For a 40-year-old driver with a clean record, Elsmere car insurance averages about $294 a month ($3,527 a year) for full coverage, based on the rates insurers had filed with state regulators as of Aug. 31, 2026. That’s 22% above the Delaware average of $241 a month. State Farm has the lowest full-coverage average among the four major insurers we compared (Allstate, GEICO, Progressive and State Farm), at about $237 a month.
Elsmere car insurance costs more than in any other Delaware city or community we publish a guide for: our benchmark driver pays about $53 a month more here than the Delaware average and about $12 a month more than the Wilmington average.
Elsmere is an incorporated town just west of Wilmington. This page uses ZIP code 19805, where the Census Bureau places the town’s center; it has a Wilmington mailing address in our data, so every price on this page is for that ZIP code. It’s the third-most expensive of the 46 Delaware ZIP codes we price.
Cost data comes from the auto rates insurers file with state regulators, priced in ZIP code 19805, at the heart of Elsmere, compiled by Quadrant Information Services and updated as new rates are filed.
Rates as of Aug. 31, 2026. Page reviewed Oct. 7, 2026.
How Much Does Car Insurance Cost in Elsmere, DE?
Car insurance in Elsmere, DE, costs about $294 a month ($3,527 a year) for full coverage in ZIP code 19805, at the heart of the community, for our benchmark driver. Liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits averages $1,679 a year ($140 a month), and 50/100/50 liability with comprehensive and collision averages $3,513 ($293 a month).
- Full coverage (100/300/100, $500 deductibles): $3,527 a year ($294 a month)
- 50/100/50 with $500 deductibles: $3,513 a year ($293 a month)
- Liability only (15/30/10): $1,679 a year ($140 a month)
- New Castle County: $3,288 a year ($274 a month) for full coverage
- Delaware average: $2,888 a year ($241 a month) for full coverage
Allstate is far more expensive than the other insurers here: its full-coverage average of about $497 a month is 2.0 times the average of the other four. We keep it in our averages because it’s a rate the insurer filed with state regulators; without Allstate, the Elsmere average would be about $243 a month.
Cheap Car Insurance in Elsmere: Companies Compared
- Lowest average among the four major insurers we compared, full coverage: State Farm, at about $237 a month ($2,845 a year).
- Next lowest any driver can buy: Progressive, at about $264 a month, then GEICO at $293.
- Military families: USAA averages about $178 a month, but only for eligible members.
- Lowest liability-only average among these four insurers (15/30/10): GEICO, at about $103 a month, then State Farm at $109. USAA, which sells only to military families, is lower still, at about $66 a month.
- Also on our list: Travelers at about $196 a month, Nationwide at $219, Farmers at $249 and Donegal at $401.
- Most expensive in our data: Allstate, at about $497 a month, $3,118 a year more than State Farm for the same driver and car.
State Farm has the lowest full-coverage average among the insurers in our Elsmere rate data that are among insurers anyone can buy from. USAA averages even less, at $178 a month, but it sells only to military members, veterans and their families. The recent statewide Delaware rate studies we reviewed disagree on which insurer is cheapest for full coverage: of the eight, two put GEICO first, two put Travelers first and four other insurers lead one each, apart from USAA, which sells only to military families. For liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits, GEICO has the lowest average among these four insurers, at about $103 a month, with State Farm close behind at $109. USAA comes in even lower, at about $66 a month, but it sells only to military families.
Full-coverage averages by insurer in Elsmere
Monthly, for the same driver and car. Insurers marked with an asterisk in the table below aren’t in the chart.
Rates insurers filed with state regulators, compiled by Quadrant Information Services, as of Aug. 31, 2026. Benchmark 40-year-old driver, 100/300/100 with $500 deductibles.
| Insurance Company: | Liability Only 15/30/10 (Yearly): | Liability Only 15/30/10 (Monthly): | Full Coverage (Yearly): | Full Coverage (Monthly): |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USAA (military families) | $796 | $66 | $2,141 | $178 |
| State Farm | $1,304 | $109 | $2,845 | $237 |
| Progressive | $1,696 | $141 | $3,172 | $264 |
| GEICO | $1,231 | $103 | $3,514 | $293 |
| Allstate | $3,368 | $281 | $5,963 | $497 |
| Travelers* | $1,082 | $90 | $2,347 | $196 |
| Nationwide* | $1,682 | $140 | $2,629 | $219 |
| Farmers* | $1,378 | $115 | $2,993 | $249 |
| Donegal Insurance* | $1,900 | $158 | $4,810 | $401 |
| Elsmere average | $1,679 | $140 | $3,527 | $294 |
This table uses ZIP code 19805 only. See how we calculated these rates. Your own price depends on your car, driving record and coverage, so compare car insurance quotes before you buy.
Your ZIP code matters
How Much More Does Better Coverage Cost in Elsmere?
Raising liability limits from 50/100/50 to 100/300/100 barely changes the average in our Elsmere data: with the same $500 deductibles, full coverage averages $3,527 a year and 50/100/50 averages $3,513. The full-coverage package doubles the per-person injury limit, triples the per-crash limit and doubles the property damage limit, and it raises uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage to 100/300. Allstate and Progressive charge less for 100/300/100 than for 50/100/50 for our benchmark driver.
Is Car Insurance Going Up in Elsmere?
Not for our benchmark driver. Comparing the four insurers that are in both sets of rates, in the same Elsmere ZIP code, their full-coverage average fell from $3,950 a year nine months earlier to $3,874 in rates as of Aug. 31, 2026, a 1.9% drop. State Farm cut its Elsmere average 7.2% and Allstate 1.9%, while Progressive raised its average 1.1%; GEICO’s average was unchanged. USAA is new in our rates over the past nine months, so it’s left out, which is why these averages differ from the Elsmere average above. Liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits fell 2.3%, led by Allstate, which cut its liability-only average 4.4%.
Why Does Car Insurance Cost More in Elsmere?
Elsmere is in New Castle County, the most expensive of Delaware’s three counties in our data at about $274 a month for full coverage, and only two Delaware ZIP codes cost more than 19805: Wilmington’s 19801, at $325, and 19802, at $314.
The city of New Castle, to the south, averages about $293 a month, and Pike Creek Valley, to the west, $254. State Farm has the lowest full-coverage average here among these four insurers, well ahead of Progressive. Delaware insurers price by location as well as by driver and car, so your ZIP code can move your price.
How Elsmere Car Insurance Compares With Other Delaware Cities
More Delaware cities and towns are in the Delaware rates by city table, and you can compare states on our car insurance rates by state page.
Wilmington, next door to the east, averages $282 a month across its 10 ZIP codes, and Hockessin, to the northwest, $261. Edgemoor, past downtown Wilmington to the east, averages $273.
What Car Insurance Is Required in Elsmere?
Drivers in Elsmere follow Delaware’s rules. Every policy must include at least:
- Liability coverage of $25,000 per person and $50,000 per crash for injuries and $10,000 for property damage (25/50/10), or a $60,000 single limit
- Personal injury protection (PIP) of $15,000 per person and $30,000 per crash, which pays your own medical bills and lost wages whoever caused the crash
- Uninsured motorist coverage, which comes with every policy unless you reject it in writing
The liability-only prices on this page use 15/30/10 limits, below that minimum. Our Delaware requirements guide covers what PIP pays and the penalties for driving uninsured.
How to Lower Your Car Insurance Rate in Elsmere
- Compare State Farm and Progressive first. They have the two lowest full-coverage averages among the four major insurers we compared in Elsmere, about $237 and $264 a month.
- Quote several insurers. Among the four major insurers we compared in Elsmere, the lowest and highest averages are about $260 a month apart for the same driver and car.
- Turn in your plates before you cancel. The DMV requires plates back before you cancel insurance on a registered car; otherwise you can owe $100 for the first 30 days uninsured, $5 a day after that and a $50 reinstatement fee.
- Compare at every renewal. Over the past nine months, State Farm has cut its Elsmere average 7.2% and Allstate 1.9%, while Progressive has raised its average 1.1%, so the order in our table can shift.
- Ask about discounts and check your deductible. Many insurers lower rates for a clean driving record, paying in full or insuring more than one car, so ask which discounts you qualify for. Our full-coverage prices use $500 deductibles. A higher deductible lowers your premium but means you pay more yourself after a claim; see how car insurance deductibles work.
- Bundle your car and home insurance. Many insurers discount both policies when you buy them together. Check Delaware home insurance rates, and compare homeowners insurance quotes before you shop. Renters can often bundle a renters insurance policy too.
Ready to compare
How We Calculated Elsmere Car Insurance Rates
Insurers must file their rates and rating rules with each state’s insurance regulator. Quadrant Information Services uses those filings to calculate what each insurer would charge a specific driver, and InsuranceQuotes analyzes those prices. This page uses rates in effect on Aug. 31, 2026.
- Sample: five full-coverage premiums from five insurers in ZIP code 19805, at the heart of Elsmere, plus the same number of liability-only and 50/100/50 premiums.
- Geography: Elsmere is an incorporated town without a mailing city of its own in our data. We price it with ZIP code 19805, which contains the center point that U.S. Census Bureau map data gives for Elsmere; parts of the community can fall in other ZIP codes.
- Insurer count: our Delaware averages come from five insurers, one of them USAA, which sells only to military families. With few insurers, the averages can move more when one insurer changes its prices. We publish them as calculated, without adjustment.
- Driver: a single 40-year-old driver, licensed 24 years, with good credit and no accidents or violations, driving a 2024 Toyota Camry LE they own, for personal use.
- Coverage: full coverage is 100/300/100 liability with $500 comprehensive and collision deductibles and 100/300 uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage. We also price 50/100/50 with the same deductibles, and liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits, with 15/30 uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage and no comprehensive or collision. Delaware’s minimum has been 25/50/10 since Dec. 13, 2017, so our liability-only prices use lower limits than the law requires. Every Delaware policy must also include personal injury protection of at least $15,000 per person and $30,000 per crash; the requirements section of this page explains what it pays.
- Calculation: for each insurer we take its lowest eligible price in ZIP code 19805, at the heart of Elsmere. The overall average is the mean of those prices, including USAA. Monthly figures are annual premiums divided by 12 and rounded.
- Rankings: we name a cheapest insurer only where it’s priced in that ZIP code and its lead over the next insurer isn’t so wide that it looks like an outlier. USAA sells only to the military community, so it’s shown but not ranked. Annual prices within 3% of each other are called effectively tied.
- Rate changes: we compare the same insurer in the same ZIP code, for the same driver and coverage, in rates as of Nov. 30, 2025, and Aug. 31, 2026. USAA is new in our rates since November 2025, so it’s left out of rate-change comparisons; the other four insurers are in both sets of rates. Rate-change percentages are calculated from the annual premiums shown; other percentages use the rounded monthly figures.
- Insurers marked *: priced from recent published Delaware rate studies, scaled to our benchmark driver. They aren’t included in our averages or rankings.
- What this isn’t: a quote. These are modeled prices for one driver profile, calculated from insurers’ rate filings. Your price depends on your ZIP code, vehicle, driving record, coverage choices and discounts.
Coverage requirements come from Delaware law and the Delaware Department of Insurance. We refresh these figures when new rate data is released.
Elsmere Car Insurance FAQ
Car insurance in Elsmere, DE, costs about $294 a month ($3,527 a year) for full coverage in ZIP code 19805, at the heart of the community, and about $140 a month for liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits, for our benchmark driver, based on the rates insurers had filed with state regulators as of Aug. 31, 2026. Full coverage is 22% above the Delaware average of $241 a month.
State Farm has the lowest full-coverage average among insurers anyone can buy from in our Elsmere rate data, at about $237 a month, followed by Progressive at $264. USAA, which sells only to military members, veterans and their families, has a lower average still ($178 a month). For liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits, GEICO has the lowest average among the four major insurers we compared, at about $103 a month. Rates vary by driver, so compare quotes for your own car and ZIP code.
Wilmington, for our benchmark driver. Elsmere full coverage averages about $294 a month and Wilmington about $282, a difference of about $12 a month for the same driver and car.
In our data, ZIP code 19805, at the heart of Elsmere, averages about $294 a month for full coverage, 22% above the Delaware average and the third-highest of the 46 Delaware ZIP codes we price. It’s in New Castle County, the most expensive of Delaware’s three counties.
In our Elsmere data, full coverage (100/300/100 with $500 deductibles) averages about $294 a month and liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits about $140, a difference of about $154 a month ($1,848 a year). Liability-only coverage won’t pay to repair or replace your own car after a crash, a theft or a storm. Delaware law doesn’t require full coverage, but a lender or leasing company may.
Not for our benchmark driver. Comparing the four insurers in both sets of rates (USAA is new over the past nine months), their Elsmere full-coverage average fell 1.9%, from about $3,950 to $3,874 a year. That’s higher than the Elsmere average of $3,527 because it leaves out USAA. State Farm cut its Elsmere average 7.2% and Allstate 1.9%, while Progressive raised its average 1.1%. Liability-only coverage at 15/30/10 limits fell 2.3%.
For our benchmark driver, full coverage in Elsmere averages about $294 a month. Nearby, Wilmington averages about $282, Pike Creek Valley about $254 and New Castle about $293. Wilmington, Pike Creek Valley and New Castle are cheaper; prices depend mostly on ZIP code, so compare quotes for your own address.
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Michael Giusti is a senior insurance analyst, business journalist, and university professor with over 20 years of experience. He serves as department chair at Loyola University New Orleans and contributes to Insurance Thought Leadership, U.S. News, and other leading financial outlets.
