Cheapest Car Insurance Quotes for High Risk Drivers in California

It’s hard to miss the captivating ads from companies like Liberty Mutual and Progressive that make claims of huge savings, so you should just choose the one with the most memorable commercial, right?

It’s just not that easy, however, as there are a lot of unknown elements like if you are a homeowner, whether you are male or female, if you have ever had a coverage lapse, and the amount of liability coverage you need. This article will detail some of these factors and will hopefully give you some help in finding cheaper rates.

For high risk drivers, one of the largest things that determine insurance cost is where you normally keep your vehicle in California. Densely populated urban areas like Glendale, San Francisco, and Sacramento are more likely to have higher rates, whereas areas that are not as densely populated benefit from lower coverage costs.

The information below lists the highest-priced areas in California for high risk drivers in which to purchase auto insurance.

Premium costs are comparative as specific California zip code can affect rates considerably.

Finding low-priced insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and deciding which company offers the best auto insurance rates for high risk drivers will take even more diligence. Rates may be quite a bit greater than the state average, with the increase attributed to the higher likelihood of claims related to selling coverage for high risk drivers, but competitively-priced insurance should be attainable with some perseverence. Every auto insurer uses different criteria for establishing rates, so to begin we’ll rank the auto insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in California.

We do need to point out that California auto insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially change the price you have to pay. Events like a birthday, buying a home instead of renting, or getting a few speeding tickets can produce rate changes that may make certain companies more expensive than others.

Lowest Insurance Price Quotes for Risky Drivers

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USAA may offer some of the lowest car insurance rates in California at around $1,109 per year. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide are also some of the most economical California car insurance companies.

As shown in the rates above, if you buy coverage from Century National and switched to Wawanesa, you could realize a yearly price reduction of roughly $45. California drivers with Nationwide may save as much as $82 a year, and 21st Century policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $198 a year.

To discover how much you can save, click here to get quotes or click several companies below for low rates.

Remember that these prices are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and are not factoring in a rate surcharge for high risk drivers. So the insurer that fits your needs best may not even be shown in the above list. That underscores the importance of why you need to get quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.

The type of vehicle driven is probably the largest consideration that determines the availablility of low-priced auto insurance for high risk drivers. Vehicles with economical engines, a great safety record, or a low likelihood of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than high performance models. The next table outlines auto insurance prices for a selection of the most cost-effective vehicles to buy coverage for.

Premium data assumes married female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Price information does not factor in specific location information which can alter price quotes greatly.

Based on these rates, we can infer that makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Volkswagen Jetta, and Toyota Prius are most likely to be the more affordable vehicles to insure for high risk drivers. Rates will tend to be higher just because there is more claim exposure for high risk drivers, but generally speaking those models will most likely have the cheapest car insurance rates that you’ll find.

Types of discounts on California auto insurance

Insurance providers that offer the cheapest auto insurance for high risk drivers in California may also provide premium discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 25% or more if you qualify for them. A list of auto insurance companies and some of the discounts are shown below.

The diagram below illustrates the comparison of premium costs with and without discounts applied. The premium estimates are based on a female driver, two speeding tickets and two accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with homeowner, paid-in-full, marriage, multiple policy, continuous coverage, and anti-theft discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, the the average amount saved on auto insurance for high risk drivers is 15% or $313.

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Do you need full coverage?

Finding the cheapest auto insurance for high risk drivers in California is probably important to the majority of vehicle owners, and one way to buy cheaper insurance is to buy liability only. The diagram below illustrates the difference between insurance premiums with and without physical damage coverage. The data assumes a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are applied.

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If averaged for all ages, full coverage on your policy costs an extra $3,093 per year over having just liability coverage. That is a large expense and it proposes the question if you should buy full coverage. There is no exact rule of when to phase out physical damage coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the yearly cost of full coverage is more than 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s settlement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most your company would pay you is $3,000 after paying your policy deductible. If you are paying more than $300 a year for comprehensive and collision coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

Find the cheapest auto insurance for high risk drivers in California

The list below summarizes a few penny-pinching ideas that can help drivers quote more affordable coverage.

• You will pay more if you get tickets or have at-fault accidents
• Full coverage is expensive so only insure older vehicles for liability only
• Try paying for small claims out-of-pocket
• Avoid preventable accidents
• Buy vehicles with good safety ratings
• Home or renters coverage can save on auto insurance
• Compare quotes from other companies often

The last idea is notably critical, as was discussed in this write-up. Prices charged by companies in California change a lot, so don’t be hesitant to buy from a different company if a cheaper price is available. Being loyal to a particular company is commendable, but it’s not recommended if your bullheadedness ends up costing you lots of money. In less than five minutes you could compare rates to find cheaper car insurance for high risk drivers.

Who has the cheapest insurance quotes for high risk drivers?

Drivers have many ways to get cheap auto insurance quotes in California, but the most frequently used are either through an exclusive insurance agency such as Allstate or Auto-Owners, an independent agent, or from a direct company like Geico or Progressive.

You can use whichever you prefer, but it’s important to point out the distinctions in how they provide rate quotes.

Independent agents work for many companies and can get policy pricing from each one. These agents are not limited to a single company and can give you a larger rate selection, which can give you improved odds of finding cheaper coverage. If cheaper coverage is found, your policy can be easily switched to a different company without having to get a different agent.

An exlusive, or captive, agency is contracted to a single insurance company, for example a State Farm or Farmers agent. Exclusive agents normally do not have the ability to provide multiple price quotes, so if rates are high, they cannot give you alternative choices.

Choosing to buy auto insurance direct means you forego the middleman (the agent) and instead buy buying direct from a company like Progressive or Geico. This auto insurance option can be a good choice for families who do not need advice for asset protection and have an above average understanding of what coverages, limits, and deductibles they need.

Out of those three methods, which one works best for finding the cheapest auto insurance for high risk drivers in California? It would be obvious to point out buying from a direct car insurance company yields the cheapest rates since there isn’t an agent involved, but unfortunately, it’s not that cut and dried. It could also be said buying from an independent agent can save the most money since they can provide multiple quotes, but that assumption is also not necessarily accurate. And sometimes, the exclusive agents have coverage prices that are well below what direct and independents offer.

Due to that fact that auto insurance uses so many rating variables, the only true way to not overpay for auto insurance is to do a thorough rate comparison. Take some time and get quotes from all three types in order to have enough rates to compare. To see some of the cheapest online companies available, click here to view.