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If you’ve been looking for cheap auto insurance in Vermont, you may have noticed that there are dozens of carriers to choose from, each offering unique discounts for various driver types. To simplify your search for the best car insurance rates, our team compared quotes from top providers to identify the cheapest options in the state.
Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Vermont
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements
Penalties for Driving Without Auto Insurance
Cheapest Car Insurance Companies in Vermont
To secure the lowest premiums in Vermont, you’ll need to compare insurance quotes from multiple providers. Below, you can read through our Geeks’ suggestions for different policyholder profiles:
| Cheapest Insurer | Driver Category |
|---|---|
| Liberty Mutual | Safe Drivers |
| USAA | Drivers in the Military |
Allstate | High-Risk Drivers |
| State Farm | Teen Drivers |
Best Car Insurance Companies in Vermont
Our Geeks considered reviews and complaint data to identify the best car insurance companies in Vermont. Take a look at our findings below:
| Rank | Company | Our Rating |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | A |
| 2 | Liberty Mutual | A |
| 3 | USAA | A- |
| 4 | Allstate | B+ |
| 5 | State Farm | B |
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in Vermont
Vermont law mandates that drivers have auto insurance that would cover:
- $25,000 For Bodily Injury To One Person
- $50,000 For Bodily Injury In One Crash
- $10,000 For Damage To Property
- $50,000 Per Person / $100,000 Per Accident In Un/Underinsured Motorist Bodily Injury Coverage
- $10,000 Per Accident For Property Damage In Accidents Caused By An Un/Underinsured Motorist
Penalties for Driving Without Auto Insurance in Vermont
By law, drivers in Vermont must possess an insurance policy meeting the state’s minimum liability limits. If your vehicle is uninsured or you cannot present proof of coverage when asked to do so by authorities, you could be subjected to serious penalties, including fines and license suspensions.
Officers can, and often will, demand to see proof of financial responsibility as part of vehicle inspections, checkpoints, and stops for traffic violations. Even if you are insured but have just mislaid or forgotten your official insurance identification card issued by your insurer, you could still be fined up to $100.
Those caught driving without insurance will be fined up to $500, may have their license suspended, and will have to fulfill SR-22 filing requirements before their driving privileges are reinstated.
Vermont Car Insurance FAQs
What Is Financial Responsibility Insurance?
Unlike a standard policy, Financial Responsibility Insurance is a type of coverage that covers an individual rather than a specific vehicle. As a result, someone who has purchased a Financial Responsibility Insurance policy is covered regardless of whether they own the vehicle or not. This type of coverage costs more on average than standard vehicle coverage.
Motorists convicted for severe traffic violations (including driving without insurance) may have to purchase Financial Responsibility Insurance before their driving privileges are restored. Providers offering this policy will also file the SR-22 on behalf of the insured driver.
An SR-22 form (sometimes referred to as a certificate) is a document proving a motorist with Financial Responsibility Insurance is insured up to the state’s mandated minimum liability limits. Typically, if your license is suspended, you will have to maintain these SR-22 filing requirements for a period of years determined by the courts or state Department of Transport. If you let your coverage lapse – for example, you missed a payment – your insurer will have to inform authorities that you are no longer insured. In many cases, your driving privileges will be suspended again, and you will have to start the SR-22 filing process from the beginning, effectively resetting the clock.
What If I Was Involved in an Accident and Uninsured?
Causing an accident while uninsured can upend your life plans as you’re strapped with severe fines and forced to fork out thousands of dollars to cover damages and injuries sustained by the other parties involved. In most cases, if you are involved in a crash and don’t carry adequate coverage, your license will be revoked. You will also be fine up to $500. Additionally, due to the state’s “fault” insurance system, you can also be held liable for loss in the accident. For example, if the courts determine that you were 100% responsible for the accident taking place, you will be ordered to compensate the other parties for injuries and damage sustained in the accident. Without the financial safety net of an insurance policy, you will have to pay these expenses out of pocket.
What Are Some Important Vermont Traffic Laws?
Vermont’s traffic code is packed with hundreds of rules and regulations. Follow these important traffic laws listed here to stay safe and out of trouble next time you hit the road:
Vermont Drunk Driving Laws
The blood alcohol limit in Vermont is 0.8% for drivers over the age of 21. Roughly, this is the equivalent of drinking a 12-ounce pour of beer, a small glass of wine, or a conservative shot of hard liquor. Drivers travelling in commercial vehicles must adhere to a strict 0.04% alcohol limit, while motorists under the age of 21 cannot exceed 0.02% blood alcohol content.
Driving Under the Influence (DUI) convictions can result in:
- An average of around $6,500 in court costs, attorney’s fees, and fines;
- License suspension
- Up to two years in prison (longer for serial offenders);
- Mandated alcohol counseling (costs range between $500 to $1,000);
- Install an Ignition Interlock Device in your vehicle on your own expense; and
- Pay up to 60% more for insurance than the average motorist for the first year following a DUI.
You can refuse to take a blood alcohol test, but due to Vermont’s Implied Consent Law – a contract you enter into as soon as you drive in the state – your license will be suspended and you could receive a fine. Your first, second and third refusal will result in 6-month, 18-month and lifetime license suspensions respectively.
Vermont Texting and Driving Laws
Distracted driving causes countless crashes in the U.S. every year. In Vermont, drivers are banned from texting while operating a car in any area either open permanently or temporarily to other vehicles. Additionally, drivers may not text while driving on any public highway in the state, even when the vehicle is stationary.
Vermont Child Safety Seat Laws
Your vehicle’s seats aren’t designed to protect your smaller passengers. Thus, it’s important to always use the appropriate safety or booster seat when transporting your child. By law, parents in Vermont are required to restrain their children in a federally-approved restraint system while the vehicle is in motion:
- Kids younger than 1, who weigh less than 20 pounds, must be seated in a rear-facing car safety seat;
- Children aged 7 or younger, weighing over 20 pounds, must be seated in either a booster seat or car safety seat; and
- Kids between the ages of 8 and 15 years old, must always wear a seatbelt or make use of a child passenger restraining system.
Our Geeks have tested and reviewed the best booster seats, convertible car seats, and infant car safety seats on the market. Click here to read our comprehensive breakdown of the best rated car seats available right now.
Can I File a Claim If I Was Partially at Fault for an Accident in Vermont?
Yes. Vermont employs a “tort” (or “fault) system when assessing auto insurance claims. As a result, drivers can file third-party claims against the at-fault driver or his/her insurance company after an accident. Typically, claims adjusters will conclude that more than one party was at fault for causing the crash.
The claims adjuster will look at evidence such as your statement, the official police accident report, witness statements, photographs taken at the scene, and the conditions of the vehicles involved to determine liability in an accident. If the adjuster determines that you are at least partially at fault, your compensation will be reduced by your proportion of fault (typically represented by a percentage point). If you file a lawsuit for damages, the courts will also assign a percentage point of fault to each driver involved and adjust damages awards to reflect these amounts.
What Are the Benefits of a Bundled Insurance Policy?
Many providers offer big discounts to drivers who choose to bundle their home, life, health, and auto insurance policies under the umbrella of one master plan. Packaging these policies can also help you circumvent the steep costs associated with insuring the teen driver in your home as you will typically pay a flat rate for each car you are insuring. Teen drivers cost more to insure as they have less experience and are more likely to be involved in a crash than most other categories of motorists.
What Is Comprehensive Coverage?
While collision coverage covers damage to your vehicle in any crash involving another vehicle, object, or even pothole, it does not protect you against loss resulting from an “act of God”. When falling objects, fire, protests, natural disasters, or theft harm your vehicle, comprehensive coverage will kick in to absorb the costs of repairs.
This policy is mandatory for motorists financing or leasing vehicles, but you may benefit from investing in this add-on if you live in a state where natural disasters – such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and wildfires – are common. Otherwise, you can calculate whether purchasing comprehensive coverage is worth the price of admission by measuring the increase in your premium over three yers. If this number works out to more than 10% of your vehicle’s worth, you can should rather save the cash.
How Do I File a Car Insurance Claim in Vermont?
Filing an auto insurance claim in Vermont is simple. While your provider will guide you through every stage of this process, you include the information listed below to improve your odds of securing a successful payout:
- Your written version of the events that led to the accident;
- A copy of the official police accident report;
- The personal details of the other parties involved in the crash;
- Witness statements and contact details;
- Pictures you took of any damage or injuries you or other drivers sustained in the accident; and
- Any extra evidence that may help bolster your version of events.
What Is a Deductible?
A deductible is the exact amount you will have to pay to cover repairs and treatments resulting from an accident before the features of your policy kick in to compensate you for the remaining amount. A high deductible will help you keep your rates low but exposes you to the risk of severe financial loss in the event of an accident. A low deductible comes at the cost of a higher premium but will give you peace of mind that you can rely on your policy features to cover all of your costs.
What Is Comprehensive Coverage?
Standard policy features are designed to give you a layer of financial protection in the event of a collision. But sometimes, that next dent, scratch, or crumpled bumper won’t be the work of an errant motorist but the result of an “act of God”. Comprehensive Coverage is your backup plan, reimbursing you for any loss that didn’t stem from a crash. This includes damage caused by fires, tornados, earthquakes, hail, floods, protests, vandalism, theft, and more.
What Are Premiums?
Simply put, your rates or premiums represent how much you have to pay to retain your coverage. Insurers calculate this amount based on a variety of factors, including your occupation, age, driving experience, driving history, previous coverage, and annual mileage. Typically, you can choose to pay your premium every month, every six months, or settle your payments in full by paying for the entire year.
Vermont Car Accident Statistics
In 2018, Vermont experienced 69 fatalities in 61 crashes. This was a slight drop off from the previous year where 70 people died in collisions on state roads, according to statistics released by the Vermont Highway Safety Alliance.
Between 2003 and 2012, more than 210 people were killed in crashes involving one or more drunk drivers, according to a report compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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