Figuring out which company has the most affordable insurance rates for college students takes more work in order to find the best policy.
Every car insurance company uses a different method to establish rates, so let’s examine the insurance companies with the overall best prices in Tucson. It’s important that readers know that Arizona insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that control the cost of a policy. Simply getting older, having a teen driver, or getting a speeding ticket may cause policy rate changes resulting in some companies being more affordable than others.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance for College Students
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hartford | $820 |
| 2 | Auto-Owners | $897 |
| 3 | Safeco | $923 |
| 4 | Travelers | $1,086 |
| 5 | USAA | $1,113 |
| 6 | Progressive | $1,152 |
| 7 | GEICO | $1,177 |
| 8 | Ameriprise Group | $1,184 |
| 9 | CSAA | $1,189 |
| 10 | Allied | $1,209 |
| 11 | Farm Bureau Mutual | $1,297 |
| 12 | Safe Auto | $1,297 |
| 13 | Unitrin | $1,303 |
| 14 | State Farm | $1,323 |
| 15 | Farmers | $1,337 |
| 16 | Titan | $1,418 |
| 17 | American Family | $1,420 |
| 18 | Amica | $1,429 |
| 19 | MetLife | $1,521 |
| 20 | California Casualty | $1,552 |
| Find Your Rate Go | ||
The Hartford normally has some of the best car insurance rates in Tucson at around $820 each year. This is $608 less than the average premium paid by Arizona drivers of $1,428. Auto-Owners, Safeco, Travelers, and USAA would also make the list of some of the more affordable Tucson, AZ auto insurance companies.
In the above rates, if you are a policyholder with Auto-Owners and switched to The Hartford, you may realize yearly savings of in the neighborhood of $77. Policyholders with Safeco might save as much as $103 a year, and Travelers insureds might reduce prices by as much as $266 a year.
To find the cheapest rates for your vehicle, click here to begin a quote or visit any of the companies below.
Be aware that those premiums are averaged for all insureds and vehicles and do not factor in a specific zip code for college students. So the company that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 28 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to get rate quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.
One of the more important considerations that determine the annual cost of car insurance is where you call home in Tucson. Areas with increased crime or more people tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with less congestion benefit from lower rates.
The table below ranks the highest-priced areas in Arizona for college students to purchase a policy in. Tucson is ranked at #14 with the yearly price of $1,072 for coverage, which is approximately $89 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix | $1,268 |
| 2 | Glendale | $1,190 |
| 3 | San Tan Valley | $1,185 |
| 4 | Avondale | $1,174 |
| 5 | Scottsdale | $1,163 |
| 6 | Tempe | $1,152 |
| 7 | Peoria | $1,137 |
| 8 | Buckeye | $1,122 |
| 9 | Goodyear | $1,120 |
| 10 | Mesa | $1,113 |
| 11 | Gilbert | $1,108 |
| 12 | Maricopa | $1,085 |
| 13 | Chandler | $1,082 |
| 14 | Tucson | $1,072 |
| 15 | Catalina Foothills | $1,050 |
| 16 | Casas Adobes | $1,050 |
| 17 | Surprise | $1,048 |
| 18 | Casa Grande | $1,047 |
| 19 | Oro Valley | $1,020 |
| 20 | Yuma | $963 |
| 21 | Flagstaff | $931 |
| 22 | Prescott | $914 |
| 23 | Sierra Vista | $872 |
| 24 | Lake Havasu City | $870 |
| 25 | Bullhead City | $869 |
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Information shown are comparative as specific Tucson zip code can revise coverage rates significantly.
The make and model of vehicle you are insuring is probably the largest consideration that determines the availability of low-cost coverage for college students. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, poor safety features, or high incidents of liability claims will cost much more to insure than safer, lower-performance models.
The next table showcases auto insurance prices for some of the cheaper vehicles to insure.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $2,877 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $2,882 |
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $2,877 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $2,918 |
| Toyota Prius | $3,146 |
| Honda Odyssey LX | $3,185 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Regular Cab 4WD | $3,195 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $3,227 |
| Ford F-150 STX Regular Cab 4WD | $3,235 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon | $3,331 |
| Ford Edge SE AWD | $3,369 |
| GMC Sierra SLE Crew Cab 2WD | $3,411 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $3,419 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | |
Price data assumes single female driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Arizona minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Price estimates do not factor in specific location information which can alter premiums substantially.
Based upon the rates shown, you can see that models like the Ford Escape, Hyundai Elantra, and Honda Accord are likely to be the more affordable vehicles to insure for students in college. Car insurance rates will be more expensive just due to the fact that there is more exposure for college students, but in general those models will probably have the best rates that you’ll find.
Impact of citations and accidents on Tucson insurance rates
The easiest way to maintain cheap insurance rates for students in college is to drive cautiously and avoid tickets and accidents. The information below shows how speeding tickets and accidents can raise car insurance costs for different insured age categories. The premium estimates are based on a single male driver, comp and collision included, $500 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
In the prior example, the average cost of a car insurance policy in Tucson per year with no accidents or violations is $1,417. Get two speeding tickets and the average cost surges to $1,869, an increase of $452 each year. Now add one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the annual cost of insurance for college students jumps again to an average of $2,324. That’s an increase of $908, or $76 per month, just for not being a responsible driver!
The diagram below demonstrates how choosing different deductibles can influence insurance costs when trying to find cheap insurance for college students. The rates are based on a single female driver, comp and collision included, and no additional discounts are factored in.
The data above shows that a 40-year-old driver could save $322 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $484 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the 20-year-old, could lower their rates up to $824 every year just by choosing larger deductibles.
When raising deductibles, it will be required to have enough savings set aside to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one disadvantage of using larger deductibles.
Get discount Tucson car insurance rates
Auto insurance companies that offer quotes for college students may also give you policy discounts that could lower prices by 40% or more if you are eligible to receive them. Large insurance companies and a selection of discounts can be read below.
- Farm Bureau includes discounts for safe driver, renewal discount, 55 and retired, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, good student, and driver training.
- State Farm offers discounts including Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, good student, safe vehicle, multiple policy, and defensive driving training.
- Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including online quote discount, online signing, multi-vehicle, homeowner, good student, and multi-policy.
- Allstate may include discounts for early signing, good payer, teenSMART discount, premier plus, passive restraint, and resident student.
- Nationwide has discounts for Farm Bureau membership, good student, family plan, accident-free, anti-theft, business or organization, and defensive driving.
- MetLife may offer discounts for accident-free, good driver, claim-free, multi-policy, good student, and defensive driver.
The diagram below shows the comparison of insurance costs with and without discounts applied. The rate quotes are based on a female driver, a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, Arizona state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with anti-theft, vehicle safety, passive restraint, good student, paperless filing, and paid-in-full discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, the average amount saved each year on insurance for college students is 21% or $348.
Why it’s important to shop around
Arizona insurance rates are impacted by many factors that control the cost of a policy. Getting older, moving to a different location, or getting a driving violation may generate price changes that may make certain companies much cheaper than others. In addition to those changes, auto insurance companies change rates at least once a year in order to maintain liquidity for claims. An extended period of higher than normal claims can cause more expensive prices, while a lower level of claims may produce lower-priced Tucson car insurance rates.
To help illustrate this point, the chart below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Tucson, AZ for a 35-year-old female driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and great credit. If we estimate prices based on her current situation, The Hartford may have the cheapest car insurance rates in Tucson at $1,052 annually. This is $376 less than the average premium paid by Arizona drivers of $1,428. Safeco, Auto-Owners, USAA, and Travelers are also included in the most affordable Tucson, AZ auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from above a chargeable claim, slightly worse credit, and a stop sign violation. Since each company has their own process to determine rates, getting updated rate quotes could result in a slightly different list of companies as shown below.
Progressive now has the cheapest rate in Tucson with Ameriprise Group, CSAA, Allied, and Auto-Owners also being competitive. This demonstrates why it is critical to shop around when trying to get the cheapest auto insurance rates for college students. Insurance prices consist of many factors and change frequently, so the best option a year ago may now be quite expensive.