Missouri auto insurance
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Missouri auto insurance buyer's guide
With a 12.75% decrease in injuries and a 5.12% reduction in traffic deaths, Missouri's auto accident numbers headed in a positive direction in 2022. However, even with that improvement, accidents caused more than 45,000 injuries and 960 deaths. Missouri auto insurance provides you with financial protection from the costs associated with traffic accidents.
Missouri driving conditions
Negligent driving behaviors, such as driving too fast and driving while impaired or distracted, cause more than 90% of car accidents in the state. Road conditions can also play a factor.
Moisture from precipitation and large temperature changes in the winter months cause a large number of potholes on Missouri highways. MoDOT patched more than 800,000 potholes in 2022. Potholes can cause significant damage to your tires, wheel rims, suspension system, alignment and undercarriage. Additionally, potholes can increase the risk of accidents because drivers may brake or swerve suddenly to try to avoid them.
Distracted driving contributed to 71 deaths in 2021, with male drivers comprising more than 80% of the distracted drivers involved in fatal crashes. Cell phone-related crashes are one of the most rapidly increasing causes of traffic accidents. More than half of the fatal distracted driving crashes in the state involved the death of someone other than the distracted driver.
Aggressive driving played a role in 548 traffic fatalities, and male drivers accounted for over 78% of aggressive driving accidents. At 40% of all traffic fatalities, speeding is the largest aggressive driving contributor to fatal accidents, and more than half of all fatal crashes involve at least one aggressive driver.
Driving while impaired contributed to 215 fatal accidents in the state. Male drivers accounted for over 81% of these accidents. While alcohol-related fatalities have declined, the state has seen increases in fatalities related to driving under the influence of drugs.
Types of Missouri auto insurance coverage
Missouri law requires drivers and vehicle owners to purchase Liability and Uninsured Motorist coverage. Additional coverages are optional.
Liability Insurance
This required coverage comes in two types:
Bodily Injury
Bodily Injury coverage pays for your legal and court costs if someone sues you because of an auto accident. Additionally, if you are legally obligated to pay for someone else's injuries, death or property damage because of an auto accident, this coverage provides financial protection.
Property Damage
Property Damage coverage does not pay for damage to your car or any of your other property. However, it does pay for damage to other people's property that you are liable for because of an accident involving your vehicle.
Uninsured Motorist
In 2019, 16.4% of Missouri drivers had no insurance. Uninsured Motorist coverage pays for the expenses associated with injuries to the occupants of your vehicle when a hit-and-run or uninsured driver causes an accident. It does not pay for damage to your vehicle. If you want coverage for damage to your vehicle caused by an uninsured driver, you must purchase Collision Coverage.
Underinsured Motorist
Underinsured Motorist coverage pays for injuries to the occupants of your vehicle when another driver causes an accident but does not have enough insurance to pay for all of the damage. Your limit for this coverage must be at least twice that of the underinsured driver for this coverage to apply. Unlike Uninsured Motorist coverage, this coverage is not required, so if you want it, you need to request it when asking for Missouri auto insurance quotes.
Collision Coverage
A policy that includes Collision Coverage pays for damage to your vehicle from an auto accident, regardless of fault. You usually must pay a deductible before this coverage applies.
Comprehensive Coverage
Comprehensive Coverage is an optional add-on that pays for damage to your car caused by something other than a collision, such as broken glass, animals or weather damage. This coverage may have a deductible.
Medical Payments
Medical Payments is an optional coverage that helps with the medical and funeral expenses of the occupants of your vehicle, regardless of fault. It also applies when you or a family member is struck by a car as a pedestrian. Some Medical Payments insurance may only apply once you max out other health or accident policies.
Missouri minimum insurance requirements
Missouri drivers and vehicle owners must purchase at least the minimum coverages that state law requires:
• $25,000 per person bodily injury liability.
• $50,000 per accident bodily injury liability.
• $25,000 per accident property damage liability.
• $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident in Uninsured Motorist Coverage
If you have an auto loan, your lender may require that you carry Collision and Comprehensive Coverage.
Average cost of Missouri auto insurance
Missouri drivers pay an average of $1,660 per year for full coverage. This compares with a national average of around $2,000 per year for full coverage.
Getting a quote can help you find the lowest rates. You can easily compare multiple auto insurance companies by requesting Missouri auto insurance quotes with VIU by HUB.
Factors that affect Missouri auto insurance rates
Missouri insurance companies consider a variety of factors when determining insurance rates.
Location
Residents of larger cities with higher accident and crime rates tend to pay higher average premiums. Drivers in St. Louis pay higher average premiums, while drivers in Columbia pay less than the state average.
Age
Because young drivers lack experience, insurance companies view these drivers as particularly risky and charge higher rates to insure them. The average 18-year-old in the state pays more than twice the Missouri full coverage premium. The average rates continue to drop for drivers as they age, up to by age 70 when rates begin to increase again.
Driving record
Your driving record also plays a major role in the rates you pay. Safe drivers enjoy the lowest rates, while people with traffic tickets, DUIs and accidents tend to pay more. A speeding ticket may increase your rate by 20%, a DUI by 60% and an accident by about 30%.
This information is intended for general informational purposes only and is not intended to constitute legal advice.
Sources:
Missouri Traffic Safety Compendium
Missouri Department of Transportation
Missouri Department of Transportation