Average Cost of Car Insurance in South Carolina for 2026

South Carolina car insurance costs more than in most states, with drivers paying higher premiums due to frequent severe weather events and the state's above-average uninsured motorist rate. Your specific rate depends heavily on your location within South Carolina, age, driving experience and coverage choices.

Jump to factors you can control today:

• Cost of Car Insurance in South Carolina by Company
• Cost by Coverage Level

Jump to factors that are fixed (for now):

• Cost by City
• Cost by Age and Gender
• Cost by Driving Record
• Cost by Credit Score
• Cost by Vehicle

Car insurance in South Carolina ranges from $66 per month for minimum coverage to $130 for full coverage. South Carolina drivers pay $64 above the national average annually for minimum coverage and $66 above for full coverage.

There are 34 states that have cheaper full coverage than South Carolina, which ranks 35 out of 51 for affordability at $130 per month. South Carolina sits between Utah at $127 per month and Kentucky at $132 per month, putting it in the moderately expensive category. With only 16 states costing more, drivers can expect middle-of-the-road pricing compared to the national range of $75 per month in Vermont to $243 per month in Florida.

South Carolina's 13.4% uninsured driver rate requires all policies to carry uninsured motorist coverage by law, and that mandate gets passed to every driver as a line-item cost. The state's coastal position draws frequent hurricanes and severe storms that generate hundreds of millions in annual claims.

Hurricanes Florence and Dorian pushed premiums up across all coverage levels. Charleston County alone logged over $2 billion in insured losses from Hurricane Hugo, and insurers price current policies around the likelihood of similar events.

Litigation costs in South Carolina courts have climbed 15% annually, driven in part by personal injury attorneys targeting auto settlements.

Poor driving records compound all these factors, pushing high-risk drivers into a more expensive bracket.

In urban South Carolina, vehicle theft and higher accident rates raise the cost of comprehensive and collision coverage. Rural and metro rates for identical coverage can differ by more than $500 per year, see rates by city for the breakdown.

Full coverage in South Carolina ranges from $62 per month with American National to $139 with Progressive, a $77 monthly gap that makes comparison shopping worthwhile. Farm Bureau comes in second at $88, and Auto-Owners rounds out the top three at $96.

American National's rate runs 52% below the state average. That gap comes from identical driver profiles in our analysis, so the savings are real, not an artifact of comparing different coverage levels.

Read more: Cheapest and Best Car Insurance Companies in South Carolina

No single insurer offers the lowest rates for every driver in South Carolina; your profile determines who prices you best. Each company runs its own formula, weighing your driving record, location, age and vehicle differently. Larger insurers with more South Carolina policyholders also price based on their own claims data, which shifts rates up or down from what a smaller carrier might charge. Some companies price clean-record drivers aggressively; others focus on higher-risk drivers that most carriers won't cover at a reasonable rate. The only way to find your lowest rate is to compare quotes directly.

Your coverage level is one of the main cost factors you can control today, along with which company you choose. State minimum liability in South Carolina costs $64 per month, representing the cheapest legal option available. Adding comprehensive and collision coverage with a $1,000 deductible brings your monthly premium to $75, $11 more per month to protect damage to your own vehicle.

Lowering your deductible can cost more than raising liability limits. The most expensive tier in our South Carolina database is 300/500/300 liability with comprehensive and collision at a $1,500 deductible, costing $147 per month.

North Charleston has the highest full coverage rates in South Carolina at $151 per month, 16% above the state average. Charleston is second at $144, while Greer has the lowest rates at $115. That's a $36 monthly gap, or $432 per year, across the state's 10 largest cities.

North Charleston's rates are higher because of its port city traffic, commercial trucks, elevated vehicle theft and urban congestion. Greer's suburban character, lighter traffic, lower crime, puts it $36 per month below North Charleston.

Adding a 16-year-old to a family policy in South Carolina costs $7,411 per year for males and $6,984 for females. Male teen drivers pay $427 more annually than their female counterparts on family coverage. Age and gender affect car insurance rates differently across the state.

A 16-year-old male on a family policy pays $7,411 per year compared to $8,983 on an individual policy, saving $1,572 annually. Car insurance rates drop steadily as young drivers gain experience through their early 20s and level off around age 25.

Use our free calculator to estimate your South Carolina car insurance cost based on your driver profile.

Your driving record is fixed in the short term, but violations don't last forever; most affect rates for three to five years in South Carolina, depending on the offense. A clean record runs $126 per month for full coverage; a speeding ticket pushes that to $157, a 25% increase that adds $372 per year.

A DUI carries the steepest penalty: $189 per month, or $749 more per year than a clean-record driver pays. Insurers treat violations as risk signals and price accordingly. Serious offenses (high-risk drivers) may also require an SR-22 filing.

Multiple violations in South Carolina narrow your insurer options and can push you into the high-risk category. Drivers in that situation should look at specialized high-risk car insurance in South Carolina.

Poor credit raises full coverage costs 128% in South Carolina, from $128 per month to $292. State law allows insurers to use credit-based scoring, which creates a $164 monthly gap between good- and bad-credit drivers.

Improving your credit score reduces premiums over time. If your budget is tight, working on credit is one of the higher-return moves lower-income drivers can make alongside other cost-cutting steps.

Understanding how insurance costs by vehicle vary can help you budget effectively. Full coverage in South Carolina ranges from $149 per month for a Ford F-150 to $216 for a Tesla Model Y, an $804 annual difference. A Honda Civic runs $157 per month; a Toyota Camry costs $170.

Electric vehicles cost more to insure because parts and repairs run higher than on conventional cars. The Tesla Model Y's premium reflects costly battery replacements, advanced sensors and proprietary components that need specialized technicians.

Your city, age, driving record and coverage level each affect what you pay for car insurance in South Carolina, with some factors creating more rate changes than others. These variables combine to create cost differences that often surprise South Carolina drivers, as each factor can shift annual premiums by hundreds of dollars.

We used this profile to determine auto insurance costs across all available ZIP codes and cities in the state:

• 40 years old
• Clean driving record
• Good credit
• 2012 Toyota Camry LE

Sections on cost by age and driving record use rates for those specific driver profiles, with all other factors held constant.

Minimum coverage is a state's minimum liability coverage. Full coverage is a policy with 100/300/100 liability limits and a $1,000 deductible for comprehensive and collision coverage.