Car insurance in Washington
Drivers in Washington paid $1,235 a year for full coverage in 2023, 14% below the national average. With prices up since, figure on about $1,460 today. In Washington, the law asks for at least 25/50/10 liability.
What people pay in Washington
A typical yearly price today
about $1,460 a year (about $120 a month)
Washington's average full-coverage cost in 2023 was $1,235, 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 $1,460.
That makes Washington the 21st 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.
Washington next to its neighbors
A typical policy in Washington costs more than in Idaho and less than in Oregon.
| State | Typical price, 2023 | Moving to Washington from there |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | $1,235 | Not a move |
| Idaho | $981 | About $350 more a year |
| Oregon | $1,268 | 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 Washington's law asks for
- Liability (per person / per crash / property)
- $25,000 / $50,000 / $10,000
- 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 $708 in Washington in 2023 (about $840 today, brought up the same rough way), the 20th highest of the 50 states and DC. That's about 57% of the full-coverage price; the rest pays to fix or replace your own car.
Washington requires at least $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries, plus $10,000 for property damage. Underinsured-motorist coverage (which also covers uninsured drivers) is included unless you reject it in writing. Your insurer must offer PIP, and you have to reject it in writing if you don't want it.
Good to know: The law calls PIP "an optional coverage" that insurers must offer, so it's marked not required. But to go without it, you have to turn it down in writing.
- Personal injury protection
- Insurers must offer PIP with at least $10,000 medical/hospital, $2,000 funeral, $10,000 income continuation (max $200/week), and $5,000 loss of services (max $200/week). You can reject it in writing.
- Uninsured and underinsured motorist
- Washington counts a driver with no insurance as underinsured, so one coverage handles both. It matches your liability limits unless you turn down all or part of it in writing.
- Checked
- September 22, 2026
A new teen driver in Washington
Adding a 16-year-old to a typical policy
about $970 more a year
About $80 a month, on one average car with full coverage. The whole policy with the teen: roughly $1,800–$3,200 a year.
On a policy of their own, with the same kind of car, the same teen would pay about $4,200 a year in Washington (roughly $3,200–$6,000).
What adding a teen costs comes from California's published prices, so the range is wide, and Washington may differ. How adding a teen driver works.
Cars that cost the least to add a teen with
In Washington, the 2022 Subaru Forester and Outback come out the same, the least of the 33 cars on the site's popular lists to add a teen with: about $860 more a year. At the other end of the same lists, the 2022 Tesla Model 3 costs about $1,450 more a year.
| Car | Added to your policy | On their own policy |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 Subaru Forester | +$860 a year | $3,750 a year |
| 2022 Subaru Outback | +$860 a year | $3,760 a year |
| 2022 Subaru Crosstrek | +$870 a year | $3,770 a year |
| 2022 Honda CR-V | +$930 a year | $4,030 a year |
| 2022 Toyota RAV4 | +$940 a year | $4,100 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 Washington (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: Washington'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.