Cheapest Insurance Quotes for a Nissan Sentra in California

The chances of buying cheaper insurance for a Nissan Sentra in California depends upon a complex formula that considers things such as if you own your home, your occupation, and the deductible amount you use. Drivers in California on average pay approximately $1,410 a year for Sentra insurance, but that policy rate is a projection using rating data for a 40-year-old single female that purchased full comprehensive and collision coverage and $500 physical damage deductibles.

Chances are that you are not 40 and maybe not even a female, married instead of single, or maybe you prefer liability limits higher than required by California state law. Every policy is rated specifically for the driver, so your best shot at finding the most affordable coverage for your Nissan is to comparison shop your policy at every renewal or at least every couple of years.

Compare Nissan Sentra Insurance Rates

Vehicle trim level will have an impact the cost of insurance, so the rate you pay to insure a Sentra 2 model will be $222 less than the cost to insure the fancier Sentra SE-R SPEC V trim level, as shown below.

Table data assumes single female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, safe-driver, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Information does not factor in specific zip code location which can influence coverage prices noticeably.

Comparing rates for budget auto insurance is tough enough, and deciding which companies have the lowest-priced car insurance rates for a Nissan Sentra takes even more perseverance. Each insurance company uses different criteria to set premium rates, so we’ll take a look at the car insurance companies with the most affordable rates in California.

Cheap Insurance Rates for Your Sentra

Compare Rates and Save

USAA may have some of the best car insurance rates in California at around $1,143 each year. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide would also be considered some of the cheapest California auto insurance companies.

In the rate table above, if you currently buy coverage from Century National and switched to USAA, you could see yearly savings of upwards of $83. Drivers with Nationwide could save as much as $120 a year, and 21st Century customers might reduce rates by $182 a year.

To see if you’re overpaying, click here or click through to the companies below.

Be aware that those prices are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific rating modification for a Nissan Sentra. So the insurer that is best for you may not even be included in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.

Irresponsible driving raises your rates

The easiest way to enjoy the most affordable car insurance rates for a Sentra is to be an attentive driver and avoid traffic citations and accidents. The illustration below illustrates how speeding tickets and at-fault fender-benders influence auto insurance rates for different age categories. The costs are based on a single male driver, full coverage, $250 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawVioqcibChart);function drawVioqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘No Violations or Accidents’, ‘Two Speeding Tickets and No Accidents’, ‘Two Speeding Tickets and Two Accidents’],[‘Age 20’, 5061,6025,9489],[‘Age 30’, 2589,3555,7021],[‘Age 40’, 2577,3539,7007],[‘Age 50’, 2343,3305,6771],[‘Age 60’, 2267,3231,6697],[‘Age 70’, 2763,3723,7191]]);var options = {title: ‘Violations, Accidents, and California Nissan Sentra Insurance’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’, fontSize: 17, bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 600,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},colors:[‘#b2da64′,’#eed355′,’#e39e71’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Insurance Cost for a Nissan Sentra 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);formatter.format(data,3);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibvio’));chart.draw(data, options);}

The data charted above shows the average cost of car insurance in California per year with no accidents or violations is $2,933. Receive two speeding tickets and the average cost increases to $3,896, an increase of $963 each year. Now get two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of car insurance for a Nissan Sentra increases to an average of $7,363. That’s an increase of $4,429, or $369 per month, just for not driving responsibly!

The illustration below illustrates how choosing a deductible can change insurance prices when getting quotes for cheap insurance for a Nissan Sentra. The data is based on a married female driver, full coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDfdqcibChart);function drawDfdqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘$100 Deductible’,’$250 Deductible’,’$500 Deductible’,’$1,000 Deductible’],[‘Age 20’, 3461,3153,2813,2487],[‘Age 30’, 2417,2195,1943,1707],[‘Age 40’, 2397,2179,1937,1709],[‘Age 50’, 2095,1907,1701,1503],[‘Age 60’, 1995,1815,1617,1427],[‘Age 70’, 2173,1979,1767,1567]]);var options = {title: ‘Effect of Deductibles on Nissan Sentra Insurance Rates in California’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 700,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’,’height’: ‘80%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},bar: {groupWidth: ‘80%’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#75a8d8′,’#98bee2′,’#bad4ec’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Insurance Cost for a Nissan Sentra’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},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);}

The chart above illustrates that a 30-year-old driver could cut expenses by $460 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $688 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the 20-year-old category, could potentially save as much as $974 or even more by using a higher deductible.

If you do raise deductibles, it will be required to have additional funds in a savings account to allow you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense that comes with higher deductibles.

Is Allstate, Progressive, Geico, or State Farm cheaper?

If you want reliable car insurance, some of the largest companies to start with are Allstate, Progressive, Geico, and State Farm. They all have the same basic coverages, but each one has a unique set of features, discounts, and options that shoppers can choose from. The table below ranks some of the ratings and options that are available from each company.

Cheapest Nissan Sentra insurance quotes

There are many ways to compare cheaper car insurance rates in California, but the most common are through an independent or non-exclusive agent, an exlusive agent such as State Farm or Allstate, or buying direct from a company like Geico or Progressive. Each way has the same basic process, but each is different in how they price policies.

Independent insurance agents are appointed by several companies and can get rate quotes from each one. These types of agencies are appointed with more than one company and can provide you with more rate quotes, which can give you a better overall rate comparison. If premiums increase, they can switch companies in-house which makes it easier to save money.

Exclusive agents are restricted to quoting rates for one insurance company, two popular examples being a Farmers or Allstate agent. These agents are unable to compare rates from other companies, so it’s a take it or leave it situation.

Buying car insurance direct means you bypass an independent or exclusive agent and instead shop from a direct company like Progressive or Geico. This car insurance option can be a good choice for consumers who do not need high levels of coverage and understand how car insurance works and possible exclusions.

So out of those three methods, which one works best for finding the cheapest insurance for a Nissan Sentra in California? It would be obvious to point out shopping direct results in the best prices because you bypass the middleman, but in reality, that is not true. And we’d like to say going through an independent agent is the best way to save since they can quote with many companies, but again, it’s not a sure thing. In the right set of circumstances, exclusive agents have very competitive rates that cannot be met by either independent or direct companies.

Because there is so much variation in car insurance prices, the best way to get rock-bottom rates is to get quotes and compare. Set aside the time to get price quotes from all three to get a good idea who is cheapest. For a list of companies with some of the cheapest California car insurance rates, click here to view.