The Cheapest Car Insurance In Las Vegas

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People from all around the world flood into Vegas to take a break from their lives and have a good time. However, living in a tourist town has its ups and downs. You’re minutes away from a world of entertainment and dining options, but that comes at a price. Las Vegas car insurance is some of the most expensive in the nation, so it pays to shop around to find cheap rates.

In our research into the top car insurance companies nationwide, we found that a few stood out from the pack. USAA, Geico, Progressive, and State Farm performed better than the competition in terms of coverage options, customer service, price, and financial stability. Looking at the Entertainment Capital of the World, we think Geico is the best option for car insurance in Las Vegas.

To get matched with the best Las Vegas car insurance rates, use our tool below:

Read on to learn more about our top pick and minimum auto insurance requirements in Nevada.

In this article:

Minimum Requirements For Las Vegas Car Insurance

Nevada has financial responsibility laws that help protect victims of car accidents. Without these laws, there would be far more uninsured motorists and many more lawsuits. In Nevada, you are required to have liability insurance with limits of 25/50/20, which means:

• $25,000 bodily injury liability per person
• $50,000 bodily injury liability per accident
• $20,000 property damage liability

Liability coverage compensates other people when you cause an accident. Bodily injury covers medical bills and lost wages for other drivers, passengers, and pedestrians. Property damage covers repairs for other people's vehicles.

In addition to the state minimum coverage, you can get the following types of auto insurance in Las Vegas:

You'll notice that Nevada's required coverages don't include anything that will fix your car after an accident. Required coverages also don’t help with your medical bills. Of course, your health insurance can cover your injuries after an accident, but having MedPay or PIP with your Las Vegas auto insurance policy can cover extra expenses like your health insurance deductible.

As a driver in Las Vegas, you’ll want to think about opting for full coverage with higher limits. When you drive your car around town, you have to share the road with tourists and expensive vehicles. You never know if your next accident will be with a stretch limo or classic car, and $20,000 in property damage won’t cut it in that situation.

Cheap Car Insurance: Geico

Las Vegas car insurance through Geico can cost well below the average for the city. We'll talk more about this below, but the city average is unfortunately much more expensive than the average for Nevada. That being said, many drivers in Las Vegas find the best rates with Geico.

Geico came in second place overall in our nationwide car insurance company rankings. Geico has a reputation for good customer service, and it has any kind of coverage that drivers in Las Vegas would need. For example, you can cover all of the following with Geico:

• Classic cars
• Exotic cars
• All terrain vehicles (ATVs)
• Utility task vehicles (UTVs)
• Motorcycles

If you recently purchased a new vehicle, you can take advantage of Geico's mechanical breakdown insurance, which is similar to an extended car warranty. Geico also has a partnership with Enterprise Rent-A-Car that makes picking up a rental after an accident easy.

Speaking of accidents, Geico ranked fourth on J.D. Power’s 2019 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. That’s important, and it means Geico can resolve your claim quickly and easily. Getting into an accident is enough of a headache, so your Las Vegas car insurance provider shouldn’t cause any more pain and suffering.

Overall, Geico is a strong organization. It has the highest financial strength rating from AM Best and is the second largest insurer in Nevada. Unfortunately, Geico doesn’t yet have a usage-based insurance option available to drivers in Las Vegas.

Other Top Insurance Companies To Consider

After comparing Geico vs Progressive, we highly recommend both auto insurance companies. However, there are a couple of other providers out there that you might consider while you shop. It doesn’t take long to get a few quotes from competing insurance providers. Spending this time could save you money on your premiums. Just make sure the provider you choose also supplies grea

Runner-Up: Progressive

Progressive, on the other hand, does have great usage-based car insurance in Las Vegas. Progressive’s Snapshot program tracks driving data and gives car insurance discounts to good drivers. Here's what it cares about:

• Hard braking: Progressive defines hard braking as slowing your speed by seven miles per hour or more within one second. You might not be able to visualize that in your mind, but Progressive’s plugin device will beep when you brake too hard.
• Time and day: Limit late-night weekend driving to get the best discount.
• Amount of time on the road: Taking longer trips will count against your score. If you have to commute over a long distance, Progressive recommends that you try carpooling or using public transit on some days.
• Fast starts: While it's legal to accelerate quickly up to the speed limit, Progressive doesn't like it. An increase of nine miles per hour or more during one second is considered a fast start. That means you have to take at least seven seconds to go from zero to sixty.
• Trip regularity: Just as your body prefers a regular sleep schedule, Progressive likes to see a regular driving schedule.

Be aware that the Snapshot program can raise your Las Vegas auto insurance rates. If Progressive finds out that you are a high-risk driver because of your driving habits, your base rate can go up. Other programs like State Farm’s Drive Safe and Save don't do this.

However, Progressive gives you a get-out-of-jail-free card. You can quit the program within 45 days without a penalty. You’ll lose your participation discount, but that’s all. If you quit after 45 days, Progressive will apply an additional charge when you renew your policy.

Drivers in Las Vegas can find affordable rates from Progressive, and it tends to be a good option for people with an accident on their record. Unfortunately, its customer service ratings are a bit lower than Geico's. Progressive gave average performances on J.D. Power's Auto Claims Satisfaction Study and 2019 U.S. Insurance Shopping Study.

Average Cost Of Las Vegas Car Insurance

According to the Insurance Information Institute, Las Vegas auto insurance doesn’t come cheap. In 2016, Nevada drivers had an average auto insurance expenditure of $1,026.22, which was almost $100 more than the national average of $935.80. And car insurance in Las Vegas will cost you more than the state average.

Remember, this is the average car insurance quote – most drivers purchased different types of insurance, and many purchased more than the state minimum. You don’t want to be an underinsured driver, especially in an expensive area like Las Vegas. Even if you have full coverage, you can be taken to court if your policy limits don’t cover all the damage in an accident when you are at fault.

Totaling someone’s Nissan is a different story than totaling someone’s BMW, for example. To protect yourself from lawsuits, we’d suggest you carry Las Vegas car insurance with limits of 100/300/100. Of course, it’s going to cost more than the state minimum coverage of 25/50/20. You’ll get over four times the coverage, but you won’t have to pay four times the price. With higher coverage levels, you get more coverage per dollar that you spend.

What Affects Las Vegas Auto Insurance Rates

We just talked about the average rates for car insurance in Las Vegas. However, you might find a rate that’s better – or worse. Many things impact the insurance quotes you’ll find online, including your age, driving history, the type of car you drive, recent claims, and your zip code.

Unfortunately, you also pay for other drivers and the cost of total claims in your area. For example, let’s say Las Vegas had a particularly windy year, and many people filed comprehensive damage claims. Car insurance rates could rise in the region in the next few months to compensate for that.

The city also has a higher crime rate than other similar metro areas, which can cause higher car insurance premiums. Las Vegas car insurance companies will charge more for drivers living in high-crime zip codes, even if those drivers haven’t experienced any kind of theft or vandalism.

What To Know About Driving In Las Vegas

Another thing to keep in mind is that you might have a higher chance of running into a classic or luxury car in Las Vegas than in other cities. This can bump up costs for everyone. According to a recent survey, the city ranks seventh in the nation for foot traffic to luxury car dealerships.

The survey also found that BMW was the most popular luxury brand in Las Vegas. Apparently, Las Vegas drivers own more than their fair share of Rolls-Royce and Mercedes-Maybach vehicles, as well.

Luxury car owners will often have car insurance plans tailored to their vehicle, but other auto insurers still have to compensate luxury owners when their own insured drivers are at fault in an accident. Because of this, it’s a good idea to bump up your property damage coverage on your Las Vegas auto insurance policy. Sure, the other driver might have underinsured motorist coverage, but if they don’t, they could decide to sue you.

Driving Without Insurance In Nevada

If you’re thinking of driving without car insurance in Nevada, don’t. You’d pay much more in fees and increased rates than you would save by going without insurance. If you got caught, you could get a ticket for $250 to $1,000. You also could pay another $750 to reinstate your license.

Moreover, you could be required to file an SR-22. This is a form that guarantees that you carry insurance. The form doesn’t cost much, but your rates will rise when insurers find out you have an SR-22 for driving without insurance. Plus, that stays on your record for three years. That means you’ll have to pay a higher rate for Las Vegas auto insurance during that time. All in all, you could end up paying an extra $5,000 or more for driving without insurance in Nevada.

Las Vegas Crash Statistics

According to the Nevada Department of Transportation's crash data heatmap, Las Vegas is engulfed in red – and that’s not good. All of the major avenues and boulevards in Las Vegas see many more car accidents than the suburban and rural areas outside of the city. The Reno area is the only other spot in Nevada that burns as bright on the heatmap.

The heatmap shows that there were 11,101 accidents downtown in 2017. Head a couple of miles away, and there were half as many in a similar area. Head away from downtown even more, and the crash rate continues dropping. For example, the Summerlin area had 1,551 accidents that year.

In 2018, 330 people died in traffic accidents in Nevada. That includes 59 motorcyclists, which accounted for 18 percent of the total. Nationally, motorcyclist fatalities accounted for 14 percent of accident deaths.

Las Vegas Driver Statistics

Clark County has the highest population density in Nevada, and drivers in the county accounted for 68 percent of the annual vehicle miles traveled in the state. At the same time, Clark County only has 19 percent of the total road mileage in the state, which gives you an idea of the population density and traffic of the area.

In 2018, Las Vegas residents drove an average of 19.2 miles per day, according to Federal Highway Administration 2018 statistics. Compared to other metro areas, that’s not very much. Out of 47 urbanized areas with populations over 750,000, Las Vegas had the sixth lowest rate of daily miles per capita. At the other end of the scale, people in Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, and Atlanta all drove over 30 miles per day.

The Nevada Automobile Insurance Plan

Sometimes, you might not be able to find insurance from a company on the open market. Even though you get turned down, you are still required to have car insurance in Nevada. So what can you do?

Well, each state has its own way of providing insurance to people who can't get it under normal conditions. Perhaps you have a DUI that makes Las Vegas auto insurance companies shy away from offering you coverage. The first thing to know is that there are companies that specialize in covering high-risk drivers. For example, Acceptance Insurance has plans designed for high-risk drivers, those with bad credit, and SR-22 drivers.

The other option is to go with a state-organized insurance pool. In Nevada, this is known as the Automobile Insurance Plan (AIP). Under this plan, Nevada requires every insurance company operating in the state to cover a portion of high-risk drivers.

You may have to pay a portion of your premium upfront if you are approved for the AIP. Available coverage levels are also lower than those on standard Las Vegas car insurance plans. You can get the state-required coverage, but you can only raise your coverage levels to 100/300/50.  Likewise, MedPay tops out at $5,000, and collision and comprehensive coverage top out at $25,000. You can speak with any insurance company in the state to begin an application for the AIP.

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