Ideally, we could just give you the name of the one auto insurance company that has the lowest rates in Arizona. It’s not that simple, unfortunately, as there are a whole bunch of unknowns such as if you have any chargeable driving offenses, what physical damage coverage deductibles you want, the miles you drive each year, and the amount of liability insurance you need, that all have an effect on the price of a policy. This article covers the best ways to find cheap car insurance and will hopefully give the reader a good beginning to your quest for cheaper car insurance.
Finding out which companies have the cheapest auto insurance rates for first-time drivers involves a little more sweat than just picking a company at random.
Every auto insurer uses different criteria for setting prices, so let’s rank the auto insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Arizona.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance for Inexperienced Drivers
Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
---|---|---|
1 | The Hartford | $836 |
2 | Safeco | $896 |
3 | Auto-Owners | $924 |
4 | Progressive | $1,118 |
5 | Travelers | $1,119 |
6 | USAA | $1,124 |
7 | GEICO | $1,131 |
8 | Ameriprise Group | $1,172 |
9 | CSAA | $1,177 |
10 | Allied | $1,245 |
11 | Farm Bureau Mutual | $1,247 |
12 | Safe Auto | $1,336 |
13 | State Farm | $1,337 |
14 | Unitrin | $1,357 |
15 | Farmers | $1,391 |
16 | Amica | $1,429 |
17 | Titan | $1,476 |
18 | American Family | $1,478 |
19 | MetLife | $1,505 |
20 | California Casualty | $1,568 |
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The Hartford normally has some of the best car insurance rates in Arizona at around $836 per year. Safeco, Auto-Owners, Progressive, and Travelers would also be considered some of the best Arizona auto insurance companies.
In the above rates, if you are a policyholder with Progressive and switched to Safeco, you may realize a yearly price reduction of in the vicinity of $222. Arizona drivers with Travelers may save as much as $223 a year, and USAA insureds might reduce rates by $228 a year.
Bear in mind that those premiums are averaged for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not factor in a price surcharge for first-time drivers. So the insurer that is best suited for you may not even be shown in the company chart above. That is why you need to get rate quotes from many companies using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
For Arizona drivers, one of the things that insurance companies take into consideration when calculating the price of your policy is where your home is located in Arizona. Cities with larger populations or higher claims like Glendale, Phoenix, and Buckeye tend to have higher rates, whereas more rural areas have the luxury of the cheapest car insurance for first-time drivers in Arizona.
The next table ranks the most costly cities in Arizona for first-time drivers in which to purchase auto insurance.
Rank | City | Annual Premium |
---|---|---|
1 | Glendale | $1,226 |
2 | Avondale | $1,222 |
3 | Phoenix | $1,218 |
4 | San Tan Valley | $1,185 |
5 | Buckeye | $1,156 |
6 | Scottsdale | $1,151 |
7 | Peoria | $1,137 |
8 | Gilbert | $1,120 |
9 | Tempe | $1,118 |
10 | Chandler | $1,115 |
11 | Mesa | $1,113 |
12 | Goodyear | $1,098 |
13 | Tucson | $1,094 |
14 | Casa Grande | $1,089 |
15 | Maricopa | $1,085 |
16 | Surprise | $1,080 |
17 | Catalina Foothills | $1,072 |
18 | Casas Adobes | $1,050 |
19 | Oro Valley | $1,031 |
20 | Flagstaff | $960 |
21 | Yuma | $954 |
22 | Prescott | $924 |
23 | Bullhead City | $905 |
24 | Sierra Vista | $890 |
25 | Lake Havasu City | $878 |
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Price information shown is approximated as specific Arizona zip code can impact coverage rates noticeably.
The car, truck, or SUV you are insuring is a significant factor when shopping for the cheapest car insurance for first-time drivers in Arizona. Vehicles with high performance features, a lack of safety features, or high incidents of liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models.
The table below estimates insurance premiums for a handful of the most budget-friendly automobiles to buy coverage for.
Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $2,305 |
Ford Escape XLT 2WD | $2,310 |
Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $2,305 |
Toyota Prius | $2,495 |
Chevrolet Traverse LT AWD | $2,501 |
Subaru Forester X Limited Edition AWD | $2,517 |
Chevrolet Silverado LS Regular Cab 4WD | $2,571 |
Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $2,592 |
Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $2,598 |
Toyota Sienna CE | $2,716 |
Ford Edge Limited 2WD | $2,726 |
Honda Odyssey EX | $2,716 |
Chevrolet Impala LS | $2,723 |
Toyota Camry LE | $2,738 |
Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $2,748 |
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $2,738 |
Volkswagen Jetta LE 4-Dr Sedan | $2,748 |
Compare Cheap Rates Go |
Data rating is based on single female driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Arizona minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Price information does not factor in vehicle garaging location which can change insurance rates greatly.
Based upon the table data, we can assume that makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, and Chevrolet Traverse are some of the most economical vehicles to insure for new drivers. Auto insurance rates will be more expensive because of the fact that there is more claim exposure for first-time drivers, but generally speaking those models will probably have the cheapest car insurance rates that you are likely to find.
Insurers that sell the cheapest car insurance for first-time drivers in Arizona may additionally offer rate discounts that could lower prices by 35% or more if you meet specific criteria. A list of auto insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are included below.
The illustration below illustrates the comparison of insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. Data assumes a female driver, no claims, a clean driving record, Arizona state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with paid-in-full, paperless filing, continuous coverage, passive restraint, good student, and anti-theft discounts applied. When these discounts are applied, the average savings per year on auto insurance for first-time drivers is 28% or $564.
google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDiscqcibChart);function drawDiscqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Female Driver No Discounts’, ‘Female Driver with Discounts’],[‘Age 17’, 3927,2815],[‘Age 30’, 1667,1211],[‘Age 40’, 1547,1125],[‘Age 50’, 1353,987],[‘Age 60’, 1309,951]]);var options = {title: ‘Effect of Discounts on Insurance Price for First-time Drivers’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’:{left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#c096ca’, ‘#e1b7ec’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Auto Insurance Cost for Average Vehicle in Arizona’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},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);}
Consumers have many ways to quote cheap auto insurance rates in Arizona, but the most common are through an independent agent, a captive (or exclusive) agent like Allstate or Auto-Owners, or direct either online or via phone.
Each way has the same basic process, but it’s good to know the differences in how they work.
Independent insurance agents work for many companies and can get policy pricing from each one. They can sell policies from many different companies and can provide you with more rate quotes, which can help you get a better comparison. If your premiums go up, an independent agent can move your coverage and you stay with the same agent.
An exclusive ageny is able to quote prices with one company such as an Auto-Owners or State Farm agent. These guys and gals cannot quote prices from more than a single company, so they have to upsell other benefits.
Drivers who opt to buy auto insurance direct do not use the middleman (the agent) and instead shop direct from companies such as Esurance or Progressive. This option may be preferred by consumers who have fewer assets and have a decent understanding of the limitations of their policy.
What is the best method for finding the cheapest car insurance for first-time drivers in Arizona? We wish we could say buying direct results in the cheapest price because there isn’t an agent involved, but that does not always hold true. It would also be easy to say going through an independent agent is the best way to go since they can provide multiple quotes, but again, that’s not a true statement. And sometimes, exclusive agents have really good rates that other companies cannot beat.
Since auto insurance prices vary so much, the only true way to get the cheapest rates is to compare rate quotes from as many companies as possible. It takes a little work, but we recommend you get prices from all three types to give yourself the best selection. To see some of the cheapest online companies available, click here to view.
Below you’ll find a few money-saving ideas that can help Arizona drivers locate cheaper auto insurance.
The last suggestion is incredibly necessary, as we stressed in the article above. Insurance rates in Arizona can be changed at any time, so don’t be unwilling to buy from a different company if a better deal can be had. Loyalty to a specific company is fine, but it’s not a great idea if that stubbornness costs you a small fortune year after year. If you have a few minutes, compare prices to find cheaper auto insurance for first-time drivers.