Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes in Idaho?

Car insurance rates in Idaho are generally lower compared to most other parts of the country. With the right insurer, you can save even more. Our benchmark drivers, a single 30 year-old man and a single 65 year-old man, on average found the costliest insurer’s (Baldwin & Lyons) annual premium $1,000 more than the lowest cost insurance company (USAA). Shopping around is important. All things equal, choosing the right insurer to cover you could mean the world’s difference on how much you pay.Read on to find out who the cheapest Idaho insurers are, or enter your zip code above to find the cheapest car insurance near you.

• Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies in Idaho
• Best Car Insurance Rates
• Average Cost of Auto Insurance in ID
• Best Car Insurance Companies in ID

Cheapest Auto Insurance in Idaho

We obtained quotes from 17 different auto insurance companies in the Gem State (you can find a full list below), both large national insurers and more regional ones, for our two sample driver profiles. This data helped us identify the six companies who generally offered the cheapest car insurance rates among the 17 carriers. 

Find The Cheapest Auto Insurance In Your Area

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Based on our 30- and 65-year-old single motorist profiles, the cheapest car insurers in Idaho were USAA*, Oregon Mutual and GEICO. These companies generally provide a year’s worth of coverage at rates nearly 46% lower than the state’s average cost. For our profiled drivers, this means annual rates averaging $459, give or take some dollars depending on age and other factors. 

Most Expensive Auto Insurance Companies in Idaho

Among the 17 insurers we included in the study, only three provided quotes for more than a $1,000 for a year of insurance coverage for our two male drivers: Baldwin & Lyons, Sentry, and Workmen’s Auto. However, this doesn't mean they're everyone's most expensive options. Motorists should know that insurance rates could vary drastically with a single factor difference, such as type of car you own and your marital status. Our sample drivers found their average annual premiums came to $1,370 with these three insurers, which was roughly 60% higher than the state’s mean for the same benchmark.

List of Auto Insurance Companies in Idaho

Here is a list of all 17 auto insurance providers in Idaho that we included in our analysis, with their average annual insurance rates, based on our sample driver profiles:

*California Casualty and USAA are both specialty insurers, which means they only offer insurance coverage to drivers who fit specific requirements. California Casualty only insures drivers who work in education, nursing, firefighting, and peace officers. USAA only insures those who are a veterans, currently in military duty or otherwise affiliated with the U.S. military, and their extended relatives.

Cheapest Car Insurance in Idaho: by City

Who are the cheapest insurers in your city? In Idaho, the three most affordable auto insurance companies generally stay the same throughout the state, but their rates and ranking varied by city. Here is a table with the name and rates of the three cheapest insurers in the Gem State’s 10 largest cities. Annual rates are listed for informational purposes, and are calculated using single 30 and 65 year old men with good driving histories. Detailed analysis of the five largest locations follows.

Boise City, ID

With rates that are 5% better than the state average, Boise ranks with the 4th cheapest costs out of the 40 cities. Boise is the largest city in Idaho, spanning 80 square miles and home to over 214,000 people. Residents have access to a diverse culture of music, theater, art, history, sports and nature that includes a zoo and theaters for music festivals. Commuters and residents alike are well-connected here, with large highways such as the I-84, Interstate 184, and Highway 55 serving the area. The largest employers in Boise are the State of Idaho, St. Luke's Health Systems, Walmart, and Hewlett-Packard. 

A year’s worth of coverage in Boise equal to around $806 for our benchmark motorists. Nevertheless, we have found several affordable auto insurance providers who offered the same coverage for much cheaper rates. The cheapest car insurance rates in Boise City were found at USAA, at levels as low as $396 for our two guys. If you are not affiliated with the U.S. military in any way – which is a requirement to insure with USAA – we would recommend checking out Oregon Mutual, GEICO, and Auto-Owners. These insurers generally offered coverage to our model profiles for less than $500 a year in Boise. For a detailed analysis on car insurance by neighborhood in Boise, read our Cheapest Car Insurance in Boise study.

Nampa, ID

The second most populated city in the Gem State, Nampa’s average car insurance rates hovered just below the state’s average. Our 30- and 65-year-old model driver profiles found the cost of one year of coverage here to be around $838. 

To get the best auto insurance rates in Nampa, Idaho, try including Oregon Mutual, GEICO, and Auto-Owners when you're shopping for quotes. Our sample motorists found quotes ranging as low as $402 to $612 a year among the five carriers with the lowest rates in Nampa for insuring their Toyotas. In case you are affiliated with the U.S. Military at all, USAA was actually the cheapest insurer of all among the 17 we sampled. 

Meridian, ID

Meridian is third on our list of the best cities to insure a car in, as well as the third largest city in Idaho. With a population of around 85,000, it is surrounded by the two largest cities in Idaho: Boise and Nampa. Meridian offers residents large shopping and entertainment complexes, 17 public parks, and the Meridian Urban Market during the summer, among other events. Known to locals as the MUM, it provides attendees with an opportunity to be involved in the community with a local farmer’s market, food tasting, local art, etc. while enjoying the outdoors. With a population of around 85,000, it is surrounded by the two largest cities in Idaho: Boise and Nampa. The annual rates our sample motorists found here were close to that of Boise, at $804.

We recommend comparing quotes among these cheap car insurance providers in Meridian: Oregon Mutual, GEICO, Auto-Owners, and State Farm. We found them to have the least expensive rates in Meridian – for our drivers. Oregon Mutual tied with USAA as the most affordable insurer – $402 for a year of coverage – without the requirement of being a U.S. military affiliate.

Idaho Falls, ID

The fourth most populated city of the Gem State, Idaho Falls insurers offered our drivers rates that were largely on par with the Gem State average. Just one dollar higher than the state’s average, the cost to insure their Toyota Camry with liability protection for a year was around $848 here. 

How much difference does finding the cheapest insurer make? With USAA, the provider with the lowest cost car insurance costs in Idaho Falls, our sample motorists had the chance to put as much as $400 back into their pockets every year. For those of you who do not qualify USAA’s coverage requirement (to be in or affiliated with the U.S. military), Oregon Mutual, Auto-Owners, and GEICO have rates that was just as affordable. Generally speaking, quotes from the three insurers showed premiums averaging $512 a year for the two benchmark drivers - 40% lower than what the typical Idaho Falls insurer charged.

Pocatello, ID

The fifth largest city in Idaho is the only city out of the five where our sample drivers' quotes cost higher than the state’s average. Pocatello’s population was approximately 57,000 in 2010, and like Idaho Falls, it sits very close to the eastern state border to Wyoming. To purchase a year’s worth of coverage here would cost $858, in the case of our sample motorists.

For Pocatello motorists who are looking for the most affordable auto insurance coverage, we would recommend comparing quotes from Oregon Mutual, Auto-Owners, GEICO, State Farm, and – if you qualify – USAA. They had the five lowest car insurance rates for insuring our profiled commuters' Camrys. On average, these insurers quoted between $420 and $642 for a year’s worth of coverage for our sample drivers.

Cost of Car Insurance by City

Another important factor that influences your car insurance rates is where you live. Our study included a total of 40 locations scattered across the Gem State. The table below presents those locations from the cheapest to the most expensive for our two benchmark motorists, along with several ties throughout the state. Across the 40 cities, we found that the overall average cost for a year's liabiliy protection for our benchmark drivers was $847 a year, but costs could range by 11% from the most expensive city to the best city. Eagle, ID ranked as the best city with the cheapest car insurance rates, while Orofino and Grangeville tied for the most expensive title.

Best Auto Insurance Companies in Idaho

To find the best auto insurance companies in Idaho, we decided to look at how many complaints each company received relative to the amount of business they underwrote. We compared each company’s complaints to million of premiums to find the complaint ratio. The smaller the number, the better (the less people complained about their service). According to this metric, Auto-Owners, Liberty Mutual, MetLife, and USAA ranked as the best car insurers in Idaho because they received the least complaints per dollar of business.

Methodology & Minimum Requirements

We reviewed and compared auto insurance quotes for two sample drivers in 40 cities across Idaho: a single 30 year old male and a 65 year old single male. They both own and drive a 2010 Toyota Camry 12,000 miles a year to mainly commute to work. Each of our sample drivers has a good credit score and driving record with no accidents or violations in the past five years. Included in the analysis were 17 insurance companies who were licensed to sell policies in Idaho. The sample profiles assumed a clean driving record, good credit score, and both homeowners.

Costs were based on a policy with basic liability protection for the 2010 Camry from companies such as Workmen’s Auto, Nationwide, and GEICO. While the State of Idaho requires minimum limits of $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $15,000 for property damage, our rates are based on an amount of protection that's roughly twice the minimum. Here is a table comparing the two coverage amounts (limits):

Sources:
Idaho Department of Insurance: http://www.doi.idaho.gov/consumer/basic_coverages.aspx
Population Data: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/16000.html