How Much Does Car Insurance Cost for Government Employees in Washington?

For Washington drivers, one of the factors that is used to calculate the cost of insurance is your zip code in Washington. Areas with more people or even just a higher incidence of claims like Renton, Federal Way, and Auburn tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with less congestion receive better rates.

The illustration below ranks the priciest cities in Washington for government employees to purchase a policy in.

Table data uses comparative as specific location information can increase or decrease price quotes substantially.

The vehicle requiring insurance is one of the largest factors when comparison shopping for the best cheap auto insurance for government employees. Vehicles with economical engines, a great safety record, or a low likelihood of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than higher performance models. The information below outlines auto insurance premiums for a selection of the more afforable automobiles to insure.

Table data represents married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and safe-driver. Rates do not factor in specific location which can modify premiums considerably.

Data variables include married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, safe-driver, claim-free, and multi-vehicle. Table data does not factor in specific location information which can revise premiums considerably.

Above prices assume married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, claim-free, homeowner, and safe-driver. Prices do not factor in Washington location which can raise or lower coverage rates greatly.

The example below highlights how deductible choice can influence insurance costs when getting quotes for cheap insurance for government employees. The premiums are based on a single female driver, full coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.

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In the chart above, a 30-year-old driver could lower rates by $266 a year by changing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $402 by changing to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the 20-year-old example, have the ability to save as much as $592 every year by choosing a higher deductible.

When choosing a higher deductible, it is essential to have plenty of discretionary funds to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense that deters many people from opting for higher deductibles.

How accidents and violations affect rates

The easiest method to score low insurance rates for state and federal workers is to be a good driver and avoid getting tickets or having accidents. The information below highlights how speeding tickets and at-fault collisions drive up insurance costs for different age groups of insureds. The data assumes a single female driver, comp and collision included, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawVioqcibChart);function drawVioqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘No Violations or Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and No Accidents’, ‘One Speeding Ticket and Two Accidents’],[‘Age 20’, 1767,1925,3421],[‘Age 30’, 1193,1351,2849],[‘Age 40’, 1119,1277,2775],[‘Age 50’, 979,1139,2635],[‘Age 60’, 949,1105,2601],[‘Age 70’, 1117,1277,2771]]);var options = {title: ‘Effect of Violations and Accidents on Washington Auto Insurance Cost’,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 Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in Washington’,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);}

In the previous chart, the average cost of car insurance per year with no accidents or violations is $1,187. Get written up for one speeding ticket and the average cost hikes up to $1,346, an increase of $158 each year. Then add in two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of insurance for government employees jumps again to an average of $2,842. That’s an increase of $1,655, or $138 per month, just for not driving attentively!

Best rates: Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, or Geico

When it comes to buying auto insurance, the four most popular companies are Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, and Geico. If you add them together, they insure nearly half of all auto insurance written. The next table shows price, claims, and customer service ratings, as well as some optional coverages offered by each one.

Best cheap insurance quotes for state and federal workers

There are many different ways to find affordable insurance in Washington, but the three most common ways are through an exclusive insurance agency like Liberty Mutual or Allstate, an independent insurance agent, or from a direct company like Progressive.

Each way is similar, but shoppers should understand the differences in how they provide price quotes.

Independent insurance agents have contracts with many companies and can do rate comparisons with every one. Independent agents will provide you with more rates, which may give you a better chance of finding cheaper coverage. If they find a lower price, they simply move your policy to a different company which is easy for the insured.

An exlusive, or captive, agency is restricted to just one company such as Allstate or Farmers Insurance agents. Exclusive agents are unable to provide rate quotes from other companies, which requires you to shop around.

If you buy direct, you forego a local insurance agent and instead shop direct from companies such as Esurance or Geico. Shopping for insurance direct is good for consumers who have fewer assets and know what limits they need.

So which of those three methods works best to find cheap auto insurance for government employees in Washington? The majority of insurance shoppers assume that buying from a direct company saves money because you bypass the middleman, but that generally is not the case. And we’d like to say buying from an independent agent can save the most money since they can provide multiple quotes, but that assumption is also not necessarily accurate. In a lot of cases, exclusive agencies have price quotes that are the cheapest.

Since insurance prices are based on many different factors, the guaranteed way to ensure you are not overpaying is to get quotes and compare the rates. It takes a little work, but we recommend you get price quotes all three ways to have a good selection of rates to choose from. For a list of insurance companies with low rates, click here to view.