Car insurance in Iowa
Drivers in Iowa paid $1,010 a year for full coverage in 2023, 30% below the national average. With prices up since, figure on about $1,200 today. In Iowa, the law asks for at least 20/40/15 liability.
What people pay in Iowa
A typical yearly price today
about $1,200 a year (about $100 a month)
Iowa's average full-coverage cost in 2023 was $1,010, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Car insurance prices nationally have risen about 18% since then (government price index, August 2026), so we start from about $1,200.
That makes Iowa the 7th least expensive of the 50 states and DC. Nationally, the average was $1,439.
It's an average across every kind of driver and car, not your price. Your car, your driving record, and how much coverage you carry move it up or down.
Iowa next to its neighbors
A typical policy in Iowa costs more than in Wisconsin and less than in Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and South Dakota.
| State | Typical price, 2023 | Moving to Iowa from there |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa | $1,010 | Not a move |
| Illinois | $1,257 | About $340 less a year |
| Minnesota | $1,223 | About $290 less a year |
| Missouri | $1,323 | About $430 less a year |
| Nebraska | $1,184 | About $240 less a year |
| South Dakota | $1,158 | About $200 less a year |
| Wisconsin | $1,000 | About the same |
| National average | $1,439 | Not a move |
The move is the What-if page's starting example: a 40–64-year-old with a clean record and a 2020 Toyota Camry, full coverage, in the suburbs, with nothing else changed. Only the two states' typical prices make the difference, so a real move can come out differently.
The least insurance Iowa's law asks for
- Liability (per person / per crash / property)
- $20,000 / $40,000 / $15,000
- Personal injury protection (PIP)
- Not required
- Medical payments
- Not required
- No-fault
- No
- Uninsured motorist
- Included unless you decline in writing
- Underinsured motorist
- Included unless you decline in writing
Liability pays for injuries and damage you cause to others, up to these limits. A minimum is the least the law allows, not a recommendation, and it doesn't pay to fix your own car.
Liability-only coverage, the closest NAIC figure to what a minimum policy costs, averaged $387 in Iowa in 2023 (about $460 today, brought up the same rough way), the 4th lowest of the 50 states and DC. That's about 38% of the full-coverage price; the rest pays to fix or replace your own car.
Iowa requires at least $20,000 per person and $40,000 per crash for injuries, plus $15,000 for property damage. These are among the lowest in the country. Uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage are included unless you turn them down in writing.
What we couldn’t confirm: Bills to raise the minimums to 50/100/25 were pending in 2026 and show no passage, but we could have missed a late-session law; the 2026 Iowa Acts would confirm. We marked PIP and medical payments coverage not required because we found no law requiring them, not because a law says they're optional.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist
- Uninsured motorist coverage (including hit-and-run) and underinsured motorist coverage are each included at no less than $20,000 per person and $40,000 per crash. You can turn down both, or either one, by signing a separate written rejection.
- Checked
- September 22, 2026
A new teen driver in Iowa
Adding a 16-year-old to a typical policy
about $790 more a year
About $65 a month, on one average car with full coverage. The whole policy with the teen: roughly $1,500–$2,650 a year.
On a policy of their own, with the same kind of car, the same teen would pay about $3,440 a year in Iowa (roughly $2,600–$4,900).
What adding a teen costs comes from California's published prices, so the range is wide, and Iowa may differ. How adding a teen driver works.
Cars that cost the least to add a teen with
In Iowa, the 2022 Subaru Forester, Outback, and Crosstrek come out the same, the least of the 33 cars on the site's popular lists to add a teen with: about $710 more a year. At the other end of the same lists, the 2022 Tesla Model 3 costs about $1,190 more a year.
| Car | Added to your policy | On their own policy |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Subaru Forester | +$710 a year | $3,070 a year |
| 2022 Subaru Outback | +$710 a year | $3,070 a year |
| 2022 Subaru Crosstrek | +$710 a year | $3,090 a year |
| 2022 Honda CR-V | +$760 a year | $3,300 a year |
| 2022 Toyota RAV4 | +$770 a year | $3,350 a year |
The order is the same in every state, because our car data is national. What changes from state to state is the price level.
Why these cars cost less, and what this doesn't cover.
“Try it with your own car” opens your own situation in Iowa (a 2020 Toyota Camry if you haven't set one) with a new 16-year-old. It starts from that car, not an average one, so its figure can differ from the one above.
Where these numbers come from
- Typical prices: National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), 2022/2023 Auto Insurance Database Report, 2023 data, brought up to today with the government's price index for car insurance.
- The law: Iowa's own statute or insurance department, listed above with the date we checked it.
- Teen drivers and cars: the same math as the rest of the site. Here's how we got these, and every source.
This is an estimate to help you plan, not a quote. We don't sell insurance, and we never pass your info to anyone. Only an insurer can give you a real price.