The Average Cost of Car Insurance in Missouri

As of 2020, the annual average cost of auto insurance was Missouri is $909, which is about 13 percent less than the national average of $1,047.¹ While this is good news for most drivers in Missouri, it’s important to note that several factors affect your car insurance rates. Depending on how a provider determines your level of risk as a driver, your rates could be higher or lower than the above-mentioned averages.

Still, averages can give you an idea of how much you can expect to pay for car insurance, especially if you think you might be overpaying for your current plan or you want to start shopping for a new plan. Below, we’ve compiled a detailed list of how much you can expect to pay, based on the most relevant factors that providers look at when calculating premiums.

By Age

Young drivers get into more accidents than drivers in any other age group, so it makes sense that their insurance rates would be higher than those of any other age group. If you’re a young driver, you can expect your rates to drop as you reach your mid-20s, where they’ll remain relatively low until your 70s (assuming you maintain a safe driving record).

Here’s the full breakdown of Missouri car insurance costs by age:

By Gender

On average, men pay more than women for car insurance because men tend to have more accidents, traffic violations, and DUIs on their records. In Missouri, men generally pay more for car insurance than women by just a few dollars.

By Marital Status

Because married couples report fewer claims, receive fewer traffic violations, and pay their premiums on time at higher rates than single drivers do, their rates tend to be lower than those of single, widowed, or divorced drivers.

In Missouri, as in most other states, single drivers have the highest rates, on average.

By Coverage Level

If you get into a car accident with damages or injuries that exceed your limits, you might have to pay for the costs out of pocket. We recommend increasing your limits to at least $500,000 and tacking on collision, comprehensive, and uninsured motorist coverage. Full-coverage car insurance with higher limits will ensure that you’ll be covered for even some of the most devastating types of accidents (for example, those involving a total loss of the vehicle, injuries, and/or fatalities).

Wondering what the cheapest car insurance rates in Missouri look like? Here are the lowest rates in the state based on your driving background and demographics.

There are a few strategies you can employ to save on car insurance in Missouri.

1. When you’re shopping for car insurance, be sure to compare quotes from multiple car insurance companies before choosing a provider.
2. Maintain or work to improve your credit score.
3. Take advantage of a pay-per-mile plan if you don’t drive a lot.
4. Increase your deductibles.
5. Drive safely.
6. Drive a vehicle with low insurance costs, like small SUVs, standard SUVs, and pickup trucks.

Here are Missouri’s minimum insurance requirements:

• $25,000 per person for bodily injury
• $50,000 per accident for bodily injury
• $25,000 per accident for property damage⁴

You can drive legally in Missouri with the above limits, but we recommend increasing your liability to $500,000 (or as much as you can afford). Fatal motor vehicle crashes can cost well over $1 million, and crashes that lead to injuries can cost tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars.⁵

Missouri is an at-fault state that functions under pure comparative negligence laws. That means each driver can recover payments for damages that reflect their degree of fault, even if one driver is more at fault than the other party. So, even if you’re 99 percent at fault in an accident, you can still recover payments for 1 percent of the cost of damages.

An SR-22 certificate of financial responsibility proves that you have the minimum insurance requirements to drive in Missouri. If you are caught driving without insurance or get involved in a serious violation, like a DUI, you might need an SR-22.

If the state suspends your license for not having mandatory insurance during an accident, you’ll need to maintain an SR-22 on file with the Driver License Bureau for three years.

Car insurance in Missouri is cheaper than the national average for most drivers. With dozens of statewide and national providers, you’ll have the option to choose from some of the most recognized providers, as well as smaller niche/local auto insurance companies. Regardless of the type of provider you decide on, always compare quotes, ask agents about discounts, and explore usage-based insurance options (pay-per-mile insurance or safety-tracking driving programs) to find the best deal.

At AutoInsurance.com, we leverage our 20-plus years of experience to help our readers make more informed and cost-effective insurance decisions. By helping to connect drivers with insurance providers, we’ve gained millions of data points that tell us why some car insurance providers are more successful than others. We use those insights to identify which providers in Missouri make the most sense for certain types of drivers, based on their gender, location, marital status, credit score, driving history, and other relevant factors.