If saving the most money is your goal, then the best way to find cheaper prices for car insurance rates is to do a yearly price comparison from different companies that sell auto insurance in Oakland.
- Read about what is in your policy and the things you can control to keep rates in check. Many rating criteria that cause high rates such as your driving record and bad credit can be rectified by improving your driving habits or financial responsibility. Continue reading for the details to get affordable coverage and get bigger discounts.
- Obtain price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive and direct companies can only quote rates from a single company like GEICO or Allstate, while independent agents can provide prices from multiple insurance companies.
- Compare the new rate quotes to your existing rates to see if switching to a new carrier will save money. If you find a better price and make a switch, verify that coverage does not lapse between policies.
- Notify your company or agent of your intention to cancel your current coverage and submit a down payment along with a signed application to your new carrier. Once received, keep the new certificate of insurance in an easily accessible location.
The key thing to remember is to use the same liability limits and deductibles on each quote and and to get prices from as many companies as possible. Doing this helps ensure the most accurate price comparison and the best price selection.
It’s easy to assume that insurance companies don’t want you to compare rates. People who shop for lower rates are highly likely to move their business because there are good odds of finding a policy with more affordable rates. A recent insurance study discovered that consumers who routinely shopped for cheaper coverage saved on average $72 a month as compared to drivers who didn’t regularly shop around.
If saving the most money on auto insurance in Oakland is the reason you’re here, then having an understanding of how to quote prices and compare insurance can make it easier to find better rates.
Low Cost Lexus insurance price quotes in Oakland
The auto insurance companies shown below provide comparison quotes in California. If your goal is to find cheap auto insurance in California, we recommend you click on several of them to get the most competitive price.
Cheap Lexus GS F insurance in Oakland
Some companies don’t list their entire list of discounts very well, so we break down some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts you could be receiving when you buy Oakland auto insurance online.
- Life Insurance – Companies who offer life insurance give better premium rates if you take out auto and life insurance together.
- Full Payment Discount – By making one initial payment rather than paying in monthly installments you can actually save on your bill.
- Resident Student – College-age children who are attending college and do not have a car can be insured at a reduced rate.
- Own a Home and Save – Just owning your own home may earn you a small savings since owning and maintaining a home demonstrates responsibility.
- Drivers Ed for Students – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them successfully take a driver’s education course as it can save substantially.
- Organization Discounts – Having an affiliation with qualifying clubs or civic groups could qualify you for a break on your next auto insurance statement.
A little note about advertised discounts, many deductions do not apply to the whole policy. Most only cut individual premiums such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though the math looks like you can get free auto insurance, that’s just not realistic.
Popular auto insurance companies and a selection of discounts are:
- State Farm offers discounts including Drive Safe & Save, driver’s education, student away at school, multiple autos, Steer Clear safe driver discount, safe vehicle, and anti-theft.
- Farmers Insurance may offer discounts for bundle discounts, multi-car, alternative fuel, pay in full, business and professional, and youthful driver.
- GEICO discounts include driver training, federal employee, emergency military deployment, air bags, and multi-policy.
- American Family includes discounts for good driver, Steer into Savings, TimeAway discount, early bird, and defensive driver.
- Nationwide policyholders can earn discounts including anti-theft, good student, multi-policy, defensive driving, easy pay, and Farm Bureau membership.
- Progressive may have discounts that include multi-policy, multi-vehicle, good student, online signing, and online quote discount.
Before purchasing a policy, check with all companies you are considering what discounts are available to you. Discounts might not be offered on policies in Oakland.
Learn How to Lower Your Insurance Prices
Many different elements are considered when pricing auto insurance. Some of the criteria are obvious such as your driving record, although others are not quite as obvious such as your marital status or how financially stable you are. A large part of saving on auto insurance is knowing the factors that go into determining the price you pay for auto insurance. If you have a feel for what impacts premium levels, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that could help you find big savings.
- Does insurance coverage cost less for women? – Statistics demonstrate women tend to be less risk to insure than men. That doesn’t necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. Males and females cause accidents in similar numbers, but men get into accidents with more damage. In addition to higher claims, males also get more serious tickets such as reckless driving. Males from age 16 to 21 generally have the highest accident percentage so they pay the highest premiums.
- Better premiums on safer vehicles – Safe vehicles tend to have lower insurance rates. Highly rated vehicles help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and lower rates of occupant injuries means lower claim amounts passed on to you as lower rates. If your Lexus is rated at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website it is probably cheaper to insure.
- Better credit means lower rates – An insured’s credit history can be an important factor in calculating your premium rate. Drivers with good credit tend to file fewer claims than drivers who have worse credit. If your credit history leaves room for improvement, you could potentially save money when insuring your Lexus GS F if you improve your credit rating.
- Pay more if you have a long commute – Being located in small towns and rural areas can save you money when trying to find low car insurance rates. Fewer drivers translates into fewer accident claims in addition to fewer liability claims. People who live in big cities have to deal with much more traffic and higher rates of accident claims. Higher commute times means more chances of being involved in an auto accident.
Situations that may require an agent’s advice
Always remember that when buying coverage online or from an agent for your personal vehicles, there isn’t really a best way to insure your cars. Every insured’s situation is different so this has to be addressed.
These are some specific questions can help discover whether or not you might need an agent’s assistance.
- When do I need to add a new car to my policy?
- Who is covered by my policy?
- How can I get my company to pay me more for my totaled car?
- When can I cancel my policy?
- What does PIP insurance cover?
- Is borrowed equipment or tools covered if stolen or damaged?
- Am I covered when using my vehicle for business?
If you can’t answer these questions but one or more may apply to you, then you may want to think about talking to an insurance agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, take a second and complete this form or go to this page to view a list of companies. It’s fast, free and you can get the answers you need.
Insurance agent or online?
Certain consumers would rather buy from a licensed agent and doing so can bring peace of mind Experienced insurance agents are trained risk managers and help in the event of a claim. The best thing about price shopping on the web is the fact that drivers can get better rates but also keep your business local. Buying from and supporting neighborhood agents is important especially in Oakland.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this quick form, your insurance data gets sent to insurance agents in Oakland who will give you bids for your car insurance coverage. You won’t need to find an agent due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to your email address. If for some reason you want to get a rate quote from a specific car insurance provider, just visit that company’s website to submit a rate quote request.
Compare rates from both independent and exclusive auto insurance agents
If you are wanting to purchase car insurance from a local Oakland insurance agency, you should know the different types of agents and how they operate. Agents can be classified as either independent agents or exclusive agents depending on their employer. Either type can provide car insurance policies, but it is a good idea to know the difference in how they write coverage since it could factor into your selection of an agent.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent agents are not restricted to one company and that gives them the ability to insure with multiple insurance companies and potentially find a lower price. If they quote lower rates, they can switch companies in-house and you don’t have to find a new agent.
When shopping rates, you absolutely need to get rate quotes from multiple independent agents in order to have the best price comparison.
Shown below is a partial list of independent insurance agencies in Oakland that can give you rate quotes.
Susan Bernosky – Strahan Ins Services Inc
5940 College Ave a – Oakland, CA 94618 – (510) 450-9051 – View Map
Bucheku Insurance Agency
1714 Franklin St Suite 305 – Oakland, CA 94612 – (510) 655-6969 – View Map
Nationwide Insurance: Ruby Joyce Barnett
440 Grand Ave #450 – Oakland, CA 94610 – (510) 251-3800 – View Map
Exclusive Agents
Exclusive agencies have only one company to place business with like State Farm, AAA, Farmers Insurance or Allstate. Exclusive agents cannot place coverage with different providers so you might not find the best rates. Exclusive agents are trained well on their company’s products and that enables them to sell even at higher rates.
The following are Oakland exclusive insurance agencies that can give you price quotes.
Frank Sanchez – State Farm Agent
5301 Claremont Ave – Oakland, CA 94618 – (510) 658-2722 – View Map
Farmers Insurance – Sam Cheng
388 9th St #259 – Oakland, CA 94607 – (510) 893-3978 – View Map
Jessica Hebert – State Farm Insurance Agent
490 Grand Ave #210 – Oakland, CA 94610 – (510) 653-2900 – View Map
Picking the best insurance agent shouldn’t rely on just a low price. Here are some questions you should ask.
- Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
- Which company do they place the most coverage with?
- Is vehicle mileage a factor when determining depreciation for repairs?
- How many years of experience in personal auto insurance do they have?
- Is there any savings for paying the full premium?
- Is every driver in your family covered?
- Do they make recommendations based only on price?
- Will vehicle repairs be made with aftermarket parts or OEM replacement parts?
Affordable insurance rates are possible
The cheapest Lexus GS F insurance in Oakland is definitely available from both online companies and from local agencies, so get free Oakland auto insurance quotes from both of them so you have a total pricing picture. There are still a few companies who do not offer online rate quotes and usually these smaller companies only sell coverage through independent insurance agents.
As you shop your coverage around, you should never buy poor coverage just to save money. Too many times, someone sacrificed full coverage and found out when filing a claim that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at the best possible price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
We covered quite a bit of information on how to get a better price on Lexus GS F insurance in Oakland. It’s most important to understand that the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding affordable Oakland auto insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the best price on insurance is with an unexpected company. Some small companies may have significantly lower prices on certain market segments than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.
For more information, feel free to browse the articles below:
- Dangers of fake or stolen airbags (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Who Has Cheap Oakland Auto Insurance for Drivers with Bad Credit? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for Immigrants in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for Used Cars in Oakland? (FAQ)
- How Much are Auto Insurance Rates for Good Students in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Vehicle Safety Ratings (iihs.org)
- Safety Features for Your New Car (State Farm)
- Auto Insurance Facts and Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)