When it comes to getting the cheapest car insurance in Wisconsin, fortune favors the persistent. Insurance companies may give very different quotes from each other for the exact same type of policy, so comparing as many quotes as possible is the best route for finding the best deal.
Your rates will also hinge on your driving history, credit score and other personal factors. To help you find the best prices for your circumstances, NerdWallet sampled quotes from the seven largest insurers in the state and found the three lowest options for common driver types, including:
Drivers with one at-fault crash
Also in this article
Minimum car insurance requirements in Wisconsin
Alternative Wisconsin car insurance
» COMPARE: Car insurance quotes
Cheapest for good drivers
For drivers with no DUIs, at-fault crashes or moving violations. Range of average prices from the seven largest insurers: $821 to $1,894 per year.
Price
- $821/year
Price
- $918/year
Price
- $1,102/year
The average among the three cheapest insurers was $947 per year. American Family returned the lowest average price at $821 a year, while West Bend Mutual was second at about $100 more.
West Bend offers only policies that include both your car and your house or rental home. If combining the two coverages in the same policy appeals to you, the company may be a good choice. If you’d rather keep your home, condo or renters insurance with another company or if you only want auto coverage, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Cheapest for young drivers
For drivers in their early 20s. Range of average prices from the seven largest insurers: $451 to $1,223 per year.
Price
- $451/year
Price
- $542/year
Price
- $611/year
Rates will be higher for young drivers if they carry the same amount of insurance as older motorists. But drivers in their early 20s usually have fewer assets and less savings to protect and can scale back their coverage to get cheaper prices, which is reflected in our sample estimates.
American Family notched the lowest cost at $451 a year, which comes out to roughly $38 a month. Allstate was a bit more expensive but still reasonable at about $45 per month.
Cheapest for drivers with one at-fault crash
Range of average prices from the seven largest insurers: $1,264 to $3,470 per year.
Price
- $1,264/year
Price
- $1,311/year
Price
- $1,358/year
The minimum quote we found for drivers with an at-fault crash on their record was $1,264 a year. That’s $443 higher than the cheapest rate for drivers of the same age with no accidents.
If you’re worried about rate hikes after crashes, consider companies that offer accident forgiveness. This perk will keep your policy costs steady after your first at-fault incident or, in some cases, your first in a while. A trade-off is that accident forgiveness policies cost more overall.
Cheapest for drivers with poor credit
For drivers placed in the “poor credit” tier using the Quadrant Information Services rate tool. Range of average prices from the seven largest insurers: $1,082 to $2,295 per year.
Price
- $1,082/year
Price
- $1,254/year
Price
- $1,451/year
Having a poor credit score can result in higher car insurance rates. This is because insurers in many states, including Wisconsin, use a credit-based insurance rating to help predict the chances that customers will cause crashes and file claims.
West Bend Mutual, which sells only bundled policies for both auto and homeowners or renters, had the cheapest quote, at $1,082 a year. If you’re not interested in combining your home and vehicle on the same policy, American Family and Farmers — the next most affordable options — would be better fits.
Cheapest for retired drivers
For drivers in their mid-to-late 60s who no longer use their car for commuting. Range of average prices from the seven largest insurers: $719 to $1,699 per year.
Price
- $719/year
Price
- $846/year
Price
- $880/year
Retired drivers can often steer clear of the steepest rates since they drive so infrequently compared with those who commute daily. To reflect this, we tested for sample retirees who drove half as many annual miles as the other groups.
American Family returned the best rate at $719 a year. This was more than $100 less than the company’s price for 30-year-old good drivers, which goes to show how much cutting out the commute can do for your bottom line.
Minimum car insurance requirements in Wisconsin
Wisconsin requires drivers to carry liability insurance and uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage (UMBI) in the following amounts:
- $25,000 bodily injury liability per person
- $50,000 bodily injury liability per crash
- $10,000 property damage liability per crash
- $25,000 UMBI per person
- $50,000 UMBI per crash.
Liability insurance kicks in to cover others’ property damage and injury treatment, up to your limit, if you cause a crash.
If you’re ever struck by a driver who lacks car insurance, UMBI will cover your injuries plus those of your passengers, also up to your limit.
Keep in mind that the required amounts of these coverages may not be enough to fully cover others’ damages or your own. In most cases, it’s wise to choose limits above the bare minimum and consider adding common optional coverages such as collision and comprehensive.
Alternative Wisconsin car insurance
If you’re unable to purchase auto insurance on the voluntary market because of DUIs, at-fault accidents, poor credit or other circumstances, you can apply for coverage through the Wisconsin Automobile Insurance Plan.
For more help sorting through the companies in your area and finding the most competitive car insurance quotes, try NerdWallet’s comparison tool.
Alex Glenn is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance site. Email: aglenn@nerdwallet.com.
This article was updated on May 18, 2016. It originally published in May 2014.
METHODOLOGY
For most categories, NerdWallet averaged rates from the largest insurers for 30-year-old men and women in 10 ZIP codes and with 100/300/50 liability insurance limits, 100/300 uninsured motorist bodily injury coverage and collision and comprehensive with a $1,000 deductible. We used a 2012 Toyota Camry in all cases.
Our sample retired driver was age 67 and drove 5,000 annual miles; all other groups drove 10,000 annual miles. Our sample young driver was age 22 and carried the minimum required coverage. These are sample rates generated through Quadrant Information Services. Your own rates will be different.
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