Car Insurance for Drivers with Good Credit

Best car insurance companies for good credit

Having a good credit score can lead to cheaper car insurance rates. Credit score is a major rating factor used by car insurance companies in most states across the US to set potential customers' rates This is because insurance companies view drivers who high levels of credit as less risky customers. In the eyes of an insurance company, less risk = cheaper customer. 

In fact, the difference between car insurance rates paid by those with excellent credit and those with very poor credit is more than $1,500 per year. However, our data shows 57% of drivers with good to excellent levels of coverage feel like they're paying too much for auto insurance. If this is you or you want to learn other ways to how to find the best affordable auto insurance, read on.

What are the cheapest car insurance companies for drivers with good credit scores?

As part of our wide-ranging study of the U.S. auto insurance landscape, The Zebra analyzed insurance rates across common credit tiers, ranging from very poor to exceptional. Find below details on the rates popular insurance companies charge drivers with good credit scores. 

Within “good” credit tiers, rate differences exist between some of America's best insurance companies. USAA offers the cheapest insurance rates for drivers with good credit, followed by Nationwide and State Farm.

Why does credit score impact car insurance?

While your credit report may seem unrelated to car insurance, insurance companies consider bad credit an indicator of risk. Studies show drivers with “bad credit” (300-579) file more claims than do drivers with good credit. When drivers with poor credit do file claims, they result in more expensive claim payouts, costing insurance companies more money.

Like having a bad driving record or being a young driver, poor credit is considered a risk by insurance companies. Any time an insurance company senses additional risk, they raise premiums.

Learn more about how credit scores impact car insurance rates in this short video:

How to save on car insurance if you have good credit

While generally, you won't pay as much as someone with bad credit, but you’re probably paying more than you’d want for car insurance. Outside of looking at the proposed insurance companies we’ve listed, here are some ways to save on car insurance with a good credit report.

Keep your credit score up

As we’ve demonstrated, your credit standing can influence your premium. By keeping your credit score up, you’ll ensure your financial health with other institutions while keeping your car insurance premiums as low as possible.

Be smart with your coverage

Unless you have a classically cool vehicle, your car is going to depreciate in value. As a result, the auto insurance coverage you once had on your ‘99 Geo might not be necessary today. Here’s a good way to tell whether you're over-insured:

Be smart with your claims

Being smart with your claims means don’t file a claim if you can help it. “If you can help it” is a short and sweet way to say if the dollar value of premium increase plus your deductible is greater than the out-of-pocket expense of repairing the vehicle, don’t file a claim.* Here’s how to tell:

1. Get an estimate for the repair damages at a local repair shop.
2. Use our State of Insurance report to see how much an at-fault accident would raise your premium for your state. Consider that amount of increase over a period of three years, as that’s how long your insurance company would charge you.
3. Compare the value of the premium increase plus your deductible to the out-of-pocket repairs in step 1. If it’s cheaper to file a claim, file a claim.

We understand the point of insurance is to protect your car and keep it looking new. But you need to consider the premium ramifications for filing any at-fault claims. In many instances, it’s in your best financial interest to pay for claims out-of-pocket rather than going through your insurance company.

Bear in mind, however, we are referring to collision claims. Comprehensive claims, damage caused by animals, theft, or weather-related events, for example, are unlikely to raise your rate as much or at all. Moreover, not-at-fault accidents shouldn’t affect your rate.

*Please note: If you’re involved in an at-fault accident with another person and they do not want to settle matters out-of-pocket, you are probably out of options as you're required to exchange insurance information.

Follow our lead

In order to see which company was the cheapest for “good” credit, we surveyed some top insurance companies. While our profile probably doesn’t fit you, you should still consider our model as one to follow. Only by looking at as many companies as possible can you determine if you could be getting a better rate elsewhere.

How do car insurance companies check your credit?

Insurance companies verify your credit with a soft credit check, as opposed to a hard inquiry that would potentially hurt your credit score. Soft credit inquiries do not affect your credit, so rest assured, you can shop for auto insurance quotes to your heart's content without worry. Plus, some states have gone away with the use of checking credit as a raing factor. These states include Hawaii, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, California, and Montana.