Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Madison, WI (2024 Rates)

Your driver profile and needs may influence which company is the cheapest for you. In Madison, Wisconsin, Erie is the cheapest option for a minimum coverage policy or those with poor credit. GEICO is the cheapest for full coverage, young adults, seniors, sports car drivers and drivers with a speeding ticket.

MoneyGeek also evaluated the best car insurance in Madison for those looking for a balance of affordability and service.

The following companies offer the cheapest minimum coverage auto insurance in Madison:

• Erie: $241 per year
• GEICO: $252 per year

Dairyland is the most expensive company, with an average premium of $1,213 per year. As of October 2022, the cheapest car insurance in Wisconsin is from AAA at $184 per year, highlighting how location can greatly impact insurance rates.

A minimum coverage policy in Wisconsin includes the following coverage limits:

• $25,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $10,000 property damage liability per accident
• $25,000 uninsured motorist coverage per person
• $50,000 uninsured motorist coverage per accident

Minimum coverage insurance protects against damage to the other vehicle, driver and passengers in an at-fault accident. For example, if you cause an accident and the other driver sustains $30,000 in medical expenses and $15,000 in vehicle damages, your insurance would cover a maximum of $25,000 in medical costs and $10,000 in property damage. You would have to pay for the remaining $10,000 out of pocket.

The cheapest car insurance companies for a full coverage policy in Madison are:

• GEICO: $510 per year
• Nationwide: $635 per year

Dairyland is the most expensive at $2,845 per year. As of October 2022, the cheapest full coverage policy in Wisconsin is offered by AAA at $444 per year, once again demonstrating how location plays a role in determining rates.

A full coverage policy includes comprehensive and collision insurance in addition to liability insurance.

• Collision Insurance: Protects you against damages to your own vehicle if you collide with another vehicle or object, such as a tree, fence or light pole. Collision also covers rollover accidents and pothole damage.
• Comprehensive Insurance: Protects you from types of non-collision damages like theft, vandalism, fire or severe weather events.

A full coverage policy provides more protection, but it may not be worth paying hundreds of dollars more per year for an older car with low value.

In Madison, the following companies offer the cheapest auto insurance rates after driving violations:

• Speeding ticket: GEICO ($633 per year)
• At-fault accident: American Family ($758 per year)
• DUI: State Farm ($708 per year)

On the other hand, Dairyland charges the highest premiums for drivers with a speeding ticket ($4,294 per year), at-fault accident ($4,663 per year) or OWI ($3,651 per year).

Many states give DUIs to drivers who get behind the wheel after consuming too much alcohol, but in Wisconsin, you receive an OWI (operating while intoxicated). It holds similar harsh penalties to a DUI.

Driving offenses can have a significant impact on the cost of your car insurance. Even the cheapest rates after a violation will usually still be expensive compared to rates for safe driving records.

Car insurance rates generally increase for more severe violations. For example, a driver in Madison with a speeding ticket pays an average of $245 more per year, while a driver with an OWI pays around $455 more per year. However, it's still possible to find cheap car insurance with a poor driving record.

And if you want to avoid a premium increase after your first at-fault accident, include accident forgiveness on your car insurance policy. It is an optional coverage that stops your policy cost from going up as long as you have a clean motor vehicle record prior to the accident. Some companies even award it for free, such as Progressive and GEICO.

Teen drivers on a family policy in Madison will find the cheapest insurance from the following providers:

• Nationwide: $1,007 per year for female teens; $1,100 per year for male teens
• GEICO: $1,153 per year for female teens; $1,235 per year for male teens

Progressive has the most expensive coverage, with an average annual premium of $2,062 per year for female teen drivers and $2,272 for male teen drivers. Male teens are considered riskier drivers, which generally results in higher insurance rates. In Madison, Nationwide charges $94 more per year for male teens than female teens. However, this difference drops off as teens enter early adulthood.

To legally get auto insurance on their own, teens under 18 must have a parent or guardian co-sign the policy, and their insurance rates are much more expensive that way. In Madison, the average rate for an individual teen policy is $5,599 per year, which is $3,203 more expensive than the average cost of a family policy ($2,396). You can save thousands of dollars per year by shopping around for cheap car insurance for teens.

The cheapest companies in Madison for active-duty or veteran military families are:

• USAA: $462 per year
• GEICO: $510 per year

USAA is also the cheapest car insurance company for military personnel looking for a minimum coverage policy at $189 per year. Erie ranks second, with an average premium of $241 per year.

Shopping around and comparing options is the best way to find the cheapest possible rates, but getting a single car insurance quote online in Madison can take at least 15 minutes. The process also involves entering a lot of personal information.

MoneyGeek's car insurance calculator can help speed up the process by quickly giving you a rough estimate of your costs. You'll only need to provide your age, vehicle type, coverage level and driving record.

The cheapest car insurance for young adults in Madison is offered by the following companies:

• GEICO: $564 per year
• Nationwide: $813 per year

The most expensive car insurance company for young adults in Madison is Dairyland, with policies costing around $3,385 per year.

In general, young adults can expect to pay more for car insurance than middle-aged drivers since they have less driving experience. The average cost of a full coverage policy for 25-year-old drivers in Madison is $1,204 per year, which is $234 more than the average rate for 40-year-old drivers of $970 per year.

You can find the cheapest full coverage car insurance for seniors in Madison from the following companies:

• GEICO: $514 per year
• Nationwide: $580 per year

Dairyland sells the most expensive policies at $2,517 per year. Seniors can generally expect to pay more for car insurance since driving becomes more risky as you age. However, MoneyGeek found the average full coverage rate for a 65-year-old driver in Madison ($895) is actually slightly cheaper than the rate for a 40-year-old driver ($970).

The two cheapest car insurance companies for drivers with bad credit in Madison are:

• Erie: $691 per year
• American Family: $758 per year

State Farm is the most expensive insurer for those with bad credit, with an average annual premium of $3,356 per year. On average, drivers with bad credit in Madison pay $410 more per year than drivers with good credit, translating to a 42% increase.

Drivers with a bad credit history often pay more for car insurance since insurance companies believe that they are more likely to submit claims. Improving your credit score over time will help you save on car insurance, but there are several ways you can lower your costs in the meantime. These include finding common discounts, bundling insurance policies and comparing quotes across insurers to get the best rate.

The cheapest car insurance for drivers with sports cars in Madison is offered by the following companies:

• GEICO: $605 per year
• American Family: $710 per year

Dairyland is the most expensive option at $3,001 per year. In Madison, drivers of sports cars pay an average of $1,074 per year on car insurance, which is $104 — or about 11% — more than drivers of standard cars.

MoneyGeek used a Ford Mustang to represent rates for sports cars, but pricing may vary by model. In general, sports, luxury and electric cars tend to be the most expensive to insure, and Madison is no exception.

The average cost of auto insurance in Madison for full coverage is $906 per year. Our full coverage policies include $100,000 in bodily injury liability per person, $300,000 in bodily injury liability per accident and $100,000 in property damage liability per accident.

The average rate in Madison is $96 cheaper than the average cost of car insurance in Wisconsin, which is $1,002 per year, and it is also cheaper than the national average cost of car insurance of $1,265. Location is one of many factors that can impact car insurance rates — rates in Wisconsin's capital city are less expensive than in nearby Milwaukee but more expensive than in the city of Green Bay.