What car insurance costs in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania's average bill in context

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) reports what insurers charged per insured car in each state. In 2023, the latest year it has published by state, the Pennsylvania average expenditure was $1,155, up 13% from $1,018 in 2022. This average includes cars insured for liability only as well as fully covered ones. A car with liability, collision and comprehensive together cost $1,274 on average.

The whole difference from the national average sits in liability: $567 against $737. Collision and comprehensive, the coverages for your own car, were within a few dollars of the U.S. figures. On a fully covered car, then, the cost of protecting your own vehicle looks much like it does elsewhere, and the deductible you pick on those lines is one of the few numbers you control. Where you live still matters; see how location sets a price.

The minimum Pennsylvania policy

You must carry insurance to drive legally in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department lists three required coverages: medical benefits of at least $5,000, bodily injury liability of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, and property damage liability of $5,000. Some insurers sell a $35,000 combined single limit that satisfies both liability minimums.

• Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage appear among the optional coverages. They pay for injuries to you, relatives in your household and your passengers when an at-fault driver has no insurance or too little, but not for property damage.
• Stacking applies by default. It multiplies your uninsured or underinsured limit by the number of vehicles on the policy; rejecting it lowers your premium and your protection.
• Collision and comprehensive are optional under state law; a lender will usually require them.

With limits this low, a single crash can exceed a minimum policy quickly. The Insurance Research Council estimates that 11.0% of Pennsylvania drivers were uninsured in 2023. Our page on limits and deductibles helps you decide how much more to buy.

Full tort or limited tort

Pennsylvania asks you to choose how much of your right to sue you keep. Full tort leaves you free to sue a negligent driver for all damages, including pain and suffering. Limited tort gives up the right to recover pain-and-suffering damages unless one of the exceptions in the law applies, and in return the Insurance Department says it offers significant savings on your premium. If you don't specifically choose limited tort, you are treated as having chosen full tort.

The department doesn't put a dollar figure on the difference, and it varies by insurer, so ask for both prices on the same quote, then check your policy documents to confirm which option you have. Our guide to reading your declarations page walks through the coverages, limits and deductibles listed there.

What Pennsylvania insurers can't price on

By law, Pennsylvania insurers may not charge different rates based on an applicant's race, religion, national origin or gender. So a man and a woman with the same record, car and address should not be quoted differently for being a man or a woman; more on gender and marital status as rating factors.

Some companies use credit history when setting a premium, but the Insurance Department says they cannot use it to increase your rate when you renew.

If no company will insure you, often because of your driving history, the Pennsylvania Assigned Risk Plan offers coverage. Every insurer that writes car insurance in the state takes part, and applicants are assigned to companies in proportion to their share of the market. The plan is reached through AIPSO at 800-477-6146; expect to pay more than in the regular market.

Ways to lower a Pennsylvania premium

1. 1 Get at least three quotes, as the Insurance Department advises, with the same coverages and limits on each, and read the exclusions.
2. 2 Price both tort options. Limited tort costs less; decide whether the savings are worth the right you give up.
3. 3 Claim the 55-and-over discount. State law requires at least 5% off for each vehicle when every named insured is 55 or older and has completed a PennDOT-approved driver improvement course. The course has to be repeated every three years, and a chargeable accident, a moving violation conviction, or a DUI conviction or ARD can end the discount.
4. 4 Call the Insurance Department at 1-877-881-6388 if your insurer won't resolve a question or complaint.

Questions drivers ask