Tennessee Car Insurance Calculators: Cost & Coverage

• Data from all 11 insurance companies writing in Tennessee. Rates come from insurer filings compiled by Quadrant Information Services, the same data source insurance regulators use to verify insurer rates. The dataset includes Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee, which requires state membership to access and is not included in national comparison tools. That makes this one of the most complete rate sources available for this state.
• Rates are ZIP-code specific. Every estimate reflects rates for the specific ZIP code you enter, not a state or city average.
• Written and reviewed by licensed insurance professionals. This page was authored by Mark Fitzpatrick, a licensed P&C producer (Connecticut), and reviewed by Mark Friedlander of the Insurance Information Institute.
• MoneyGeek earns no commission from insurance companies. Rates shown are from public filings, not paid placements.

Auto Owners charges the least at $77/month for full coverage in Tennessee, which can save drivers $137/month for the same coverage by switching from Allstate to Auto Owners. Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee doesn't appear in any national comparison tool, and most Tennessee drivers shopping online have never received a quote from the company. A Tennessee driver already with Auto Owners ($77/month) or Farm Bureau ($82/month) is at or near the bottom of the market.

MoneyGeek's guide to the cheapest car insurance in Tennessee covers all 11 companies writing insurance policies in the state, including Farm Bureau, which won't appear in a standard quote search.

For a Farm Bureau quote, you can contact them directly at fbitn.com or through a local agent in your county.

Where your car is parked overnight determines the ZIP code used to calculate your rate. All 10 of Tennessee's most expensive ZIP codes for minimum coverage are in Memphis. Memphis ZIP 38126 carries the highest minimum coverage rate in the state at $80/month. The cheapest ZIP in Tennessee is in Bristol, in the Tri-Cities region, at $37/month.  That $43/month gap is $516 a year. The statewide spread for full coverage reaches $86/month, or $1,032 a year.

If you recently moved to or from Memphis, confirming your garaging address before your next renewal is where that $43/month difference becomes visible.

Tennessee rates drop $117/month between the ages of 18 and 19, or $1,404 a year. The 25th birthday brings $18/month. The 19th birthday produces more than six times the savings of the 25th, and the driver who waits until 25 to get new quotes misses the largest single drop in the Tennessee market and several years of lower rates if their premium was originally quoted at the riskiest profile, a brand new teenager behind the wheel.

Getting new quotes at 19 captures the birthday drop and the full range of options at once. Tennessee rates bottom out at age 60 and begin rising at 70. Re-shopping at each inflection point is where the savings accumulate.

For households adding a young driver aged 21 to 25 to a policy, the insurance company that prices adults cheapest in Tennessee isn't always cheapest for young drivers. Travelers prices young Tennessee drivers at $195/month. Auto Owners charges $209/month for the same young driver profile, even though it's the cheapest for adults. Getting new quotes when a young driver joins the policy is how the $14/month difference becomes visible.

Your credit history and your insurance company are the two factors that most influence your rate in Tennessee. Tennessee's credit history gap is the largest rate variable in this state's market. Outweighing the effect of the insurer you choose 3-to-1 (a $60/month difference for full coverage), and both outweigh your address, unless you live in Memphis. The Memphis ZIP premium for minimum coverage is $43/month above the rest of the state.

The expected relationship between credit and rates breaks down at five of Tennessee's 11 insurance companies. At Farmers, drivers with Excellent credit pay $52/month more than drivers with Good credit. At nearly half the Tennessee market, targeting Excellent actively raises the rate. Good is the tier to reach and hold.

The cost of premiums for good and poor credit is of $188/month, which is more than three times the $56/month saved by dropping comprehensive and collision coverage for minimum coverage.

The carrier you choose is the second-largest factor in driver rates with poor credit.

State Farm prices poor credit at $632/month, a ratio of 5.5 times its good-credit rate, compared with a market average of 2.8 times.

A poor-credit Tennessee driver at State Farm pays $340/month above the market average for their credit tier. Switching companies captures both the credit-tier improvement and the gap between insurers, which is why moving companies produces more savings than improving credit alone.

Re-shopping when your credit tier improves is required to capture the lower rate. Staying with the same insurer after a credit improvement doesn't automatically result in a policy repricing.

The insurer you're with determines whether you pay increased premiums for three years or not at all if you receive a driving violation for drinking and driving, texting while driving, an at -fault accident, or speeding.

The gap between staying with a market-average insurer and moving to the right company after a conviction can reach $65/month, or $2,340 over the full three-year window. Getting new quotes immediately after an at-fault accident is where the rate recovery starts. Month 37 is when the violation clears the record and clean-record pricing applies.

An at-fault accident in Tennessee adds $43/month to your premium on average. A DUI adds $65/month, or $780/year. In Tennessee, the insurer that is the cheapest for drivers with a clean record is the eighth-cheapest for drivers with a conviction, potentially causing Tennessee drivers to overpay for a DUI by $69/month or $828/year.

Tennessee requires SR-22 filing after a DUI for the length of the revocation period: one year for a first conviction. MoneyGeek's Tennessee DUI insurance guide covers which companies price a first-conviction DUI most favorably.

Tennessee requires bodily injury liability of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash, and property damage liability of $25,000. Tennessee is an at-fault state: if you cause a crash, you're personally responsible for every dollar above your policy limit.

A driver trying to save money should consider dropping to minimum coverage, which saves $56/month in Tennessee, or $672/year. That's almost exactly as much as switching from the most expensive to the least expensive full-coverage insurer ($60/month).

Your vehicle affects your Tennessee rate through comprehensive and collision coverage. In Tennessee, that rate reflects two documented risks above the national average: vehicle theft concentrated in Memphis and tornado exposure across the state.

The Memphis metropolitan area ranked fourth in the nation for vehicle theft rate in 2022, at 845.68 thefts per 100,000 people, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau via the Insurance Information Institute.

Tennessee averaged 31 tornadoes per year from 1995 through 2024, per the NOAA National Weather Service Nashville office, with the most recent major urban event killing 25 people in a Nashville EF4 strike in March 2020.

Both risks are priced into comprehensive premiums in Tennessee. A vehicle registered in a Memphis ZIP code has the fourth-highest theft rate in the country, according to its comprehensive pricing.

Ask your insurer for the standalone annual cost of your comprehensive coverage, and compare it to your car's current value. In Tennessee, that comparison uses a risk baseline above the national average in most of the state.

Bodily injury liability pays the medical bills and lost wages of people you injure when you cause a crash. It also covers legal costs if they sue. Per the Tennessee Department of Safety, Tennessee's minimum is $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash.

An accident that causes two people's hospitalization can exhaust the $50,000 limit before the second person's medical bills are paid for, and since Tennessee is an at-fault state, a judgment above your policy limit reaches your assets directly, which is why the recommendation targets 100/300.

Property damage liability pays for damage you cause to other people's vehicles and objects when you're at fault. Tennessee's minimum is $25,000 per accident, raised from $15,000 effective January 1, 2023. Most new vehicles cost more than that minimum, so the limit won't cover the full cost of replacing a newer car, leaving you on the hook to pay out of pocket.

If the driver who caused your crash has no insurance or not enough to cover the damage, uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage pays your medical bills and repair costs, which comes in handy given 21.3% of Tennessee drivers were uninsured in 2023, the fifth-highest rate nationally. Meaning you are more likely to need this coverage than most drivers in America.

This may be why, under Tennessee Code Annotated § 56-7-1201, insurers must offer this coverage on every policy at their full bodily injury limits, and written rejection is required to decline it. Tennessee prohibits stacking: if you have multiple vehicles on one policy, you can't combine their UM/UIM limits for a single claim.

Comprehensive coverage pays for vehicle theft and non-collision damage. Collision coverage pays for damage to your own car from a crash, regardless of fault. Lenders require them on a financed vehicle. For others, Tennessee's unique weather risks and high theft rates drive policyholders' decisions about whether to include these coverages.

The Memphis metropolitan area ranked fourth nationally for vehicle theft rate in 2022, at 845.68 per 100,000 residents, according to the National Insurance Crime Bureau. The state averaged 31 tornadoes per year from 1995 through 2024. Neither tornador nor vehicle replacement is covered by liability-only policies. Which is why MoneyGeek recommends drivers carefully consider the benefits of comprehensive and collision coverage.

Gap insurance pays the difference between what your car is worth and what you still owe on the loan if your car is totaled or stolen. Lenders require collision and comprehensive coverage, but not gap insurance. It's most relevant in the first two to three years of a loan, when depreciation outpaces paydown, and the gap between what you owe and what you'd collect is largest.

If an SR-22 appears in your result, it's because your profile includes a qualifying violation, most commonly a DUI conviction or driving without insurance. Other violations resulting in license suspension or revocation also trigger the requirement.

An SR-22 is a form your insurance company files electronically with the Tennessee Department of Safety to confirm that you have active coverage. It is not a type of insurance; it is a certificate that proves coverage exists.

The filing lasts for the length of the revocation period, not a flat three years. For a first DUI conviction, the revocation period is one year. A lapse in coverage during the SR-22 period triggers immediate suspension.

MoneyGeek's Tennessee SR-22 guide covers filing requirements by violation type, required timelines, and which carriers are authorized to file certificates in the state.

1. Contact Farm Bureau Insurance of Tennessee directly. Farm Bureau is the state's third-cheapest option at $82/month for full coverage and won't appear in any national comparison tool. Go to fbitn.com or find a local agent in your county. Tennessee Farm Bureau membership costs $30 a year and is required to get a quote. The gap between Farm Bureau and Allstate, the state's most expensive insurer, is $55/month, or $660 a year.
2. If you're over 55, call your insurer this week and request the premium reduction. Tennessee Code § 56-7-1107 requires insurers to offer a premium reduction to drivers age 55 or older who complete a commissioner-approved accident-prevention course. The reduction lasts three years from completion. Ask your insurer what courses qualify and what the reduction is for your policy.
3. Re-shop when your credit tier improves. Moving from Poor to Good credit saves $188/month in Tennessee, but the reduction doesn't apply automatically. You have to get new quotes when the tier changes. The target tier in Tennessee is Good, not Excellent: at the market level and at five of 11 insurance companies, Excellent credit costs more. Reaching Good and re-shopping captures the maximum available credit reduction.
4. Know your violation re-shop dates. Tennessee keeps violations on your driving record for three years. Month 37 is the first month the violation no longer appears and clean-record pricing applies. For a DUI, track two dates: get new quotes when the SR-22 requirement ends at approximately month 13 from reinstatement, then get new quotes again at month 37 when the DUI clears the record window entirely.