What is the best mileage to put on insurance?

Asked by: Albin Considine  |  Last update: August 7, 2025
Score: 4.4/5 (14 votes)

According to KBB, insurers typically offer insurance discounts for low-mileage drivers who log less than 7,000 miles annually. The average American drives 13,476 miles per year, according to the Federal Highway Administration's 2022 report.

What is a good annual mileage for insurance?

In general, you'll see the most savings if you drive less than 5,000 miles annually. According to Insure.com, someone who drives 10,000 miles annually will pay 4% less than someone who drives 12,000 miles. Driving 7,500 miles annually could reduce your premiums 10% compared with driving 10,000 miles.

How many miles should you put for insurance?

To figure out your annual mileage for insurance, add up all the time you spend driving your car in a week and then multiply that number by 52. This includes things like driving to: Work. University.

What is considered high mileage for insurance?

If you drive a lot, insurance companies will charge you higher premiums because they're taking on more risk. Generally, anything over the U.S. average annual mileage (roughly 14,000 miles) is considered high and will result in a rate hike.

What if I drive less than 25 miles a day?

Car insurance has a basis on the concept of risk. The more mileage you cover, the more likely you can get into an accident. Most insurance companies use your average yearly mileage to calculate their car insurance rates. So it is very likely that you will pay lesser premiums if you drive for less than 25 miles daily.

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25 related questions found

How many miles should I tell my insurance I drive?

For the most part, insurance companies consider under 12,000 miles a year to be lower than average. However, some insurers require that you drive less than 10,000 miles to qualify for low mileage, and they wait to hand out bigger discounts until you are under that number of annual miles.

What is considered low mileage for insurance?

These figures dipped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic as many drivers stayed home. The numbers are creeping back up, but haven't reached pre-2019 levels again as many Americans are simply driving less. Typically, most insurers consider driving less than 7,000 miles a year—about 19 miles a day—to be low mileage.

Do insurance companies verify mileage?

While insurers will typically request that their policyholders provide estimates of their annual miles driven, the companies are allowed under California to verify mileage by accessing various state databases. Typically, insurers will request this information when a policy is written and/or upon renewal.

How many miles should I put on my car a year?

Typically, no more than 12,000 to 15,000 miles should be put on a car in a year's time. If it has more than that, the vehicle may have incurred too much wear and tear. That means, then, that a used car that is four years old should ideally have no more than 48,000 to 60,000 miles on it.

Does your car insurance go up if you drive more?

From California to New York, all states have varying car insurance rates because insurance companies look at geographic factors such as crime rate, number of auto accidents, and weather conditions to determine your premium. Miles You Drive: The more you drive, the more likely you will get into an accident.

Does high mileage make insurance cheaper?

How many miles you drive annually is one of the rating factors insurers use to determine your insurance premium. Drivers who clock more miles than the average — about 12,000 miles per year — pay more for car insurance because of the heightened risk of being on the road more often than a low-mileage driver.

What is a good annual mileage?

The average car gets in 10,000 to 12,000 miles per year, so used cars with an annual average lower than that can be considered as having good mileage. Simply divide the odometer number by the car's age in years to determine it's annual average.

Is car insurance cheaper if you don't drive much?

While several factors influence your car insurance cost, you may pay a lower premium if you drive less. That's because insurers may consider you a lower risk of filing a car insurance claim if you spend less time on the road. Many insurers incentivize low-mileage drivers by offering discounts on their premiums.

What is a realistic annual mileage?

While the current average hovers around 7,400 miles, it's important to recognise the intricate web of factors that influence this number. As technology continues to shape our vehicles and the way we live, it will be intriguing to witness how average mileage numbers shift in the years to come.

What is a good mileage rating?

To determine whether a car has reasonable mileage, you can simply multiply 12,000 by its age. That means good mileage for a car that's 5 years old is 60,000. Significantly more or fewer miles could indicate a problem or trouble in the future.

How many miles is too high for a used car?

How Many Miles Are Too Many for a Used Car? When it comes to determining how many miles are too many for a used car, there isn't a hard-and-fast rule. 200,000 miles is generally the upper limit for even well-maintained vehicles. However, mileage alone shouldn't be the deciding factor.

How to calculate annual mileage for insurance?

Track your monthly mileage and multiply that number by 12. Depending on your driving habits, this method may not account for extra mileage from vacations and holidays, so the estimate could be low.

What is full coverage insurance?

Having “full coverage” can mean having more than the minimum required coverage. For example, the minimum bodily liability limit in California is $15,000. A “full coverage” policy may have a bodily liability limit of $100,000. 3. Higher limits afford you greater protection for any assets.

How many miles should I put for insurance?

Insurers typically give the highest discounts to drivers who log less than 7,000 miles annually on their vehicles. Low-mileage car insurance works by tracking miles electronically, either with a telematics device installed in the vehicle or through a mobile app installed on your smartphone.

What is the minimum mileage for car insurance?

Most insurance providers consider someone who drives between 0 and 7,500 miles per year a "low-mileage driver." Most insurance consumers are initially rated by default at the standard U.S. average mileage of 12,000 miles per year.

How do I provide proof of mileage?

How can you create a document to substantiate a mileage deduction? In short, you have to keep a mileage log that demonstrates the following: The distance traveled: the number of miles driven for each work trip. The date and time of each trip.

What to put for annual mileage?

Every mile that a car is driven adds up, and eventually gets divided by the number of years since the car was manufactured. That number is known as the car's annual mileage. So if your 2011 Subaru Outback has 200,000 miles on it by 2021, its annual mileage is 20,000 miles.

Who has the best auto insurance for senior citizens?

State Farm is our top pick for auto and home insurance for seniors, thanks to their affordable plans and excellent customer service.

What mileage is too low for a car?

However, there isn't a specific definition or threshold that makes a vehicle low mileage. A vehicle can be considered low mileage if it has traveled less than 15,000 miles. Low mileage can also mean that a vehicle has been driven fewer miles than normal for its age. Thus, a vehicle's mileage can be relative to its age.