The easiest way to get affordable auto insurance rates in Oakland is to do an annual price comparison from different companies who sell auto insurance in California.
Step 1: Get an understanding of what coverages are included in your policy and the changes you can make to prevent expensive coverage. Many risk factors that cause rate increases like at-fault accidents and a not-so-good credit score can be rectified by paying attention to minor details.
Step 2: Quote rates from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Direct and exclusive agents can provide rates from a single company like Progressive or Allstate, while agents who are independent can provide prices from multiple companies.
Step 3: Compare the quotes to your current policy and determine if cheaper Spectra coverage is available. If you can save some money and change companies, make sure coverage does not lapse between policies.
Step 4: Tell your current agent or company of your intention to cancel your current car insurance policy and submit a completed application and payment to the newly selected company. Once the paperwork is finalized, keep your new certificate of insurance along with the vehicle’s registration papers.
A crucial key to this process is that you’ll want to compare similar coverage information on each quote request and and to get price estimates from every company you can. This provides a fair price comparison and a good representation of prices.
Amazingly, a recent NerdWallet.com study showed that the vast majority of drivers have purchased from the same company for well over three years, and approximately 40% of consumers have never quoted car insurance rates at all. California drivers can save up to 35% each year by just shopping around, but most tend to underestimate the large savings they would see if they bought a different policy.
Locating the best rates in Oakland is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you are insured now or just want cheaper rates, you can use this information to save money and still have adequate protection. You just need to use the least time-consuming way to get comparison rates over the internet.
Insurance Cost Influencing Factors
Lots of factors are taken into consideration when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious like a motor vehicle report, but other criteria are less apparent such as whether you are married or your financial responsibility. A large part of saving on insurance is knowing some of the factors that come into play when calculating insurance rates. If you know what determines premiums, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that may reward you with cheaper rates.
The list below includes just a few of the factors companies use to determine your prices.
Your credit rating is important – Your credit score can be a huge factor in calculating your insurance rates. Insureds that have high credit scores tend to file fewer claims than those with lower credit scores. Therefore, if your credit score could use some work, you could pay less to insure your Kia Spectra by improving your rating.
Always keep your policy in force – Having an insurance coverage lapse is a fast way to bump up your insurance costs. In addition to paying higher premiums, not being able to provide proof of insurance could result in a fine, jail time, or a revoked license.
Add-on coverages can add up – There are quite a few extra coverages that sound like a good idea at the time but may not be useful. Things like personal injury protection, death and dismemberment, and Farm Bureau memberships may be wasting your money. The coverages may be enticing when you first buy your policy, but if you’ve never needed them in the past remove them and pocket the money.
Better premiums on vehicles with better crash test results – Safer cars cost less to insure. Highly rated vehicles result in less severe injuries and reduced instances of injuries translates into fewer and smaller insurance claims and more competitive rates for policyholders.
Save money with theft deterrents – Driving a car with a theft deterrent system can get you a discount on your insurance. Advanced theft deterrents like tamper alarm systems, vehicle immobilizer technology and General Motors OnStar all help stop auto theft.
No insurance claims equals better insurance rates – If you file a lot of claims don’t be surprised to see either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Companies in California give the best rates to insureds who file claims infrequently. Insurance coverage is meant to be used in the event of claims that you cannot pay yourself.
Save money on Kia Spectra insurance in Oakland with these discounts
Car insurance companies don’t list all available discounts in an easy-to-find place, so the list below gives a summary of some of the best known in addition to some of the lesser obvious discounts that you may qualify for.
- ABS Brakes – Cars with anti-lock braking systems prevent accidents and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Policy Bundle Discount – If you insure your home and vehicles and place coverage with the same company you could earn a discount of over 10 percent off each policy depending on the company.
- Senior Citizens – Older drivers could receive a slight reduction on a Oakland car insurance quote.
- Safe Drivers – Safe drivers can save as much as half off their rates than less cautious drivers.
- Discount for Swiching Early – A few car insurance companies allow discounts for switching companies before your current expiration date. The savings is around 10%.
- Multi-car Discount – Insuring multiple vehicles with the same car insurance company can get a discount for every vehicle.
- Paperless Signup – Many companies will discount your bill up to fifty bucks for buying your policy on your computer.
We need to note that most credits do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. A few only apply to specific coverage prices like physical damage coverage or medical payments. Despite the appearance that adding up those discounts means a free policy, you’re out of luck. Any amount of discount will reduce the amount you pay for coverage.
Companies that may offer quotes with many of the previously listed discounts are:
When getting free Oakland car insurance quotes, it’s a good idea to each company or agent which discounts you qualify for. Discounts might not be offered in Oakland. For a list of insurance companies with significant discounts in Oakland, click here to view.
California auto insurance company ratings
Picking a highly-rated insurer can be rather challenging considering how many companies are available to choose from in California. The rank data in the next section may help you choose which companies you want to consider when shopping around.
Top 10 Oakland Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Claims Service
- AAA of Southern California
- State Farm
- Esurance
- AAA Insurance
- Progressive
- Liberty Mutual
- GEICO
- Allstate
- Titan Insurance
- The Hartford
Persistent drivers can save
We just presented some good ideas how to save on Kia Spectra insurance in Oakland. The key concept to understand is the more rate quotes you have, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. Drivers may even discover the lowest rates come from some of the lesser-known companies.
Insureds who switch companies do it for many reasons like extreme rates for teen drivers, poor customer service, denial of a claim and policy cancellation. No matter why you want to switch, finding the right insurance provider can be less work than you think.
Cost effective Kia Spectra insurance is available online and with local Oakland insurance agents, so get free Oakland car insurance quotes from both of them so you have a total pricing picture. Some insurance companies may not offer price quotes online and most of the time these regional carriers prefer to sell through independent agents.
Helpful articles
- What Does No-Fault Insurance Cover? (Allstate)
- How Much are Auto Insurance Rates for a 20 Year Old Male in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Help Your Teen Be a Better Driver (State Farm)
- Teen Driver Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)