How to Find the Most Affordable Car Insurance in Florida

The Sunshine State has a lot going for it, a whole coastline of beaches, year-round sunshine. But it also has higher than average auto insurance rates. So you’ll pay more to drive your car along the busy highways and tranquil country roads that you will find around Florida. But there are things you can do to lower auto insurance rates in Florida too. Be a smart shopper and you can save money.

Let’s take a closer look at auto insurance rates in Florida.

Minimum Insurance Requirements in Florida

Every state has its own minimum liability requirements. Liability coverage helps pay for the other person’s expenses if you are at fault in an accident.

The required minimum auto insurance limits in Florida are $10,000 bodily injury liability coverage, $20,000 bodily injury per accident coverage and $10,000 property damage per accident coverage.

For this minimum required insurance coverage in Florida you will pay an average of $1,192 per year.

Cost of a Comprehensive Policy

You’ll pay a bit more for a more complete auto insurance policy, one that goes beyond the state minimum requirements in Florida. The cost of a comprehensive policy, which includes collision and comprehensive coverages and has a $1,000 deductible, costs $1,698.

Collision insurance is coverage that helps to repair or replace your car if it’s damaged in an at-fault accident with another vehicle or object such as a fence or a tree.

Comprehensive insurance covers events that aren’t covered by collision coverage. These events include fire, theft, vandalism and damages from weather such as a hailstorm, a windstorm, a hurricane or a tornado. The deductible is the amount you pay out of your own pocket when making an accident claim. Both collision coverage and comprehensive coverage require deductibles. In contrast, liability auto policies have no deductibles. So with liability coverage there is often nothing to pay out of your own pocket if you cause damage to another person’s car.

Why Is Insurance So Expensive in Florida?

You’ll pay higher than average auto rates in Florida because of the relatively high share of uninsured drivers on Florida roadways. Just how many Florida drivers are uninsured? Almost 24 percent of Florida drivers have no liability auto insurance.

To protect yourself from uninsured drivers in Florida, you may want to add uninsured and underinsured motorist liability coverage to your auto policy. This coverage includes bodily injury liability and property damages liability. Both are designed to protect the covered driver from other drivers with no or minimal insurance coverage.

Highest and Lowest Auto Rates in Florida

The cheapest car insurance in Florida is found in Gainesville in north central Florida. The most expensive car insurance is found in South Florida’s West Palm Beach.

Florida Is a No-fault State

When it comes to auto insurance, Florida is a no-fault state. No-fault auto insurance requires every driver to file an auto insurance claim with their own insurance company after an accident, regardless of who was at fault.

In states such as Florida with no-fault laws, all drivers are required to purchase personal injury protection (PIP) as part of their auto insurance policies.

Check Out Rates in Florida and Save!

How to Save on Auto Insurance

There are a number of ways to save money on auto insurance. Your personal characteristics may get you a discount and your driving behavior definitely does if you are a good driver. Let's look at all the different ways to save money on your auto insurance premium.

Personal Characteristics

Some simple personal characteristics may earn you savings on your car insurance.

Are you over 25? You will save money on your car insurance. Drivers under the age of 25 pay more for insurance because they are more likely to be involved in accidents than drivers over the age of 25. So those over 25 wind up paying less for their auto insurance.

Are you a woman? You’ll pay less for your car insurance. Men pay more than women for car insurance because they are more likely to make claims on their car insurance.

Are you married? If you are enjoying wedded bliss, you will enjoy lower auto insurance rates. There is a correlation between being married and exhibiting safe driving behavior. Because of this, married couples pay less on their car insurance.

Are you a homeowner? Owning a home gives you a break on your auto insurance. Statistics show people who own their homes drive more safely. So own your own home and save on your auto insurance premium.

Do you live in a safe neighborhood? If you live in a neighborhood with high auto accident claims and high auto theft rates, you’ll pay more for auto insurance. On the flipside, if you live in a quiet, accident-free, low-crime neighborhood, you will pay less for auto insurance.

Things You Can Do to Lower Your Car Insurance

There are steps you can take and things you can do that will lower your auto insurance rate. Let’s take a look.

Be a good driver. Being a safe and accident-free driver will help to lower your auto insurance rates. So avoid speeding tickets, at-fault accidents and moving violations and DUIs. These traffic violations can be costly for your insurance. In Florida in 2017, a DUI raised rates an average of $934 a year. Been a good and safe driver? Ask your car insurance company for a good driver discount. You’ve earned it.

Maintain good credit. Having a good credit score will earn you lower rates on your auto insurance. A credit score is a numerical summary of a person’s credit history. A credit score looks at a consumer’s payment history, debt ratio, different types of credit in a consumer’s credit file and most recent credit accounts. In Florida, all major insurance companies use credit-based insurance scores when pricing auto insurance policies. If you have good credit, you’ll pay less for auto insurance in Florida.

Keep mileage low. Are you a heavy commuter? You’ll pay for it with your auto insurance. Drivers with high annual mileage pay more for insurance. If, however, you keep your annual mileage low you will pay less for your car insurance. So drive less and pay less for your auto insurance in Florida.

Choose a high deductible. Choosing high deductibles for your collision and comprehensive insurance coverages will save you money on your auto insurance premiums. Put the money for the deductible aside in a bank account so the money will be on hand if you should have to make a claim on your auto insurance.

Shop around. Maybe the best thing you can do to lower the cost of your auto insurance is to shop around. Make an insurance company earn your business. To get the best deal, you will want to compare insurance rates from several companies. SmartFinancial makes it easy to do. Just enter the type of insurance you’re looking for and a zip code to get started. Answer a few quick questions and you’ll be comparing auto insurance rates in Florida in no time.

SmartFinancial has access to more than 200 insurance companies so you are bound to find the insurance coverage and price that you want.

So be a smart auto insurance shopper, snap up the discounts that you’ve earned and be a safe driver. Enjoy your time on the roadways of the Sunshine State.