What car insurance costs in Idaho

Idaho's premium, coverage by coverage

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) compiles the premiums insurers collect in every state. In its 2023 figures, the newest it has published by state, Idaho's average expenditure was $864 per insured car, 12% above the $772 of 2022. That average covers liability-only cars as well as fully insured ones. A car with liability, collision and comprehensive together averaged $981.

Each line is well under the U.S. number: liability by about 35%, collision by about 30% and comprehensive by about 26%. Only North Dakota and Maine had a lower average expenditure in 2023. Low averages still rose 12% in a year, though, roughly in step with the national increase, so a cheap state isn't immune to rising bills. The NAIC doesn't give reasons for the levels. What moves your own price is personal; how far you drive is one factor, covered in annual mileage and price.

Idaho's required coverage

The Idaho Department of Insurance says each personal-use vehicle registered in Idaho needs bodily injury liability of at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident, and property damage liability of at least $15,000. In shorthand, 25/50/15.

• Uninsured (UM) and underinsured (UIM) motorist bodily injury coverage comes with the policy unless a named insured rejects it in writing.
• The Idaho UM/UIM Disclosure Form must be given to you. It explains both coverages and lets you reject either one or both.
• Collision, comprehensive and medical payments appear on the Department's list of optional coverages.

The Insurance Research Council estimates that only 6.4% of Idaho drivers were uninsured in 2023, among the lowest shares in the country. That can make rejecting UM coverage look tempting, but underinsured drivers, those carrying only the 25/50 minimum, are a separate risk. Our guide to coverage limits and deductibles helps you weigh it.

Idaho's limits on rates and credit

The Department of Insurance's rates section reviews rate filings for private passenger auto insurance. Its stated goal is to make sure rates are not inadequate, excessive or unfairly discriminatory. Within that standard, each insurer prices on its own, which is why quotes vary.

Idaho Code § 41-1843 sets its own test for credit. An insurer may not charge a higher premium, or cancel, nonrenew or refuse a personal policy, based primarily on your credit rating or history. The law defines "primarily" precisely: credit can't carry more weight in the decision than all the other criteria combined. So credit can still count, but it can't dominate. Read more about credit-based insurance scores.

When a driver can't find coverage

Idaho Code § 41-1441 lets casualty insurers share out drivers who are entitled to insurance but can't get it the ordinary way, with plan premiums held to the same not-excessive standard. In practice this is the Idaho Automobile Insurance Plan. Its processing center, the Western Association of Automobile Insurance Plans, connects each applicant with an insurer; an agent submits the application. Our page on assigned risk plans explains what to expect.

Keeping an Idaho premium low

1. 1 Re-shop at renewal. Ask two or three insurers to quote the same limits and deductibles; differences between companies can matter more than any single discount.
2. 2 Try a usage-based program if you drive carefully. Some insurers price on how you actually drive; our guide to telematics insurance covers what is tracked and whether a price can rise.
3. 3 Match the deductible to your savings. Collision is already well below the U.S. average in Idaho, so check whether a higher deductible still saves enough to be worth the extra risk.
4. 4 Use the Department's consumer lines. The Consumer Hotline is 1-800-721-3272 and Consumer Affairs is (208) 334-4250; complaints can also be filed online.

Questions drivers ask