Auto Insurance in Arkansas (Compared by Experts)

Are you looking for car insurance in the Wonder State? If so, we’ve got you covered.

We analyzed various auto insurance companies in Arkansas to find out which one’s the best. To determine the “winner,” we took into account factors such as pricing, discounts, and much more.

But we went a step beyond that. We also covered the most important laws about auto insurance Arkansas companies offer. We’ll discuss laws pertaining to minimum insurance requirements, no-fault laws, and so on. Finally, we cap off this guide by giving you great tips on how to get the cheapest deal on great car insurance. 

You can consider this your one-stop-shop for everything you need to know about car insurance policies in Arkansas. 

So strap in and get ready to find the car insurance service best suited to your needs.

The Overall Winner: Allstate

All factors considered, Allstate is the best option for drivers in Arkansas. It’s the fourth-largest car insurance supplier in the United States.

One factor that may displease the company’s users is the not-so-cheap pricing plan. Every year, those insured under the company pay around $131 to $247 more than the average national rate. 

The typical cost for minimum coverage per year is $696. Meanwhile, the average annual cost for full coverage is $1,921. The latter is even higher than the already-high average Arkansas auto insurance costs of around $1,450 annually.

However, Allstate gives a lot of bang for that buck (there are also discounts that make up for the costs, but more on that a bit later). Not only does it include the basics you’d expect—collision coverage, liability, etc.— but it also throws in a lot of extra coverage. 

Here’s a quick list of protections you can enjoy under Allstate.

• Personal injury protection
• Sounds system insurance
• Accident forgiveness
• Roadside assistance
• Milewise®
• New car replacement
• Rental car reimbursement
• Rideshare coverage

We’d be remiss not to highlight discounts in this Allstate review. Namely, the company boasts tons of deals, probably more than most auto insurance companies in Arkansas, making Allstate a relatively affordable option.

These discounts include:

• Multi-policy
• Anti-lock brakes
• Anti-theft device
• Automatic payments
• New car
• Paperless statements
• Responsible payer
• Early signing
• Smart student
• Pay in full

But there aren’t any significant veteran discounts, so keep that in mind.

Another great thing about Allstate is customer service. Namely, the Drivewise program cuts policy costs with feedback and rewards for safe driving. The company also has a 24/7 claims center, coupled with a money-back policy.

People who like tech accessibility will also appreciate Allstate since the company has a mobile app. In addition, those who have home insurance with Allstate can also access it through this app. Overall, in terms of home and auto insurance in Arkansas, Allstate will be an optimal pick for most people.

USAA: Best Car Insurance for Military Members

For military members, both active and former, USAA is a great option for Arkansas residents. It’s available across the United States, and even family members of military personnel can be eligible for its services.

When it comes to Arkansas automobile insurance, USAA is one of the cheaper options. On average, users pay $384 in annual costs for minimum coverage. The average full coverage cost is $1,225. As such, USAA has lower prices than the national average.

Most of the big USAA benefits can save money for military members. Many USAA reviews have praised policies such as allowing garaging a car on military bases.

USSA provides various kinds of coverage for your vehicle, ranging from collision to liability. Under their wing, you’ll also enjoy financial protection if you cause an accident. 

The organization also has a few optional add-ons. These cover uninsured/underinsured coverage, personal injury protection, and extended benefits.

Now, a word or two about discounts to slash your Arkansas auto insurance rates.

There are plenty of discounts one can qualify for, as you can see from the list below:

• Multi-vehicle (if you put more than one car under USAA insurance)
• Accident-free discounts (for those with an accident-free record)
• Loyalty discounts (if you use USAA insurance long enough)
• Length of membership (save more money the longer you’re a USAA customer)
• Good student (for those who maintain good grades while in school).
• Defensive driving course discounts (eligible if you take a certified defensive driving course)
• New vehicle (eligible if your car’s less than three years old)
• Multi-policy discounts (fulfilling 2+ Arkansas auto insurance requirements)
• Military installation discount (if your vehicle stays garaged on base)
• Driver training (available if you’re under 21 and have completed a basic driver training course)
• Vehicle storage (if you keep your vehicle stored while on duty)
• Safe driver (eligible in case you keep a good driving record for over 5 years)

The biggest snag with USAA is that you have to be a member of the military to enjoy its services. You can also be related to a military member to qualify for an insurance plan.

Progressive Auto Insurance Arkansas

For people who like to see good discounts, Progressive may prove the perfect fit. 

One of Progressive’s biggest strengths is its various discounts. The Snapshots feature, for example, is particularly interesting. This optional policy tracks a person’s driving for six months, rewarding them with more discounts if they perform well.

Here are the discounts you can get with Progressive’s AR auto insurance:

• Safe Driver (Snapshots program)
• Good Student (get good grades to enjoy a discount)
• Multi Vehicle (save 12% on average)
• Multi Policy (average discount of up to 5%)
• Auto Pay (debits timely payments and includes discounts)
• Paperless (get 8.5% discount for signing your paper online)
• Pay In Full (pay up-front instead of installments)

Some of these policies are great cost-savers, and you won’t find anything like them in other companies. It’s the main selling point of the company, really.

Progressive’s plan prices range from $757.57 (average minimum) to $3,344 (average maximum). That doesn’t make it exactly the cheapest Arkansas auto insurance company. On the other hand, many users praise the company’s various discounts and how they cut overall costs.

Where Progressive doesn’t shine, though, is customer satisfaction. Judging by what we’ve found, the ratings for the company are pretty average. People’s experience with process estimation, claims servicing, and settlements have been middling.

Another factor souring this Progressive review is its lack of special employee benefits. So, if you’re, let’s say, a federal employee, you can’t get any discount for that.

All things considered, Progressive may not offer the cheapest auto insurance in Arkansas, but it boasts great discount options. For most users, this feature makes up for the few drawbacks of the company (such as lukewarm customer reviews).

Farm Bureau: Affordable and Varied

Sporting a combination of cheap rates and solid customer reviews, Farm Bureau is a strong contender for the best cheap Arkansas auto insurance. 

This is despite the membership fee you need to pay before becoming eligible for the company’s insurance plans. This fee can go up to $100, but the actual price depends on your place of residence.

However, if you clench your teeth and pay this fee, you get to enjoy quality service coupled with affordable rates. On average, Farm Bureau users pay a rate of around $447 per year. It also provides pretty cheap full coverage auto insurance in Arkansas.

As such, Farm Bureau definitely offers one of the most affordable deals for your car insurance needs. Teens can also get a pretty good deal compared to what other insurers can give them.

But what do you get for the money you spend at Farm Bureau? Let’s take a look.

The company boasts three coverage tiers (comprehensive, liability, and collision). It also offers identity theft coverage, which isn’t something you can find at a lot of insurance companies.

As far as discounts go, here’s what you can expect:

• Postgraduate discount
• Customer loyalty discount
• Financial responsibility discount
• Farm discount
• Defensive driving discount
• Accident-free discount
• Continuous coverage discount
• Good student discount
• Multi-policy discount
• Driver training discount
• Insurance score discount

As it turns out, Farm Bureau auto insurance in Arkansas gives the user plenty of bang for their buck. 

A particular program we’d recommend for you is Driveology®. The company installs a tracking device on your car and watches how well you drive. If you perform well, this optional package can save you 30% on your car insurance premiums.

On the downside, though, Farm Bureau doesn’t really have a lot of unique discounts. To be sure, they are numerous, but they don’t include anything the organization could use as a major selling point. Most companies selling commercial auto insurance in Arkansas can give you similar benefits.

There’s also the fact that customer reviews and ratings for this insurer aren’t stellar. Mind you, they don’t complain about terrible service per se. Their gripes are more along the lines of not getting all disputes/discrepancies sorted right away.

GEICO: Solid Premiums

GEICO is among the most popular for liability auto insurance in Arkansas and the United States in general.

At GEICO, the average cost of minimum coverage is $563 a year. Meanwhile, the average GEICO user pays $1,738 for full coverage every year. Not the cheapest alternative out there, but far from extortionate.

What makes GEICO’s price tag more bearable, however, is its various discounts. In some cases, these discounts even trump comparatively cheap auto insurance Arkansas companies provide.

Here are the available discounts:

• Defensive driving discount
• Vehicle equipment discounts
• Military and public service discounts
• Multi-policy discount
• Good student discount
• Driver education discounts
• Good driver discount
• Multi-vehicle discount
• New vehicle discount
• Seat belt use discount
• 50 and older discount

GEICO also includes many coverages, though nothing out of the ordinary. MBI (Mechanical Breakdown Insurance) is an exception, though. It covers repairs for vehicles no older than 15 months with fewer than 15,000 miles on the meter.

GEICO’s premium policies also make it a good alternative to really cheap insurance in Arkansas. They range from saving options to protections against increasing rates. You can also calculate different potential premiums via the company’s online calculator, which is pretty handy.

Speaking of which, GEICO has tons of online/mobile options. You can, among other things, pay bills online through the GEICO website, as well as initiate a claim online and track its progress. 

There’s even an app you can use to keep tabs on all the important data. Many people prefer GEICO over most providers of cheap full coverage auto insurance Arkansas has available for this reason.

But this tech capability comes with a drawback. Namely, one thing to consider with GEICO is its lack of quality customer support. Most user policies and file claims are taken care of online, leaving you with little room for personal support. In our GEICO review research, we found a significant number of people complaining about this issue, so it’s more than a minor inconvenience.

Cheapest Car Insurance in Arkansas (By City)

The price of car insurance isn’t fixed as it varies from one city to the next. As such, we explored the cheapest car insurance options across the towns of Arkansas.

We asked for quotes typical for a 30-year-old with a clean record driving a 2018 Honda Accord. 

Arkansas Auto Insurance Laws

Let’s take a gander at the laws in Arkansas as they pertain to car insurance. After all, you won’t be able to drive legally without knowing those.

Arkansas Automobile Insurance Plan (AR AIP)

Drivers in Arkansas aren’t legally allowed to drive without proof of insurance. Doing so makes you liable for receiving a fine.

First-time offenders pay anything between $50 and $250. But second-time offenses can land you fines in the range from $250 to $500. Meanwhile, third offenses can cost you from $500 to $1,000 or even a year in county jail.

Arkansas State Minimum Auto Insurance Requirements

In Arkansas, liability car insurance is mandatory. It serves to pay for damages or injuries caused to others in accidents. But in case another driver causes the accident, you can file a claim against their liability insurance or even a lawsuit against the driver.

Here are the minimum coverage requirements for car liability insurance:

• $25,000 in case of bodily injury/death of one person in one accident
• $50,000 in case of bodily injury/death of two or more persons in one accident
• $25,000 for damage or destruction that occurred to another’s property

No-Fault Laws in Arkansas

No-fault isn’t a part of auto insurance in Arkansas. 

Arkansas is an at-fault state, meaning the driver who causes an accident pays for the other party’s collision bills through their insurance. So if you are 50% at fault or more, you aren’t eligible for collecting any damages from the other party.

Despite that, all licensed insurers in the state have to offer first-party benefits to users. Arkansas insurance companies also offer uninsured motorist coverage in case an uninsured driver is responsible for an accident.

Price Optimization in Arkansas

Sadly, price optimization still isn’t banned as a practice in Arkansas car insurance. That means insurance companies are able to mark up your premiums based on what they believe you’ll tolerate. As such, there’s little you can do about it from a legal point of view.

But that doesn’t mean your hands are tied. A good way to combat price optimization is to get quotes from other insurance companies every year or so. Your insurer will notice you’re shopping around and, for fear of losing you to their competitors, stop hiking your premium.

AR Car Insurance for New Residents

New residents to Arkansas need to get an Arkansas driver’s license before enjoying the state’s car insurance options.

To do so, you need to register your vehicle at your nearest DMV. From there, you need to ensure your car insurance coverage is in line with the state’s minimum liability requirements. You’ll also have to exchange your license plates for new ones that comply with Arkansas law.

As a newcomer to Arkansas, you have 30 days following initial registration to get your car insured.

SR22 Insurance in Arkansas 

Arkansas drivers who have DUI on their record need to have SR22, but they don’t need one if they’ve committed a DWI. But laws on auto insurance Arkansas citizens abide by may obligate drivers with extreme traffic violations (vehicular homicide, for example) to have this form, too.

Drivers with an SR22 usually have to hold on to it for three years. However, this time may vary depending on the violation committed. Typically, second-time offenders get more severe limitations on their SR22.

A person with SR22 insurance must maintain coverage without lapse. If not, the state may suspend their license. 

How to Get Low-Cost Arkansas Car Insurance

Arkansas has an above-average cost of car insurance. Getting your car insured costs about $1,400 per year, as opposed to the national average of around $1,200. 

But that doesn’t mean you can’t get your car insured cheaply. Not only can you find cheap suppliers, but there are ways to leverage policies for awesome discounts. Here are a few ways to get the best deal at affordable rates.

Check Reviews of Cheap Auto Insurance Arkansas

Reviews of auto insurers are a great tool for finding the most money-saving insurance plans. They give an honest opinion and first-hand information about a company. Reviewers’ perspective is invaluable when trying to parse out which insurers are well-meaning and which ones aren’t.

But it’s not just about finding out whether a company is trying to extort you. You can also compare prices, discounts, and the like, finding the best auto insurance in Arkansas can offer you.

Compare Auto Insurance Quotes in Arkansas

If it’s a little high, the cost of a premium needn’t be a dealbreaker on its own. Often, an insurer offers so many discounts that it offsets its seemingly hefty pricing. That’s what makes deciding on the cheapest option for you so difficult: there are too many discounts to consider.

So, the best way to get a more realistic idea of what a company would charge you is to get a quote from them. Get quotes from five companies or so. That way, you’ll have solid reference points for your quotes.

Determine Who Provides the Best Discount

As we already mentioned while discussing Arkansas auto insurance quotes, discounts can really make a difference. Insurance companies often have all kinds of discounts people can take advantage of to soften the financial blow.

As such, you should pay special attention to insurer discount policies. See which ones apply to you and how much they cut your costs. 

Unfortunately, many companies won’t be upfront with this information or may even actively hide it from you. So, you’ll have to call their agents and insist they divulge it to you.

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