Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance for College Graduates in California?

Determining which companies have the cheapest insurance rates for college graduates involves a little more work than just comparing a company or two.

Each auto insurance company used slightly different criteria to set policy rates, so we’ll go over the most affordable insurance companies in California. It’s important to understand that California insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that will increase or decrease the cost of coverage. Improving your credit score, getting divorced, or getting into an accident may generate price changes that can now make some companies cheaper than competitors.

Best Auto Insurance Prices for Grads

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USAA normally has some of the best car insurance rates in California at around $1,143 annually. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also qualify as some of the more affordable California auto insurance companies.

As depicted above, if you currently have a policy with Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you might realize an annual premium reduction of approxmiately $3. Policyholders with Century National may save as much as $71 a year, and CSAA insureds might reduce rates by $91 a year.

Remember that these rates are averages across all drivers and vehicles and and are not calculated with a price discount for college graduates. So the company that is best for you may not even be shown in the rate chart shown above. That helps illustrate why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.

The cost and performance of the vehicle driven is probably the most important factor when consumers are trying to find economical auto insurance for college graduates. Vehicles with high performance engines, poor safety features, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than more economical and safe models.

The lists below outlines coverage costs for some of the most cost-effective automobiles to insure.

Table data represents single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-vehicle, safe-driver, multi-policy, and claim-free. Price estimates do not factor in zip code location which can affect price quotes greatly.

Cost estimates assume single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-vehicle, safe-driver, homeowner, and multi-policy. Premium costs do not factor in California location which can decrease or increase premiums noticeably.

Data based on single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, multi-vehicle, claim-free, safe-driver, and homeowner. Estimates do not factor in vehicle location which can revise coverage prices significantly.

When shopping for auto insurance for college grads, one of the many considerations that aid in calculating insurance cost is where you choose to live. Larger areas like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland are more likely to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion have the enjoyment of a little cheaper coverage.

The table below sorts the highest-priced places in California for college graduates in which to purchase auto insurance.

Prices are estimated as the specific zip code location can impact auto insurance rates noticeably.

Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, and Geico: Who is cheapest?

If you are shopping around for auto insurance for college grads in California, four of the best places to start are Progressive, Allstate, State Farm, and Geico. The table below points out some of the different options and features that you can purchase from each one.

Who has the cheapest insurance quotes for college grads?

Drivers have many ways to buy insurance in California, but the most common ways are from an exclusive insurance agency like State Farm or Auto-Owners, an independent insurance agent, or direct either online or via phone.

They all have the same basic principle, but it’s important to point out the distinctions in how they work.

Independent agencies work for many companies and can get rate quotes from each one. Independent agents have the freedom to give you a larger rate selection, which may provide you with improved chances of finding a lower rate. If they quote lower rates, the agent simply finds a different carrier which makes it simple for you.

An exclusive agent is contracted to one insurance company like Allstate or State Farm agents. They generally cannot give you multiple price quotes, so keep that in mind.

The third way to buy insurance is direct which means you forego local agents and buy direct either online or via phone. This insurance option may be preferred by people who have an average risk profile and have knowledge of what coverage options they need.

So which one of the three ways works best to find the cheapest auto insurance for college graduates in California? Our initial answer would be buying direct results in the best prices since that eliminates agent commissions, but in reality, that is not true. We could also assume that using an independent agent is the best way to save since they have access to many companies, but that assumption is also not necessarily accurate. In the right set of circumstances, exclusive agencies have coverage prices that are the lowest in California.

Because of the variability of insurance rates, the one way to get rock-bottom rates is to compare lots of quotes. To find the best rates, be sure to get price quotes all three ways to have the best rate selection. For a list of companies with cheap rates in California, click here to view.