What South Carolina Drivers Can Expect To Pay For Car Insurance in 2023

With rising inflation and economic uncertainty affecting Americans everywhere, it pays to know how much your bills are going to come to every month — and this extends to auto insurance just the same as groceries, utilities, and other monthly expenses. So how much should you expect to pay for your car insurance if you’re a motorist in South Carolina? Let’s dig into the details.

Requirements

First, a little about just how much insurance coverage you’re required to have in South Carolina. Liability insurance is required pretty much everywhere in the United States, covering both bodily injury and property damage in case of an accident, as well as coverage to account for uninsured / underinsured motorists.

Under South Carolina tort law, drivers are required to carry a minimum of $25,000 a person for bodily injury and $50,000 overall for all parties injured in an accident. For property damage, $25,000 is the minimum liability coverage. Insurance for uninsured drivers is the same as the previous two types of coverage (25/50/25), with a $200 deductible being common. While insurance companies are required to offer coverage for underinsured drivers, policyholders are not required to take it.

Average Costs of Car Insurance in South Carolina

How much will you pay for auto insurance as a South Carolina driver? Kristine Lee at The Zebra has the hard numbers: the average annual premium in SC is $1,572 per year, just $43 more than the national average. And that’s just for the most basic coverage — if you want more coverage, such as a comprehensive policy, that could cost you $1,418 a year with a $1,000 deductible. If you choose a $500 deductible, those rates go up even more — to $168% more than what you pay for basic coverage.

Of course, that doesn’t mean cheap South Carolina car insurance is impossible to find. It just depends on the insurance company you decide to go with. For example, USAA is one of the best cheap car insurance companies in South Carolina, with a $494 annual premium for liability-only coverage. Allstate comes in at $517 a year. The most expensive liability-only coverage comes from Progressive at $843 a year.

The Most Expensive Cities for Car Insurance in SC

Car insurance premiums are determined by a number of factors — demographics, driving record, etc. — but they’re also heavily determined by where you live. Larger cities have higher rates of theft and vandalism, denser traffic, and more opportunity for accidents to occur. Insurance tends to be cheaper in smaller towns (although that’s not universal), with larger cities costing more by virtue of the hazards that occur there. At the moment, the most expensive city in South Carolina for car insurance is North Charleston at $2,193 a year, with Charleston itself just behind at $2,140.

Factors That Influence Your Rates

While geographical location often makes a difference in how much you pay for car insurance, there are a lot of other factors at play as well.

One of the biggest impacts you’ll ever see on your monthly premiums is if you get in an at-fault accident or get a DUI conviction. Being in an at-fault accident causing more than $2,000 in damages will see your annual premium rise by 42%, to over $2,800 a year in premiums.

Not surprisingly, it’s much worse for a DUI conviction — you can expect to see your rates go up by over 60%, to about $3,200 a year. And that’s before any fines and penalties incurred for the conviction itself. And if you’re caught driving with a suspended license (a common penalty for a DUI conviction), your rates could go up even higher, or you could be dropped by your insurance company altogether.

Drivers with bad credit also tend to pay a lot more for their auto insurance — in almost every state, credit rating is factored into your insurance premiums, and drivers with poor credit pay an average of $2,136 more than drivers with average or good credit — paying anywhere from $2,300 to $4,400 a year in premiums.

How to Save on South Carolina Auto Insurance

If you’re looking to save money on your car insurance regardless of your location or other factors, here are a few time-honored tips for bringing your premiums down:

• Ask your insurer about discounts. There are a ton of discounts available from most carriers, for things like a clean driving record, good grades, certain occupations, and much more.
• Shop around and compare quotes to find the best fit for you and your budget. There are online tools available that make this fast and easy.
• Consider bundling your home and auto insurance, switching to a usage-based model, trading down your car for a cheaper and safer model, and / or installing anti-theft and safety devices on your car.

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