Cheapest Car Insurance in Kentucky (June 2024)

Cincinnati Insurance has the cheapest overall car insurance in Kentucky. Nationwide and Auto-Owners are cheaper for certain other driver types.

The best car insurance companies in Kentucky offer a balance of cost and quality service.

MoneyGeek found that the cheapest car insurance companies in Kentucky for a minimum coverage policy are:

• Cincinnati Insurance: $296 per year
• Auto-Owners Insurance Co: $410 per year

A minimum coverage policy from Grange Insurance is the most expensive in Kentucky at an average cost of $1,045 per year.

When you purchase a minimum coverage policy in Kentucky, your coverage is limited to bodily injury liability, property damage liability and personal injury protection up to limits set by the state.

A minimum liability policy only offers protection for injuries or property damage you cause to a third party. Damages to your car are not covered. To get coverage for your vehicle, you need a policy that includes comprehensive and collision insurance — full coverage insurance.

According to MoneyGeek’s review, the following companies offer the cheapest full coverage car insurance in Kentucky:

• Auto-Owners Insurance Co: $876 per year
• Travelers: $957 per year

A full coverage policy from Grange Insurance is the most expensive in Kentucky at an average of $1,640 per year.

Buying a full coverage policy means adding comprehensive and collision coverage, and it usually costs more. In Kentucky, you will pay $466 more for a full coverage policy than for minimum coverage with Auto-Owners Insurance Co.

Full coverage car insurance offers coverage for both on-road damage to your car and off-roadhumans damage due to incidents like theft and vandalism.

The cost of your policy will vary depending on how much car insurance you need. MoneyGeek’s analysis is based on a full coverage policy with the following limits:

• $100,000 in bodily injury liability per person
• $300,000 in bodily injury liability per accident
• $100,000 in property damage liability per accident

If you want cheaper rates, you can drop comprehensive and collision insurance, opt for lower liability limits or raise your deductible for comprehensive, collision or both. Still, you risk having insufficient coverage in case of an accident.

Most car insurance providers offer quotes online. However, the process can take up to 15 minutes, and if you want to compare quotes, you’ll have to do so across multiple websites.

MoneyGeek’s car insurance calculator offers a simple way to get a quick car insurance estimate without providing specific personal information. You can also use it to compare quotes and find the most affordable provider for your profile.

Age is one of the biggest factors affecting car insurance rates in Kentucky. Allstate provides the most affordable policies for teens, while Travelers is the cheapest option for young adults and Cincinnati Insurance for seniors.

MoneyGeek found that the cheapest car insurance options in Kentucky for parents who want to add teen drivers to their full coverage policy are:

• Nationwide: $1,872 for female teens; $1,996 per year for male teens
• Allstate: $1,887 for female teens; $1,985 per year for male teens

GEICO is the most expensive option in Kentucky for teens at an average of $4,491 per year for male teens and $3,666 for female teens.

The above rates are what the teen pays on the policy and not the full family policy cost.

Teenage drivers' car insurance rates diminish as they age, with 19-year-olds enjoying the most affordable rates. Among Kentucky's car insurance providers, Allstate ($1,674 per year) offers the cheapest rates for 19-year-old males.

Adding a teen to a parent’s policy is more cost-effective than purchasing an individual policy, and teens under 18 cannot legally purchase auto insurance without the consent of a parent or guardian. For example, an individual 16-year-old policy costs approximately $6,068 per year, more than twice as much as adding them to the family policy, which only costs around $2,913 per year, allowing for large savings totaling around $3,155 per year.

Families with teen drivers can save on their car insurance premiums by taking advantage of various student discounts. Insurers like Nationwide and State Farm offer discounts for teens with good grades. Some insurers also provide distant student and driver education discounts.

The cheapest car insurance companies in Kentucky for young adults are:

• Travelers: $1,125 per year
• Shelter: $1,175 per year

Westfield is the most expensive provider for drivers in their 20s at an average of $1,938 per year.

Car insurance costs more for 20-year-olds than for middle-aged drivers. With the cheapest providers, a policy for 20-year-olds costs roughly $266 more than that for 40-year-olds.

MoneyGeek found that the most affordable auto insurance companies in Kentucky for senior drivers are:

• Cincinnati Insurance: $784 per year
• Auto-Owners Insurance Co: $802 per year

The most expensive company for senior drivers is Westfield, at an average cost of $1,555 per year.

Senior drivers tend to pay less for car insurance than middle-aged drivers. With the cheapest policies in Kentucky, senior drivers pay around $69 less than middle-aged drivers. Car insurance rates typically increase once drivers reach their 70s and 80s.

Some insurers offer senior drivers discounts that help reduce car insurance costs. You should also compare car insurance quotes from multiple providers to determine the most affordable rates.

Auto-Owners Insurance Co is the cheapest company for car insurance in Kentucky if you have a speeding ticket or an at-fault accident. It is also the cheapest for sports car owners. Drivers with a DUI will find the most affordable policies with Shelter. Drivers with poor credit will find the most affordable policies with Nationwide.

Drivers with violations pay higher rates because insurers view them as high risk. However, you can still find affordable that options by comparing quotes from multiple companies.

MoneyGeek’s analysis found that the cheapest car insurance companies in Kentucky for drivers with a speeding ticket are:

• Auto-Owners: $997 per year
• Kentucky Farm Bureau: $1,113 per year

Grange Insurance is the most expensive option in Kentucky if you have a speeding ticket, at $2,325 per year.

On average, drivers with speeding tickets in Kentucky pay $240 more per year than drivers with clean records.

MoneyGeek reviewed the cheapest auto insurance companies in Kentucky after an at-fault accident and found that the most affordable providers are:

• Auto-Owners Insurance Co: $1,198 per year
• Travelers: $1,387 per year

GEICO is the most expensive option after an at-fault accident at an average cost of $2,533 per year.

Having an at-fault accident on record will increase your car insurance rates in Kentucky by up to $618 per year on average. Drivers who have included or earned accident forgiveness on their auto policy prior to their first at-fault accident will not see a premium increase. GEICO awards this for free, as does Progressive.

The cheapest car insurance companies in Kentucky if you have a DUI are:

• Shelter: $1,521 per year
• Travelers: $1,531 per year

Westfield has Kentucky’s most expensive full coverage policy after a DUI at $3,945 per year.

In Kentucky, having a DUI on your driving record will increase your car insurance premiums by an average of $1,083 per year.

MoneyGeek’s analysis found that the most affordable car insurance companies in Kentucky for drivers with poor credit scores (below 580) are:

• Nationwide: $1,507 per year
• Travelers: $1,604 per year

Kentucky Farm Bureau is the most expensive car insurance option for drivers with poor and at $3,413 per year.

On average, if you have poor credit, your car insurance rates will be up to $1,140 higher than rates for drivers with good credit ratings (above 750).

Some insurers charge higher car insurance rates if you have a low credit-based insurance score because a lower credit rating indicates that you are likely to file a claim. In some states, it is illegal to charge higher rates based on credit history, but it is legal in Kentucky.

You can get better car insurance rates by improving your credit score. In the short term, comparing quotes and taking advantage of discounts will help you save.

MoneyGeek reviewed the most affordable car insurance companies in Kentucky for sports car drivers and found that the cheapest options are:

• Auto-Owners: $897 per year
• Travelers: $939 per year

Progressive is the most expensive option if you drive a sports car, at an average of $2,419 per year.

On average, it costs up to $203 more per year to purchase a full coverage policy for a sports car than for a Toyota Camry in Kentucky.

For this analysis, MoneyGeek used a Ford Mustang as a sample sports car, but rates may vary significantly depending on the model you drive.

Auto-Owners is the cheapest company for car insurance in Kentucky if you are a military member or veteran, at an average cost of $876 per year.

Although USAA is not the cheapest, its policies are tailored to the needs of military members. USAA full coverage car insurance costs an average of $1,037 per year in Kentucky and is available in all states.

GEICO is another great choice for military-affiliated drivers because it has specific discounts for them that can reduce a policy's cost by as much as 15%.

The cost of car insurance can vary significantly based on where you live in Kentucky. Location-specific risk factors like rates of car accidents, car thefts and traffic density vary from city to city, making some areas more costly for car insurance than others.

For instance, a full coverage car insurance policy from Auto-Owners Insurance Co costs $1,014 per year in Lexington-Fayette, whereas a policy from Travelers costs $1,207 per year in Louisville/Jefferson. Insurance rates can vary between cities, even when purchasing the same policy from the same company.

Kentucky, like most states, requires that all drivers carry car insurance with specified minimum liability limits for bodily injury and property damage.

Kentucky car insurance laws require you to carry a minimum liability policy with bodily injury coverage, property damage coverage and personal injury protection (PIP). State minimum policies are the cheapest option if you want to save on costs, but you risk having insufficient coverage in case of an at-fault accident.

MoneyGeek recommends getting as much liability coverage as you can afford to avoid incurring high out-of-pocket costs in case of an accident.

Although a state minimum policy fulfills the liability limits set by law, it may not necessarily offer sufficient coverage. MoneyGeek recommends getting $100,000 bodily injury liability per person, $300,000 bodily injury liability per accident and $100,000 property damage liability per accident.

If you are financing or leasing your car, your lender may require that you purchase comprehensive and collision insurance. These cover damages to your car on the road and off-road incidents like theft and vandalism.

MoneyGeek also advises that drivers with high-value cars add comprehensive and collision insurance, even if they own their vehicle outright.

Kentucky drivers can self-insure through the Kentucky Self-Insured Auto Program (KSAP). You must submit an application for self-insurance and consent to pay all tort liability and basic reparation benefits incurred.

You will also need to submit a yearly income statement and balance sheet with your self-insurance application. The state requires security in the form of a bond, surety or an irrevocable letter of credit issued by a bank. You can terminate your self-insurance voluntarily by submitting a written request to the commissioner of insurance.

When looking for car insurance, you will have questions about cost and quality. We answered commonly asked questions below to help you learn more.