Cheapest car insurance companies for liability-only insurance
We found that GEICO has the cheapest liability-only car insurance for most drivers who want minimum coverage (meaning the least amount of insurance required by law). Auto-Owners has the cheapest liability insurance overall, but it’s not available in every state.
Cheapest for most people
Rating: 4.6/5 ★
Cost: $34 per month
What else we like: National availability and easy-to-get discounts
Cheapest overall
Rating: 3.9/5 ★
Cost: $27 per month
What else we like: Lots of discounts you can use to lower your rates
A liability-only insurance policy refers to a policy that does not include comprehensive or collision coverage. With liability-only insurance, you’d only be covered for damage you cause to others in an accident, not for damage to your own car.
Our methodology for the cheapest liability-only insurance
We found the companies with the cheapest liability insurance by analyzing rate data from every ZIP code in the country. These rates were provided by Quadrant Information Services.
The rates we analyzed were for a minimum-coverage policy according to the insurance requirements in each state. The prices in this study reflect the least amount of insurance you could get and still legally drive, but it’s possible to have a liability-only policy that exceeds your state’s minimum coverage limits.
Rates for overall average rate, rates by ZIP code, and cheapest companies determined using averages for single drivers age 30. Our sample vehicle was a 2017 Toyota Camry LE driven 10,000 miles/year.
To find the cost of liability-insurance after an accident, we calculated the average premium increase at each company for full-coverage rates. Then we applied that rate of change to the average cost of a liability policy at the same company.
Some carriers may be represented by affiliates or subsidiaries. Rates provided are a sample of costs. Your actual quotes may differ.
What is the cheapest liability car insurance?
Liability-only car insurance costs an average of $51 per month (or $617 per year), but there are some companies with cheaper-than-average rates.
We found that the cheapest liability-only car insurance is Auto-Owners Insurance. On average, the cost of a liability car insurance policy from Auto-Owners is $27 per month, or $327 per year.
Drivers can also get some of the cheapest insurance from smaller companies like MAPFRE and Erie, as well from USAA, which only offers policies to drivers who are affiliated with the military. But since these companies aren’t available to everyone, GEICO is the cheapest liability-only insurance for most people.
Cheapest liability-only insurance for most people: GEICO
Cheapest for most drivers
Monthly cost
$34
GEICO has the best rates for liability-only insurance from any nationally-available company. GEICO offers coverage in every state and Washington, D.C., drivers everywhere will be able to get a quote from GEICO.
Read our full GEICO car insurance review
GEICO is the cheapest liability-only insurance company of any nationally available company. It’s the only company in our top picks that’s available in every state.
On average, liability-only car insurance from GEICO costs $34 per month ($402 per year). That’s $215 cheaper per year than average. That’s also just $35 more expensive per year than the company with the cheapest liability-only insurance.
Company | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
USAA* | $31 | $369 |
GEICO | $34 | $370 |
State Farm | $40 | $402 |
Nationwide | $52 | $475 |
Travelers | $57 | $526 |
Five major car insurance companies with the cheapest liability insurance.
GEICO also has a range of discounts that drivers can use to get even cheaper rates. You can save on your GEICO policy if you:
Own a car with safety and anti-theft tech
Stay accident-free for at least five years
Take a defensive driving or driver’s education class
Keep your grades high if you’re a student
Are a federal employee or a member of the military
Bundle more than one policy with GEICO
Insure more than one vehicle on the same policy
Are a part of one of GEICO’s affiliate organizations
Cheapest liability-only insurance from a smaller company: Auto-Owners
Cheapest for liability-only insurance
Monthly cost
$27
Auto-Owners has the cheapest liability-only insurance overall, though it’s not available in every state. But if you live in one of the 26 states where Auto-Owners offers coverage, you might be able to get liability coverage for less than $30 a month.
Auto-Owners has the cheapest liability-only car insurance of any company on our list. On average, the cost of a minimum-coverage liability-only policy from Auto-Owners is $27 per month ($327 per year). That’s $290 less per year than the national average.
Company | Monthly cost | Annual cost |
|---|---|---|
Auto-Owners Insurance | $27 | $327 |
MAPFRE | $28 | $335 |
USAA | $31 | $369 |
Erie | $31 | $370 |
GEICO | $34 | $402 |
Cost of liability car insurance from the five cheapest companies.
Drivers can get even cheaper liability-only auto insurance with discounts. Auto-Owners offers discounts for drivers who:
Bundle multiple policies with Auto-Owners
Insure more than one car on the same policy
Make on-time payments for three consecutive years
Pay their entire annual premium at once
Enroll in paperless billing
Switch to make online payments
Request a quote before their policy’s start date
Own a car with safety and anti-theft tech
While Auto-Owners has cheap liability insurance, it isn’t available everywhere. Auto-Owners only offers car insurance in 26 states, and doesn’t offer coverage in California, New York, or Texas.
Cheapest liability-only insurance for people in the military: USAA
Drivers in the military (and their families) can get cheap liability car insurance from USAA. We found that the average cost of a liability-only insurance policy from USAA is $31 per month ($369 per year). That’s $248 less per year than the national average.
Besides having excellent rates for liability insurance for military families, USAA has a few discounts that drivers can use to lower their costs. You can get qualify for discounts from USAA if you:
Keep your garage on a military base
Maintain high grades if you’re a student
Bundle your home and auto policies with USAA
Own a new car or one with anti-theft tech
Drive less than average
USAA also has great customer service. It ranks near or at the top of J.D. Power’s Auto Claims Satisfaction Survey year after year, which means customers feel good about the claims process with USAA. [1]
Cheapest liability-only car insurance after an accident: State Farm
Cheapest after an accident
Monthly cost
$49
Rates go up after an accident, but you can still get cheap liability-only car insurance from State Farm. Unlike the other companies that also have cheap insurance for drivers with an accident on their records, State Farm is available in almost every state.
Read our full State Farm car insurance review
State Farm has the cheapest liability-only car insurance for people with a recent accident on their driving record. On average, we found that liability-only insurance from State Farm costs $49 per month ($585 per year) after you’re in an at-fault accident.
We found that the cost of liability-only insurance from State Farm is still $331 less per year than the average after an accident. There are a few companies that have slightly lower rates for higher-risk drivers, but none are as widely available as State Farm.
State Farm doesn’t have as many discounts as competitors, but it does offer some opportunities to save, including for drivers who:
Bundle home and auto insurance with State Farm
Drive a newer car
Own a vehicle with safety and anti-theft tech
Insure more than one car on the same policy
Cheapest liability car insurance in every state
The cost of liability-only car insurance depends heavily on where you live. In some states, the difference between the cheapest company and the average cost of insurance can be hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars per year.
We found that the cheapest companies at the statewide level are GEICO and USAA, which have the best rates for liability-only insurance in a combined 32 states.
Since the cheapest company for liability car insurance varies so much depending on where you live, it’s even more important to compare quotes from the best companies before you get insurance.
State | Cheapest company | Average monthly cost | Minimum liability required |
|---|---|---|---|
GEICO | $68 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
State Farm | $66 | $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 | |
GEICO | $62 | $25,000/$50,000/$15,000 | |
USAA | $70 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
Wawanesa | $81 | $15,000/$30,000/$5,000 | |
American National | $61 | $25,000/$50,000/$15,000 | |
GEICO | $55 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
Travelers | $93 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
GEICO | $69 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
GEICO | $107 | $10,000 property damage | |
Auto-Owners | $68 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
GEICO | $51 | $20,000/$40,000/$10,000 | |
American National | $37 | $25,000/$50,000/$15,000 | |
Pekin | $51 | $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 | |
USAA | $50 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
West Bend | $53 | $20,000/$40,000/$15,000 | |
USAA | $66 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
GEICO | $74 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $115 | $15,000/$30,000/$25,000 | |
GEICO | $41 | $50,000/$100,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $63 | $30,000/$60,000/$15,000 | |
USAA | $77 | $20,000/$40,000/$5,000 | |
GEICO | $76 | $20,000/$40,000/$10,000 | |
Farm Bureau | $60 | $30,000/$60,000/$10,000 | |
USAA | $65 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $54 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
USAA | $62 | $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 | |
Auto-Owners | $65 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
GEICO | $72 | $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 | |
State Farm | $51 | Optional | |
GEICO | $74 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
State Farm | $65 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
American Family | $80 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
GEICO | $45 | $30,000/$60,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $55 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
Erie | $43 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $69 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
State Farm | $74 | $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 | |
Erie | $56 | $15,000/$30,000/$5,000 | |
State Farm | $71 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
American National | $49 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
Kemper | $65 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $62 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
Farm Bureau | $76 | $30,000/$60,000/$25,000 | |
GEICO | $58 | $25,000/$65,000/$15,000 | |
USAA | $53 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
USAA | $58 | $30,000/$60,000/$20,000 | |
USAA | $71 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
USAA | $65 | $25,000/$50,000/$25,000 | |
USAA | $50 | $25,000/$50,000/$10,000 | |
American National | $52 | $25,000/$50,000/$20,000 |
Rates for the minimum amounts of insurance required in every state.
How to get cheaper liability-only insurance
A liability-only policy will usually be cheaper than a full-coverage policy (which includes comprehensive and collision), but it’s still possible to find even cheaper liability insurance.
The best way to find the cheapest liability-only car insurance is by comparing quotes from multiple companies before you buy. That way, you can see right away which one offers the cheapest liability insurance. You can also get cheap liability-only auto insurance by:
Signing up for usage-based insurance: When you sign up for usage-based insurance, your insurance company monitors your driving for a few weeks and awards lower rates for safe driving.
Enrolling in a defensive driving course: You could get cheaper liability-only insurance by taking a defensive driving course (or a driver’s education course if you’re a young driver).
Switching companies if your rates go up: When your policy is up for renewal, it’s a good idea to compare rates again and switch if there’s a company that offers cheaper liability-only car insurance.
Getting a broad form policy: A broad form policy is cheaper than even a minimum liability policy, but only one driver is allowed to use the insured vehicle and you can’t add comprehensive or collision coverage.
How does liability-only insurance work?
Liability-only insurance only covers the cost of the other driver’s medical expenses and repair bills after an at-fault accident. Your policy will cover you up to its limits, which are usually shown per person and per accident.
For instance, let’s say that you have liability-only car insurance with these limits:
Bodily injury liability insurance: $25,000 per person, $50,000 per accident
Property damage liability insurance: $25,000 per accident
This means that your bodily injury liability insurance would cover up to $25,000 in injuries for the other drivers and their passengers. But you’ll only be covered for up to $50,000 for the entire accident.
Your liability-only insurance does not cover damage to your own vehicle after a crash that you cause. That’s where a full-coverage policy would come in. Without collision and comprehensive coverage, you’d be stuck paying to replace your car yourself if you damage it in a crash.
Should you get liability-only insurance?
It’s tempting to get liability-only insurance instead of full-coverage. Liability-only insurance is, on average, $1,035 per year less than the cost of a full-coverage policy. But most drivers need the protection of a full-coverage policy.
Liability-only insurance won’t cover damage to your own car after an accident that you cause. While the other person’s injuries and property damage would be covered up to your policy’s limits, you would have to repair (or replace) your car yourself.
There are some cases when it makes sense to get liability-only insurance, so you may want to drop full-coverage if:
Your car is an old clunker that wouldn’t cost much to replace
Your car is worth less than your collision or comprehensive deductible amount
If you do get liability-only insurance, you should still get more than the minimum amounts required in your state. It’s not very expensive to add more liability insurance, so you should get as much as you can afford even if you don’t get full-coverage.
It can be easy for the cost of someone else’s damage or injuries to exceed your state’s minimum liability limits after a crash. With only enough insurance to drive, you could easily be stuck paying tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
If you choose to buy liability-only car insurance, it is important to choose the highest level of coverage you can afford. If you don't have enough liability insurance to cover the damage caused in an at-fault accident, you will be held responsible for any costs that go beyond your coverage limits. We recommend a minimum of 100/300/100 levels of liability coverage but, if that is too expensive, you should buy the highest level of liability coverage you can afford.
How much is liability-only insurance compared to full-coverage?
According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the cost to go from liability-only policy insurance to a full-coverage policy is $518 per year. But the cost for you to upgrade your liability-only insurance depends on how much insurance you have. [2]
For example, if you had liability-only insurance with higher limits it will be closer in price to a full-coverage policy. But let’s say you have the legal minimum amounts of liability insurance, and you want to add more liability insurance and full-coverage. Then it would cost an average of $1,035 to upgrade your policy.
The cost of liability-only insurance compared to full-coverage also depends on your insurance carrier. Among our cheapest companies for liability-only car insurance, we found that the cost to upgrade to full-coverage is lowest at MAPFRE, USAA, and State Farm.
Company | Cost difference | Liability-only coverage | Full-coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
Auto-Owners Insurance | $888 | $324 | $1,212 |
MAPFRE | $732 | $336 | $1,068 |
USAA | $756 | $372 | $1,128 |
Erie | $780 | $372 | $1,152 |
GEICO | $768 | $408 | $1,176 |
State Farm | $756 | $480 | $1,236 |
Farm Bureau | $1,044 | $480 | $1,524 |
COUNTRY Financial | $984 | $528 | $1,512 |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the cheapest liability insurance?
On average, Auto-Owners Insurance has the cheapest liability car insurance. But because Auto-Owners insurance offers coverage in 26 states, GEICO, which is available nationwide, is the cheapest option for most people.
What does it mean to only have liability insurance?
If you only have liability insurance, then you don’t have full-coverage. That means that your policy doesn’t have comprehensive or collision insurance and that damage to your own car wouldn’t be covered after an accident.
Why would someone only carry liability insurance?
Some drivers only carry liability insurance to save money on their car insurance. While carrying only liability insurance leaves you unprotected from serious accidents and from certain types of damage, it’s cheaper to get a bare-bones policy than it is to carry full coverage.
How much liability insurance do you need?
The amount of liability insurance you need depends on your state’s laws. Even after you get enough coverage to meet your state’s requirements, we recommend getting as much liability insurance as you can afford so you don’t have to pay for the cost of medical bills or serious property damage on your own.
