2026 Cheap Car Insurance Rankings! An Actual Estimate Comparison

While Zurich was the cheapest when I had the BMW, how will things turn out this time? I will report the results of actual estimates from six well-reputed companies that are known to be cheap.

There is a significant difference between the rankings in the sources and the actual quotes I received, but since this site does not yet do affiliate marketing, I am posting real, unbiased figures lol.

■ Prerequisites for the Quotes

Since car insurance quotes have various options, a simple comparison is meaningless. Therefore, I set the same conditions for all companies and included only the differing parts in the table. First, the prerequisites:

＜Prerequisites＞

1. Bodily injury liability to others must be unlimited, property damage liability must be unlimited, and uninsured motorist coverage must be unlimited (per person).
2. No driver restriction (with coverage guaranteed for drivers aged 26 and older).
3. No physical damage (collision) coverage.
4. First-time contract.
5. Gold driver's license.
6. No paper policy issued.
7. Roadside service included (towing, etc.).

＜Explanation of Prerequisites＞

1) Liability coverage for the other party is basically unlimited everywhere. Even if the other party is uninsured, it is normally unlimited.

2) For people around sixty, children have often already become independent, and those children are also expected to be 26 or older, so I selected the condition that covers non-cohabitating relatives as long as they are 26 or older.

3) For collision coverage, I chose "None" to keep the premium cheap. While vehicle damage is capped at the value of the car, hitting someone can ruin a life. Thus, I consider collision coverage to be an extra, with the primary role of optional insurance being liability.

4) This is based on a contract for a new car.

5) Actually, Kurousagi holds a Gold License! I hear insurance is cheaper for gold license holders.

6) Selecting no paper policy saves a few hundred yen. Every little bit helps lol.

7) Towing costs if the car breaks down. Depending on the distance, it can cost 20,000 to 30,000 yen for 20 km. Under the insurance policy, it is free for distances up to 100 km. It also covers accommodation and return transportation costs.

■ Quote Comparison Table

Now, here are the actual quotes obtained under the above prerequisites.

As expected, Zurich is strong! Or rather, cheap lol. I listed the personal/passenger injury coverage on the right separately since there were differences between the companies.

Since all quotes are for new registrations, they start at grade 6. In other words, there are no discounts applied yet. If you stay accident-free for years, the premium gets cheaper as this grade changes. Therefore, while it is nice to see your premium drop with the same company, switching to another company can sometimes cause troubles with transferring this grade. It is often better not to change insurance companies if possible, which makes the initial choice very important.

■ Results Announcement

As shown, the results differed considerably from search evaluations and source rankings. The cheapest was Zurich, followed by SBI in second, and Mitsui Direct in third. From the third place onward, it felt like a close match with little difference. I hope this helps you choose an insurance company. It looks like Kurousagi will end up with Zurich again lol.

■ Sources

・Oricon Customer Satisfaction Rankings: Car Insurance (2026) https://life.oricon.co.jp/rank_jpcarestmat/

・Kakaku.com Car Insurance Satisfaction Rankings https://hoken.kakaku.com/kuruma/ranking/

・PR TIMES (2026 Releases from Insurance Companies) https://prtimes.jp/