What car insurance costs in Delaware

Delaware's bill next to the national average

The figures below come from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), which adds up the premiums insurers actually collected in each state. For 2023, its latest state year, Delaware's average expenditure was $1,462 per insured car, 13% more than the $1,296 of 2022. That average blends cars with liability only and cars with full coverage. A car carrying all three main coverages cost $1,569.

Read the rows one at a time and the pattern is clear. Liability averaged $962, about 31% above the U.S. number. Collision ($423) and comprehensive ($184) were both below it. So a Delawarean pays more mainly for the liability side of the policy, not for repairing their own car. The NAIC tables don't say why; your own quote still depends on your driving history, vehicle and garaging address, as our page on how location sets a price explains.

Coverage Delaware requires on every car

Delaware's financial responsibility law sets liability minimums of $25,000 for one injured person, $50,000 for all injuries in one accident and $10,000 for property damage: 25/50/10. On top of liability, the state's insurance statute requires two more pieces.

• Personal injury protection (PIP) of at least $15,000 per person and $30,000 per accident, with funeral costs capped at $5,000. It pays your own medical bills and other covered losses after a crash.
• Uninsured motorist coverage is part of the policy at no less than the minimum liability limits, unless a named insured rejects it in writing on the insurer's form. A rejection carries over to renewals until you ask for the coverage back in writing.
• Extra uninsured and underinsured coverage must be offered to you as an option to buy. With about 17.6% of Delaware drivers uninsured in 2023, by the Insurance Research Council's estimate, the offer deserves a real look.

A $10,000 property damage limit is low next to what a new car costs today. If you can afford it, price a higher limit before you settle on the minimum; our guide to coverage limits and deductibles shows how each choice moves the premium.

How Delaware oversees rates and credit

Insurers must file every rate, rating plan and rating rule with the Insurance Commissioner at least 60 days before they plan to use it. A filing counts as meeting the law once 60 days pass, unless the Commissioner disapproves it or asks for more time, which can stretch the review to 90 days. Rates that clear this review can still differ a great deal from one company to the next.

Credit-based insurance scores are allowed under Chapter 83 of Title 18, with guardrails. An insurer can't refuse, cancel or nonrenew a policy based only on credit, and it can't set a renewal rate on credit alone. If a catastrophe, serious illness or injury, the death of a close family member, divorce, identity theft or a job loss lasting three months or more damaged your credit, you can ask in writing for an exception. If credit leads to a worse price, the company must tell you why, naming up to four main factors. Background: how credit-based scores affect premiums.

When regular insurers say no

The Delaware Automobile Insurance Plan covers drivers who can't buy a policy in the regular market. To be placed through it you need a valid Delaware driver's license and a car registered in Delaware, and any agent licensed for property and casualty insurance in the state can submit the application. Plan coverage usually costs more, so treat it as a bridge while your record improves. Our page on assigned risk plans explains how these plans work.

Ways to lower a Delaware premium

1. 1 Take an approved defensive driving course. Under the Department of Insurance's regulation, completing one earns a 10% discount on bodily injury, property damage and PIP premiums for three years. A refresher course finished within 180 days before those three years end lifts it to 15%.
2. 2 Collect quotes on identical coverage. Ask two or three insurers to price the same limits, the same PIP and the same deductibles, then compare them line by line.
3. 3 Test a higher deductible. Collision and comprehensive are already cheaper than average in Delaware, but a bigger deductible can still trim them; the deductible break-even calculator shows when it pays off.
4. 4 Report problems to the regulator. If a claim or a rate change looks wrong and the insurer doesn't fix it, you can file a complaint with the Delaware Department of Insurance.

Questions drivers ask