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We’re here for one reason: to bring you the best and most relevant auto insurance information out there. If you live anywhere from the college town of Columbia to the charming city of Charleston and anywhere in between, this car insurance information is for you.
What Are You Looking For?
- South Carolina’s Cheapest Companies
- How Much Drivers Like You Spend On Auto Insurance
- Specific City Rates
- Most Popular South Carolina Car Insurance Companies
- Customer Satisfaction Ratings
- Our Recommendation
What kind of car insurance coverage do you need in South Carolina?
The minimum requirements for auto insurance in South Carolina consist of bodily injury liability coverage, property damage liability coverage, and uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage.
However, many choose to purchase more than the minimum coverage requirements. If you are leasing your car, the lender may require you to purchase collision coverage and comprehensive coverage as well.
There are also additional coverage options you can add to your auto policy such as personal injury protection, GAP coverage, and roadside assistance.
What are South Carolina’s cheapest car insurance companies?
After analyzing 20 cities and six driver profiles, we were able to run the numbers for 16 South Carolina car insurance companies to find the cheapest auto insurance rates in the state. These premiums are all based on the average driver, but it’ll give you an idea of what you might pay for the cheapest auto coverage in South Carolina.
| Cheapest Companies in South Carolina | Average Annual Premiums |
|---|---|
| The Hartford | $573.99 |
| USAA | $844.93 |
| State Farm | $1,017.76 |
| 21St Century | $1,046.04 |
| GEICO | $1,112.23 |
| Southern Farm Bureau | $1,147.43 |
| Auto Owners Grp | $1,179.63 |
| Travelers | $1,193.03 |
| Allstate | $1,245.53 |
| Amica Mutual | $1,259.71 |
| Nationwide | $1,443.31 |
| National General | $1,536.00 |
| Titan | $1,600.37 |
| Liberty Mutual | $1,868.85 |
| Progressive | $2,250.62 |
| Esurance | $3,097.04 |
How much do drivers like you spend on auto insurance?
Every driver is unique and will most likely pay a different rate. To give you a better idea of what you can expect to pay for car insurance in South Carolina, we analyzed data for specific driver types. Take a look below to see average rates for different demographics.
Cheapest For Teen Drivers
While we weren’t able to get rates from all South Carolina auto insurance companies, we did research the following to find the cheapest rates for this age group based on 18-year old driver information. If you’re a teen driver or parent of one who’s looking for an affordable rate, take a look.
| Average Annual Premiums | |
|---|---|
| Southern Farm Bureau | $1,852.00 |
| Allstate | $2,651.10 |
| GEICO | $3,253.70 |
| Travelers | $4,286.90 |
| Liberty Mutual | $5,086.00 |
| Progressive | $5,700.00 |
Cheapest for Drivers Under 25
After analyzing data for drivers 25 and under, we narrowed South Carolina auto insurance providers down to the cheapest for this group. One interesting thing we found was that between 18 and 25, your rates drop over 200%! But for the average driver under 25, here are our findings. Since the cheapest average rates start around $800 and top out at over $5,000, there is a huge range here to pay attention to.
| Average Annual Premiums | |
|---|---|
| GEICO | $784.96 |
| Travelers | $809.37 |
| The Hartford | $811.83 |
| Southern Farm Bureau | $927.20 |
| Auto Owners Grp | $1,277.52 |
| USAA | $1,318.39 |
| 21St Century | $1,503.42 |
| State Farm | $1,518.75 |
| Allstate | $1,602.64 |
| Nationwide | $1,889.84 |
| Amica Mutual | $1,970.73 |
| Liberty Mutual | $2,286.81 |
| Titan | $2,494.85 |
| National General | $2,650.30 |
| Progressive | $3,571.59 |
| Esurance | $5,069.00 |
Cheapest For Drivers 60 and Older
Based on driver profiles of 60-year old married men and women, we found that Progressive offers the cheapest rates on average to this age group. Check out the rest of our research below and see where you might be able to find the cheapest auto coverage in South Carolina as driver who’s 60 or older.
| Average Annual Premiums | |
|---|---|
| Progressive | $509.70 |
| Travelers | $545.10 |
| Southern Farm Bureau | $905.50 |
| Allstate | $945.00 |
| GEICO | $997.90 |
| Liberty Mutual | $1,453.70 |
| Nationwide | $1,474.60 |
How Rates Differ Between Men And Women
Different age groups pay different car insurance rates and so do men and women. After combing through data and calculating averages, we found that women pay about 13% less for car insurance than men in South Carolina. Check out the chart to see the different companies’ auto insurance rates.
| Women | Men | |
|---|---|---|
| Average | $1,289.83 | $1,478.51 |
| 21st Century | $985.77 | $1,106.31 |
| Allstate | $1,165.59 | $1,325.46 |
| Amica Mutual | $1,085.85 | $1,433.58 |
| Auto Owners Group | $1,170.37 | $1,188.88 |
| Esurance | $2,729.85 | $3,464.23 |
| GEICO | $1,129.06 | $1,095.39 |
| Liberty Mutual | $1,732.86 | $2,004.84 |
| National General | $1,473.75 | $1,598.25 |
| Nationwide | $1,333.86 | $1,539.07 |
| Progressive | $2,115.72 | $2,385.53 |
| Southern Farm Bureau | $1,075.85 | $1,219.00 |
| State Farm | $915.08 | $1,120.44 |
| The Hartford | $550.58 | $597.41 |
| Titan | $1,442.85 | $1,757.88 |
| Travelers | $1,023.88 | $1,362.18 |
| USAA | $803.49 | $886.37 |
Married Vs Single Driver Auto Rates
Without taking age into account, we looked at average car insurance premiums for single and married drivers. You might be surprised to learn that single drivers pay about 22% more for car insurance than those who are married. If you’re single or married and are curious about the differences in price by company, take a look at our research below.
| Married | Single | |
|---|---|---|
| The Hartford | $336.15 | $811.83 |
| USAA | $371.46 | $1,318.39 |
| National General | $421.70 | $2,650.30 |
| State Farm | $516.77 | $1,518.75 |
| Travelers | $522.89 | $1,863.17 |
| Amica Mutual | $548.69 | $1,970.73 |
| Progressive | $568.91 | $3,932.34 |
| 21st Century | $588.65 | $1,503.42 |
| GEICO | $691.39 | $1,533.06 |
| Titan | $705.88 | $2,494.85 |
| Allstate | $710.70 | $1,780.35 |
| Southern Farm Bureau | $905.25 | $1,389.60 |
| Liberty Mutual | $976.45 | $2,761.25 |
| Nationwide | $1,034.78 | $1,889.84 |
| Auto Owners Group | $1,081.73 | $1,277.52 |
| Esurance | $1,125.08 | $5,069.00 |
In addition to age, gender, and marital status, car insurance companies factor your credit score and driving record into your premium. If you have a bad credit history or bad driving record, make sure to ask about insurance discounts when you’re shopping for auto insurance quotes. Major insurers offer opportunities to save like the good student discount, safe driver discount, and the discount for taking a defensive driving course. You may also get a discount for bundling two types of insurance, like an auto insurance policy and a homeowners insurance policy. Discounts like these can significantly bring down your insurance costs.
You might also want to ask your prospective auto insurer if they have accident forgiveness, as this can save you money down the line.
What are average rates in the cities?
South Carolina auto insurance premiums vary by city, and even by ZIP code. Take Charleston and North Charleston for example. While they’re geographically adjacent, people in North Charleston pay about $300 more a year for car insurance. This could have something to do with the fact that crime rate there is higher than the state average, but auto premiums generally take millions of risk factors into account. Find out what your neighbors are probably paying for car insurance by looking at the following table of our data.
| Cheapest Cities for Car Insurance | Average Annual Premiums |
|---|---|
| Anderson | $1,134.97 |
| Aiken | $1,191.15 |
| York | $1,198.58 |
| Spartanburg | $1,215.76 |
| Lexington | $1,220.15 |
| Florence | $1,276.35 |
| Horry | $1,282.19 |
| Greenville | $1,314.51 |
| Richland | $1,321.29 |
| Beaufort | $1,353.84 |
| Berkeley | $1,376.26 |
| Charleston | $1,458.91 |
| Dorchester | $1,464.06 |
| Rock Hill | $1,573.70 |
| Hilton Head Island | $1,622.26 |
| Columbia | $1,687.07 |
| Sumter | $1,722.63 |
| Summerville | $1,727.93 |
| Mount Pleasant | $1,729.81 |
| Goose Creek | $1,778.63 |
| North Charleston | $1,798.26 |
What are the most popular South Carolina car insurance providers?
Market share tells you the percentage of customers a company has compared to competitors. State Farm has the biggest customer base on South Carolina almost 25%. You might notice that State Farm isn’t the cheapest auto insurer though. It’s actually the third cheapest for the average driver and is nearly double the price of the cheapest provider: The Hartford. While it’s the cheapest option, The Hartford doesn’t make the list for the most market share.
The important conclusion to draw here is that cost doesn’t necessarily make a company the most popular among customers. Looking at market share can tell you more about a company than meets the eye. Perhaps people like State Farm more than other companies because of its offerings or customer support. It’s just something to consider as you take a look at the chart below and narrow down insurance providers you’d like to do business with.
| Premiums Written | Market Share | |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm | 739,539 | 24.48 |
| Allstate | 434,784 | 14.39 |
| GEICO | 312,567 | 10.35 |
| Nationwide | 280,208 | 9.27 |
| USAA | 244,859 | 8.1 |
| Progressive | 206,536 | 6.84 |
| Liberty Mutual | 136,510 | 4.52 |
| South Carolina Farm Bureau | 108,973 | 3.61 |
| Travelers | 105,138 | 3.48 |
| Auto Owners Group | 50,335 | 1.67 |
What companies have the best customer satisfaction?
A “complaint index” shows the percentage of customers who file complaints in comparison to a company’s market share. The lower, the better because less complaints indicate better customer satisfaction.
| # of Complaints | |
|---|---|
| 21st Century | 0 |
| AMCO | 0 |
| Amica Mutual | 0 |
| National General | 0 |
| Titan | 0 |
| Auto-Owners Insurance | 1 |
| Liberty Mutual | 3 |
| Nationwide | 3 |
| The Hartford | 2 |
| Esurance | 3 |
| Travelers | 3 |
| Progressive | 8 |
| Allstate | 9 |
| USAA | 10 |
| Geico | 13 |
| State Farm | 40 |
In South Carolina, 21st Century, AMCO, Amica Mutual, National General, and Titan are all the best with zero complaints. This is a little complicated because these are smaller companies than State Farm and Allstate which have higher levels of complaints because they have a bigger customer base. The important part here is to just make sure the insurance company you’re interested in has low complaints compared to the amount of customers they have because it’ll indicate they have better customer service.
What do we recommend?
We hope you’ll use all of our research and analysis to make your car insurance decision. We also hope you’ll pick a company that has done well across multiple categories.
USAA is a great example of this because it ranked number two for cheapest premiums, came in the top five for market share, and has a pretty low amount of complaints. Choose an insurance carrier like this that is great across the board and you should be in good shape.
If you’re in need of some help or guidance, give one of our licensed insurance agents a call. They’re ready to answer questions or help you find the right auto insurance company.
Where We Found The Facts
We did a ton of research to bring you this information. The one thing that could be off for you though are the premiums. Since we used very specific data to calculate rate averages, you might not get the same quote if you differ in any way. While these premium averages are real for the groups we ran data for, it could be different for you.
Source Links:
- https://online.doi.sc.gov/Eng/Public/HelpInsure/SampleRates.aspx?Id=Auto