Cheapest Car Insurance for Inexperienced Drivers in Rhode Island

Cheapest Car Insurance for Inexperienced Drivers in Rhode Island

In an ideal world, we could tell you the one best car insurance company that has the lowest rates in Rhode Island. That is not the case, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknown factors such as whether or not you are currently insured, the amount of coverage you want, whether you are single or married, and your annual mileage driven, that help determine the price you have to pay. We know insurance is not everyone’s favorite topic, but in this article we will cover the best ways to pay less and will hopefully give you a good start to your coverage search.

Trying to find cost effective car insurance is tough enough, and deciding which company has the cheapest auto insurance rates for inexperienced drivers will involve additional perseverance. Every insurance company has their own unique process to determine premium rates, so let’s rank the auto insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in Rhode Island.

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Rhode Island car insurance ranked by cost per year
Rank Company Cost Per Year
1 USAA $705
2 State Farm $1,139
3 Travelers $1,246
4 Amica $1,452
5 Progressive $1,544
6 Quincy Mutual $1,627
7 Peerless $1,785
8 National Grange Mutual $2,094
9 GEICO $2,517
10 MetLife $2,554
11 Nationwide $2,626
12 Encompass $2,899
13 Allstate $3,027
14 Liberty Mutual $3,043
15 California Casualty $3,057
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USAA normally has some of the lowest car insurance rates in Rhode Island at around $705 each year. State Farm, Travelers, Amica, and Progressive also qualify as some of the more affordable Rhode Island auto insurance companies.

In the rate table above, if you are a customer of State Farm and switched to USAA, you may see yearly savings of about $434. Customers with Travelers may save as much as $541 a year, and Amica customers might lower prices by up to $747 a year.

Understand that those policy rates are averages across all types of drivers and the different vehicles they drive and and are not calculated with a price decrease for inexperienced drivers. So the insurer that is most affordable for your situation may not even be shown in the list of companies shown earlier. That is why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own individual information.

For Rhode Island drivers, one of the criteria that insurance companies use when figuring the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where your home is located in Rhode Island. Cities that have higher claim levels or more people like Providence, Pawtucket, and Central Falls tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims generally pay less for insurance.

The next table illustrates the most expensive places in Rhode Island for inexperienced drivers to buy an auto insurance policy in.

Car insurance prices in Rhode Island
Rank City Annual Rate
1 Providence $2,277
2 Cranston $2,181
3 Pawtucket $1,894
4 East Providence $1,851
5 Central Falls $1,783
6 Greenville $1,751
7 Warwick $1,749
8 Valley Falls $1,690
9 Harmony $1,641
10 Chepachet $1,621
11 Cumberland Hill $1,611
12 Woonsocket $1,603
13 Pascoag $1,591
14 Harrisville $1,546
15 Narragansett Pier $1,520
16 Wakefield-Peacedale $1,514
17 Hope Valley $1,507
18 Bradford $1,506
19 Kingston $1,501
20 Ashaway $1,494
21 Westerly $1,492
22 Newport $1,383
23 Melville $1,376
24 Tiverton $1,373
25 Newport East $1,322
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Price information shown is comparative as the specific zip code location can change premium rates considerably.

The type of vehicle to be insured is a significant factor that determines whether or not you find economical car insurance for inexperienced drivers. Vehicles with high performance features, poor safety ratings, or an increased likelihood of liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than more economical and safe models.

The next list ranks coverage prices for some of the cheaper automobiles to insure in Rhode Island.

Cheapest Auto Insurance Rates for Inexperienced Drivers in Rhode Island
Vehicle Make and Model Estimated Cost for Full Coverage
Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon $1,163
Ford Escape XLT 4WD $1,299
Ford F-150 XL Crew Cab 2WD $1,301
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD $1,311
Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4WD 2-Dr $1,301
Honda CR-V LX 2WD $1,311
Ford Focus S 4-Dr Sedan $1,350
Toyota Sienna XLE $1,374
Hyundai Tucson Limited 4WD $1,380
Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD $1,374
Toyota Prius $1,411
Kia Forte LX 4-Dr Sedan $1,420
Chevrolet Traverse LTZ 2WD $1,452
Subaru Forester X AWD $1,461
Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon $1,493
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Cost estimates assume single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Rhode Island minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, safe-driver, and homeowner. Information does not factor in vehicle location which can increase or decrease prices noticeably.

Based upon these rates, you can figure that models like the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Escape, Ford F-150, Ford Explorer, and Jeep Wrangler are going to be a few of the cheaper vehicles to insure for new drivers.

Finding the top car insurance provider can be difficult considering how many companies provide coverage in Rhode Island. The company information in the lists below can help you decide which car insurance providers to look at when buying insurance for inexperienced drivers. The ratings below only include large nationwide companies, so companies that have a smaller presence are not factored into this list.

Top 10 Major Auto Insurers in Rhode Island Ranked by Customer Service

  1. American Family
  2. The Hartford
  3. Progressive
  4. Travelers
  5. State Farm
  6. GEICO
  7. USAA
  8. Allstate
  9. Farmers Insurance
  10. Safeco Insurance

Top 10 Major Auto Insurers in Rhode Island Ranked by Value

  1. The General
  2. The Hartford
  3. Farmers Insurance
  4. Safeco Insurance
  5. AAA Insurance
  6. 21st Century
  7. Travelers
  8. State Farm
  9. Progressive
  10. American Family

The chart below illustrates how choosing a deductible can affect insurance costs when trying to find cheap insurance for inexperienced drivers. The rate quotes are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no other discounts are factored in.

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The chart above illustrates that a 30-year-old driver could pocket $448 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $676 by using a $1,000 deductible. Youthful drivers, like the Age 20 chart data, could save as much as $956 annually by choosing a higher deductible.

If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it is a good idea to have enough spare savings to satisfy the extra out-of-pocket expense. That is the one drawback of using higher deductibles.

How to get the cheapest auto insurance for inexperienced drivers in Rhode Island

It’s not impossible to find cheaper rates, and here are many money-saving solutions that can help Rhode Island drivers quote low-cost coverage.

  • Keep your driving record clean
  • Save money by bundling your home and auto policies
  • Drive attentively and avoid accidents
  • Drive a car with a high safety rating
  • If possible, pay for small claims out-of-pocket
  • Shop around for lower rates once a year

The last suggestion is extremely critical, as we pointed out in the prior information. Prices charged by auto insurers in Rhode Island can change considerably in a year, so drivers shouldn’t be reluctant to buy a policy from a new company if a lower-cost policy is available.

Brand loyalty is not necessarily bad, but is isn’t recommended if that loyalty ends up costing thousands of dollars over the life of your policy. In less than five minutes you could compare rates and find cheaper car insurance for inexperienced drivers.

Who has the cheapest insurance quotes for new drivers?

Thanks to technology, drivers have a lot of ways to purchase auto insurance in Rhode Island, but the three most common are either through an independent or non-exclusive agent, an exlusive agent like Auto-Owners or State Farm, or direct online or over the phone from a company like Geico or Progressive.

All three ways can provide auto insurance quotes, but auto insurance shoppers should know the differences in how they price policies.

Independent agencies have contracts with multiple insurance companies and can compare coverage rates with every one. These agents can sell policies from many different companies and can provide you with more rates, which may provide you with the best chance of finding a lower price. If the agent locates a cheaper price, your agent can just switch to a different company and you can remain with the same agent.

An exclusive ageny is able to quote prices with just one company, for example a State Farm or Farmers agent. These guys and gals cannot compare other company’s rates, so you will not be able to compare multiple prices.

If you want to buy auto insurance direct, you bypass a local insurance agent and buy direct either online or via phone. This auto insurance option can be good for people who have lower risk management needs and have a good understanding of the limitations of their policy.

Which way works best for finding the cheapest auto insurance for inexperienced drivers in Rhode Island? The majority of people assume that buying from a direct car insurance company results in the best prices because there is no agent taking a commission, but in reality, that is not true. An argument could also be made that going through an independent agent guarantees the cheapest rates since there are more companies to choose from, but again, it’s not necessarily true. In many circumstances, exclusive agents have price quotes that other auto insurance companies cannot touch.

Because it’s impossible to say who has the best auto insurance rates, the guaranteed way to find out which one is cheapest is to do a thorough rate comparison. Make the effort to get rate quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies to get an idea of which is cheapest. For a list of companies offering online discounts, click here to view.