Best Cheap Car Insurance Options in Georgia

Updated July 31, 2023 | by Rob BhattRob Bhatt is a licensed insurance agent and staff writer at QuoteWizard, where he specializes in auto, home and renters insurance. His work has been cited by ABC, Business Insider, MSN and Yahoo.

Guide to switching car insurance companies in Georgia

Switching car insurance when you find a better rate is a great way to save money. Here’s what you need to know about shopping and switching.

When to consider switching car insurance companies in Georgia

It’s generally best to request car insurance quotes from multiple companies every few years to make sure you are not overpaying for car insurance. You should consider switching anytime you feel you are being overcharged, such as after an unreasonable rate increase.

How to make a smooth transition

You can switch car insurance companies anytime, but your current provider may charge a fee for canceling before the end of your current policy term.

When you cancel early, your insurance company is required to refund any amounts you have prepaid for coverage beyond your cancellation date. Most companies deduct their early termination fee from this refund.

Make sure to lock in the rate and start date for your new policy before you cancel your existing one. The rate shown on a car insurance quote is a non-binding estimate that may change.

Insurance policies take effect at 12:01 a.m. on the first day of your policy term. They expire at the same time on either the final day of the term or the cancellation date you choose. Scheduling your new policy to begin the same day your current one ends allows you to avoid both a lapse and an overlap in coverage.

Tips to save on car insurance

Here are steps you can take to keep your rates low.

Maintain a clean driving record

Your driving record plays a tremendous role in determining your auto insurance rates, and maintaining a clean record can help you secure the best rates on car insurance.

In Georgia, a speeding ticket raises the average price of car insurance by 15%. The increases are steeper for accidents and more serious traffic violations.

State law allows you to take an approved defensive driving class to have certain low- and moderate-level violations removed from your driving record. Doing so may help you save money on car insurance.

Be informed about discounts

The best way to save on car insurance is to take advantage of the multipolicy discount most companies offer for bundling an auto policy with your home or renters insurance.

The discount you get from enrolling in an insurance company’s safe-driver program can also be substantial. However, these programs typically rely on a smartphone app that monitors your driving habits, which some find intrusive.

Since other car insurance discounts vary by company, it’s best to ask each insurance agent who offers you a quote about all the discounts that may be available to you. Doing so may add time to the shopping process, but the potential savings are usually worth the effort.

Cheapest car insurance companies in Georgia

Auto-Owners’ rates are well below state averages for a wide range of Georgia drivers, including teens and seniors. The company’s rates for minimum-liability insurance average $62 a month, which is 26% less than the state average.

Georgia Farm Bureau has the cheapest full-coverage car insurance rates for drivers with a clean record. It also has the lowest rates for drivers with a prior ticket or accident.

State Farm is the cheapest car insurance company for Georgia drivers with a DUI. The company’s rates for most other driver profiles are also cheaper than state averages.

USAA’s rates are among the lowest for most driver profiles in Georgia. However, USAA is only available to current and former members of the military and their families.

Georgia car insurance rates by city

In Georgia’s largest cities, car insurance rates range from $134 a month for full coverage in Athens to $191 a month in Atlanta.

Insurance tends to cost more in congested cities, which tend to have higher crash rates, medical costs and car repair costs than suburban and rural areas.

City	Monthly rate
Athens	$134
Atlanta	$191
Augusta	$139
Columbus	$144
Macon	$153
Roswell	$160
Sandy Springs	$162
Savannah	$152
Rates are for full coverage for a 35-year-old male with a clean driving record. Your rates may vary.

Georgia car insurance state minimums

Georgia law requires motorists to carry 25/50/25 liability insurance, which includes the following coverages.

Coverage	Required minimum limit
Bodily injury liability	$25,000 per person/$50,000 per accident
Property damage liability	$25,000
Source: Georgia Office of Commissioner or Insurance and Fire Safety

The following optional auto insurance coverages are also widely available throughout the state.

• Uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist: Covers injuries you and your passengers suffer in a car accident caused by a driver with no insurance or not enough insurance to cover your medical bills.
• Personal injury protection (PIP): Covers injuries to you and your passengers, regardless of fault, as well as lost wages and essential services.
• Collision: Covers damage to your own vehicle after a collision with another vehicle or object.
• Comprehensive: Covers your vehicle for theft, glass breakage and damage from non-collision causes such as fire, flood, falling objects and vandalism.

Although collision and comprehensive coverage are not required by law, both are typically required for a car loan or lease.

Cheapest minimum-liability auto insurance in Georgia: Auto-Owners

Auto-Owners offers the cheapest minimum-liability auto insurance in Georgia, charging rates that average $739 a year, or $62 a month. The next-best rates are available from Georgia Farm Bureau, $64 a month, and Progressive, $79 a month.

Minimum-liability policies cover injuries and damage you cause to others, but not your own injuries or damage to your vehicle.

Additionally, if an accident victim’s medical or car repair costs exceed your policy’s limits, you may be held personally responsible for the shortfall.

These are the main reasons to consider choosing higher liability limits and/or additional coverages for your auto insurance policy.

Company	Monthly rate
Auto-Owners	$62
Georgia Farm Bureau	$64
Progressive	$79
State Farm	$82
State average	$84
Allstate	$104
GEICO	$132
USAA*	$63
Rates are for minimum-coverage car insurance for a 35-year-old male with a good driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Georgia: Georgia Farm Bureau

With rates that average $118 a month, Georgia Farm Bureau offers the cheapest full-coverage car insurance in Georgia. The next-best rates are available from Auto-Owners, $129 a month, and State Farm, $137 a month.

Full-coverage car insurance includes higher liability limits than a minimum-liability policy, as well as collision and comprehensive coverage for your vehicle.

Company	Monthly rate
Georgia Farm Bureau	$118
Auto-Owners	$129
State Farm	$137
State average	$166
Allstate	$182
Progressive	$192
GEICO	$287
USAA*	$114
Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a 35-year-old male with a good driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with bad credit: Georgia Farm Bureau

Drivers with a low credit-based insurance score typically pay more for car insurance than those with good credit. For example, the average price of full-coverage car insurance for a driver with good credit is 16% less than it is for a driver with fair credit.

Insurance companies typically check your credit for the types of credit you use and your payment history. The good news is that the credit check an insurance company conducts to prepare your quote is a “soft pull” that does not affect your credit score.

Georgia Farm Bureau offers the cheapest rates to drivers with fair credit, $118 a month, followed by State Farm, $172 a month, and Auto-Owners, $188 a month.

Company	Monthly rate
Georgia Farm Bureau	$118
State Farm	$172
Auto-Owners	$188
State average	$195
Allstate	$214
Progressive	$233
GEICO	$299
USAA*	$140
Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a 35-year-old male with fair credit and a good driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a prior incident

The impacts that a prior incident such as a ticket or accident can have on your insurance rates depend largely on the severity of the incident. A speeding ticket raises the average price of car insurance in Georgia by 15%, while a prior accident increases rates by 50%.

Cheapest for drivers with a speeding ticket: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau has the cheapest car insurance for drivers with a prior speeding ticket, $128 a month, which is only 8% higher than the company’s rates for drivers with a clean record.

In Georgia, a speeding ticket increases the price of car insurance by 15% to $191 a month for full coverage.

Company	Monthly rate
Georgia Farm Bureau	$128
Auto-Owners	$129
State Farm	$147
State average	$191
Allstate	$208
Progressive	$260
GEICO	$323
USAA*	$142
Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a 35-year-old male with one speeding ticket on his driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest for drivers with an at-fault accident: Georgia Farm Bureau

A prior accident raises the average price of car insurance in Georgia by 50% to $249 a month for full coverage.

Georgia Farm Bureau’s rates are cheapest for drivers with a prior accident. Its average rate of $128 a month is the same as its average rate for drivers with a speeding ticket.

The next-best rate is $160 a month from State Farm, whose rates for Georgia drivers with a prior accident is 17% higher than its rates for those with a clean record.

Company	Monthly rate
Georgia Farm Bureau	$128
State Farm	$160
Auto-Owners	$191
State average	$249
Allstate	$292
Progressive	$329
GEICO	$475
USAA*	$171
Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a 35-year-old male with one at-fault accident on his driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest for drivers with a DUI: State Farm

State Farm has Georgia’s cheapest car insurance rates for drivers with a DUI, charging rates that average $147 a month.

On average, a DUI raises the price of insurance by 86% to $309 a month for full coverage.

Company	Monthly rate
State Farm	$147
Georgia Farm Bureau	$224
Allstate	$250
Auto-Owners	$258
Progressive	$294
State average	$309
GEICO	$766
USAA*	$226
Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a 35-year-old male with one DUI on his driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest car insurance for senior drivers: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau offers the cheapest car insurance to senior citizen drivers in Georgia, charging an average of $110 a month to 65-year-olds for full coverage.

Many car insurance companies offer a discount to seniors who complete an approved defensive driver class, and some classes are offered online. It’s best to find out which courses qualify for your insurance company’s discount before you enroll in one.

Company	Monthly rate
Georgia Farm Bureau	$110
State Farm	$128
Auto-Owners	$135
State average	$150
Progressive	$173
GEICO	$192
Allstate	$199
USAA*	$110
Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a 65-year-old male with a clean driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest car insurance for young drivers: Georgia Farm Bureau

Georgia Farm Bureau offers the cheapest car insurance to teen drivers in Georgia, charging 18-year-olds rates that average $187 a month for minimum coverage and $366 a month for full coverage.

In Georgia, the average price of car insurance for 18-year-olds is more than triple the rate available to drivers in their mid-30s.

Insurance companies charge high rates to teen drivers, because teens have higher crash rates than other age groups.

However, teens pay an average of 48% less for car insurance when added to a parent’s car insurance than they do on their own.

Several insurance companies offer additional car insurance to teens who maintain a grade-point average of 3.0 or better in school and/or complete an approved driver education class.

Company	Minimum coverage	Full coverage
Georgia Farm Bureau	$187	$366
Auto-Owners	$217	$397
State Farm	$253	$430
State average	$280	$558
GEICO	$342	$745
Allstate	$365	$698
Progressive	$440	$989
USAA*	$154	$278
Monthly rates are for an 18-year-old male with a clean driving record. *Only available to current/former military and their families.

Cheapest car insurance for married drivers: Georgia Farm Bureau

In Georgia, the average price of car insurance is 12% lower for married drivers than it is for those who are single.

Married drivers get cheaper rates on car insurance, because insurance companies view them as less likely to be involved in an accident than unmarried individuals.

Georgia Farm Bureau and Auto-Owners offer the cheapest car insurance to married drivers, charging rates that average $118 a month and $129 a month, respectively.

Company	Monthly rate
Georgia Farm Bureau	$118
Auto-Owners	$129
State Farm	$137
State average	$146
Progressive	$155
Allstate	$181
GEICO	$196
USAA*	$104

Rates are for full-coverage car insurance for a married 35-year-old male with a good driving record.

Car insurance laws in Georgia

Vehicle owners are required to maintain continuous liability insurance coverage on their vehicles. Driving without insurance is a misdemeanor in Georgia, punishable by a fine ranging from $200 to $1,000, suspension of your registration and possible jail time.

Here’s what else you need to know about Georgia car insurance laws.

Electronic car insurance monitoring

The state uses an electronic monitoring system to verify the insurance status of registered vehicles.

Insurance companies report new policies, lapses and cancellations to the Georgia Electronic Insurance Compliance System (GEICS) database.

If you cancel your car insurance without a new policy in place, the system will send you an alert requiring you to provide proof of insurance. If you fail to comply, you may be fined and/or have your registration suspended.

The system compares insurance company records to the vehicle identification number (VIN) of registered vehicles. This is why it’s important to make sure your insurance company lists your VIN accurately in your quote and policy.

When you switch insurance companies, your new company automatically submits your policy information to GEICS.

SR-22 insurance in Georgia

Drivers who commit certain serious driving offenses such as DUI or accumulate too many points on their driving record may be ordered to file an SR-22 certificate with the Georgia Department of Driver Services.

The certificate itself is not a type of insurance. Rather, it serves as proof that you have adequate insurance to drive legally.

When you shop for insurance with an SR-22 requirement, it’s best to let insurance companies know about it when you contact them for a quote.

Some companies don’t accept drivers with an SR-22 requirement. Those that do often add a small fee, usually in the $20 to $50 range, to your insurance rate.

You typically need to prepay for six months’ coverage to get an SR-22 certificate, which the insurance company submits on your behalf.

The exact cost of car insurance with an SR-22 requirement depends largely on the offense or offenses that led to it. If your SR-22 requirement stems from a DUI, you are likely to pay considerably more for car insurance than you will if the filing requirement results from being caught driving without insurance.

Georgia’s at-fault car accident laws

At-fault drivers in Georgia are financially responsible for injuries and property damage they cause in a car accident.

However, an at-fault driver's share of liability may be reduced if the other driver is partially responsible for the accident.

For example, if you are solely responsible for an accident that results in $3,000 damage to another driver’s vehicle, you cover the entire repair bill. If an investigation determines that the other driver has a 25% share of responsibility for the accident, you may only have to cover 75% of the repairs, or $2,250.

Georgia driver report

Georgia’s roads are fantastic; the driving, however, could use some work. Our team of analysts found that Georgia has the best roads in the nation and the 17th-worst drivers.

Best and worst drivers in Georgia

Georgia drivers get a lot of speeding tickets, and that may be one reason why they also get into a high number of accidents. Our annual report on the best- and worst-driving states found that Georgia has the sixth-highest rate of speeding tickets and the 14th-highest rate of accidents, and ranks as the 17th-worst driving state overall.

Some Georgia cities, though, seem particularly prone to bad driving behavior. Pooler, Evans and Newnan are the worst-driving cities in Georgia. Stonecrest, Johns Creek and Sugar Hill are the best.

Georgia infrastructure rating

Georgia has the best roads in the nation, which saves drivers a lot of time and money. Our team of analysts looked at road and bridge conditions nationwide and found that Georgia has a low percentage of roads and bridges in poor condition.

• Seven percent of roads are in “non-acceptable” condition.
• One percent of bridges are in poor condition.
• Poor road and bridge conditions cost drivers an average $375 a year.

Georgia’s bridges are in better condition than its roads, but both are in great shape when compared to the rest of the nation. Georgia has the fifth-lowest number of roads in poor condition and the second-lowest percentage of bridges in poor condition.

Best and worst drivers by age group

Georgia drivers under the age of 20 have more dangerous driving incidents than any other age group. Drivers under 20 years old are three times more likely to be involved in a dangerous driving incident than drivers over the age of 30. The difference in incidents for each age group is often why younger drivers pay more for car insurance.

Georgia car insurance: Frequently asked questions

Methodology

The rates shown in this article are based on an analysis of more than 144,000 auto insurance quotes obtained from Quadrant Information Services for sample drivers from across Georgia.

Unless otherwise noted, our sample driver is a single 35-year-old with good credit. All sample drivers own a 2012 Honda Accord LX that they drive for an average of 13,500 miles per year.

Our senior base driver is a 65-year-old male with a good driving record. Our young base driver is an 18-year-old male with a good driving record.

Minimum-coverage rates reflect the cost of policies meeting the state’s minimum liability limits.

Full coverage policies include the following coverages, limits and deductibles:

• Bodily injury liability: 100,000 limit per person/$300,000 limit per accident
• Property damage liability: $100,000 limit
• Collision: $500 deductible
• Comprehensive: $500 deductible

Driver report: QuoteWizard analyzed over 100,000 car insurance quotes to determine Georgia’s best- and worst-driving cities. Drivers were evaluated based on the number of accidents, citations, speeding tickets and DUIs in each city. QuoteWizard evaluated Federal Highway Administration data on road and bridge quality to determine the number of roads and bridges in “poor” or “unacceptable” condition.

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