The words “low-cost” and “auto insurance” probably shouldn’t be used together, specifically when you are looking for the lowest insurance rates for drivers with bad credit. Because it’s so expensive, let’s start off by going over some of the things that impact insurance premiums, and come up with some ideas to take a little off the next policy you buy.
One of the more important considerations that help determine the cost of insurance is your zip code. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population are more likely to pay higher prices, whereas areas that tend to be more rural benefit from having to pay less for coverage.
The following table ranks the highest-priced areas in Pennsylvania for drivers with bad credit to purchase a policy in. Pittsburgh ranks #14 with an annual rate of $1,053 for the average insurance policy, which is about $88 monthly.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | $1,977 |
| 2 | Drexel Hill | $1,549 |
| 3 | Chester | $1,421 |
| 4 | Levittown | $1,365 |
| 5 | Norristown | $1,268 |
| 6 | Allentown | $1,108 |
| 7 | Wilkes-Barre | $1,089 |
| 8 | Bethlehem | $1,087 |
| 9 | Erie | $1,082 |
| 10 | Plum | $1,079 |
| 11 | Reading | $1,077 |
| 12 | Easton | $1,058 |
| 13 | New Castle | $1,057 |
| 14 | Pittsburgh | $1,053 |
| 15 | Municipality of Monr | $1,049 |
| 16 | Hazleton | $1,046 |
| 17 | Scranton | $1,039 |
| 18 | Altoona | $1,032 |
| 19 | Harrisburg | $1,025 |
| 20 | Williamsport | $996 |
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Prices are comparative as the specific Pittsburgh residence address can modify insurance rates greatly.
Establishing which company quotes the best car insurance rates for drivers with bad credit involves a bit more work than just getting one or two price quotes.
Every auto insurer used slightly different criteria to set their prices, so let’s rank the car insurance companies with the overall best prices in Pennsylvania. It’s important to understand that Pennsylvania car insurance rates are influenced by many factors that may substantially change the price you have to pay for coverage. Simply having another birthday, buying higher coverage limits, or having an at-fault accident can produce rate changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper than competitors.
Best Insurance Companies with Bad Credit
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| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Casualty | $726 |
| 2 | USAA | $785 |
| 3 | Erie | $800 |
| 4 | Travelers | $803 |
| 5 | Penn National | $840 |
| 6 | Auto-Owners | $963 |
| 7 | Amica | $1,012 |
| 8 | Atlantic States | $1,047 |
| 9 | Donegal Mutual | $1,091 |
| 10 | GEICO | $1,111 |
| 11 | Allied | $1,144 |
| 12 | State Farm | $1,198 |
| 13 | California Casualty | $1,222 |
| 14 | State Auto | $1,279 |
| 15 | Encompass | $1,357 |
| 16 | Mutual Benefit Group | $1,397 |
| 17 | Nationwide | $1,433 |
| 18 | Harleysville | $1,452 |
| 19 | Progressive | $1,472 |
| 20 | Chubb | $1,551 |
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General Casualty quotes some of the best car insurance rates in Pittsburgh at around $726 per year. USAA, Erie, Travelers, and Penn National would also make the list of some of the lowest-priced Pittsburgh, PA insurance companies.
As shown in the rates above, if you are insured with USAA and switched to General Casualty, you may realize annual savings of upwards of $59. Pennsylvania drivers with Erie could save as much as $74 a year, and Travelers policyholders might cut rates by $77 a year.
To get a fast rate comparison, click here to start your custom quote or visit any of the companies below.
It’s important to note that these rates are averaged for all drivers and vehicles in Pennsylvania and do not take into consideration an exact location for drivers with bad credit. So the insurer that can offer you the best price may not even be in the top 30 companies shown above. That is why you need to get rate quotes using your own personal information and vehicle type.
The make and model of vehicle to be insured is one of the biggest factors when trying to find the best car insurance for drivers with bad credit. Vehicles with reasonable performance levels, good safety features, or a track record of few liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than fast, unsafe models. The data below showcases auto insurance prices for the cheapest vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $1,065 |
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $1,070 |
| Ford Escape XLT 2WD | $1,076 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,089 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD | $1,159 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $1,168 |
| Toyota Corolla LE | $1,220 |
| Ford Edge Sport 2WD | $1,226 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $1,237 |
| Nissan Rogue SL 2WD | $1,244 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ AWD | $1,253 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $1,244 |
| Ford F-150 XL Crew Cab 4WD | $1,258 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $1,263 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LT Extended Cab 4WD | $1,272 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $1,263 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $1,272 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,302 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $1,309 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport Islander Package 4WD 4-Dr | $1,304 |
| Ford Fusion Sport AWD 4-Dr Sedan | $1,329 |
| Ford Explorer Limited 2WD | $1,331 |
| Toyota Camry SE | $1,339 |
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Table data represents married male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Pennsylvania minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, claim-free, homeowner, and safe-driver. Price information does not factor in specific zip code location which can raise or lower prices noticeably.
Based upon the rates shown, you can expect vehicles like the Hyundai Elantra, Honda CR-V, and Ford Escape will be a few of the more affordable vehicles to insure for people with poor credit. Car insurance rates will be more expensive just due to the fact that there is more risk for drivers with bad credit, but generally speaking those vehicles will probably have the lowest prices available.
The chart below demonstrates how deductible levels can raise or lower insurance prices when getting quotes for cheap insurance for drivers with bad credit. The data is based on a married male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are applied.
In the chart above, a 40-year-old driver could save $308 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $466 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, such as the Age 20 example, could lower their rates as much as $1,042 or more by choosing a larger deductible amount. If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it is a good idea to have spare funds to enable you to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense that deters many people from opting for higher deductibles.
Full coverage or liability only
Finding the cheapest car insurance should be important to most people, and one easy way to find cheap insurance for drivers with bad credit is to not pay for full coverage. The information below shows the difference between auto insurance rates with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in Pennsylvania. The rates are based on a clean driving record, no claims, $250 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no policy discounts are applied.
If all age groups are averaged, physical damage coverage on your policy costs $2,351 per year over having just liability coverage. That is a large expense and it proposes the question if paying for full coverage is a waste of money. There is no clear-cut formula to eliminate physical damage coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is more than 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
There are some circumstances where buying only liability insurance is not in your best interest. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage to satisfy the loan requirements. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should keep full coverage.
Best car insurance in Pittsburgh
Ending up with a good quality car insurance company can be rather challenging considering how many choices drivers have in Pittsburgh. The company ratings displayed below can help you select which auto insurers to look at purchasing a policy from. These ratings include companies that write coverage in many states, so companies without a large exposure are not included in this list.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Companies Overall in Pittsburgh
- The General
- Titan Insurance
- The Hartford
- Progressive
- Travelers
- State Farm
- Farmers Insurance
- Erie Insurance
- Safeco Insurance
- USAA
Why it’s important to shop around
Pittsburgh, PA car insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price you have to pay for coverage. Simply turning a year older, getting married, or getting a driving violation may prompt premium changes that can cause some rates to be much cheaper than others.
And not only may your rating factors change, but companies file new rates as needed in order to be able to pay unexpected claims. Significantly higher losses may cause more expensive prices, while lower claim levels can produce cheaper Pittsburgh car insurance rates.
For example, the data below shows a variety of companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Pittsburgh, PA for a 30-year-old male driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and good credit. If we compare prices based on his current risk profile, General Casualty quotes the most affordable car insurance rates in Pittsburgh at $878 annually. This is $779 less than the average price paid by Pennsylvania drivers of $1,657. Travelers, Erie, Penn National, and USAA are the remainder of the cheapest Pittsburgh, PA auto insurance companies.
In this example, we will give the driver from the above example a couple of claims, slightly worse credit, and a traffic ticket or two. Since each auto insurer uses their own calculation to determine rates, analyzing rate quotes will most likely result in a different ranking of companies as shown below.
Amica now has the cheapest car insurance in Pittsburgh with Atlantic States, Donegal Mutual, Erie, and USAA now being in the top five. This example shows why consumers need to compare many different companies to find affordable car insurance rates for drivers with bad credit.
Prices are influenced by many factors and change frequently, so the lowest-price company when you last compared rates may now be quite expensive.