What is Required for Miami-Dade Drivers?

Compared to some other states, Florida has a lower standard for the minimum insurance that it requires drivers to have in order to register their vehicles and drive on the roads in the state. They only require $10,000 in personal injury liability and $10,000 in property damage liability. Personal injury protection (PIP) is money that would be paid by your insurance agency to a person that you injured if you had an accident in which you were at fault. Property damage liability repairs another person's vehicle or other property that you damage in an accident in which you are at fault.

Cheap Auto Insurance in Miami-Dade

Automobile insurance rates can vary by agency, the age and marital status of the driver, their driving record, and by the type of coverage they buy. We chose seven major insurance carriers that operate in the state of Florida and had them provide insurance quotes for three different driver demographics in order to help consumers find the cheapest rates for automobile insurance in the Miami-Dade County area. Insurance rates also vary by area, so these rates and which carriers may provide cheaper rates will also vary throughout Florida.

Note that we pulled information for liability only coverage and all coverages. This means that there are numbers showing the cost of the lowest level of insurance you must legally have, and the other numbers indicate that you have purchased all possible coverages from the insurance carrier. The types of coverage can vary wildly, along with the cost, which is why there are some significantly differing amounts in this second category.

Unmarried Female, 25, 1 Violation & 1 No-Fault Accident for 3 Years – Liability Only/All Coverages

Our first driver demographic is an unmarried female, age 25, who has both a moving violation and a no-fault accident in the past three years. She drives about 12,000 miles yearly. Having both an accident and a moving violation will cost her more for her insurance each year.

Liability Only – If this driver wants liability only coverage their best bet is Esurance or Geico, coming in at under $1,000. Safeco and Infinity are over $1,000, with Infinity nearly at $2,000. State Farm, Allstate, and Progressive cost the most with Progressive costing $2,750. Going with the cheapest option will save her $2,080.

All Coverages – If she wants all coverages available, she will save the most money with Esurance at $2,402 per year, followed by Geico for an extra $400. Both Safeco and State Farm will charge her in the $4,000 range. Infinity and Allstate come in at just under $6,000. Progressive is the highest priced coverage at just under $8,000 yearly. Thus, she will save about $5,500 yearly on full coverage insurance if she shops around.

Family with Young Drivers, 2 Cars, No Violations or Accidents for 3 Years – Liability Only/All Coverages

Our next driver demographic is a family that has young drivers. They have two cars and no moving violations or accidents in the past three years. One of the cars is driven 12,000 miles per year, and the other car is driven 8,000 miles per year. Insurance agencies charge much higher prices for younger drivers because they are statistically more likely to be in accidents.

Liability Only – A family looking for liability only insurance will be able to pay the least with Esurance, whose coverage costs just over $1,200. Geico and Progressive fall around the $2,000 mark, while Allstate and Safeco are closer to $3,000. State Farm charges around $4,000 and Infinity costs a whopping $15,481. That means that a family can save $14,250 by going with the cheapest option here.

All Coverages – This family will be able to obtain the cheapest full coverage insurance from Esurance at $4,464 per year, followed by Geico at $6,433 yearly. Progressive is just over $7,000 yearly. Both Safeco and State Farm fall in the $9,000 a year range. Allstate is over $23,000 yearly, and Infinity is over $39,000 yearly. So, this family will save a whopping $34,000 yearly by choosing the cheapest carrier over the most expensive. This also demonstrates how expensive full coverage insurance is with younger, less experienced drivers, though it may also show that Infinity offers a wider range of coverages, since this includes all possible coverage you can receive from each carrier.

Senior Married Couple, 1 Car, No Violations or Accidents for 3 Years – Liability Only/All Coverages

Our final driver demographic is a senior married couple. They share one car and have a clean driving record for the past three years. They only drive 6,000 miles per year because they no longer work. Older drivers and married couples tend to be charged much lower rates by the insurance carriers.

Liability Only – Because of their safe driving and how little they drive, this couple can find some of the cheapest liability insurance in the county, with Esurance and Geico coming in the lowest at $390 and $394 respectively. Allstate, Safeco, and Progressive all fall within the $500-$650 range. Only State Farm and Infinity break $1,000, with Infinity hitting $1,735. This means that the couple can save $1,345 by shopping around for the least expensive insurance.

All Coverages – Our senior married couple in Miami-Dade County found their cheapest full coverage rate with Esurance at $1,392, followed by Geico at $1,413 yearly. Both Progressive and Safeco came in at the $1,800 range. State Farm charges about $2,500. Allstate was around $3,000. Infinity charged the highest rate at $4,809. Thus, the senior couple who doesn't drive much and has a clean driving record was able to save $3,400 by choosing the least expensive carrier over the most expensive carrier.

One can see that Esurance was the cheapest carrier in all three demographics for the Miami-Dade area and Geico came in second cheapest in each case.

The Difference Between Liability and Full Coverage in Miami-Dade

What is Liability-Only

Liability-only coverage means that you are only paying to cover the cost of damage that you do to other people and their property in the event you are at fault in an accident. It covers the costs of medical bills for people you injure or repair costs for property you damage.

It is a good idea to carry more liability insurance than these minimum amounts required by the state of Florida because you will be personally financially liable if you are in an accident and cause more damage to people or property than the state's minimum required coverage levels. In other states, minimum required amounts for property damage and bodily damage liability are often $25,000 or $50,000.

What is Full Coverage

Full coverage insurance not only covers the cost of the people and things you might harm when you are in an accident that is your fault. It also covers the cost of any repairs that your property or vehicle might need if you are in an accident that is your fault.

There are two main types of coverage beyond liability coverage:

  • Collision – This type of insurance covers the cost of repairs to your vehicle or your property that you might damage in an accident in which you are at fault.
  • Comprehensive – This type of insurance covers the repair costs for your vehicle when one of those unusual things happen that are outside of your control, like weather-related damage to your vehicle, theft, vandalism, and deer stepping in front of your vehicle as you drive.

Difference Between the Two and Cost Examples

Liability coverage kicks in when you back up and hit a kid on a skateboard you did not see. It will also pay for a gate you run into and damage.

Collision insurance pays out when you back into a large rock at a campground, denting your pickup's tailgate. It will pay to get the tailgate repaired.

Comprehensive coverage will pay for the repair costs when something flies out of the back of a semi-truck and you end up with a cracked windshield.

In Miami-Dade County, we have seen the average costs for our three driver demographics in terms of full coverage insurance. A senior couple with a clean driving record could find the best full coverage insurance rate for under $1,400. A single female with two strikes on her driving record could get the cheapest full coverage insurance around $2,400 yearly. Our family with two cars and young drivers could find more reasonable rates around $4,500 a year.

In terms of state-required liability-only insurance, we found that these same demographic scenarios will pay between $390 and $1,230 for bare-bones insurance. The Miami-Dade area is highly congested with traffic, which makes the risk level assigned by insurers very high, but you can still get decently inexpensive insurance if you are only looking for basic liability coverage.

Additional cities in Florida you can check out:

Ways to Lower Your Auto Insurance Rates in Miami-Dade

  • Shop around -

    As you can see from these few examples, the rates insurers charge for the very same driver demographics can vary incredibly. The television commercials by the insurers tell us we can save hundreds of dollars on automobile insurance. Actually, you could save a thousand or more dollars on your insurance each year.
  • Drive defensively -

    If you can stay out of accidents and don't accrue moving violations, you can save a lot of money on your automobile insurance. People with too many accidents and moving violations have trouble getting insured at any rate.
  • Drive an older car -

    If you have a car that is too old and not worth enough to carry collision insurance, you can save quite a bit of money. This especially applies to younger drivers whose insurance costs are much higher. If they can drive an older vehicle that would just require liability insurance and maybe some inexpensive comprehensive insurance, they can save at least a thousand dollars or more on insurance.
  • Buy collision insurance with a high deductible rate -

    The higher deductible rate you can tolerate in the event of a collision and the need to repair your vehicle, the lower your collision insurance cost will be. Your collision insurance rate will be really high if your deductible is only around $500. If you can tolerate $1,500 or so, you can save quite a bit of money on this portion of your annual insurance rate.
  • Bundle your home and automobile insurance policies -

    If you can buy your automobile and home insurance from the same company, you will likely save money. Most insurers offer a substantial discount for having your home and auto policy with them.

Factors That Affect Your Miami-Dade County Car Insurance Rate

Because of the traffic issues in the area, Florida car insurance rates are quite high. The risk factors are higher where there is more traffic, so the area is one important factor in your auto insurance rates. As we have seen, other factors that affect your car insurance rate include your age, marital status, how many cars and drivers you have in your household, your driving record, what type of coverage you need, the age and type of your vehicle, the insurance agency, and the average mileage you drive each year. These factors can make huge differences in how much money you have to spend each year on automobile insurance.

Since insurance is higher in the Miami-Dade County area, it is imperative that drivers thoroughly educate themselves about automobile insurance and shop around in order to find the very best deal. You literally can save a thousand or more dollars per year by getting quotes from several carriers.

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