Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes for Low Credit Scores in California

You have probably seen the catchy advertisements from insurers like Nationwide, Progressive, and Allstate that claim the cheapest price, so you just need to pick the one with the best commercial, right?

That is not the case, however, as there are a whole slew of unknown factors like how you use your vehicle, if you own your home, your credit history, and your choice of liability limits. This article covers these topics and hopefully give you enough understanding to have a good beginning to your quest for cheaper car insurance.

We all have different tastes in cars, and the vehicle you are seeking coverage for is one of the largest considerations in finding the most affordable insurance for low credit scores. Vehicles with high performance, poor passenger safety features, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost quite a bit more to insure than more modest models.

The information below estimates coverage costs for the most affordable vehicles to insure.

Data assumes married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-policy, claim-free, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Rate information does not factor in specific zip code location which can impact premiums considerably.

Above prices assume married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, claim-free, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Rate quotes do not factor in specific location which can revise coverage prices substantially.

Above prices assume married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Premium costs do not factor in garaging location in California which can raise or lower price quotes significantly.

Establishing which companies quote the most affordable auto insurance rates for low credit scores may require more time than just comparing a company or two. Every car insurance company has a proprietary method for determining prices, so we’ll go over the most competitive auto insurance companies in California.

It’s important to know that California auto insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price of coverage. Simply having another birthday, moving to a new city, or having an at-fault accident can cause premium changes that can cause some rates to be cheaper in comparison to the competition.

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USAA generally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in California at around $1,155 per year. Wawanesa, CSAA, Nationwide, and Century National also rank well as some of the more affordable California auto insurance companies.

In the above example, if you currently buy coverage from Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you could realize an annual savings of in the neighborhood of $56. Insureds with Century National might save as much as $57 a year, and 21st Century policyholders might reduce rates by $222 a year.

If you would like to find the cheapest car insurance for low credit scores in California, click here to begin a quote or quote rates from the companies below.

Understand that those estimates are averaged for all insureds and vehicles and do not take into consideration a rate discount for low credit scores. So the car insurance company that fits your needs best may not even be featured in the list of companies above. That helps illustrate why you need to get quotes using your own specific driver and vehicle information.

One of the more important factors that is used by insurance companies to determine the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where your car is garaged in California. Areas that are densely populated or have higher claim frequency like Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oakland will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims receive better rates.

The table below shows the most expensive places in California for low credit scores to buy car insurance in.

Rates are approximated as the vehicle garaging location can revise auto insurance rates significantly.

How to get discounts on California car insurance

Insurers that sell the cheapest car insurance for low credit scores in California may additionally offer discounts that may potentially lower prices by 25% or more if you are eligible. A list of companies and their possible discounts can be read below.

• GEICO may include discounts for anti-lock brakes, seat belt use, multi-vehicle, anti-theft, air bags, multi-policy, and military active duty.
• MetLife includes discounts for good student, multi-policy, defensive driver, accident-free, and claim-free.
• State Farm may offer discounts for Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, passive restraint, accident-free, and safe vehicle.
• Progressive offers premium reductions for online quote discount, homeowner, multi-vehicle, good student, online signing, continuous coverage, and multi-policy.
• Mercury Insurance offers discounts for location of vehicle, multi-policy, age of vehicle, good driver, ease of repair, and multi-car.
• 21st Century offers discounts including early bird, air bags, defensive driver, anti-lock brakes, and theft prevention.
• Allstate may have discounts that include FullPay discount, defensive driver, new car, good student, auto/life discount, good payer, and farm vehicle.

The information below compares yearly insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the policy rates. The rates are based on a male driver, no claims or driving citations, California 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 second bar shows the rates with accident-free, vehicle safety, homeowner, multiple policy, defensive driving course, and passive restraint discounts applied. When taking advantage of discounts, the the average amount saved on auto insurance for low credit scores is 28% or $698.

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Careless driving habits raise auto insurance rates

The ideal way to get the best auto insurance rates for bad credit is to be a cautious driver and avoid accidents and violations. The information below illustrates how traffic citations and at-fault fender-benders drive up car insurance costs for each different age group. Data assumes a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, $500 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.

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The chart shows that the average cost of an auto insurance policy in California per year with no violations or accidents is $1,978. Get one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $2,243, an increase of $265 each year. Now throw in two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the 12-month cost of auto insurance for low credit scores goes up to an average of $4,627. That’s an increase of $2,649, or $221 per month, just for not paying attention while driving!

How to find the cheapest car insurance for low credit scores in California

The list below details some of the recommended thrifty ideas that can help drivers quote lower-cost coverage.

• Increase your deductibles
• Good credit can save money
• If possible, do not file small claims
• Buying home and auto together can help save money
• Staying accident-free helps keep rates low
• Just one traffic violation will increase your rates
• Look for cheaper rates once a year by shopping around

The last tip is extraordinarily critical, as we emphasized in the prior information. Prices can be adjusted at any time, so don’t be unwilling to buy from a different company if a lower-cost policy is available. Sticking with a specific company is fine, but it isn’t a good idea if that loyalty ends up costing money that could be spent on other things. In less than five minutes you could shop around to find cheaper insurance for low credit scores.

Who has the cheapest insurance quotes for bad credit?

Drivers have a lot of different ways to buy auto insurance in California, but the most prevalent are through a captive (or exclusive) agent like State Farm or Liberty Mutual, an independent or non-exclusive agent, or buying direct from a company like Geico or Progressive.

They all have the same end result, but they are slightly different in how they provide price quotes.

Independent insurance agencies write business for many companies and can provide price quotes from all of them. These agents are usually affiliated with several companies and can give you more rate choices, which may give you the best chance of finding a lower price. If the agent locates a cheaper price, it’s easy for the agent to move the policy and you can remain with the same agent.

A captive or exclusive agent is only able to place business with one company, for example a State Farm or Allstate agent. This type of agents cannot provide other companys’ prices, so smart shoppers will want to get additional comparison quotes.

Auto insurance from a direct company means you forego local agents and instead shop buying direct from a company like Esurance or Geico. Buying auto insurance direct can be a good choice for families who do not need advice for risk management and have a decent understanding of what coverage options they need.

When shopping for auto insurance, which way works best to find the cheapest car insurance for low credit scores in California? We would first guess that buying direct saves the most money because you bypass the middleman, but that turns out to not be true. We’d also like to say buying from an independent agent guarantees the lowest rates due to increased selection, but again, it’s not necessarily true. And often times, exclusive agencies have coverage prices that other auto insurance companies cannot touch.

Because there is so much variation in auto insurance prices, the best method to not overpay for auto insurance is to compare lots of quotes. The best approach is to get prices from all three types to have the best rate selection. For a list of auto insurance companies with low rates, click here to view.