What is flexible car insurance? [Expert Review, Rates, & Discounts]
Flexible car insurance is an option at most car insurance companies. Most car insurers offer six-month policies but provide multiple payment arrangement options. Flexible auto insurance can be the ideal coverage for delivery drivers and drivers who need temporary car insurance.
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Licensed Insurance Agent
Rachael Brennan has been working in the insurance industry since 2006 when she began working as a licensed insurance representative for 21st Century Insurance, during which time she earned her Property and Casualty license in all 50 states. After several years she expanded her insurance expertise, earning her license in Health and AD&D insurance as well. She has worked for small health insuran...
Rachael Brennan
Licensed Insurance Agent
Ty Stewart is the founder and CEO of SimpleLifeInsure.com. He started researching and studying about insurance when he got his first policy for his own family. He has been featured as an insurance expert speaker at agent conventions and in top publications. As an independent licensed insurance agent, he has helped clients nationwide to secure affordable coverage while making the process simpl...
Ty Stewart
Updated October 2024
- Flexible car insurance may refer to more convenient ways to pay your bill or choosing different types of coverage
- But most advertised flexible car insurance policies simply allow customers multiple payment options
- There are several payment options out there, so figure out what kind of coverage you need first and then comparison shop online
Flexible car insurance is a new term in the car insurance industry, and although it sounds catchy, it’s not really anything new.
Over the last decade, car insurance companies have started offering policyholders more and more convenient ways to pay their bill and choose the types of coverage they need.
So, flexible car insurance: what are my options? Only a handful of companies allow consumers to modify, exclude, and customize car insurance coverage. It’s important to understand that flexible car insurance is more about payment options than actually purchasing custom policy coverage.
The definition of flexible car insurance will depend on which provider you speak with, but most flexible auto insurance policies advertised simply allow customers multiple payment options.
Multiple payment options are not anything new, but it’s a good marketing campaign to let a company stand out from another.
If you’re looking for better and more affordable car insurance, enter your ZIP code above and compare at least three to four policies today to see which is flexible enough for you.
What are my flexible car insurance payment options?
Whenever you purchase a car insurance policy, you are either buying a six or twelve-month policy. While most car insurers offer the option to pay your policy every six-months, some do offer twelve.
It is challenging to find a car insurance company that offers coverage for longer than 12 months since laws do not allow providers to change or cancel your coverage while in force.
The longer an insurer guarantees coverage, the higher the risk they are taking on; so the industry has formed a baseline of six or twelve-month policies as industry standards.
Some car insurers only offer pay-in-full policies, while others allow monthly payments.
When a car insurance provider offers several options for consumers to purchase insurance, it can be considered “flexible” car insurance. Some of the payment options could include:
- Low Down Payment and Equal Monthly Payments
- Incentive Discount to Pay in Full
- Larger Payments over a shorter term
- Bi-weekly Payments
- Credit Card Payments
- Automatic Checking Account Withdrawal
It’s usually easy to find flexible car insurance for students or learner drivers. Nearly every company has some kind of good student discount or multi-car policy for insuring your teen.
Who has cheap car insurance? The table below shows rates by coverage level for the top insurers in the country by market share.
Average Annual Car Insurance Rates by Coverage Level for the Top Insurers
| Companies | Rates for Low Coverage | Rates for Medium Coverage | Rates for High Coverage |
|---|---|---|---|
| USAA | $2,404.11 | $2,539.87 | $2,667.92 |
| Geico | $3,001.91 | $3,213.97 | $3,429.14 |
| State Farm | $3,055.40 | $3,269.80 | $3,454.80 |
| American Family | $3,368.49 | $3,544.37 | $3,416.40 |
| Nationwide | $3,394.83 | $3,449.80 | $3,505.37 |
| Progressive | $3,737.13 | $4,018.46 | $4,350.96 |
| Farmers | $3,922.47 | $4,166.22 | $4,494.13 |
| Travelers | $4,223.63 | $4,462.02 | $4,619.07 |
| Allstate | $4,628.03 | $4,896.81 | $5,139.02 |
| Liberty Mutual | $5,805.75 | $6,058.57 | $6,356.04 |
Is USAA the cheapest auto insurance? If you are in the military, it may be. As you can see, it helps to shop around to find a good price. These rates include drivers who are high-risk in all areas of the country, so yours may be lower.
How to Get the Best Flexible Car Insurance for You
There are many ways to purchase car insurance, and you want to make sure you get the right policy for you. It helps to check a company’s ratings, such as their A.M. Best Ratings. What’s an A.M. Best Rating? It’s basically a rating that shows the financial strength of a company. You can check out this video for a brief explanation.
You can see that in the table below for the largest insurers in the country.
Top 10 Car Insurance Companies by Market Share With Ratings, Premiums Written, and Loss Ratio
| Companies | A.M. Best Rating | Direct Premiums Writen | Market Share | Loss Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allstate | A+ (Superior) | $22.7 billion | 9.19% | 56% |
| American Family | A (Excellent) | $4.7 billion | 1.90% | 69% |
| Farmers | A (Excellent) | $10.5 billion | 4.26% | 61% |
| Geico | A++ (Superior) | $33.1 billion | 13.41% | 71% |
| Liberty Mutual | A (Excellent) | $11.8 billion | 4.77% | 62% |
| Nationwide | A+ (Superior) | $6.7 billion | 2.73% | 58% |
| Progressive | A+ (Superior) | $27.1 billion | 10.97% | 62% |
| State Farm | A++ (Superior) | $41.9 billion | 17.01% | 63% |
| Travelers | A++ (Superior) | $4.7 billion | 1.90% | 60% |
| USAA (Military Personnel & Family Members) | A++ (Superior) | $14.5 billion | 5.87% | 77% |
It also helps to look up J.D. Power ratings, which show how happy drivers are with a company’s customer service.
However, you need to compare all the elements of a policy instead of just focusing on what payment plans are available in order to secure the best coverage.
Most car insurance companies offer some type of payment plans, so start a car insurance comparison search online to compare features, types of coverage, and learn about discounts.
Each car insurance company has a unique list of discounts that they provide. The table below shows a sample of these.
Common Car Insurance Discounts by Insurance Provider
| Companies | Anti-Theft | Claim Free | Good Student | Married | Membership/Group | Military | Multiple Policies | Multiple Vehicles | Safe Driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allstate | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||
| American Family | x | x | x | x | x | x | |||
| Farmers | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| Geico | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Liberty Mutual | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Nationwide | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Progressive | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| State Farm | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | |
| Travelers | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | ||
| USAA | x | x | x | x | x | x | x | x |
You can really see the difference in what’s offered here. And that’s why it’s so important to shop around if you want to save money.
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Frequently Asked Questions: Flexible Car Insurance
Keep reading for some more FAQs about flexible insurance.
Can you get flexible car delivery insurance?
Some companies already provide you some insurance, such as Amazon Flex. Most commercial policies also provide you multiple options to pay.
What are the best on-demand car insurance options?
There are some other options if you don’t want traditional car insurance.
Where can I get temporary car insurance?
Asking “Can I insure my car for an hour?” If you’re looking for this type of flexible car insurance, the UK may have good options through companies like Cuvva, but the US doesn’t have a lot of good ones.
What is the best temporary car insurance?
Looking for short-term car insurance? Legitimate insurers will probably not offer policies of less than six months at a time. So, if you’re looking for Geico temporary auto insurance or Nationwide car insurance that’s short-term, you’re out of luck. Weekly car insurance is not really an option.
What’s the best pay-per-mile car insurance?
What is MileWise or Metromile? These car insurance companies provide pay-per-mile auto insurance, reviewed for how many miles you actually drive.
This video from Metromile explains a little about how it works.
If you’re looking for a really flexible option when you don’t drive much, you may want to consider pay-per-mile.
So, how can I get super cheap car insurance? If you’d like to compare auto insurance plans and get the best and cheapest car insurance, enter your ZIP code below and start comparison shopping flexible policies today.
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