyota, rates at these four companies were the lowest at $1,197 for half a year of coverage, which made the four companies on average about $222 and 16% more affordable compared to the citywide mean. These rates make the four companies worth including for drivers in Bossier City looking for low-cost auto insurance quotes.

Ruston, LA

Home to Louisiana Tech, and the annual Louisiana Peach Festival, Ruston is populated by 22,000 residents. The city is in the middle of implementing a coordinated economic growth and development plan known as Ruston 21, and it is good to know that the city is also the second most affordable spot in Louisiana. Drivers can see car insurance rates as low as $1,404 for six months of basic coverage in Ruston, LA. Ruston drivers looking to save an extra dollar or two should include GEICO, State Farm, the Louisiana Farm Bureau, and MetLife when getting auto insurance quotes. Out of the companies we surveyed in Ruston, these four had the cheapest rates for our driver's liability policy. Compared to the city mean, these companies represent a 16% reduction, or $228 discount.

Hammond, LA

With 6-month costs of $1,751, Hammond finishes up our top five cities list in Louisiana. Hammond is a transportation capital located at the junction of Interstate 12 and Interstate 55 with air, sea, and rail options as well. It is actually not that expensive, however – just 6% above the state average. GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, and State Farm, had the best auto insurance rates - in that order - for our sample drivers, so we suggest that drivers looking for cheap quotes in Hammond survey these three carriers. While these three companies had the least expensive quotes for our Hammond driver, we also suggest that consumers take a look at MetLife, whose rates were pretty close to the city average. The four companies averaged together to a rate of $1,506 for basic liability coverage for half a year, which was $245 and 14% cheaper for our sample motorist.

Minden, LA

The place with the cheapest auto insurance in Louisiana was Minden, a town of 13,000. Located just under thirty miles from Shreveport, our example drivers in this town pay on average $1,383 towards their 6-month car insurance premiums. This cost is about 16% lower than the state average, and just $71 cheaper than what Shreveport residents pay. Our single 30 year old man found his most affordable rates, in ascending order, for car insurance at GEICO, State Farm, MetLife, and Louisiana Farm Bureau. In total, the four companies had a composite rate of about $1,164 per half a year for our single male, which translated into $219 savings when compared to the citywide mean (16% reduction).

Bastrop, LA

Rounding out our top five cheapest cities for auto insurance is Bastrop, LA, a city located in Morehouse Parish at the crossroads of U.S. Highways 425 and 165. Costs for car insurance are $1,487 for our benchmark Bastrop driver for six months of protection across different insurers in the city. Four options for cheap car insurance in Bastrop are GEICO, State Farm, Louisiana Farm Bureau, and MetLife. The sample driver we used in our study found his cheapest quotes for auto insurance with these four companies, which averaged about $1,188 for half a year of basic liability coverage for a standard Toyota Corolla. Rates were almost $300 and 20% cheaper than the Bastrop mean.

Arabi, LA

The second most expensive city on our list is Arabi, which is located just across the boundary of the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans. It is the birthplace of Popeyes Chicken and is home to a small population of 8,000 residents. Arabi is one of the more densely populated places in Louisiana, and its auto insurance costs reflect that. At $2,180 for our sample drivers' six months of insurance, costs are 32% more expensive than the Pelican State average. Nevertheless, getting quotes from GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, MetLife, and Allstate helped our 30-year old male driver shave off 17% compared to what the typical insurer would charge to insure his car. The four companies had the lowest average quotes of $1,815 for half a year's car insurance policy, which would have saved our sample driver $365 versus the Arabi average.

Denham Springs, LA

Ranking as the fourth most expensive city for car insurance in Louisiana is Denham Springs. Denham Springs is purportedly named after the mineral springs that attracted its founder, William Denham there. Auto insurance costs are $1,772 for a six-month term, or just 7% higher than the state average. Drivers looking for cheap auto insurance in Denham Springs should look into quotes at GEICO, Louisiana Farm Bureau, State Farm, and MetLife. Going with one of these four carriers meant that our benchmark driver would have paid about 15% or $266 less for the same policy than the mean in the city.

Cost of Car Insurance in Louisiana Cities

Beyond the top five cheapest and most expensive cities, our analysis covered thirty other cities spread throughout the Pelican State. Here are the results of each city's auto insurance costs, ranked from the lowest costs to the highest costs.

Best Auto Insurance Companies in Louisiana

To find the best-rated car insurers in Louisiana, we compared the amount of complaints the top 20 biggest insurers in the state received against each other. The fewer complaints a company receives for its size, the better it is and the more satisfied customers it has, is our thinking. First, we calculated each company's ratio of the complaints won by consumers to its premiums, and then compared that to the industry average. An index of 1 is average; the smaller the index number is, the fewer complaints the company receives compared to its competitors. Based on this metric, the best auto insurance companies in Louisiana turned out to be Liberty Mutual, Louisiana Farm Bureau, and Progressive.

Methodology

Our analysis looked at auto insurance quotes for a single 30 year old male driver. He owned and drove a 2010 Toyota Corolla about 12,000 miles a year to and from work. He has good credit, and has had a safe driving record - no accidents or traffic violations in the last five years.

Quotes for six months of car insurance were obtained for a basic policy that had moderately better coverage compared to the state minimum in forty cities in the Pelican State. The eight major insurers included: Allstate, State Farm, Encompass, GEICO, Liberty Mutual, MetLife, California Casualty, and Southern Farm Bureau.

Sources: Louisiana Department of Public Safety Proof of Insurance, Louisiana Department of Insurance