Trying to find reasonably-priced auto insurance is hard enough, and figuring out which company quotes the best insurance rates for retired military requires more quotes for comparison. Every insurance company uses a different method to set their prices, so let's rank the most competitive insurance companies in Chicago.
It's important that you understand Chicago, IL insurance rates are impacted by many things that may substantially change the cost of a policy. Simply having a birthday, adding a teenager to your policy, or getting a ticket for running a stop sign can trigger price changes that may make certain companies cheaper in comparison to the competition.
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| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hartford | $769 |
| 2 | Rockford Mutual | $813 |
| 3 | Titan | $852 |
| 4 | Erie | $905 |
| 5 | Cincinnati Insurance | $915 |
| 6 | SECURA | $975 |
| 7 | USAA | $979 |
| 8 | Utica National | $984 |
| 9 | Travelers | $990 |
| 10 | State Farm | $1,002 |
| 11 | Auto-Owners | $1,033 |
| 12 | Safeco | $1,063 |
| 13 | Amica | $1,109 |
| 14 | GEICO | $1,118 |
| 15 | Farmers | $1,135 |
| 16 | Esurance | $1,185 |
| 17 | MetLife | $1,207 |
| 18 | California Casualty | $1,209 |
| 19 | Progressive | $1,243 |
| 20 | State Auto | $1,260 |
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The Hartford offers some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Chicago at around $769 a year. Rockford Mutual, Titan, Erie, and Cincinnati Insurance also rank well as some of the cheapest Chicago, IL auto insurance companies.
As illustrated above, if you are a customer of Titan and switched to The Hartford, you may see a yearly price reduction of upwards of $83. Drivers with Erie might save as much as $136 a year, and Cincinnati Insurance policyholders might reduce rates by $146 a year.
To find out how much you can save, click here to start your free quote or click several companies below for low rates.
Be aware that those policy prices are averaged for all insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a specific vehicle garaging location for retired military. So the insurer that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own individual information.
For veterans, one of the more important things that help determine the price you pay for insurance is where you call home in Chicago. Cities with larger populations or higher claim trends tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with less crime or weather claims tend to receive cheaper rates.
The following table sorts the most expensive cities in Illinois for retired military in which to purchase auto insurance. Chicago is listed at #1 with the annual price of $1,529 for the average insurance policy, which is about $127 monthly.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chicago | $1,529 |
| 2 | Cicero | $1,526 |
| 3 | Skokie | $1,433 |
| 4 | Berwyn | $1,406 |
| 5 | Des Plaines | $1,286 |
| 6 | Evanston | $1,276 |
| 7 | Oak Lawn | $1,243 |
| 8 | Orland Park | $1,184 |
| 9 | Waukegan | $1,176 |
| 10 | Mount Prospect | $1,169 |
| 11 | Schaumburg | $1,169 |
| 12 | Palatine | $1,155 |
| 13 | Rockford | $1,153 |
| 14 | Elgin | $1,151 |
| 15 | Joliet | $1,134 |
| 16 | Tinley Park | $1,132 |
| 17 | Bolingbrook | $1,116 |
| 18 | Arlington Heights | $1,106 |
| 19 | Peoria | $1,092 |
| 20 | Aurora | $1,085 |
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Premium amounts are approximated as specific Chicago zip code can decrease or increase rates significantly.
Liability-only versus full coverage
Paying less for insurance is important to the majority of vehicle owners, and one of the best ways to find cheaper insurance for retired military is to only buy liability coverage. The illustration below illustrates the difference between car insurance costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The information is based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
If we average the cost for ages 20 through 70, physical damage coverage on your policy costs $1,469 per year over having just liability coverage. At some point, every insured wonders when is it safe to stop buying full coverage. There is no set rule of when to eliminate physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than 10% of the vehicle's replacement cost less your deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
For example, let's assume your vehicle's settlement value is $11,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would receive is $10,000 after paying your policy deductible. If it's costing in excess of $1,000 a year for full coverage, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
There are some circumstances where dropping full coverage is not recommended. If you haven't satisfied your loan, you must maintain physical damage coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should keep full coverage on your policy.
Discounts on Chicago car insurance rates
Insurance providers that provide coverage for retired military may also give you special discounts that can reduce rates by 25% or more if you are eligible to receive them. Popular insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts are outlined below.
- American Family offers discounts including accident-free, bundled insurance, early bird, good student, mySafetyValet, and air bags.
- Nationwide includes discounts for Farm Bureau membership, multi-policy, good student, business or organization, and defensive driving.
- MetLife has discounts for defensive driver, good student, claim-free, multi-policy, accident-free, good driver
- 21st Century offers premium reductions for good student, automatic seat belts, theft prevention, driver training, anti-lock brakes, defensive driver, and 55 and older.
- Farmers Insurance policyholders can earn discounts including switch companies, mature driver, good student, multi-car, bundle discounts, homeowner, and youthful driver.
- Allstate may include discounts for senior citizen, auto/life discount, teenSMART discount, EZ pay plan discount, and premier discount.
The diagram below visualizes the comparison of auto insurance rates with and without discounts applied to the policy rates. The premiums assume a male driver, no claims or driving violations, Illinois state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with passive restraint, safe-driver, multiple policy, homeowner, accident-free, and multiple vehicle discounts applied. When drivers qualify for the discounts, theamount saved on insurance for retired military is 27% or $378.
Impact of violations and accidents on rates
In a perfect world, the ideal way to earn the most affordable insurance prices in Chicago for veterans is to be a good driver and avoid traffic citations and accidents. The information below demonstrates how speeding tickets and at-fault accidents can impact car insurance costs for different age groups. The rates are based on a married male driver, full coverage, $250 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
In the previous example, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Chicago per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,566. Add in two speeding tickets and the average cost swells to $2,163, an increase of $596 each year. Then throw in two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of insurance for retired military increases to an average of $4,383. That's an increase of $2,816, or $235 per month, just for not driving carefully!
You may be paying too much for car insurance
Chicago, IL insurance rates are impacted by many things that may substantially change the cost of a policy. Simply having a birthday, buying a home, or having a fender bender can trigger changes in premium that may make certain companies cheaper than before.
Additionally, insurance companies change their prices at least once a year to adjust for unexpected claims or profits. Heavier than normal losses may cause additional price hikes, while less frequent claims may result in lower-cost Chicago car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the data below shows the company with the cheapest car insurance in Chicago, IL for a 35-year-old female driver with no violations or accidents, and good credit. When quoting prices based on her current risk profile, The Hartford might quote the cheapest car insurance rates in Chicago at $1,248 per year. This is $101 less than the average price paid by Illinois drivers of $1,349. Rockford Mutual, Titan, Erie, and Cincinnati Insurance also make the list of the best Chicago, IL auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from the first rate comparison an at-fault accident, a lower credit rating, and a few traffic violations. Because every insurance company uses their own calculation for determining rates, comparing rates may result in a completely different list of the cheapest companies as shown below.
Travelers now has the best car insurance rate in Chicago, IL with USAA, State Farm, SECURA, and Auto-Owners now being in the top five. This shows why consumers need to do a thorough rate comparison when trying to get the most affordable auto insurance rates for retired military.
Auto insurance prices can be determined by many factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the lowest-price company the last time you shopped your coverage around may now be one of the more expensive options.