Average Cost of Car Insurance in Pennsylvania: What Drivers Pay and What Drives Your Quote

Pennsylvania drivers spent an average of $1,018.41 per insured vehicle on car insurance in 2022, or about $84.87 a month when divided by 12, according to the NAIC 2022 Auto Insurance Database Average Premium Supplement (opens in a new tab). That figure is an average expenditure, not a quote. It assumes every insured vehicle carries liability coverage but not every vehicle carries collision or comprehensive. A policy carrying all three coverages averaged $1,119.98 for the year, about $93.33 a month. Your own price depends on the coverages, limits and deductibles you choose, your vehicle, your driving record, where the car is garaged and the insurer's other rating factors.

Those numbers make a useful benchmark when you're judging a quote or budgeting for a new car. The rest of the work is figuring out which of your own details push your price above or below them.

What the Pennsylvania average includes

The NAIC breaks the statewide figures into three coverage averages and two totals. Each total answers a slightly different question.

Source: NAIC 2022 supplement (opens in a new tab). Monthly amounts are annual figures divided by 12. They aren't installment quotes and don't include billing fees.

The average expenditure divides total written premium for liability, collision and comprehensive by liability written car-years. Because plenty of insured vehicles carry liability only, it lands below the combined figure. The combined average premium adds the three coverage averages together and represents a policy that carries liability, collision and comprehensive.

Neither number is a "minimum coverage" or "full coverage" price. Pennsylvania's minimum financial-responsibility coverage and optional physical-damage coverage are separate things, and real policies vary in limits, deductibles, benefits and tort option. When an agency quotes "full coverage," ask it to list each coverage, limit and deductible.

Why your quote can differ from the average

The NAIC's averages don't distinguish among driver classifications, vehicles, limits or deductibles, all of which affect price, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab). Your quote is built from exactly those details.

The Pennsylvania Insurance Department's guide to shopping for auto insurance (opens in a new tab) lists the information an insurer uses to quote: each driver's name, age and marital status, the driving record, estimated annual mileage, the full VIN, the vehicle's year and cost, and special equipment such as anti-theft devices and airbags. Accidents and moving violations on the record count, and so does every household driver on the policy.

Insurers use their own filed rating plans, so not every company weighs every factor the same way or uses every permitted factor. Insurers are prohibited by law from charging different rates based on race, religion, national origin or gender, according to the Department's guide. Age is a different matter; it appears among the details insurers ask for.

Credit can play a part too. A credit history or credit-based insurance score is one possible rating input, according to the Department. An insurance score is an insurance underwriting tool and isn't the same thing as a conventional credit score. Ask the agency whether one is being used on your quote.

Why Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and other areas can differ

Location is part of most quotes. Driving locations, traffic density, accident rates, vehicle theft, repair costs, population density, and medical and legal costs can all produce price differences between communities and neighborhoods, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab). That's why the same driver and car can get a different quote in Philadelphia than in a rural county.

Territory has to follow the insurer's filed rating plan. In a 2022 notice following Kia and Hyundai vehicle thefts, the Department reminded insurers that where a vehicle is garaged or operated can't be used in underwriting standards or eligibility requirements in the circumstances that notice addressed, according to its notice on geographic-location discrimination (opens in a new tab).

To understand your own number, ask the agency which garaging location and territory it used, and compare quotes built on that same address.

Limited tort or full tort: how the choice affects price

Pennsylvania drivers choose a tort option, and it affects both the premium and your legal rights after a crash. Limited tort offers premium savings, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's auto insurance FAQ (opens in a new tab). The exact difference depends on the insurer and its filed rating plan.

The tradeoff is set out in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705 (opens in a new tab):

• Full tort keeps your unrestricted right to seek compensation for both economic loss and noneconomic loss, such as pain and suffering, caused by another driver.
• Limited tort keeps your right to recover economic loss, such as medical bills and lost wages, but generally bars recovery for noneconomic loss unless the injury is serious or another statutory exception applies.
• The insurer must notify you of both options, and if limited tort isn't properly elected, full tort applies and the full-tort premium is charged.
• The election applies across your private passenger policies with the same insurer until you change it with a properly executed form.
• An insurer may not cancel, refuse to write or refuse to renew a policy solely because of your tort election.

When comparing quotes, make sure every one uses the same tort option. A limited-tort quote and a full-tort quote aren't buying the same rights.

What changes a quote for a new or young driver

Age, driving experience, the driving record, the vehicle, annual mileage and the other drivers in the household are all quote inputs, according to the Department's shopping guide (opens in a new tab). Adding a teen or newly licensed driver changes several of those inputs at once.

Discounts can offset part of the cost. Insurers may offer driver training, good-student, anti-theft, passive-restraint and mature-driver discounts, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department's auto insurance page (opens in a new tab). Eligibility rules and amounts vary by insurer. For a young driver, ask the agency to quote the actual driver, vehicle, mileage and household, and to list every discount it checked.

One discount is set by law. Insurers must give at least a 5% reduction for each vehicle on a private passenger policy when all named policyholders are 55 or older and have completed a PennDOT-approved driver improvement course, according to the Department.

What Pennsylvania requires

Every registered vehicle in Pennsylvania must carry medical benefits, bodily injury liability and property damage liability coverage, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (opens in a new tab). Collision and comprehensive cover damage to your own car and are optional coverages. Ask the agency for the required minimum limits alongside any higher limits it suggests, so you can see what each step up costs.

Why Pennsylvania premiums rose and then leveled off

Pennsylvania drivers, like drivers nationwide, faced significant average rate increases from 2022 through 2024, according to the Department's April 22, 2026 announcement on rate stabilization (opens in a new tab). Approved private passenger auto rate filings then averaged a 0.2% decrease in 2025, and recent 2026 filings averaged a 0.5% decrease, a $60 million reduction in proposed premium costs. Those are market averages measured against proposed premiums, not a prediction for any one driver's renewal.

The broader cost pressures behind state premiums include underwriting and claims-handling expenses, coverage types and amounts, telematics, weather, driving locations, accident rates, traffic density, theft, repair costs, population density, medical and legal costs, and each state's filing and liability laws, according to the NAIC (opens in a new tab).

Pennsylvania rate filings are reviewed, and unreasonable requests may be revised, resubmitted or withdrawn, according to the Department. Approved filings are public through its approved rate and form filing search (opens in a new tab). If your renewal went up, ask the agency what changed from the prior term.

How to compare Pennsylvania quotes fairly

Comparing coverage and price together is the Department's advice in its shopping guide (opens in a new tab). Before you call agencies, decide the coverages, limits and deductibles you want, then give each one the same information:

• Every driver's name, age and marital status.
• Accidents and moving violations.
• Estimated annual mileage.
• Each vehicle's full VIN, year and cost.
• Anti-theft devices, airbags and other special equipment.
• The same coverages, limits, deductibles, benefits and tort option.

These questions help get a clear answer on price:

• What coverages are required in Pennsylvania, and are my limits high enough for an at-fault accident?
• Is this quote liability-only, or does it include collision and comprehensive?
• Which tort option is selected, and are medical and other benefits the same as in my other quotes?
• Which driver, vehicle, mileage and territory information did you use?
• Is a credit-based insurance score being used?
• Which discounts were applied, and which weren't?
• How would a higher deductible change the price?
• Is this an annual premium, a six-month premium or an installment amount?
• How would the quote change if one rating detail were corrected?

Riskado's directory lists insurance agencies across the US, state by state, including Pennsylvania agencies in Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Harrisburg and other cities, organized by city and by category, so you can request matching quotes from more than one.

What happens if your coverage lapses

Pennsylvania requires continuous financial responsibility on registered vehicles, so a gap in coverage has consequences beyond the days you went without. If insurance lapses, the state may suspend the vehicle registration, and driving without required insurance can lead to fines, license suspension and loss of the plate and registration sticker, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (opens in a new tab). If you're switching insurers to get a better price, confirm the new policy starts before the old one ends.

Frequently asked questions

How much is car insurance per month in Pennsylvania?

Dividing the NAIC's 2022 figures by 12 gives about $84.87 a month for the average expenditure and about $93.33 a month for a policy with liability, collision and comprehensive. These are statewide arithmetic conversions, not payment quotes.

Does limited tort make insurance cheaper in Pennsylvania?

Yes. Limited tort offers premium savings, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, though the amount depends on the insurer. In exchange, you generally give up recovery for pain and suffering unless the injury is serious or another exception in 75 Pa.C.S. § 1705 (opens in a new tab) applies.

Can Pennsylvania insurers charge different rates by gender?

No. Insurers are prohibited by law from charging different rates based on race, religion, national origin or gender, according to the Department's shopping guide (opens in a new tab).

Is there a discount for older drivers?

Yes. When all named policyholders are 55 or older and have completed a PennDOT-approved driver improvement course, insurers must reduce the premium by at least 5% for each vehicle, according to the Pennsylvania Insurance Department (opens in a new tab).

Turning the average into your own number

The statewide figures tell you roughly where Pennsylvania sits, but your quote depends on your drivers, car, mileage, record, address and tort choice. Gather your VINs, mileage estimates and driving history, pick the coverages and limits you want to price, and ask two or three agencies to quote exactly the same policy. Comparing those quotes line by line will tell you whether a price is reasonable far better than any average can.