How Much Does Car Insurance Cost for Good Drivers in Washington?

How Much Does Car Insurance Cost for Good Drivers in Washington?

When shopping for the cheapest car insurance for safe drivers, one of the many criteria that play a part in determining the amount you pay for auto insurance is where your car is garaged in Washington. Cities with larger populations or higher claim trends like Auburn, Tacoma, and Shoreline tend to have higher rates, whereas more rural areas have the luxury of lower rates.

The information below shows the higher priced cities in Washington for good drivers in which to buy car insurance.

Where does Washington rank for car insurance cost?
Rank City Average Per Year
1 Auburn $1,422
2 Federal Way $1,421
3 Tacoma $1,399
4 Lakewood $1,378
5 Shoreline $1,366
6 Kent $1,350
7 Seattle $1,349
8 Renton $1,348
9 South Hill $1,340
10 Everett $1,276
11 Marysville $1,245
12 Bellevue $1,243
13 Kirkland $1,243
14 Sammamish $1,232
15 Redmond $1,201
16 Vancouver $1,157
17 Olympia $1,105
18 Lacey $1,089
19 Spokane $1,071
20 Spokane Valley $1,054
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Information shown are estimated as specific Washington garaging address can raise or lower auto insurance rates noticeably.

The make and model of vehicle that needs insurance is a significant factor when shopping around for low-cost auto insurance for good drivers. Vehicles with high performance engines, poor crash test ratings, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than more modest models. The information below shows coverage premiums for a handful of the most economical vehicles to insure.

Cheapest Auto Insurance Rates for Good Drivers in Washington
Make and Model Estimated Cost for Full Coverage
Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon $520
Ford F-150 XL Regular Cab 2WD $538
Honda Accord EX-L 4-Dr Sedan $566
Ford Escape XLS 4WD $570
Kia Forte LX 4-Dr Sedan $582
Honda CR-V EX 2WD $591
Chevrolet Traverse LT 2WD $598
Hyundai Tucson Limited 2WD $616
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD $624
Subaru Forester XT AWD $623
Toyota Prius $633
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 2WD 4-Dr $637
Chevrolet Impala LTZ $647
Toyota Corolla S $657
Chevrolet Equinox LTZ 2WD $660
Chevrolet Silverado LT Regular Cab $662
Hyundai Santa Fe GLS 4WD $672
Toyota Highlander Hybrid 4WD $679
Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD $672
Honda Civic DX 4-Dr Sedan $674
Ford Edge SEL 2WD $682
Ford Explorer Limited AWD $686
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD $692
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Prices above based on married male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, claim-free, multi-policy, homeowner, and safe-driver. Price estimates do not factor in specific garaging location which can influence insurance rates substantially.

Based upon the rates shown, you can infer that cars like the Hyundai Elantra, Ford F-150, Honda Accord, Ford Escape, and Kia Forte should be a few of the more affordable vehicles to insure for safe drivers.

Rate difference between full and liability-only coverage

Finding cheap car insurance for good drivers in Washington is important to most vehicle owners, and one of the easiest ways to find cheap insurance is to only buy liability coverage. The information below shows the difference between auto insurance rates with and without physical damage coverage. The premiums are based on a clean driving record, no claims, $500 deductibles, single status, and no additional discounts are factored in.

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Averaged for all age groups, physical damage insurance costs an additional $1,858 per year over and above liability coverage. That may make you wonder if buying full coverage is worth the expense. There is no written rule of when to stop paying for full coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than around 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.

For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s book value is $5,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most you would receive is $4,000 after the deductible is paid. If it’s costing in excess of $400 annually to have full coverage, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.

Discounts on cheap car insurance for good drivers in Washington

Insurance for safe drivers in WashingtonCar insurance companies that provide coverage for good drivers may also give you special discounts that may potentially lower prices by 30% or more if you meet the requirements. The best insurance companies and a selection of discounts can be found below.

Auto Insurance Discounts by Company
Discount Allstate Progressive Geico State Farm Nationwide
Bundled policies Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Multi-vehicle No Yes Yes Yes Yes
Anti-theft Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Anti-lock brakes Yes No Yes Yes No
Air bags Yes No Yes Yes Yes
Daytime running lights No No Yes Yes No
Newer vehicle Yes No No Yes Yes
Eco vehicle Yes No No No No
No accidents Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Defensive driving course Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Armed forces No Yes Yes Yes No
Professional affiliation No No Yes No Yes
Pay in full Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Paperless billing Yes Yes Yes No Yes
Customer loyalty No Yes No Yes Yes
Good grades Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Student away from home Yes Yes No Yes Yes
Own your home No Yes No No No
Seat belt use No No Yes No No
Quote online No Yes No No No
Teen driver No Yes No No No
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The illustration below illustrates the difference between insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. Data assumes a male driver, no claims, a clean driving record, Washington state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $100 deductibles.

The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with homeowner, marriage, anti-theft, claim-free, defensive driving course, and multiple vehicle discounts applied. When discounts are applied, the average amount saved each year on insurance for good drivers is 13% or $164.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDiscqcibChart);function drawDiscqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Male Driver No Discounts’, ‘Male Driver with Discounts’],[‘Age 20’, 3971,2857],[‘Age 30’, 2041,1483],[‘Age 40’, 2033,1473],[‘Age 50’, 1845,1337],[‘Age 60’, 1783,1293],[‘Age 70’, 2165,1563]]);var options = {title: ‘Effect of Discounts on Insurance Price for Good Drivers’,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’,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(‘qcibdisc’));chart.draw(data, options);}

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

When comparing auto insurance for safe drivers in Washington, some of the first companies to look at are State Farm, Allstate, Geico, and Progressive. When added together, they insure 48.5% of all policies written. The next table ranks some of the different options and features that are available.

Comparison of Top U.S. Auto Insurance Companies
State Farm Allstate Geico Progressive
Claims Service 2nd 1st 3rd 4th
Number of Discounts 3rd 1st 2nd 4th
Price Ranking 2nd 4th 1st 3rd
Overall Satisfaction 4th 2nd 1st 3rd
Customer recommendation 88% 86% 87% 88%
Usage-based insurance Yes Yes No Yes
Accident forgiveness No Yes Yes Yes
Rideshare coverage Yes Yes Yes Yes
Mechanical breakdown insurance No No Yes Yes
New car replacement No Yes No No
Emergency roadside service Yes Yes Yes Yes
Insure in Washington Yes Yes Yes Yes
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