Shocking but true, nearly 70% of consumers have bought auto insurance from the same company for well over three years, and nearly half have never shopped around. U.S. consumers could save up to $850 a year just by getting comparison quotes, but they don’t know the large savings they would see if they swap their current policy for a cheaper one.
Really, the only way to find cheaper Dodge Dakota insurance is to start doing a yearly price comparison from different companies who provide car insurance in Oakland.
Step 1: It will benefit you to learn about the different coverages in a policy and the things you can control to keep rates low. Many factors that increase rates like tickets, at-fault accidents, and a poor credit rating can be rectified by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes.
Step 2: Request price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive and direct companies can provide rates from one company like Progressive or Allstate, while independent agents can give you price quotes for a wide range of companies.
Step 3: Compare the quotes to your current policy premium and determine if there is any savings. If you can save some money and buy the policy, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
A tip to remember is that you’ll want to make sure you compare the same physical damage deductibles and liability limits on every price quote and and to get rate quotes from as many companies as possible. Doing this enables a fair rate comparison and and a good selection of different prices.
The goal of this article is to help educate you on how auto insurance companies operate and how to save the most money. If you’re already insured, you should be able to shop for the lowest rates using the concepts you’re about to learn. Nevertheless, California vehicle owners can benefit by having an understanding of how big insurance companies calculate your policy premium and apply this information to your search.
The quickest method to compare car insurance rates for Dodge Dakota insurance in Oakland is to realize most of the bigger providers participate in online systems to quote your coverage. To begin a comparison, all you need to do is provide the companies a bit of rating information including your job, driver ages, if you have a valid license, and your education level. The data is automatically sent to multiple top-rated companies and you should receive rate quotes instantly to find the best rate.
To check rates for your Dodge Dakota now, click here and find out if you can get cheaper insurance in Oakland.
The following companies have been selected to offer free quotes in California. To get cheap car insurance in Oakland, we recommend you visit as many as you can to get a more complete price comparison.
Why you need quality insurance for your Dodge vehicle
Even though Oakland Dakota insurance rates can get expensive, maintaining insurance may be mandatory for several reasons.
First, just about all states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means state laws require specific limits of liability in order to drive the car legally. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
Second, if your car has a lienholder, almost all lenders will require that you have physical damage coverage to ensure loan repayment if the vehicle is totaled. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the bank or lender will purchase a policy for your Dodge at a more expensive rate and force you to pay a much higher amount than you were paying before.
Third, insurance protects both your Dodge Dakota and your assets. It will also reimburse you for medical transport and hospital expenses for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, also covers legal expenses if anyone sues you for causing an accident. If you receive damage to your vehicle caused by a storm or accident, collision and comprehensive (also known as other-than-collision) coverage will pay all costs to repair after the deductible has been paid.
The benefits of having insurance more than offset the price you pay, especially for larger claims. According to a survey of 1,000 drivers, the average driver is wasting up to $865 each year so compare rate quotes at every policy renewal to save money.
Premium rates and analysis
The rate information shown below outlines detailed analysis of insurance rates for Dodge Dakota models. Learning as much as possible about how car insurance premiums are established is important to be able to make decisions on the best policy to buy.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dakota ST Ext Cab 2WD | $284 | $672 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,744 | $145 |
Dakota Bighorn Ext Cab 2WD | $284 | $672 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,744 | $145 |
Dakota Lonestar Ext Cab 2WD | $326 | $672 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,786 | $149 |
Dakota ST Crew Cab 2WD | $326 | $672 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,786 | $149 |
Dakota Bighorn Crew Cab 2WD | $326 | $792 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,906 | $159 |
Dakota Lonestar Crew Cab 2WD | $326 | $792 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,906 | $159 |
Dakota Bighorn Ext Cab 4WD | $370 | $672 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,672 | $139 |
Dakota ST Ext Cab 4WD | $370 | $672 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,672 | $139 |
Dakota Laramie Crew Cab 2WD | $370 | $792 | $580 | $34 | $174 | $1,950 | $163 |
Dakota ST Crew Cab 4WD | $370 | $672 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,672 | $139 |
Dakota Lonestar Ext Cab 4WD | $370 | $672 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,672 | $139 |
Dakota Bighorn Crew Cab 4WD | $370 | $672 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,672 | $139 |
Dakota TRX Crew Cab 4WD | $370 | $792 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,792 | $149 |
Dakota TRX Crew Cab 4WD | $370 | $792 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,792 | $149 |
Dakota Lonestar Crew Cab 4WD | $370 | $792 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,792 | $149 |
Dakota Laramie Crew Cab 4WD | $412 | $792 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,834 | $153 |
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Data assumes married female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, claim-free, safe-driver, multi-policy, and homeowner. Table data does not factor in specific location information which can affect prices greatly.
The illustration below illustrates how your choice of deductibles and can increase or decrease Dodge Dakota insurance premiums for different age categories. The data assumes a single male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
How careless driving impacts auto insurance rates
The chart below shows how speeding tickets and at-fault collisions can affect Dodge Dakota insurance rates for each age group. The costs are based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
Rate comparison of full coverage and liability-only
The diagram below shows the comparison of Dodge Dakota yearly insurance costs with and without full coverage. The data is based on no accidents, no driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are single, and no other discounts are factored in.
Guidelines for eliminating full coverage
There is no clear-cut rule of when to stop paying for physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is about 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.
For example, let’s say your Dodge Dakota settlement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, you would only receive $3,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying in excess of $300 annually for full coverage, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.
There are some circumstances where removing full coverage is not financially feasible. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you are required to maintain full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should keep full coverage in place.
Discount Oakland car insurance rates
Car insurance can cost a lot, but there could be available discounts that could help you make your next renewal payment. Some trigger automatically at the time of quoting, but less common discounts must be manually applied in order for you to get them.
- College Student – Older children who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from Oakland and do not have access to a covered vehicle can receive lower rates.
- Payment Method – By paying your entire bill at once rather than spreading payments over time you may have a lower total premium amount.
- Life Insurance – Not all insurance companies offer life insurance, but some may give you a break if you buy a life insurance policy as well.
- Drive Less and Save – Keeping the miles down on your Dodge could be rewarded with substantially lower prices.
- Cautious Drivers – Drivers without accidents may save up to 50% more compared to accident prone drivers.
- Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Insuring multiple cars or trucks with the same company can reduce the rates for all insured vehicles.
- ABS and Traction Control Discounts – Cars, trucks, and SUVs that have steering control and anti-lock brakes can reduce accidents so you can save 10 percent or more.
- Early Switch Discount – A few larger companies offer discounts for buying a new policy before your current coverage expires. It could save around 10% when you buy Oakland car insurance online.
- Drivers Education – Teen drivers should enroll in driver’s education if it’s offered in school.
- Paperless Signup – Certain car insurance companies will give a small break for buying your policy on your computer.
One thing to note about discounts is that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability and collision coverage. So even though it sounds like all those discounts means the company will pay you, it’s just not the way it works.
The illustration below shows the difference between Dodge Dakota annual premium costs with and without policy discounts. The rates are based on a female driver, no accidents, no driving violations, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with multi-car, safe-driver, homeowner, marriage, multi-policy, and claim-free discounts applied.
Companies and some of their more popular discounts include:
- Progressive has savings for good student, multi-policy, online quote discount, continuous coverage, and online signing.
- GEICO offers discounts including driver training, daytime running lights, anti-lock brakes, multi-policy, membership and employees, seat belt use, and military active duty.
- State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including good student, Drive Safe & Save, defensive driving training, student away at school, and passive restraint.
- Esurance has discounts for emergency road assistance, defensive driver, anti-theft, Pac-12 alumni, multi-policy, online shopper, and Switch & Save.
- The Hartford includes discounts for defensive driver, good student, anti-theft, air bag, and driver training.
Before you buy a policy, ask every company to give you their best rates. Discounts may not apply to policies in your area. To locate car insurance companies offering car insurance discounts in Oakland, click here to view.
How to find a good Oakland auto insurance company
Choosing a high-quality insurer can be difficult considering how many choices you have in Oakland. The information below could help you analyze which providers to look at when shopping your coverage around.
Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
USAA | 98 | 100 | 100 | 94% | A++ | 98.6 |
American Family | 98 | 89 | 100 | 86% | A | 95.4 |
AAA of Southern California | 91 | 94 | 97 | 92% | A+ | 94.1 |
State Farm | 88 | 93 | 96 | 90% | A++ | 92.4 |
The Hartford | 94 | 92 | 90 | 89% | A+ | 91.7 |
AAA Insurance | 88 | 89 | 95 | 91% | A | 91.2 |
GEICO | 84 | 93 | 93 | 89% | A++ | 90.3 |
The General | 89 | 91 | 89 | 88% | A- | 90 |
Titan Insurance | 90 | 87 | 91 | 95% | A+ | 89.6 |
Progressive | 84 | 91 | 93 | 87% | A+ | 89.5 |
Mercury Insurance | 88 | 91 | 90 | 85% | A+ | 89.4 |
Allstate | 85 | 90 | 92 | 88% | A+ | 89.3 |
Nationwide | 87 | 88 | 84 | 90% | A+ | 88.7 |
Liberty Mutual | 84 | 87 | 93 | 88% | A | 88.5 |
21st Century | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88% | A | 86.7 |
Esurance | 85 | 80 | 95 | 87% | A+ | 85.9 |
Safeco | 85 | 85 | 85 | 86% | A | 85.8 |
Travelers | 80 | 87 | 87 | 83% | A++ | 85.2 |
Farmers Insurance | 78 | 87 | 88 | 79% | A | 84.3 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies