Cheap Car Insurance Quotes for Drivers with a DUI in California

You have most likely watched the ads from insurers like Farmers and The General that make claims of enormous savings. So you just need to pick one at random, right?

Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there are a lot of unknown factors such as whether you are single or married, whether you have good credit, how high your deductibles should be, and the vehicle you are insuring, that all go into determining the rate you pay. This article will cover the best ways to find cheap auto insurance and will hopefully give you some help in finding cheaper rates.

Finding good, reasonably-priced insurance is difficult, and deciding which companies have the cheapest insurance rates for drivers with a DUI calls for even more shopping around. Policy prices could be significantly more expensive than the average price in California, with the extra cost attributed to the additional risk associated with selling insurance after getting a DUI, but reasonable coverage should be possible if you carefully shop around. Every car insurance company has their own formula for filing rates in each state, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in California.

We do need to point out that California insurance rates are impacted by many things that may substantially change the price you have to pay. This price fluctuation is why consumers need to take the time to compare many different companies when trying to find the most affordable auto insurance rates for drivers with a DUI. Insurance prices are made up of many things and can change substantially, so the cheapest option when you last compared rates may now be quite expensive.

Best Auto Insurance Prices after a DUI

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USAA normally has some of the lowest car insurance rates in California at around $1,109 a year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also are some of the more affordable California car insurance companies.

As the example above demonstrates, if you are currently insured with CSAA and switched to Wawanesa, you may realize yearly savings of roughly $42. Insureds with Nationwide may save as much as $58 a year, and 21st Century policyholders might realize rate reductions of up to $133 a year.

Understand that those rates are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a rate increase for drivers with a DUI. So the auto insurance company that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the list of companies above. That’s why you need to get rate quotes using your own specific driver and vehicle information.

When shopping for cheaper auto insurance after getting a DUI, one of the many factors that helps auto insurance companies calculate the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where you keep your vehicle. Cities with larger populations like Glendale, San Francisco, and Oakland tend to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion have the gratification of cheap auto insurance for drivers with a DUI in California.

The illustration below sorts the most expensive areas in California for drivers with a DUI in which to purchase auto insurance.

Prices are comparative as the specific garaging location can influence auto insurance rates greatly.

The diagram below illustrates how your choice of deductibles can affect premium costs when trying to find cheap insurance for drivers with a DUI. Data assumes a married male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDfdqcibChart);function drawDfdqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘$100 Deductible’,’$250 Deductible’,’$500 Deductible’,’$1,000 Deductible’],[‘Age 20’, 4177,3787,3357,2947],[‘Age 30’, 2197,1991,1753,1527],[‘Age 40’, 2099,1911,1691,1481],[‘Age 50’, 1919,1747,1549,1363],[‘Age 60’, 1885,1715,1521,1337],[‘Age 70’, 2147,1963,1757,1563]]);var options = {title: ‘Deductible Levels and Insurance Prices in California’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 700,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’,’height’: ‘80%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},bar: {groupWidth: ‘80%’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#75a8d8′,’#98bee2′,’#bad4ec’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);formatter.format(data,3);formatter.format(data,4);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibdfd’));chart.draw(data, options);}

In the chart above, a 40-year-old driver could lower rates by $370 a year by switching from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $556 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the 20-year-old example, have the ability to save $1,230 every year just by choosing higher deductibles.

When raising deductibles, it will be necessary to have spare funds to be able to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main inconvenience of larger deductibles.

Difference between liability only and full coverage rates

Finding cheap auto insurance for drivers with a DUI in California is the goal of most people, and one way to pay less for insurance is to not buy full coverage. The chart below shows the difference between auto insurance rates with full coverage compared to only the California minimum liability coverage. The premiums are based on no claims or driving violations, $500 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are factored in.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawFclqcibChart);function drawFclqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Full Coverage with $500 Deductibles’, ‘Liability Only’],[‘Age 20’, 4819,1763],[‘Age 30’, 2511,963],[‘Age 40’, 2463,891],[‘Age 50’, 2247,833],[‘Age 60’, 2175,819],[‘Age 70’, 2681,1099]]);var options = {title: ‘Full Coverage Rates Compared to Liability Only Rates’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#98bee2’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in California’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibfcl’));chart.draw(data, options);}

Averaged for all ages 20 through 70, physical damage insurance costs $2,816 per year over liability only. At some point, every insured wonders if physical damage coverage is worth the money. There is no clear-cut rule for dropping physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of full coverage is more than around 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.

There are some conditions where buying only liability insurance is not in your best interest. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to keep full coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should maintain full coverage.

Which major car insurance company is best?

If you’re looking for the cheapest auto insurance after getting a DUI in California, the companies with the most market share are State Farm, Geico, Progressive, and Allstate. All of them offer liability and physical damage protection, but each on has somewhat different options that drivers can select from. The data below illustrates some of the different features offered by each one.

Best cheap insurance quotes after getting a DUI

Drivers have a lot of different ways to buy insurance in California, but the most prevalent ways are using a captive (or exclusive) agent like Allstate or Auto-Owners, an independent insurance agent, or buying direct from a company like Progressive or Geico.

All three ways can provide insurance quotes, but insurance buyers need to understand the differences in how they price policies.

Independent agents can place your business with multiple companies and can do rate comparisons with each one. These types of agencies will provide multiple price quotes, which may provide you with a better comparison. If your agent finds better pricing, they simply move your policy to a different company and you won’t have to switch agencies.

A captive, or exclusive, agent is able to quote prices with one insurance company, two examples being a State Farm or Liberty Mutual agent. Exclusive agents are unable to quote prices from more than a single company, so it’s a take it or leave it situation.

Direct insurance buyers forego an agent and buy buying direct from a company like Progressive or Geico. This option can be a good choice for families who do not have a complex risk profile and know how insurance works and possible exclusions.

So out of those three methods, which one works best to buy cheap auto insurance for drivers with a DUI in California? We’d like to tell you buying from a direct car insurance company results in the cheapest rates since that prevents the need to pay agent commissions, but unfortunately, that is not the case. A valid argument could also be made that an independent agent saves the most money due to increased selection, but that is not accurate either. In many circumstances, exclusive agents have very competitive rates well below independent agents AND direct companies.

Because there is so much variation in insurance prices, the only true way to ensure you are not overpaying for insurance is to get quotes and compare the rates. Be sure to get price quotes from all three to get an idea of which is cheapest. To see some of the cheapest online companies available, click here to view.