What Insurance is Cheapest for Uninsured Drivers in Oakland?

The words “low-cost” and “insurance” really don’t belong together, in particular when you are shopping around for the cheapest coverage for uninsured drivers. To help control this cost, let’s familiarize you with a few of the things that help determine auto insurance premiums, and see if we can help you take the sting out of the next policy you buy.

Establishing which companies have the lowest-priced auto insurance rates for uninsured drivers will require a little more sweat than just comparing a company or two.

Each insurance company used slightly different criteria to determine rates, so let’s take a look at the auto insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in Oakland, CA. We do need to point out that California auto insurance rates are calculated based on many things which can significantly increase or decrease the cost of having a policy. Simply having a birthday, buying a home instead of renting, or having an accident can trigger rate changes that can cause some rates to be cheaper than competitors.

Best Cheap Insurance Rates in California

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USAA quotes some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Oakland at around $1,155 per year. This is $496 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also rank well as some of the cheaper Oakland, CA car insurance companies.

As the rates illustrate above, if you buy coverage from Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you could earn an annual premium reduction of upwards of $26. Insureds with Century National might save as much as $59 a year, and CSAA insureds might reduce prices by as much as $79 a year.

These premium estimates are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and do not take into consideration a vehicle location for uninsured drivers. So the auto insurance company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the list above. That illustrates why you need to get rate quotes using your own specific driver information and vehicle.

The vehicle driven is a large factor that determines whether or not you find affordable insurance for uninsured drivers. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, a great safety record, or a low likelihood of liability claims will cost much less to insure than adrenaline junky models. The information below features coverage premiums for some of the cheapest vehicles to buy insurance for.

Data based on single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, claim-free, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Premium amounts do not factor in vehicle garaging location which can impact insurance rates significantly.

Based upon these rates, you can presume that cars like the Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Ford Edge, and Chevrolet Equinox will be a few of the less-costly vehicles to insure for drivers with no prior coverage.

Tickets and at-fault accidents raise rates

The obvious way to receive cheap auto insurance premiums for drivers with no prior coverage is to pay attention while driving and avoid accidents and traffic violations. The information below shows how traffic citations and at-fault claims can affect car insurance rates for each different age category. The costs are based on a married male driver, comp and collision included, $500 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.

In the prior example, the average cost of car insurance in California per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $2,355. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost surges to $2,711, an increase of $356 each year. Now get two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the annual cost of auto insurance for uninsured drivers goes up to an average of $5,923. That’s an increase of $3,569, or $297 per month, just for not being a responsible driver!

Should you buy full coverage?

Paying a lower price for auto insurance is important to most drivers, and an effective way to pay less for insurance for uninsured drivers is to not buy comprehensive and collision coverage. The chart below shows the difference between premium costs with and without full coverage. The premiums are based on no accidents, no driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no other discounts are factored in.

If averaged for all ages, physical damage coverage on your policy costs $2,003 per year more than buying just liability insurance. At some point, about every driver wonders if paying for full coverage is worth it. There is no set rule of when to phase out physical damage insurance, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is more than 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you might consider buying liability only.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s replacement value is $8,500 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, you would only receive $7,500 after the deductible is paid. If you are paying more than $750 a year to have full coverage, then it might be time to buy liability only.

Chances are good that you’re overpaying for Oakland car insurance

Oakland auto insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the price of coverage. Simply having a birthday, buying another vehicle, or getting a ticket for running a stop sign can trigger changes in premium that can now make some companies more affordable than the competition. Not only may things change on your end, but insurance companies amend premium rates as often as every quarter in order to offset underwriting gains or losses. Significantly higher claims may cause additional price hikes, while a profitable period may produce cheaper Oakland car insurance rates.

The bar chart below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Oakland, CA for a 45-year-old male driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and a good credit rating. If we compare prices based on his current risk factors, Wawanesa may have the cheapest car insurance rates in Oakland at $1,466 annually. This is $185 less than the average premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. USAA, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide are the remainder of the cheapest Oakland, CA auto insurance companies.

Let’s now give the driver from the above example a claim surcharge, slightly worse credit, and a blemish on his driving record. Because each company has a proprietary method for establishing rates, analyzing rate quotes may result in a different set of the cheapest companies as shown below.

Grange now has the lowest price on auto insurance in Oakland with Mercury, Progressive, GEICO, and Allied now being in the top five. This demonstrates why it is critical to compare rates when trying to get the lowest auto insurance rates for uninsured drivers. Insurance rates are calculated by many factors and can decrease or increase without notice, so the most economical option three years ago may now be costing you a lot of money.

If you would rather have some professional guidance when buying car insurance for uninsured drivers, the agents shown below can help you make a decision which coverages you need. To locate an Oakland car insurance agency close to you, click the button after the list.

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