Low-mileage Car Insurance: Best Cheap Companies (2024) (2024)

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In our insurance cost estimate analysis, we found that a number of the cheapest providers also offer lower rates for low-mileage drivers. We examined car insurance rates for 35-year-old drivers who travel 12,000 miles per year and 6,000 miles per year.

Below are the seven cheapest full-coverage insurance companies with prices for average-mileage and low-mileage drivers, according to our rate estimates. These car insurance premiums are based on a standard insurance policy, without taking telematics or low-mileage discounts into account.

Best Low-mileage Car Insurance

With low-mileage car insurance, you can save money for driving less. That’s because if you don’t drive as much as other policyholders you’re less likely to get into an accident and cost the insurance company money.

Low-Mileage Car Insurance Policy

If you’re looking for cheap car insurance, there are two types of low mileage auto insurance policies worth considering:

• Low-mileage Discount: This discount offers reduced rates for those who drive fewer miles. We found that most companies offered this discount for people who drove less than 7,500 miles per year.
• Pay-per-mile Insurance: Several car insurance companies offer pay-per-mile insurance policies that track your mileage and determine your rate based on how many miles you’ve driven.

There are three ways to save on car insurance if you don’t drive much. You can take advantage of low-mileage discounts, pay-per-mile insurance or usage-based insurance.

Keep in mind that we’re talking about miles driven in a time period, not the total number of miles on your odometer. In other words, your car doesn’t need to have under 8,000 miles on the odometer for you to be eligible for low-mileage insurance — you just typically need to drive less than 8,000 miles each year.

#1 Low-Mileage Discounts

The simplest way to save with low-mileage car insurance is to get a discount from your provider. Not all companies offer low-mileage discounts. The ones that do usually give discounts if you drive under 7,500 or 8,000 miles per year, which is about 21 to 22 miles per day.

Here are a few providers that offer low-mileage car insurance discounts:

• USAA: The low-mileage car insurance discount is based on annual mileage.
• Safeco Insurance: Low-mileage discount requirements aren’t published.
• American Family Insurance: Get a discount for driving under 7,500 miles.
• Farm Bureau: Get a discount for driving under 7,500 miles (depending on the state).
• PEMCO: Get a discount for driving under 8,000 miles.

If your average mileage has changed since last year, it’s a good idea to reach out to your agent to see if the company offers a low-mileage discount. Companies that don’t advertise low-mileage discounts may consider your mileage when renewing your rate, too.

How To Get a Low Mileage Discount

It’s common for companies to require proof of low mileage each time your policy renews. One way is to submit your mileage and a photo of the odometer. Another way to start the discount is to provide service paperwork that’s at least 90 days old plus a photo of your current odometer. An agent can calculate your average mileage from those documents.

#2 Pay-per-Mile Insurance

Pay-per-mile programs were created to give drivers specialized options for low-mileage car insurance. With these programs, your rate is tied directly to your mileage. These programs usually include a base rate and a per-mile rate each month. Programs track your mileage with a plug-in device or mobile app.

Pay-per-mile programs also set a maximum number of billable miles per day, which means you can take a road trip without worrying about a $1,000 insurance bill. A few leading pay-per-mile providers are:

• Metromile: According to Metromile’s website, people who drive 2,500 miles per year save about $947 with its pay-per-mile program compared to standard insurance.
• Allstate Milewise^®: According to Allstate, low-mileage drivers can save 50% with Milewise compared to standard policies.
• Nationwide SmartMiles^®: In an example on the Nationwide SmartMiles website, a driver went from paying $133 per month on a traditional policy to paying $95 per month for driving 500 miles monthly.

#3 Usage-Based Insurance

Another way to save money with low-mileage car insurance is to try a usage-based program like Snapshot^® from Progressive. Usage-based programs track driving behaviors like hard braking, late-night driving and quick acceleration.

Most of these programs also consider mileage as a main factor in determining your discount. While usage-based options aren’t advertised as low-mileage car insurance programs, people who drive the least usually save the most. Safe driving programs that count distance or miles driven in your score include:

• Geico DriveEasy
• Esurance DriveSense^®
• Farmers Signal^®
• Liberty Mutual RightTrack^®
• Nationwide SmartRide^®
• Progressive Snapshot^®
• State Farm Drive Safe & Save™

Keep in mind that these programs track other things beyond mileage, so you might not save money if you have bad driving habits. That said, it can be a good idea to check out usage-based programs if you want coverage from a particular provider that doesn’t offer a low-mileage discount or a pay-per-mile program.

What Affects Insurance Costs Besides Mileage?

Even if you drive less than the national average, you might still have high rates. This could be from a range of factors. Maybe your vehicle has higher average repair costs or you live in an area with a high rate of theft. Insurance agents take a number of factors into account when calculating your personalized car insurance quote.

These factors are:

• Location: If you live in an area with statistically higher instances of theft or collisions, you’ll likely pay more for insurance coverage.
• Age: Young drivers typically pay more for coverage than older drivers who have more experience behind the wheel.
• Driving record: If you have any speeding tickets, DUI convictions or other traffic violations on your driving history, you’ll likely spend a lot more for car insurance coverage.
• Credit history: Drivers with good credit tend to pay less for auto insurance than those with poor credit.
• Gender: Male drivers tend to get into more accidents than female drivers, and therefore pay a bit more for car insurance.
• Marital status: Married drivers usually pay less for auto insurance coverage than single drivers.
• Vehicle: Older cars tend to be less expensive to insure than newer cars. Luxury vehicles and sports cars are more expensive to insure than standard cars.

Low-mileage car insurance exists for those who drive less than 8,000 miles per year. Several companies offer low-mile auto insurance policies through discounts and pay-per-mile insurance. Keep in mind that these programs track other things beyond mileage, so you might not save money if you have bad driving habits.

It canbe a good idea to check out usage-based programs if you want coverage from a particular provider that doesn’t offer a low-mileage discount or a pay-per-mile program. We recommend reaching out to companies for free car insurance quotes before deciding on an insurance provider.

USAA: Best for Military Members

If you qualify for USAA and drive less than the average person, you could find a good rate with a low-mileage car insurance discount. Military members, veterans and their immediate family members can qualify for USAA car insurance.

USAA ranks as one of the cheapest car insurance companies overall and has a reputable customer service record.

Keep reading: USAA Insurance Review

Progressive: Best for Tech-Savvy Drivers

Progressive doesn’t have a specific low-mileage discount, but it does provide the Snapshot usage-based program, which factors mileage into your rating. Snapshot is one of the most widely available usage-based programs in the U.S.

Progressive was the second-largest car insurance company in the country in 2023 according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), and it wrote more than $48 billion in premiums that year.

Keep reading: Progressive Insurance Review

Because consumers rely on us to provide objective and accurate information, we created a comprehensive rating system to formulate our rankings of the best car insurance companies. We collected data on dozens of auto insurance providers to grade the companies on a wide range of ranking factors. The end result was an overall rating for each provider, with the insurers that scored the most points topping the list.

Here are the factors our ratings take into account:

• Coverage (30% of total score): Companies that offer a variety of choices for insurance coverage are more likely to meet consumer needs.
• Cost and Discounts (25% of total score): Auto insurance rate estimates generated by Quadrant Information Services and discount opportunities are both taken into consideration.
• Industry Standing (20% of total score): Our research team considers market share, ratings from industry experts and years in business when giving this score.
• Customer Experience (15% of total score): This score is based on volume of complaints reported by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and customer satisfaction ratings reported by J.D. Power. We also consider the responsiveness, friendliness and helpfulness of each insurance company’s customer service team based on our own shopper analysis.
• Availability (10% of total score): Auto insurance companies with greater state availability and few eligibility requirements score highest in this category.

Our credentials:

• 800 hours researched
• 130+ companies reviewed
• 8,500+ consumers surveyed

*Data accurate at time of publication.