National Average Car Insurance Cost

What Full Coverage Includes

Full coverage is not a single policy. It is a bundle of three separate coverages: liability (required by nearly every state), collision (pays to repair your car after an accident regardless of fault), and comprehensive (covers non-collision damage like theft, hail, flooding, and animal strikes). The NAIC figure above reflects what Americans actually paid for this combined package, making it a more grounded benchmark than rate quotes from commercial comparison sites.

Why Our Average Differs from Other Sites

Commercial insurance sites often report national averages between $180 and $220 per month. The difference is not an error. Those sites typically use rate quotes (what insurers offer new customers shopping for coverage), while the NAIC reports actual premiums paid by all insured drivers, including those with loyalty discounts, bundling discounts, and other reductions. Quotes tend to skew higher because they reflect prospective risk pricing. Actual premiums reflect the full range of real-world pricing. We use the NAIC figure because it represents what people actually pay, not what they are offered. See our full methodology for how we adjust NAIC data to current dollars.

What the Coverage Gap Means for You

The $78/month gap between full and minimum coverage buys meaningful protection. Minimum coverage pays only the other party's expenses when you are at fault. If your car is damaged (in any scenario), you pay out of pocket. For a vehicle worth $15,000 or more, collision and comprehensive coverage typically pays for itself the first time you need it. For older vehicles worth less than $4,000, the math often favors dropping collision and comprehensive, since the maximum payout would be less than a year of premiums. Use our overpaying calculator to see how your specific profile compares.