What car insurance costs in Montana

Montana's premiums beside the U.S. averages

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) publishes average premiums for each state based on what insurers actually wrote. Its 2023 data, the latest by state, put Montana's average expenditure at $975 per insured car, 10% more than the $885 of 2022 and a smaller rise than the U.S. as a whole.

Liability was about 36% below the national average and collision about 25% below. Comprehensive was about 53% above it, and at $365 it cost more than collision, the reverse of the U.S. pattern. Comprehensive covers damage that isn't a crash, such as theft, hail or hitting an animal, so the car you drive and where it is parked weigh heavily; see how make and model affect a premium.

What Montana requires you to carry

The Montana Commissioner of Securities and Insurance (CSI) lists the minimum liability limits as $25,000 per person and $50,000 per accident for bodily injury, and $20,000 for property damage.

• Uninsured motorist coverage must be provided by your agent unless you sign a form saying you don't want it.
• Collision and comprehensive aren't required by the state; a lender will usually require both on a financed car.
• Higher limits are optional and cost extra, but the minimums can run out quickly after a serious crash.

Only about 7.2% of Montana drivers were uninsured in 2023, by the Insurance Research Council's estimate, less than half the national share. Even so, signing away uninsured motorist coverage saves relatively little next to what it protects. Our page on limits and deductibles explains the trade-offs.

How Montana handles rates and credit

Every insurer must file all the rates it intends to use in Montana, with supporting data, with the commissioner under section 33-16-203 of the Montana Code. Companies still build their own prices, so the same driver can get noticeably different quotes.

Insurers may use parts of your credit history to build an insurance credit score, and section 33-18-605 sets the limits. A company can't deny, cancel or refuse to renew a policy on credit without weighing other underwriting factors. If your credit was directly affected by a catastrophic injury or illness, a temporary job loss, the death of an immediate family member, identity theft or military service overseas, you can ask in writing for a reasonable exception; the insurer may ask for documentation. See our page on credit-based insurance scores.

The 55-and-older course reduction

Montana law requires insurers to give an appropriate premium reduction on liability, bodily injury or collision coverage to drivers 55 or older who complete an approved highway traffic safety program. The insurer sets the amount. The reduction lasts three years, and you keep it by completing a course every three years; an insurer may drop it after an at-fault accident or a moving violation conviction. The defensive driving discount guide explains how to claim it.

Options for drivers insurers turn away

The Montana Automobile Insurance Plan provides coverage to eligible drivers who can't get it in the voluntary market, sharing them among the companies that write auto insurance in the state. It is part of the Western Association of Automobile Insurance Plans, whose plan office answers consumer calls at 800-227-4659. Our guide to assigned risk plans explains what to expect.

1. 1 Compare quotes on matching coverage, paying special attention to the comprehensive line and its deductible.
2. 2 Ask for the 55+ course reduction if a driver on the policy qualifies, and keep the course current.
3. 3 Contact CSI with problems. The office takes calls at 800-332-6148 or 406-444-2040.

Questions drivers ask