Iowa Car Insurance [Rates + Cheap Coverage Guide]

The “Hawkeye” state, known more commonly as the state of Iowa, is a gorgeous state with many wide-open fields and breathtaking cities. In order to view such a wonderful place, you’ll obviously want to have all of your car insurance needs to be taken care of.

Why waste hours of your free time digging through countless car insurance websites when you can do it all in one convenient place?

In this comprehensive guide, we will cover all of the insurance topics you’ll need to know for you to purchase the best policy for your needs in Iowa.

We’ll go over everything from the specific coverage you’ll need, to the laws and rules of the road in Iowa, and more.

Ready to get started now? Use our FREE online tool. You only need is your zip code to get started.

Iowa Car Insurance Coverage and Rates

Let’s get right to it. In this first section, we’re going to talk about some of the basic car insurance coverage you’re going to want to make sure that you have. We’ll also touch on some of the typical car insurance rates you’ll see.

Iowa Minimum Coverage

Each state has something known as minimum liability coverage. It’s the minimum amount of insurance coverage you are allowed to have in that state in order to legally drive your vehicle.

Iowa is one of a few states that does not necessarily require that you have this minimum liability coverage, but it does, however, a Motor Vehicle Financial and Safety Responsibility Act.

This Act states that if you are ever involved in a car accident, you must be able to show financial responsibility for any resulting injuries. Meaning that while having insurance coverage can be optional, you will need at least some form of coverage in order to meet this minimum requirement.

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), Iowa has minimum liability coverage of 20/40/15. What exactly does this mean? We’ve broken it down for you here:

• 20 = $20,000 for the payment of the injury/death of one individual in an accident that you caused
• 40 = $40,000 for the payment of the injury/death of multiple individuals in an accident that you caused
• 15 = $15,000 for the payment of any property damage incurred in an accident that you caused

This becomes particularly important due to the fact that Iowa is considered an “at-fault” state.

This means that if you are the one who caused an accident, YOU are the one who is held financially liable for that accident.

If you should decide not to purchase at least the minimum liability coverage, there are other options to make sure you are covered in the case of an accident.

According to the Iowa Department of Transportation, you may comply with the Motor Vehicle Financial and Safety Responsibility Act in the following ways:

• posting a bond with Driver & Identification Services
• getting a legal release of liability from the other parties involved in the accident
• being found completely not liable in a civil suit
• filing an agreement to pay the other parties’ damages on an installment plan
• executing a warrant for confession of judgment promising to pay the other parties’ damages on an installment plan
• filing evidence of complete settlement of all damages.

It is recommended, however, to just ensure you have the minimum liability coverage to optimize your coverage needs.

Forms of Financial Responsibility

There are several different types of forms of financial responsibility in Iowa.

As it is not necessarily required to have at least the minimum liability coverage (although highly recommended), there are other ways in which you might be required to provide some proof of financial responsibility.

Should you purchase car insurance, you will need to make sure you have at least one of the following with you while you are operating your vehicle:

• Valid liability insurance ID cards
• Copy of your current car’s insurance policy
• Valid insurance binder (a temporary form of car insurance)

If you decided not to purchase car insurance and you get into an accident, according to Iowa’s DMV, you may provide any of the following:

• Provide proof that you had liability insurance at the time of the accident
• Pay one of the following to “Driver & Identification Services” in Iowa:
  • Cash
  • Certified check
  • Cashier’s check
  • Bank draft
  • Postal money order
• Obtain a release form from all the people involved in the accident
• Promise to cover (on an installment plan if needed) the costs of the injured or damaged parties in a filed statement
• Receive a civil damage action decision that releases you from any liability
• Complete a warrant for confession of judgment with agreed upon payment schedule
• Provide evidence of a settlement reached between parties

If you do not provide at least one of the above and you do not have car insurance, your license will be suspended until you can provide any of the above!

Premiums as a Percentage of Income

Have you ever heard of the term per capita disposable income? Let’s break it down.

Per capita disposable income refers to the amount of money a group of individuals have after taxes has been paid.

In Iowa, the average per capita disposable income is $39,820. This means that after taxes, this is how much the typical Iowa citizen has to spend.

You can see from the table above that of this disposable income you have left after taxes, about 1.72 percent will go to your insurance payments.

Average Monthly Car Insurance Rates in IA (Liability, Collision, Comprehensive)

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, you can expect the following core coverage costs in Iowa:

Additional Liability

As we stated previously, Iowa doesn’t necessarily require for you to have insurance coverage, but there is highly recommended. In addition to the minimum liability coverage, there are two other liability coverage types that you will want to consider; Medical Payments (MedPay) and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist.

Medical Payments (MedPay) Coverage is essentially the coverage that helps you out in the case of an accident. It will cover your own medical expenses should you be injured in a car accident.

Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist Coverage helps to cover you if you are ever in an accident with someone who does not have insurance coverage.

As we mentioned previously, Iowa is an at-fault state, so if the other driver doesn’t even have insurance coverage, that could mean the damages from that accident could affect your wallet.

This becomes especially important as according to the Insurance Information Institute (III), Iowa has an uninsured motorist rate of 8.7 percent.

Due to this, we will now discuss the loss ratios for these additional liability coverages. What is a loss ratio exactly?

A loss ratio is the ratio of how much an insurance provider pays out in claims to the amount of money the company takes in from insurance premiums.

So when you’re thinking about loss ratios, you want to think back to the story of Goldilocks. You want a loss ratio that isn’t too high, isn’t too low but is just right.

Why is this? Well, if a loss ratio is too low, that means that the carrier is taking in more premium than it needs to cover claims – which means rates might be too high.

If a loss ratio is too high, over 100 percent, it means that the company isn’t taking in enough premium to cover all claims. Hence why you want this loss ratio to be right in the middle.

As you can see in the table above, both MedPay and Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist have relatively decent loss ratios in Iowa.

Add-ons, Endorsements, and Riders

Getting the best coverage for the most affordable price is always a top priority when shopping for insurance. Did you know that you could be missing out on several extremely useful, and cheap, coverage types because of it?

Check out the list below to see what is available to you in Iowa:

• Guaranteed Auto Protection (GAP)
• Personal Umbrella Policy (PUP)
• Rental Reimbursement
• Emergency Roadside Assistance
• Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
• Non-Owner Car Insurance
• Modified Car Insurance Coverage
• Classic Car Insurance

Read more: Finding Cheap Business Car Insurance Rates

Average Monthly Car Insurance Rates by Age & Gender in IA

There’s a commonly heard myth in the insurance business that men tend to pay more for the insurance coverage than women do. We wanted to find out if this was true in Iowa, and found the following data:

Read more:

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Which gender and age pays more for car insurance? Drivers under 25 years old are often in the highest risk class. See if the gender stereotype (males vs female auto insurance rates) holds true in Iowa.

So as you can see in the table above, it’s actually age and marital status that plays a bigger factor into insurance rates in Iowa. The older married couples seem to pay less for their insurance rates than single males do.

Highest/Lowest by Zip Code

How does ZIP code affect auto insurance? Factors like traffic, crime, and claim frequency in your area all matter. Find out how your ZIP code compares against other zips in IA.

Highest/Lowest by City

Six major factors affect auto insurance rates in IA. Which car insurance factors will affect your rates the most? Find out below:

Read more:

• Wadena Insurance Company Car Insurance Review
• Hudson Insurance Company Car Insurance Review
• Homestead Insurance Company Car Insurance Review
• Hastings Mutual Car Insurance Review
• Dorchester Mutual Insurance Company Car Insurance Review
• Dorchester Insurance Company, Ltd Car Insurance Review
• New London County Mutual Insurance Company Car Insurance Review
• Keystone National Insurance Company Car Insurance Review

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Iowa Car Insurance Companies

Next, we’ll discuss all of the major car insurance companies that you’ll find in Iowa.

We’ll go over such items as the various types of ratings for insurance companies as well as the various rates you’ll find yourself seeing in Iowa.

The Largest Companies Financial Rating

While it’s common knowledge that insurance companies check to see what your financial health is like before offering you an insurance policy, but did you know you could check their financial health as well?

It’s known as the A.M. Best Rating. It essentially assigns providers with a grade based on numerous financial factors, such as their loss ratios. The higher their grade, the better their financial ratings. The lower the grade, the lower, and less reliable, that provider is.

We’ve gone through the data and have found the A.M. Best Ratings for all of the largest insurance providers in Iowa:

Read more: Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company Car Insurance Review

Companies with Best Ratings

A study performed by J.D. Power was conducted to see the overall customer satisfaction rankings for the various car insurance provider in specific regions was. Iowa lands in the Central region of the United States.

Companies with Most Complaints in Iowa

Just like you would want to know how satisfied other customers are with a company, you’ll also want to know how dissatisfied other customers are as well.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), the following complaint indexes were found in Iowa:

Iowa Car Insurance Rates by Company

We’ve done the hard part for you here and have found the different car insurance rates in Iowa.

Commute Rates by Company

One factor that can play a surprising role in your insurance rate is what you commute is like. The longer your commute, the more you tend to pay.

The good thing for Iowa citizens, however, is it looks like most of the providers in Iowa don’t charge more for longer commutes!

Coverage Level Rates by Company

Did you know that you could be paying more for a plan that actually covers you less? That’s right.

By comparing different companies’ coverage levels, you could actually be paying more.

As you can see from the table above, a low coverage plan with Traveler’s would cost you $5,103.05, while a high coverage plan with Liberty Mutual would only cost $4,601.36.

That means you’d be paying $501.69 more for lower coverage.

So making sure to compare insurance rates is essential when trying to get the optimal plan for you.

Credit History Rates by Company

Yes, insurance companies take a look at your credit history when considering what insurance rate they are going to offer you. The better your credit history, the better the rate you are offered will be.

Driving Record Rates by Company

Just like with your credit history, having a good driving record will save you a lot of cash. The more accidents and traffic violations you have, the more you’ll be paying for your coverage.

So making sure you drive safely while on the road can cut down on your rates.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-co91q4j19c

Largest Car Insurance Companies in Iowa

Number of Insurers

There are so many different kinds of insurers out there, but there are two distinct types of providers that you’ll want to be aware of, and that is foreign providers versus domestic providers.

• Domestic provider: insurance provider who will only provide insurance coverage for the state they are in. (An example of this would be that little mom and pop’s local place down the street)
• Foreign provider: insurance provider who can provide coverage for many states. (An example of this would be the larger providers such as Progressive or Allstate).

Currently in Iowa, there are 73 domestic and 860 foreign providers that you can use. That’s a lot to chose from.

Iowa State Laws

Every state is different, so it’s fairly obvious that each state will have laws that are specific to that state. Iowa, just like every state, has laws that are unique to it.

In this section, we’ll cover everything you’ll need to know such topics as car insurance laws, safety laws, and more.

Car Insurance Laws

Each state has car insurance laws that are unique to that state, Iowa is no different. It has its own requirements that you’ll need to know in order to lawfully drive your vehicle.

High-Risk Insurance

If you’ve had your license revoked due to an OWI (Operating While Intoxicated), it’s likely that Iowa has deemed you a high-risk driver.

If Iowa has labeled you as a high-risk driver for this reason, you will be required to carry something known as an SR-22 certificate. Meaning that you’ll need to carry not only this certificate, but you’ll also be required to have at least the minimum liability coverage to go along with it.

This certificate is essentially an automobile liability that guarantees that you’ll have car insurance for the specified period of time.

According to Iowa’s DMV, you will need to file an SR-22 form with the DOT’s Driver & Identification Services. Your Iowa car insurance company will file the form for you.

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Low-Cost Insurance

While there aren’t any low-cost insurance options in Iowa, that doesn’t mean you can’t save some extra cash on your insurance policy!

There are several ways you can lower your costs, such as having a clean driving record and good credit history. In addition, there is another way to save a little cash on your insurance policy: car insurance discounts.

There are so many discounts that you can choose from, and you could qualify for a lot of them.

• Good driver
• Homeowner
• Anti-Theft / Anti-Lock Systems
• Good Student
• Accident-free
• Multiple Cars
• Paying in Full
• Company/School (the company you work for/the school you attend sometimes offers discounts)

Windshield Coverage

There may come a time when your windshield is damaged and needs repair or replacing. Now, a lot of states have specific requirements when it comes to windshield coverage, but fortunately for Iowa citizens, Iowa is not one of them.

The catch to this, however, is that Iowa law does not require insurers to replace windshields if they are cracked or broken either. So if you have a damaged windshield, what are you to do?

Well, if you have comprehensive insurance, there is a chance your insurer will be willing to cover the cost of the repairs your windshield needs.

If you do not have comprehensive coverage, however, you may be on your own.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6UuzVJHPd0

Automobile Insurance Fraud in Iowa

The Insurance Information Institute (III) puts insurance fraud as costing U.S. citizens an average of $30 billion EACH YEAR! For this reason, insurance fraud is a criminal offense across the nation.

What are two of the ways in which people commit insurance fraud?

1. Intentionally faking an accident or making a false claim
2. Adding “extra” onto a claim

It’s a crime that simply isn’t worth it.

According to Iowa’s DMV, should you need to report insurance fraud, you can do so in any of the following ways:

• Filing an online complaint at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners website.
• Downloading and completing the Insurance Fraud Complaint Form (Mail it to the address listed on the form)

Statute of Limitations

If you are ever in an accident, you’ll want to know of the term statute of limitations.

The statute of limitations is basically the amount of time you have to make a claim or to take another driver to court.

In the state of Iowa, you have the following amount of time to submit your claim:

• Personal Injury: Two years
• Property Damage: Five years

Vehicle Licensing Laws

There are some specific vehicle licensing laws that are specific to Iowa that we’ll now go over.

Penalties for Driving Without Insurance

As we mentioned previously, the state of Iowa does not require all drivers to have car insurance. If you are in an accident, however, you will be required to provide some form of financial responsibility.

If you fail to provide some form of financial responsibility after an accident has happened, the Iowa Department of Transportation will suspend your license and registration.

As a reminder, the following options are considered acceptable forms of financial responsibility in Iowa:

• Provide proof that you had liability insurance at the time of the accident
• Pay one of the following to “Driver & Identification Services” in Iowa:
  • Cash
  • Certified check
  • Cashier’s check
  • Bank draft
  • Postal money order

• Obtain a release form from all the people involved in the accident
• Promise to cover (on an installment plan if needed) the costs of the injured or damaged parties in a filed statement
• Receive a civil damage action decision that releases you from any liability
• Complete a warrant for confession of judgment with an agreed-upon payment schedule
• Provide evidence of a settlement reached between parties

In addition to all of this, if you are in an accident, you will also be required to file an accident form within 72 hours of the accident occurring. The only exception is if the police have already filed an accident form for you.

If you do not, you could be facing penalties such as your license/registration being revoked and/or a $500 fine.

Teen Driver Laws

Teen drivers who are looking to get behind the wheel will need to follow a couple of rules and restrictions in Iowa:

License Renewal Procedures

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), you can expect the following license renewal procedures in Iowa:

New Residents

If you are looking to become a resident of Iowa, you’ll want to keep the following in mind:

You have the choice in Iowa on whether or not to buy car insurance. If you get into an accident or you lose your driving privileges, however, you must be able to show proof of financial responsibility right away.

Rules of the Road

Put your shades on and get ready to learn about some of the rules of the road in Iowa.

Fault vs. No-Fault

As we mentioned in an earlier section, Iowa is an “at-fault” state. Meaning that if you are the one who caused the accident, you will be the one held liable for the costs of that accident.

This is why, although Iowa doesn’t currently require drivers to have car insurance, it’s wise to purchase at least the minimum liability coverage. If you don’t, you could be paying hefty amounts of money out of your own pocket.

Keep Right and Move Over Laws

Two laws that are super easy to follow are Keep Right and Move Over Laws.

Keep Right laws in Iowa just state that if you are driving slower than the traffic around you, you should be in the left lane. Easy right?

Move Over Laws in Iowa are just as simple. Basically, if you see a parked vehicle on the side of the highway or road, slow down or move over to another lane. The best rule of thumb for this one especially is if the vehicle has flashing lights, move over.

Some examples of these vehicles are as follows:

• Emergency vehicle with flashing lights that is parked
• Stationary tow/recovery/maintenance/waste/etc. vehicle that has flashing lights on
• Any motor vehicle that has its hazard lights flashing

The purpose of both of these laws is simply to keep all drivers on the road safe. Whether you’re the one trying to pass a vehicle, or whether you’re in the vehicle being passed.

– Speed Limits

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the speed limits in the state of Iowa are as follows:

• Rural Interstates: 70 mph
• Urban Interstates: 55 mph
• Limited Access Roads: 75 mph
• All Other Roads: 65 mph

Seat belt and Car Seat Laws

Making sure every passenger in the vehicle is a priority, which is why there are specific seat belt and car seat laws you’ll want to follow.

It’s been statistically shown that seat belts and proper car seats help to save lives, so make sure you adhere to the follow Iowa laws.

Ridesharing

There’s a high likelihood that you’ve at least heard of the rising popularity of ridesharing services. Companies such as Uber and Lyft have seen an increase in business due to their convenience. Because of this, a lot of individuals are rushing to these companies to earn a little extra cash.

This means that if you would like to become a driver for one of these services, you will need to have at least the minimum liability coverage.

In addition, you will also need to make sure that on top of this minimum coverage, you will also need ridesharing coverage on your policy.

Currently, in Iowa the following providers offer this coverage type:

• Farmers
• State Farm
• USAA

Safety Laws

We want to keep you safe while you’re out driving the roads of Iowa. In order to do this, we’re going to touch on some of the safety laws you’ll need to know before getting behind the wheel.

DUI Laws

Drinking and driving has become quite an epidemic across the nation. It’s one of the current leading causes of driving fatalities nationwide.

In 2017 alone, there were 88 alcohol-related driving fatalities in Iowa.

This is why most states across the nation have started to crack down on DUI laws, Iowa included.

If you do not follow these laws, you could be facing some serious penalties such as the following:

Drinking and driving simply isn’t worth all of this.

Marijuana-Impaired Driving Laws

There have been many states across the nation that have

Iowa, on the other hand, is not one of them. They have a zero-tolerance THC policy.

This means that if you are caught driving under the influence of marijuana, you could face some of the same penalties as an OWI.

Distracted Driving Laws

Operating a vehicle and trying to operate a hand-held device can be just as dangerous and driving under the influence. Taking your eyes away from the road, even for a second, could cause an accident.

States have also started to smart up to this and have been enforcing restrictions and laws on this, Iowa included.

Iowa Can’t-Miss Facts

Almost there! In this final section, we’ll touch on the facts and statistics that you’ll want to know while driving in Iowa.

Vehicle Theft in Iowa

Something a lot of people don’t take into account when purchasing and driving a vehicle is the chances that your vehicle could be stolen. It’s something we don’t want to have to think about because we hope it’ll never happen to us. But unfortunately, it does.

According to a study done by the FBI, the following data was found for car thefts in the various cities across Iowa:

That’s a lot of cars. And of those cars, there are cars that are more popular to be stolen, as seen below.

Dangers on the Road in Iowa

We’ll now cover the road danger statistics that are present in Iowa according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Fatal Crashes by Weather Condition and Light Condition

Traffic Fatalities

Fatalities by Road Type

Fatalities by Person Type

Fatalities by Crash Type

Five-Year Trend For The Top 10 Counties

Fatalities Involving Speeding by County

Fatalities in Crashes Involving an Alcohol-Impaired Driver (BAC = .08+) by County

Teen Drinking and Driving

The saddest part about the statistics above? These fatalities include teen drivers. That’s right, this includes teen drivers who drink and drive.

While the average number of underage drinking and driving deaths is only 0.8 deaths per 100,000 people in Iowa, there were still approximately 71 drinking and driving arrests made in 2016 alone in Iowa for teen drivers.

This ranks Iowa as the 20th state in the United States for teen drinking and driving arrests.

That’s quite a few teenagers driving drunk.

From these arrests, the following data was found from Responsibility:

That’s a lot of teen drivers. This is why it’s so vital for adult drivers to lead by example and never drive while intoxicated.

EMS Response Time

Transportation

Lastly, we’ll cover the statistics of transport in Iowa.

Car Ownership

According to USA Data, the average number of vehicles owned per household in Iowa is two.

Commute Time

The national average for commute time is approximately 25.5 minutes. Iowa citizens have that beat to a total commute time of 18.8 minutes on average.

Commuter Transportation

A majority of drivers tend to prefer to drive alone, and Iowa citizens are no exception at an average of 81.4 percent.

Top City for Traffic Congestion

We get to close out on a really positive note! According to INRIX’s Scorecard, TomTom, and Numbeo, absolutely NONE of Iowa’s cities made it onto their traffic congestion indexes!

This means that traffic is so minute in Iowa that it didn’t make it onto any of their lists.

Before making any final decisions on your insurance company, it is important to learn as much as you can about your local insurance providers, and the coverages they offer. Call your local insurance agent to clear up any questions that you might have. Questions to consider asking include, “What is the best coverage plan for me/my family/my situation?” “What are the minimum coverage requirements in my state and what form of coverage do you recommend?” “Do you guys offer any bundle discounts if I take out both my auto insurance and home insurance with you?” and “What is the average rate of insurance quotes you guys offer?”

You did it. You went through this comprehensive guide like a champ.

If you’re ready to start comparing insurance today, don’t forget to use our FREE online tool.

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