Wouldn't it be great if we could magically tell you the single company that has the cheapest insurance for drivers with a DUI? Unfortunately, it's not that simple as there are a whole bunch of unknown elements such as the amount of liability coverage you want, if you are married, the vehicle you drive, and what your desired deductibles are, that all have an effect on the price. We will try to teach you about the things that cause high insurance rates and should give you a jump start in finding the best auto insurance.
One of the more important criteria that are looked at to help calculate the annual cost of car insurance is where you choose to live. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with lower crime rates and fewer weather claims tend to receive slightly lower rates.
The next table rates the most costly cities in Illinois for drivers with a DUI to buy an auto insurance policy in. Chicago ranks #1 with the yearly price of $1,544 for the average insured, which is approximately $129 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | $1,544 |
| 2 | Cicero | $1,541 |
| 3 | Skokie | $1,447 |
| 4 | Berwyn | $1,421 |
| 5 | Des Plaines | $1,248 |
| 6 | Evanston | $1,238 |
| 7 | Oak Lawn | $1,231 |
| 8 | Waukegan | $1,212 |
| 9 | Mount Prospect | $1,205 |
| 10 | Orland Park | $1,149 |
| 11 | Joliet | $1,145 |
| 12 | Schaumburg | $1,135 |
| 13 | Tinley Park | $1,132 |
| 14 | Palatine | $1,121 |
| 15 | Bolingbrook | $1,116 |
| 16 | Rockford | $1,107 |
| 17 | Elgin | $1,105 |
| 18 | Arlington Heights | $1,095 |
| 19 | Peoria | $1,060 |
| 20 | Decatur | $1,044 |
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Annual rates are approximated as specific Chicago zip code can alter auto insurance rates noticeably.
The type of vehicle you are buying coverage for is a large consideration when shopping around for the cheapest auto insurance for drivers with a DUI. Vehicles with high performance engines, a lack of advanced safety features, or a track record of large liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models. The next list showcases coverage premiums for a number of the most affordable automobiles to insure.
| Insured Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V LX 2WD | $3,009 |
| Ford Escape XLT 2WD | $3,212 |
| Ford F-150 STX Super Cab 4WD | $3,435 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $3,500 |
| Honda Accord EX-L 4-Dr Sedan | $3,566 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $3,569 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT 2WD | $3,576 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $3,635 |
| Toyota Prius | $3,648 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $3,694 |
| Honda Odyssey EX-L | $3,769 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $3,775 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $3,805 |
| Ford Edge SEL AWD | $3,812 |
| Nissan Rogue S 2WD | $3,815 |
| Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $3,835 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT Crew Cab 4WD | $3,845 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $3,887 |
| GMC Sierra SL Extended Cab 2WD | $3,894 |
| GMC Sierra 3500HD SLE Crew Cab 2WD | $3,904 |
| Compare Cheap Rates Go | |
Premium data assumes single male driver age 40, two speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Illinois minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Price information does not factor in garaging location in Chicago, IL which can modify auto insurance rates greatly.
Looking at the data, you can infer that models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Ford F-150 are some of the less-costly vehicles to insure after getting a DUI. Prices will be more expensive because of the fact that there is more liability exposure for drivers with a DUI, but in general those particular vehicles will most likely have the lowest insurance rates compared to all other vehicles.
Locating reasonably-priced auto insurance is hard enough, and figuring out which insurers offer the cheapest insurance rates for drivers with a DUI will involve even more shopping around. Every auto insurer uses their own formula to establish rates, so let's rank the insurance companies with the overall best prices in Chicago, IL.
We do need to point out that Chicago, IL insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that control the price you have to pay for coverage. Turning one year older, getting divorced, or getting a reckless driving citation can produce rate changes that may make certain companies cheaper than competitors.
Best Insurance Companies after a DUI
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hartford | $753 |
| 2 | Rockford Mutual | $838 |
| 3 | Titan | $886 |
| 4 | Erie | $887 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Insurance | $924 |
| 6 | State Farm | $972 |
| 7 | USAA | $979 |
| 8 | Utica National | $984 |
| 9 | Travelers | $990 |
| 10 | SECURA | $1,005 |
| 11 | Auto-Owners | $1,053 |
| 12 | Safeco | $1,095 |
| 13 | GEICO | $1,107 |
| 14 | Amica | $1,109 |
| 15 | Farmers | $1,170 |
| 16 | California Casualty | $1,197 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,197 |
| 18 | Progressive | $1,219 |
| 19 | MetLife | $1,244 |
| 20 | State Auto | $1,260 |
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The Hartford has some of the best car insurance rates in Chicago at around $753 annually. Rockford Mutual, Titan, Erie, and Cincinnati Insurance also are some of the more affordable Chicago, IL auto insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you are insured with Rockford Mutual and switched to The Hartford, you might see an annual savings of upwards of $85. Customers with Titan could save as much as $133 a year, and Erie customers might reduce prices by as much as $134 a year.
Bear in mind that those policy prices are averaged for all drivers and vehicles and are not factoring in a vehicle location for drivers with a DUI. So the insurer that is best for you may not even be in the top 36 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to get rate quotes using your own personal information and vehicle type.
The example below illustrates how your choice of deductibles can influence insurance premiums when researching cheap insurance for drivers with a DUI. The data is based on a married male driver, full coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.
The chart above illustrates that a 40-year-old driver could save $182 a year by switching their comprehensive and collision coverages from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $276 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the 20-year-old example, could possibly save $604 or more just by using higher deductibles.
If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it will be important to have additional savings on hand to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main drawback of higher deductibles.
Full coverage or liability only
Reducing the cost of insurance should be important to most people, and one easy way to lower the cost of insurance for drivers with a DUI is to not buy full coverage. The information below shows the comparison of insurance rates with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The premiums assume no violations or claims, $250 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
If averaged out across all ages, comp and collision coverage costs an extra $1,839 per year more than carrying just liability coverage. At some point, almost every driver questions when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no definitive rule for dropping physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can use. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
Finding the top car insurance company is hard considering how many companies provide coverage in Illinois. The information below can help you decide which auto insurers to look at shopping your coverage with. These rankings are only comprised of companies with a nationwide focus, so companies that have a smaller presence are not taken into consideration for the list.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Chicago Ranked by Customer Service
- Mercury Insurance
- Nationwide
- State Farm
- Safeco Insurance
- American Family
- Titan Insurance
- Travelers
- Liberty Mutual
- GEICO
- Erie Insurance
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Chicago Ranked by A.M. Best Rating
- USAA - A++
- GEICO - A++
- Travelers - A++
- State Farm - A++
- Titan Insurance - A+
- Progressive - A+
- Erie Insurance - A+
- Mercury Insurance - A+
- The Hartford - A+
- Nationwide - A+