Cheapest Car Insurance in Iowa

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Updated: May 31, 2026

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We analyzed rates from 10 Iowa insurance companies to find the cheapest car insurance for every driver profile. Iowa averages $97/month for full coverage, 20% below the national average, but the cheapest company depends on your profile listed below: 

Cheapest in Iowa by coverage type

Cheapest by city

Cheapest by driver age

Cheapest by driving record and credit score

Winners: Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Iowa

Travelers

Travelers

Cheapest for Most Iowa Drivers

Travelers is the cheapest full coverage option in Iowa at $66/month, $31 less than the $97/month state average and $75/month less than the most expensive analyzed provider. It earns a 4.8/5 MoneyGeek score with a perfect 5.0/5 affordability rating and ranks second for customer experience among analyzed Iowa providers.

Travelers stays cheapest across more profiles than any other Iowa carrier:

Its six add-on options include gap insurance, accident forgiveness and new car replacement, more than any other analyzed Iowa provider. The one profile where Travelers loses is bad credit, where its rate jumps to $252/month. If your credit is poor, IMT at $139/month is the better call.

State Farm

State Farm

Cheapest for Min Coverage & With Violations

State Farm has Iowa's lowest minimum coverage rate at $19/month, $13 below the $32/month state average. State Farm is the cheapest option in Iowa for drivers with a violation at $92 for full coverage after speeding ticket and $97 after an accident. 

State Farm's local agent network is a practical advantage for drivers who want in-person service, and its Drive Safe & Save telematics program offers up to 30% off for safe drivers. The tradeoff is narrower coverage depth with no gap insurance or accident forgiveness, which matters most if you're financing a newer vehicle.

Progressive

Progressive

Cheapest For Seniors & Digital Experience

Progressive is the most affordable option for Iowa seniors at $82/month and second cheapest for minimum coverage at $20/month, just $1 above State Farm. Its fully digital buying and management experience sets it apart from Travelers and State Farm, which rely more heavily on local agent relationships, and it earns the second highest coverage options rank among analyzed Iowa providers.

The tradeoff is customer experience, where Progressive ranks fourth among analyzed Iowa providers at 4.2/5. For seniors and minimum coverage drivers who want the lowest rate with a straightforward digital experience, Progressive is worth quoting alongside Travelers and State Farm in Iowa.

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WHY COMPARING QUOTES MATTERS MORE IN IOWA TO GET THE LOWEST RATE

Iowa has one of the largest rate spreads in the country. Depending on your profile, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive insurer for the same coverage ranges from $888/year for a clean-record driver to $1,356/year for a driver with poor credit. After a DUI, a speeding ticket or an at-fault accident, the spread widens further because carriers price those violations very differently from each other. In Iowa, the insurer you choose matters as much as the coverage you buy.

Cheapest Minimum & Full Coverage Car Insurance in Iowa

Travelers is the cheapest full coverage option in Iowa at $66/month, $31 below the state average and $75/month less than the most expensive provider, a $900/year difference. It earns a 4.8/5 MoneyGeek score with a perfect affordability rating. Auto-Owners is second at $75/month with the highest customer experience score among analyzed Iowa providers at 4.7/5.

State Farm is most affordable for minimum coverage at $19/month and Progressive is second at $20/month, both well below the $32/month state average. One thing worth knowing: the gap between the cheapest and most expensive full coverage provider is $75/month, larger than the $62/month gap between minimum and full coverage. 

Compare the best Iowa car insurance options across coverage types to find the right fit.

State Farm
$19
$87
4.3/5
Travelers
$28
$67
4.8/5
Progressive
$20
$77
4.2/5
Auto-Owners
$27
$75
4.7/5
Farm Bureau
$26
$108
4.2/5

Cheapest Car Insurance by City in Iowa

West Des Moines is the most affordable city in Iowa at $61/month for full coverage. Cedar Rapids is the most expensive at $81/month, a $20/month or $240/year gap between two Iowa cities. GEICO is the cheapest option in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Ames. Travelers is most affordable in six cities including Council Bluffs, Davenport and Dubuque.

The cheapest provider changes by city. A few worth knowing:

  • West Des Moines: Travelers at $61/month, the lowest full coverage rate in any analyzed Iowa city
  • Des Moines: GEICO at $75/month, $14/month more than neighboring West Des Moines
  • Iowa City: Progressive at $78/month, one of the more affordable larger cities in Iowa
  • Cedar Rapids: GEICO at $81/month, the most expensive analyzed city despite being Iowa's second largest
  • Council Bluffs: Travelers at $68/month, notably affordable given its position on the Nebraska border and heavy I-80 traffic

The statewide cheapest provider isn't always cheapest in your city. Get quotes from the carrier that wins your specific city before assuming Travelers or State Farm is your lowest rate.

City
Cheapest Iowa Insurer
Monthly Full Coverage Rate

Des Moines

GEICO

$75

Cedar Rapids

GEICO

$81

Davenport

Travelers

$70

Council Bluffs

Travelers

$68

Dubuque

Travelers

$72

Cheapest Car Insurance by Age in Iowa

At age 16, the cheapest provider differs by gender. Progressive is cheapest for girls at $255/month; IMT is cheapest for boys at $275/month. Neither appears in the adult top five. Travelers becomes the cheapest option for both genders from age 17 through 25.

Teens under 18 cannot legally purchase auto insurance without a parent or guardian as a co-signer in most cases. For seniors, Progressive is cheapest at $82/month. Premiums are highest for teens and drop steadily across age groups as drivers gain experience.

16
Progressive
$255
4.2/5
17
Travelers
$228
4.8/5
19
Travelers
$190
4.8/5
25
Travelers
$143
4.8/5
40 (adult baseline)
Travelers
$66
4.8/5
65+ (senior)
Progressive
$82
4.2/5

Cheapest Car Insurance With Violations in Iowa

State Farm is the most affordable option after most driving violations in Iowa, winning speeding tickets at $92/month, at-fault accidents at $97/month and DUI at $127/month. Auto-Owners is cheapest for texting violations at $82/month.

Get multiple quotes after a violation because Iowa has a big rate difference between insurers. An Iowa driver with a speeding ticket who stays with Grinnell pays $141/month when State Farm charges $92/month for the same coverage, a $588/year difference for not re-shopping. 

Violations stay on your Iowa driving record for at least five years, according to the Iowa DOT, and an OWI conviction stays on for 12 years. Insurers use a three to five year look-back period, so re-quote when a violation ages off.

Speeding ticket
State Farm
$92
At-fault accident
State Farm
$97
DUI
State Farm
$127

Cheapest Car Insurance in Iowa With Poor Credit

IMT is the most affordable option for Iowa drivers with bad credit at $139/month. State Farm is second cheapest at $178/month and Progressive third at $198/month.

Improving your credit score in Iowa has a big rate impact. Poor credit increases full coverage average costs by 244% in Iowa, from $94/month for good credit to $323/month on average. IMT's $139/month rate is significantly below that average, making it the clear first quote for any Iowa driver with bad credit.

IMT
$139
State Farm
$178
Progressive
$198
Auto-Owners
$214
Travelers
$252

How to Get the Cheapest Car Insurance in Iowa

Based on our Iowa rate analysis, these are the strategies that lower rates the most in Iowa:

  1. 1
    Iowa Drivers Should Start with Travelers and State Farm Quotes

    Start with Travelers if you have a clean record. Travelers is the cheapest full coverage option in Iowa at $66/month, $75/month less than Grinnell at $141/month. That's $900 a year for the exact same coverage. State Farm is the better call after a violation, with the cheapest rates after a speeding ticket ($92/month) and an at-fault accident ($97/month), saving you and average of $31/month.

  2. 2
    Use IMT if your credit is poor

    IMT is the only provider in this analysis that makes bad-credit full coverage reasonably affordable in Iowa, at $139/month. The next cheapest option is State Farm at $178/month, and Travelers jumps to $252/month for the same driver profile.

  3. 3
    Bundle your Iowa home and auto

    In Iowa, bundling home and auto can save between $581 and $1,055 per year depending on the carrier. Farmers offers the lowest bundled rate in the state at $2,563 per year with an 18% discount. State Farm offers Iowa's largest bundle discount at 27%, saving policyholders $1,055 annually. Iowa's full coverage average is already 20% below the national average, so any bundling discount is applied to a lower starting point than most states. See MoneyGeek's best home and auto bundle in Iowa to compare current rates.

  4. 4
    Get discounts from the cheapest Iowa insurers

    Iowa's two cheapest providers both offer discounts that don't apply automatically Unfortunately, Iowa doesn't required any mandatory discounts, but the two cheapest provider in the state offer attractive discounts. 

    Travelers offers up to 30% off through IntelliDrive telematics, up to 7.5% for paying in full, and up to 8% for completing a driver training course. State Farm offers up to 30% through Drive Safe & Save, up to 25% for three accident-free years, and a defensive driving discount for Iowa drivers.  Both offer the standard pay-in-full discounts saving you an average of 7% in Iowa.

What Does the Cheapest Iowa Coverage Protect?

Iowa's 20/40/15 minimum covers injuries and property damage you cause to others in an at-fault accident, nothing more. The $20,000 per-person bodily injury limit can be exhausted by a single hospitalization, and the $15,000 property damage limit falls short of repairing most modern vehicles. Carrying higher liability limits protects your assets if damages exceed what your policy pays.

Adding comprehensive and collision covers your own car after an accident, theft, or weather damage. At $66/month, Travelers' full coverage costs $34 more than the statewide minimum average. Use our Iowa car insurance calculator to see what full coverage would cost for your profile.

An image showing how Iowa's state minimum coverage compares to other states and an explanation of what is covered and where you are left unprotected.

MoneyGeek analyzed rates from 10 insurance companies in Iowa. Our baseline is a 40-year-old driver with a clean record and good credit, for a 100/300/100 full coverage policy with a $1,000 deductible. Gender is a rating factor in Iowa. Data are from Quadrant Information Services. See our methodology.

About Mark Fitzpatrick

Mark Fitzpatrick, Licensed P&C Insurance Expert, MoneyGeek

Mark Fitzpatrick, a Licensed Property and Casualty (P&C) Insurance Producer in Connecticut, is MoneyGeek's resident insurance expert. He has spent nearly a decade analyzing the market, first at LendingTree and now at MoneyGeek, where he produces original research on hundreds of carriers and millions of rates across auto, home, renters, health and life insurance.

He covers economics and insurance at MoneyGeek, and his work has been featured in The Washington Post, The New York Times and NPR, among other outlets.

Like all MoneyGeek analysts, he draws on independent cost and consumer experience data. No insurance company partnership influences his recommendations.

Fitzpatrick earned his degrees from Johns Hopkins University (M.A. Economics and International Relations) and Boston College (B.A.). His career began in financial risk management at State Street. He's also a five-time “Jeopardy!” champion.

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