The cheapest car insurance in Tennessee is Travelers for full coverage at $78 a month and Farm Bureau for minimum coverage at $30. Travelers is also the second-best-rated insurer in the state, so full-coverage drivers, seniors, and drivers with a DUI should start there for a low rate and solid service. Farm Bureau is cheapest for minimum coverage and after a speeding ticket or at-fault accident, though it requires a $30 annual membership. Parents adding a teen quote Erie first, and anyone with poor credit will find GEICO cheapest.
Cheapest Car Insurance in Tennessee for 2026
Updated: July 21, 2026
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Farm Bureau | $30 | 4.44/5 | |
Travelers | $78 | 4.70/5 | |
Erie Insurance | $360-$379 | 4.49/5 | |
Travelers | $85 | 4.70/5 | |
Farm Bureau | $96 | 4.44/5 | |
Farm Bureau | $96 | 4.44/5 | |
Travelers | $118 | 4.70/5 | |
Auto-Owners | $84 | 4.84/5 | |
GEICO | $212 | 3.84/5 | |
Farm Bureau | $21-$36 | 4.44/5 |
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Travelers
Best Cheap Car Insurance for Full Coverage in Tennessee
Travelers is the best cheap pick for full coverage in Tennessee at $78 a month, the lowest rate in the state paired with the second-best overall score. A full-coverage driver gets their own collision and storm claims handled smoothly, which counts in a state like Tennessee with recorded tornado risk.
Cheapest Car Insurance in Tennessee by Coverage Type
Travelers | $38 | $78 | 4.70/5 |
Auto-Owners | $34 | $84 | 4.84/5 |
Farm Bureau | $30 | $96 | 4.44/5 |
Erie Insurance | $38 | $103 | 4.49/5 |
GEICO | $49 | $110 | 3.84/5 |
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Cheapest Minimum Coverage in Tennessee
Farm Bureau is cheapest for minimum coverage in Tennessee at $30 a month, $4 under Auto-Owners at $34. On a minimum policy, your insurer pays the other driver's claim when you cause a crash, so service matters more than the small price difference. Auto-Owners has the state's best customer experience score, ahead of Farm Bureau, so for $4 more a month the other driver's claim against you is less likely to drag out. On top of the premium, Farm Bureau charges a $30 annual membership.
Cheapest Full Coverage in Tennessee
Travelers has the cheapest full coverage in Tennessee at $78 a month. The next cheapest is Auto-Owners at $84, which has the highest overall score in the state, so for $6 more a month a full-coverage driver gets the best service record available. Travelers still gives up little on service as the second-best-rated, so the $6 is the deciding factor only for drivers who file claims often.
How to Choose
Full coverage costs $40 more a month than minimum at Travelers, $480 a year for collision and comprehensive. On a car worth less than about $1,500, full coverage isn't worth it, since a total-loss payout after the $1,000 deductible wouldn't return much more than the coverage costs. Keep full coverage on a newer or more valuable car, especially given Tennessee's tornado and severe weather risk.
Cheapest Car Insurance for Teens and Young Adults in Tennessee
Erie is cheapest for 16-year-olds in Tennessee at $360 a month for males and $379 for females. At 18 the cheapest carrier changes to Travelers, a drop of about $66 a month for males and $92 for females, and Travelers stays cheapest through age 25. A 16-year-old files claims more often than an older driver, so Erie's service score, second-best in the state, matters early. Travelers scores nearly as high, so the drop at 18 doesn't cost you service. Re-shop at 18 to confirm Travelers is cheapest, and you can switch insurers without a coverage gap.
Erie Insurance | $379 | Erie Insurance | $360 | |
Erie Insurance | $322 | Erie Insurance | $306 | |
Travelers | $230 | Travelers | $240 | |
Travelers | $185 | Travelers | $192 | |
Travelers | $158 | Travelers | $165 | |
Travelers | $128 | Travelers | $134 | |
Travelers | $116 | Travelers | $121 | |
Travelers | $106 | Travelers | $111 | |
Travelers | $99 | Travelers | $104 | |
Travelers | $87 | Travelers | $91 |
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Cheapest Car Insurance for Seniors in Tennessee
Travelers is cheapest for seniors in Tennessee at $85 a month, with Farm Bureau at $87 and Auto-Owners at $89, the top three within $4. At $4 apart, service matters more than price, and Auto-Owners has the best service record of the three, the highest customer experience score in the state. Since seniors file claims more often than younger drivers, that $4 buys the insurer most likely to settle a claim smoothly. A senior who rarely files can stay with Travelers and take the lowest price.
Travelers | $85 | 4.28/5 |
Farm Bureau | $87 | 3.89/5 |
Auto-Owners | $89 | 4.58/5 |
Erie Insurance | $112 | 4.41/5 |
Farmers | $114 | 3.40/5 |
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Cheapest Car Insurance in Tennessee by City
Farm Bureau is cheapest in 19 of Tennessee's 20 largest cities, including the three biggest, Nashville, Memphis, and Knoxville. Because Farm Bureau is cheapest almost everywhere in Tennessee, where you live changes your price, but not which insurer your choose. Rates are lowest in East Tennessee, where Kingsport is $21, and highest around Memphis at $36. The one exception is Collierville, near Memphis, where Auto-Owners is cheapest at $31, so quote it too if you're in that area. With one in five Tennessee drivers uninsured, uninsured motorist coverage is worth adding wherever you live.
Kingsport | Farm Bureau | $21 |
Johnson City | Farm Bureau | $22 |
Brentwood | Farm Bureau | $24 |
Franklin | Farm Bureau | $24 |
Jackson | Farm Bureau | $26 |
Mount Juliet | Farm Bureau | $26 |
Smyrna | Farm Bureau | $26 |
Spring Hill | Farm Bureau | $26 |
Gallatin | Farm Bureau | $27 |
Farm Bureau | $27 | |
La Vergne | Farm Bureau | $27 |
Farm Bureau | $28 | |
Murfreesboro | Farm Bureau | $29 |
Nashville | Farm Bureau | $30 |
Farm Bureau | $31 | |
Collierville | Auto-Owners | $31 |
Bartlett | Farm Bureau | $32 |
Germantown | Farm Bureau | $32 |
Farm Bureau | $36 | |
Farm Bureau | $36 |
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Cheapest Car Insurance for High Risk Drivers in Tennessee
Farm Bureau charges the same $96 a month after a speeding ticket or at-fault accident as it does for a clean record, so those violations don't cost extra. Auto-Owners is cheapest after a texting ticket at $84, even less than Farm Bureau's clean rate. Travelers is cheapest after a DUI at $118, and since Tennessee requires an SR-22 filing afterward, re-quote once your insurer drops the increase to get back to its $78 clean rate. For bad credit, GEICO is cheapest at $212, though it has the lowest service score in the state, so consider that if you expect to file. If a DUI led to a license suspension, see non-owner car insurance in Tennessee for coverage during that period.
Speeding Ticket | Farm Bureau | $96 | 3.89/5 |
At-Fault Accident | Farm Bureau | $96 | 3.89/5 |
DUI | Travelers | $118 | 4.28/5 |
Texting While Driving | Auto-Owners | $84 | 4.58/5 |
Bad Credit | GEICO | $212 | 3.65/5 |
Your Next Step:
Get your real quotes from trusted insurance providers.
How to Get Cheaper Car Insurance in Tennessee
The biggest way to get cheaper car insurance in Tennessee is improving your credit, since a poor-credit driver pays up to $134 a month more than a good-credit one. Switching insurers saves up to $32 a month and dropping from full to minimum coverage saves $40, with more to gain from bundling, re-shopping after a violation, and carrier discounts.
- 1
Compare quotes and save $32 per month
Travelers has the cheapest full coverage at $78 a month and GEICO the most expensive at $110, a $32 difference for the same driver and coverage. Quote at least three carriers, and include Farm Bureau, cheapest for minimum coverage at $30, since it doesn't show up on national quote tools. Farm Bureau also charges a $30 annual membership.
- 2
Match coverage to your car and save $40 a month
Full coverage costs $40 more a month than minimum at Travelers, $480 a year. If your car is worth less than about $1,500, minimum coverage makes more sense.
- 3
Bundle home and auto policies and save $1,149 per year
State Farm has both the cheapest home and auto bundle in Tennessee at $3,320 a year and the largest discount at 26%, worth $1,149. Since the cheapest standalone auto carriers here aren't always the cheapest bundle, compare the bundled total against your separate rates.
- 4
Re-shop when a violation clears from your record and save $40 a month
Farm Bureau doesn't raise rates for speeding or at-fault accidents, so it's worth quoting right after either one. After a DUI, Travelers is cheapest at $118, and since the increase clears before the DUI leaves your record, re-quote as soon as your insurer drops it to get back toward its $78 rate, a $40 saving.
- 5
Improve your credit score before renewal and save $134 per month
A good-credit driver pays $78 a month at Travelers, while the cheapest poor-credit rate is $212 at GEICO, a $134 difference, more than switching carriers and coverage levels combined. Raising your credit tier before you renew brings the rate back down.
- 6
Ask about carrier discount programs
Travelers IntelliDrive: tracks your driving for 90 days through an app and can lower your rate at renewal, though poor driving during the period can raise it.
Farm Bureau: a regional insurer, so ask your agent which Tennessee discounts apply to your policy.
Auto-Owners TruRide: a similar app-based program that sets a discount from how you actually drive.
Rates come from Quadrant Information Services, collected from state insurance filing records across all residential ZIP codes in Tennessee. Carriers are required to file rates with the state regulator before charging them; these are filed rates, not estimates or online quote approximations. MoneyGeek analyzed rates from carriers covering the Tennessee market.
Baseline driver profile: 40-year-old male, 2012 Toyota Camry LE, clean driving record, good credit, 12,000 miles annually, no prior claims. Full coverage is 100/300/100 liability with a $1,000 deductible. Minimum coverage is Tennessee's mandated 25/50/25 limits.
Profile variations analyzed:
- Young drivers: Ages 16–25, standalone policy, split by gender (Tennessee uses gender as a rating factor)
- Seniors: 70-year-old driver, same vehicle and coverage as the baseline
- Violations: Baseline profile with one driving record variable changed; all other variables held constant. Violations analyzed: speeding (11–15 MPH over limit), at-fault accident ($1,000–$1,999 property damage), DUI (BAC ≥ .08), and texting while driving
- Poor credit: Baseline profile with credit tier changed to poor. Tennessee permits credit-based insurance scoring per Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-5-203
Coverage tiers: Full coverage = 100/300/100 liability with $1,000 deductible. Minimum coverage = 25/50/25 liability, no comp or collision.
USAA is excluded from all provider tables; it's available only to military members, veterans, and their immediate families. Eligible drivers should include USAA in any quote comparison.
MoneyGeek scores carriers on three factors. Affordability (60% of score): normalized rates across all carriers within each driver profile; lower rate relative to competitors = higher affordability score, calculated separately per driver profile. Customer Experience (30%): JD Power survey results, NAIC complaint index, AM Best financial strength ratings, agent network ratings, and Google Business ratings; 2024–2025 data weighted twice as heavily as older data. Coverage Options (10%): number of add-on coverages available and included benefits.
Tennessee-specific notes:
- Tennessee is an at-fault state
- Tennessee requires SR-22 filing for DUI convictions; filing must be maintained for 3 years from conviction under Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-12-139
- Tennessee permits gender as a rating factor
- Tennessee permits credit-based insurance scoring under Tenn. Code Ann. § 56-5-203
- Uninsured driver rate: 20.9% (Insurance Research Council)
About Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick, a licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer in Connecticut, is MoneyGeek's resident expert in insurance and economics. He has spent nearly a decade covering the market, first at LendingTree and now at MoneyGeek, where he analyzes hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.
His work has appeared in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR. He draws on independent cost and consumer experience data, and no insurance company partnerships influence his recommendations.
Mark studied at Boston College before earning a master's in economics and international relations from Johns Hopkins University. Before MoneyGeek, he worked in financial risk management at State Street. He's also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.