Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes in Utah?

Depending on where drivers live in Utah, the cost of auto insurance can range by up to 20%, according to our research. Our team of analysts reviewed car insurance quotes for two sample drivers, and used that to benchmark costs across 30 cities in the Beehive State. Based on our profiled drivers, we found that the average annual premium for auto insurance in Utah was $991. The biggest factor affecting auto insurance quotes in Utah was which insurer they picked. Quotes from the most expensive carrier cost 49% or $488 more than the cheapest company in Utah. Our report below summarizes where we found the lowest rates for car insurance in Utah by state and by each of the 32 cities, including Salt Lake City, Provo, and West Jordan, etc.

• Cheapest Auto Insurance Companies
• Best Car Insurance Rates: by City
• Best Auto Insurance Companies in UT
• Average Cost of Auto Insurance: by City

Cheapest Auto Insurance in Utah

Based on our two male drivers, we found the three cheapest rates for car insurance in Utah at Bear River Mutual, GEICO, and Farm Bureau. Allied Insurance and American Family round out the top five most affordable carriers here. The average cost of insuring a Toyota Camry at the three cheapest companies was $639 - 36% below the state mean (saving our two sample drivers $353 in annual premiums for a basic liability policy). Including Allied and American Family resulted in an average annual rate of $722, which was still a 27% discount to the typical provider here. We'd recommend including any one of these companies, as well as comparing at least three quotes, when you're looking for low-cost auto insurance in Utah.

Find The Cheapest Auto Insurance In Your Area

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Bear River Mutual: We found the cheapest rates for car insurance in Utah at Bear River - by about 48% lower compared to the state mean for our two 30 year old and 65 year old men. Bear River Mutual is a local insurer that operates as a mutual company, where its customers are also its owners. Any traditional profits are supposed to get funneled back to the policyholders via lower rates. It operates through independent agencies, with about six agencies in Salt Lake City, two in West Valley City, six in Provo, and a handful more scattered across the Beehive State.

GEICO: GEICO generally ranks as one of the most affordable insurers in our nation-wide studies. In Utah, our two single male drivers saw an average rates that were about 39% cheaper than what the typical insurer quoted - that shaves about $387 off on auto insurance costs a year. While they're predominantly an online company that handles most of their business and quoting through their website, they do have one agent stationed in Salt Lake City for consumers who prefer in-person interactions.

Farm Bureau: Farm Bureau Mutual was the third cheapest auto insurance company in Utah. Rates for a basic policy averaged just shy of $900 a year for our two men, who had excellent driving records and good credit. One thing to note about Farm Bureau is that they require membership in order to be eligible for their insurance products, and the dues are $65 a year. While the $65 membership fee makes the average annual rate higher than Allied's, there are some benefits that accompany it, such as discounts to car rentals and AAA membership.

Check out the table below for a list of the 12 Utah auto insurers we studied. They're listed from the most affordable rates we found for our benchmark drivers to the highest. Your actual rates will differ based on your driver profile.

Cheapest Car Insurance in Utah: by City

We analyzed quotes across 12 companies in 32 cities in Utah, and present in the table below which companies had the three best car insurance rates in each location. For the most part, Bear River and GEICO dominated as the cheapest and 2nd cheapest insurer in each city, respectively. Farm Bureau and Allied alternated with the third best rates depending on the city. Even in Kearns, Midvale, and Salt Lake City, which ranked with three of the most expensive rates out of Utah, there's still opportunity to save by shopping for quotes.

Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City ranked as the second most expensive city with an average rate that is 7% higher than the state average. The average premium here for our two sample drivers was $1,059. The capital and the most populous city in Utah, SLC was founded by Brigham Young and other Mormon followers in 1847 and is the headquarters for the Church of the Latter Day Saints. The happiest snowflakes fall in Utah, as ads for the city have proclaimed, and ardent skiers no doubt have visited runs at Park City and Canyons Resort, or Snowbird and Alta. CNN calls Salt Lake City the “least stressed-out city in the U.S.” due to its job opportunities and low cost of living - perhaps with the exception of auto insurance. 

For the best car insurance rates in Salt Lake City, we'd recommend getting quotes from Bear River, GEICO, and Farm Bureau. The cost of insuring a Toyota Camry at these three companies was the lowest for the two men that we obtained quotes for. Rates averaged $686, and were $373 cheaper compared to the typical insurer in SLC. Allied and American Family help to round out the five best rates here. In total, the five companies quoted a mean annual premium of $791 for our two guys, which came out to being 25% lower than the SLC average.

Provo, UT

To get the cheapest quotes for car insurance in Provo, we suggest starting at Bear River Mutual, GEICO, and Farm Bureau. From our data set, rates from these three carriers were about $367 or 36% cheaper for our two drivers' vehicles compared to the other insurers here. Bear River and Farm Bureau are great for Utahns who prefer having one point of contact for their insurance needs, and GEICO would be great for people looking for a simple and quick online quote. The city of Provo is home to about 116,000 Utahns, including pop culture figures such as actress Julianne Hough, the Osmond family, and Imagine Dragons. It also is the site of Brigham Young University, one of the largest private universities in the U.S. with an estimated 34,000 student body.

West Jordan, UT

Also located in Salt Lake County, West Jordan ranks as the third most expensive city for auto insurance in the state. The city was founded in 1850, when the first sawmill was built in the area. Its population has grown exponentially since the 1970s, and today includes students at the Salt Lake Community College and Broadview University. Our two men saw rates averaging $1,049 per year to insure their vehicles for basic liability. Although rates here are 6% higher than the state mean, drivers can still save on their costs. We found the five most affordable car insurance rates in West Jordan at Bear River, GEICO, Allied, Farm Bureau, and American Mutual. Compared to the 12-company composite of $1,049, these five insurers cost about $781 on average. That's savings of 26% for our two benchmark drivers - equal to $268 back in their wallets.

Orem, UT

Who has the lowest auto insurance rates in Orem? We compared rates across 12 carriers underwriting in Orem, and that distinction went to Bear River, GEICO, and Farm Bureau. Rates ranged from $516 to $762 for our two typical single male drivers in Orem. Your rates will differ significantly, because our two drivers had excellent blemish-free rates in the past five years, and good credit histories. Nevertheless, we recommend these three, along with Allied and American Family as a starting point when you're thinking about where to get quotes from for low-cost auto insurance. About a 40-mile drive from Salt Lake City, Orem's population is 88,000. It's located at the base of the Wasatch Mountains, and near the banks fo the Utah Lake. Forbes has recognized it as a great place to raise a family, and from outdoor activities in nearby Provo Canyon to kid-friendly spots like Nickel City and skating at the Classic Fun Center, it's hard not to see why.

Sandy, UT

If you're looking for cheap auto insurance in Sandy, we direct your attention to Bear River, GEICO, Farm Bureau, Allied Insurance, and American Family Insurance Company. With an average annual rate of $763 for our two single male drivers, these five companies were $271 or 26% cheaper than the typical carrier operating in Sandy. With Little Cottonwood Canyon so close by, hiking trails like the Bell Canyon and Cecret Lake routes are just a hop, skip, and jump away for Sandy residents. The 87,000 people who live here have a plethora of nature and green outdoor space to relax in, from Dimple Dell Regional Nature Park to the Flat Iron Mesa Park. 

Best Rated Auto Insurance Companies in Utah

To determine which companies were the best in Utah, we looked at complaint data submitted by consumers to the Utah Insurance Department. Their complaint ratio measures the number of valid complaints against each insurer per $100,000 of premiums underwritten by the company. The lower the complaint ratio, the better the company. By this metric, Auto Owners, Safeco, USAA, Bear River Mutual, and Mid-Century were the five best car insurance companies in Utah. Below are the companies ranked from best-rated to the ones with the highest share of complaints relative to their market share. 

Average Cost of Auto Insurance by City

The average premiums for the five most affordable cities come in 6% under the state average. Based on our sample drivers' costs of insuring a Toyota Camry, the average across these five cheapest cities is $934. They're a diverse group, varying widely in population, from 5,000 to 80,000 in size, and are situated all over the Beehive State. The five most expensive rates are shared by six cities in Utah, with a tie between Midvale and Salt Lake City for second place. They are located in Salt Lake City County, relatively closely to SLC. The graph below presents the entire list, and ranks the 30+ cities from the lowest average auto insurance rates to the highest.

How We Conducted the Study

For the study, we collected premiums for two sample drivers in more than 30 cities in the state: a single 30 year old male and a single 65 year old male. The two men own their 2010 Toyota Camry vehicles in full and commute to and from work, using about 12,000 miles a year. They also have good credit histories and great driving records - no accidents or traffic violations in the past five years.

The state requires minimum Bodily Injury Liability protection of $25,000 per person, and up to $65,000 per accident. It also requires that drivers are insured for up to $15,000 for property damage and $3,000 for no-fault, or personal injury, protection. We included national insurers such as GEICO, Allstate, and State Farm in our study. Our table below shows the difference between the required minimums and our study, where we assumed basic liability protection for the Camry.

* These coverages, while usually bundled with policies, may be rejected in writing

The cities included in our list are presented below for readers reference in alphabetical order. Displayed next to each city is the average annual premium, along with how they rank among cities with the cheapest premiums, and their increase or decrease compared to the average cost for our sample drivers in the state.

Sources:
Utah Minimum Auto Insurance Limits: https://insurance.utah.gov/auto-home/auto/glossaryofautoterms.php
Census Data for Utah: http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/49000.html