One of the more important considerations that are looked at to help calculate car insurance rates is where your car is garaged. Larger areas tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas that tend to be more rural have the gratification of cheaper auto insurance rates.
The information below ranks the priciest cities in California for state employees in which to buy car insurance. Oakland is ranked #3 with an annual premium of $1,755 for the average insurance policy, which is approximately $146 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,142 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 3 | Oakland | $1,755 |
| 4 | San Francisco | $1,745 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,596 |
| 7 | Santa Clarita | $1,595 |
| 8 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 9 | Garden Grove | $1,570 |
| 10 | Long Beach | $1,562 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,556 |
| 12 | Fresno | $1,502 |
| 13 | Santa Ana | $1,497 |
| 14 | Moreno Valley | $1,491 |
| 15 | Modesto | $1,487 |
| 16 | Riverside | $1,482 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,474 |
| 18 | Fremont | $1,403 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,395 |
| 20 | Bakersfield | $1,394 |
| 21 | Irvine | $1,384 |
| 22 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
| 23 | Oxnard | $1,344 |
| 24 | Chula Vista | $1,337 |
| 25 | San Diego | $1,327 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | ||
Prices are approximated as specific Oakland garaging address can increase or decrease premium rates substantially.
Shopping around for low-cost car insurance is not most people’s favorite thing to do, and figuring out which companies offer the best car insurance rates for state employees involves even more work.
Every insurance provider uses a slightly different approach for setting prices, so let’s begin by taking a look at the most competitive car insurance companies in California.
Best Auto Insurance Prices in California
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,109 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,146 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,190 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,379 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Allstate | $1,497 |
| 9 | Mercury | $1,533 |
| 10 | Allied | $1,556 |
| 11 | Progressive | $1,558 |
| 12 | GEICO | $1,559 |
| 13 | The Hartford | $1,623 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,638 |
| 15 | State Farm | $1,682 |
| 16 | Esurance | $1,739 |
| 17 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,806 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,831 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,006 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
USAA normally has some of the lowest car insurance rates in Oakland at around $1,109 annually. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also make the cut as some of the best Oakland, CA insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you currently have coverage with Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you might achieve savings of in the vicinity of $37. California drivers with Century National may save as much as $81 a year, and CSAA policyholders might reduce rates by $113 a year.
To get a quick, customized rate comparison, click here to start a quote or click several companies below for low rates.
Bear in mind that those premium estimates are averages across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and are not factoring in an exact zip code location for state employees. So the insurer that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the top 24 companies shown above. That illustrates why you need to get rate quotes using your own specific driver information and vehicle.
Drive responsibly or pay higher rates
A great way to score good car insurance rates in Oakland for state workers is to be a good driver and maintain a clean driving record. The chart below demonstrates how traffic citations and fender-benders impact insurance costs for different ages of insureds. The data is based on a single male driver, full coverage, $500 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
In the prior example, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Oakland per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $2,816. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost swells to $3,725, an increase of $909 each year. Now include one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of car insurance for state employees increases to an average of $4,647. That’s an increase of $1,831, or $153 per month, just for not keeping your driving record clean!
The diagram below demonstrates how choosing different deductibles can change yearly insurance costs when quoting cheap insurance for state employees. The rate quotes are based on a married male driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are applied.
The chart above illustrates that a 40-year-old driver could reduce rates by $308 a year by changing from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $466 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, such as the Age 20 example, could possibly save as much as $1,026 or even more by choosing a higher deductible. If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it will be necessary to have plenty of savings on hand to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.
Get discounts on Oakland auto insurance rates
Insurance providers that offer coverage for state employees may have price discounts that could reduce prices by as much as 35% if you meet certain criteria. Companies and their offered discounts can be found below.
- GEICO has savings for military active duty, driver training, good student, air bags, emergency military deployment, and seat belt use.
- USAA offers discounts including loyalty savings, safe driver, military installation, family discount, and multi-vehicle.
- Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including multi-policy, continuous coverage, multi-vehicle, homeowner, online quote discount, good student, and online signing.
- American Family includes discounts for air bags, good student, TimeAway discount, good driver, Steer into Savings, accident-free, and early bird.
- Esurance may have discounts that include multi-car, anti-lock brakes, renters, claim free, and online quote.
- Farmers Insurance has discounts for youthful driver, pay in full, distant student, alternative fuel, and homeowner.
- State Farm discounts include anti-theft, multiple policy, driver’s education, student away at school, and good driver.
The diagram below visualizes the comparison of auto insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. The data is based on a male driver, no violations or accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second shows the rates with safe-driver, marriage, defensive driving course, claim-free, anti-theft, and multiple vehicle discounts applied. With discounts applied, theamount saved on car insurance for state employees is 28% or $787.
Why are you paying too much for Oakland car insurance?
Oakland car insurance rates are impacted by many factors that control the price of your policy. Simply having a birthday, getting divorced, or getting a DUI can trigger changes in premium that can now make some companies cheaper than others.
And not only may your rating factors change, but insurance companies modify pricing as often as every quarter to help ensure profitability. Higher than normal claim frequency or severity may cause price increases, while long-term profits can cause cheaper Oakland car insurance rates.
The graph below shows which company has the cheapest car insurance in Oakland, CA for a 40-year-old male driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and good credit. If we estimate prices based on his current risk profile, USAA might quote the best car insurance rates in Oakland at $1,449 a year. This is $202 less than the average premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also make the list of the most affordable Oakland, CA auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from the first set of rates a chargeable claim, a little lower credit rating, and a couple of points charged on his driving record. Since each insurance company uses their own calculation for determining prices, comparing prices will most likely result in a different list of the cheapest companies as shown below.
Grange now has the best auto insurance rate in Oakland, CA with Progressive, Allstate, Mercury, and GEICO now rounding out the top five. This shows why drivers need to take the time to shop around to get the most economical car insurance quotes for state employees. Rates are calculated by many different factors and change substantially, so the cheapest company when you bought your policy may now be priced much higher than other options.