New Hampshire is one of the few states in the country that doesn’t require its citizens to purchase auto insurance. (Live Free or Die, am I right?) For the typical responsible car owner however, insurance is nothing short of a no-brainer.
And even though the state’s rates are relatively high compared the the national average, a little bit of attentive shopping could save you more money than you think.
I ventured out to find the best cheap car insurance in the state, while aiming to save some pocket change.
When the quotes settled, that pocket change was actually a whopping $1,500. OK, it was $1495, but still. Although quotes will vary greatly depending on an untold amount of factors, the distance between competitors was staggering to me, ranging from Allstate’s relatively affordable $504 annual premium to Amica Mutual’s jaw-dropping $1,999.
Allstate was the best car insurance for me, but that doesn’t mean it will be the best for you, too.
Turns out, you and I are not the same person.
There’s a litany of variables that impact your risk to insurers (and therefore your premium prices), including your age, zip code, and credit score. The only surefire way to compare companies accurately is to personally check quotes from the competition yourself; a not-so-exciting, but super useful way to spend a half hour of your time.
In my research, I was able to find five quotes using some pretty handy online tools. On average they took around five minutes to complete, a welcome sacrifice when potentially talking about hundreds, if not thousands of dollars. (And, imagine how much I’m saving over ten or twenty years — my $1500 annual savings quickly multiplies into the tens of thousands of dollars over my driving lifetime.)
If you do have to make a call to get a quote, you may have to set aside 15 or 20 minutes to get all the essential information from the agent, but at least you’ll probably get to jam out to some quality “please hold, your call is very important to us” kind of music. Or, as I’m starting to see it: some serious money-saving tunes.
Our Top 5 Picks for the Best Car Insurance in New Hampshire
I started my search by getting quotes from these five companies. I picked them because they all meet my criteria for excellent customer service and financial stability. Though I can’t name which one will be the cheapest for you, I can confirm that any of these companies has the customer service record that’ll make that claims process just a little bit less painful. I’d recommend anyone in New Hampshire start with these as well. (Auto insurance is regulated on the state level, so I’d recommend a different set of providers to residents of other states.)
Each of these five companies has an at least an “average” rating from JD Power in the New England region for customer service satisfaction, as well as a favorable rating from A.M. Best. for financial viability. In my experience, attention to customer satisfaction is irreplaceable and I wouldn’t trade it for a slightly cheaper policy. If you do happen to do what I did and total your car on an open highway, you surely don’t want to be dealing with an obstinate insurance company.
Although looking purely cheap car insurance isn’t the way to go, Allstate is both cheap and has a strong reputation that packs a punch behind those comparatively low rates. To my surprise, Amica Mutual, J.D. Power’s highest rated company, was over three times more expensive for the same level of basic coverage. While Amica may be the king of customer service, my recommendation would be to stick with a more affordable company and put your saved money into better coverage.
After all, you (hopefully) won’t be dealing with your insurance company on a regular basis, but if you get into an accident with damages that are in closer to $50,000 or $100,000, stronger coverage will likely mean more to you than white glove customer service.
If you’re interested in getting a better idea of which company might be the all around cheapest, I suggest investigating this New Hampshire Premium Comparison Study.
The New Hampshire Insurance Department compared the quotes that seven example drivers would get from a number of companies. The drivers included a single 23-year-old male who rents his home and drives a 2008 Ford F-150 Supercab to a married couple in their forties who drive a Camry and a van and have a newly licensed 16-year-old son. Every quote is based a person’s risk profile, so even with seven examples, there’s no way to align it exactly to your unique risk, but you might be able to get a quick sense and narrow your search even further.
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