Best Ways to Save on Oakland Volvo XC70 Insurance

Really, the only way to find lower priced car insurance rates is to do an annual price comparison from providers who sell auto insurance in Oakland. Prices can be compared by following these steps.

• First, try to understand auto insurance and the modifications you can make to keep rates down. Many rating criteria that result in higher rates such as speeding and a not-so-good credit history can be rectified by improving your driving habits or financial responsibility.
• Second, compare rates from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Exclusive agents and direct companies can only give prices from a single company like Progressive or Farmers Insurance, while independent agencies can give you price quotes from multiple insurance companies.
• Third, compare the new quotes to your existing rates and determine if there is any savings. If you can save some money and switch companies, ensure there is no coverage lapse between policies.
• Fourth, notify your current company of your decision to cancel your current car insurance policy and submit a completed policy application and payment to your new insurance company. As soon as coverage is bound, keep the new certificate verifying proof of insurance above your visor, in the console, or in the glove compartment.

One key aspect when comparing rates is to try to use the same physical damage deductibles and liability limits on each price quote and and to get price quotes from as many car insurance companies as possible. This ensures the most accurate price comparison and plenty of rates choose from.

Amazingly, about 70% of customers kept buying from the same company for more than four years, and roughly 40% of drivers have never compared quotes from other companies. Consumers in California could save themselves almost 35% a year just by comparing rates, but they don’t want to spend time to go online and compare rates.

Affordable car insurance in Oakland, CA

The following companies are ready to provide quotes in Oakland, CA. If you wish to find the cheapest auto insurance in CA, we recommend you click on several of them in order to find the lowest rates.

Coverage analysis

The price information below covers a range of insurance premium costs for Volvo XC70 models. Having knowledge of how insurance premiums are established can assist in making decisions when choosing a new policy provider.

Data based on married female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-policy, homeowner, claim-free, and multi-vehicle. Premium amounts do not factor in zip code location which can decrease or increase auto insurance rates significantly.

Higher deductibles save money

One of the hardest decisions when shopping for car insurance is how high should the deductibles for physical damage be. The premium rates below may help to illustrate the premium difference when you choose different comp and collision deductibles. The first data table uses a $250 deductible for comprehensive and collision coverage and the second set of prices uses a $500 deductible.

Prices based on married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, homeowner, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and claim-free. Price estimates do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can raise or lower premiums noticeably.

Based on these figures, using a $250 deductible costs an average of $21 more each month or $252 annually than quoting the higher $500 deductible. Because you would pay $250 more if you file a claim with a $500 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you tend to go more than 12 months between claims, you would save money going with the higher deductible.

One important caveat is that increasing deductibles to save money results in a higher out-of-pocket expense when you have to file a claim. You need enough disposable income in order to pay the deductible to have repairs made.

The chart below shows how choosing a deductible and can increase or decrease Volvo XC70 annual premium costs for each different age category. The rate quotes are based on a married female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are applied.

Rate comparison of male drivers versus female drivers

The diagram below shows the difference between Volvo XC70 auto insurance costs for male and female drivers. The price estimates are based on no claims or driving citations, comprehensive and collision coverage, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no additional discounts are factored in.

Should you buy full coverage?

The illustration below illustrates the difference between Volvo XC70 insurance premiums with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying liability only. The data is based on no claims or driving violations, $100 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

Are you wasting money on full coverage?

There is no exact formula for excluding physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can use. If the annual cost of coverage is more than around 10% of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.

For example, let’s pretend your Volvo XC70 replacement cost is $5,000 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most your company would pay you is $4,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are paying more than $400 a year for your policy with full coverage, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.

There are some scenarios where only buying liability is not recommended. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you are required to maintain full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you cannot afford to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should keep full coverage on your policy.

Cheap Oakland insurance quotes with discounts

The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but there’s a good chance there are discounts to reduce the price significantly. Certain reductions will be credited when you complete an application, but a few must be asked about before you get the savings.

• Student Driver Training – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them successfully complete driver’s ed class if offered at their school.
• One Accident Forgiven – Not really a discount, but companies like Liberty Mutual, GEICO and Allstate will turn a blind eye to one accident without getting socked with a rate hike so long as you haven’t had any claims prior to being involved in the accident.
• Theft Deterrent Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs that have factory anti-theft systems prevent vehicle theft and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
• Renewal Discounts – A few insurance companies offer discounts for buying a policy prior to your current XC70 insurance policy expiration. This can save 10% or more.
• Multi-Vehicle Discounts – Having more than one vehicle with one company can get a discount for every vehicle.
• Discounts for Safe Drivers – Insureds who avoid accidents can save up to 40% or more on their Oakland car insurance quote than drivers with accidents.

As a disclaimer on discounts, some of the credits will not apply to the whole policy. Most only reduce individual premiums such as comp or med pay. Just because you may think it’s possible to get free car insurance, you aren’t that lucky.

The diagram below visualizes the comparison of Volvo XC70 insurance prices with and without discounts. The premiums assume a male driver, a clean driving record, no claims, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with safe-driver, homeowner, multi-policy, claim-free, marriage, and multi-car discounts applied.

To locate insurers that provide some of the discounts listed above in California, click here to view.

Insurance Price Influencing Factors

Many factors are used when you quote your car insurance policy. Some factors are common sense like an MVR report, but other criteria are more transparent like where you live or how safe your car is. A large part of saving on auto insurance is knowing some of the things that help determine the level of your policy premiums. If you have some idea of what influences your rates, this allows you to make good choices that will entitle you to lower auto insurance prices.

• Cheaper rates by bundling – Most major insurance companies allow discounts to policyholders who carry more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount applied, it’s always a smart idea to shop around to verify if the discount is saving money. Consumers may find better rates even if you have your coverage with different companies
• Gaps in coverage mean higher rates – Not having insurance can get your license suspended and companies may charge more for letting your coverage cancel without a new policy in place. Not only will you pay more, the inability to provide proof of insurance could result in a steep fine or even jail time. You may need to file a SR-22 with the California motor vehicle department.
• Big city or small town – Living in less populated areas can save you money if you are looking for the lowest rates. Less people means fewer accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft. Urban drivers tend to have much more traffic and longer commute times. The longer drive time means higher likelihood of an accident.
• You might want pay the minor claims yourself – Insurance companies in California give better rates to policyholders who do not rely on their insurance for small claims. If you are the type of insured that files lots of claims you can expect higher rates. Your insurance policy is meant to be used in the event of the large, substantial claims.

• Volvo XC70 insurance loss probability – Auto insurance companies take into consideration insurance loss statistics for every vehicle when determining insurance costs. Vehicles that historically have increased claim numbers or amounts will cost more to insure. The next table shows the historical loss data for Volvo XC70 vehicles.

  For each policy coverage type, the claim probability for all vehicles, regardless of make, model or trim level, is a value of 100. Values under 100 represent a good loss history, while numbers above 100 indicate more frequent claims or larger claims.

  
  

  Volvo XC70 Insurance Loss Statistics

  Vehicle Model	Collision	Property Damage	Comp	Personal Injury	Medical Payment	Bodily Injury
  Volvo XC70 Station Wagon 2WD	69
  Volvo XC70 Station Wagon 4WD	79	70	94	45

  BETTER

  AVERAGE

  WORSE

  Empty fields indicate not enough data collected
  Statistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years

Exclusive or independent insurance agencies

Some people would prefer to have an agent’s advice and often times that is recommended One of the best bonuses of price shopping on the web is that you can find cheap insurance rates and still have an agent to talk to.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this quick form, your insurance data is transmitted to insurance agents in Oakland who can give free rate quotes for your business. It simplifies rate comparisons since you won’t have to drive around due to the fact that quote results will go to you. You can find better rates and work with a local agent. If you need to compare prices from a specific insurance provider, feel free to navigate to their website and give them your coverage information.

Picking the best company needs to be determined by more than just the premium amount. These questions are important to ask:

• Do they specialize in personal lines auto insurance in Oakland?
• Is there a local claims center in Oakland?
• Do they have a Better Business Bureau rating in Oakland?
• How often do they review policy coverages?
• How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
• Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
• Does the agent have a valid license to sell insurance in California?
• How many years of experience in personal auto insurance do they have?

Oakland car insurance agents are either independent or exclusive

When researching a local agent, you must know there are a couple types of agencies and how they differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Agents in Oakland may be either independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for.

Exclusive Insurance Agencies

Agents of this type can only write with one company and some examples include Farmers Insurance, American Family, State Farm and Allstate. Exclusive agents are unable to compare rates from other companies so keep that in mind. They are usually quite knowledgeable on what they offer which aids in selling service over price.

The following are Oakland exclusive insurance agencies that can give you comparison quotes.

View more Oakland agents

Independent Insurance Agents

Independent agencies do not work for one specific company so they have the ability to put coverage with multiple insurance companies and find you cheaper rates. If premiums increase, they simply move your policy to a different company and you don’t have to do anything. When shopping rates, you need to include several independent agencies to ensure the widest selection of prices.

Below is a list of independent agents in Oakland who can help you get rate quotes.

View more Oakland agents

Don’t give up on affordable rates

As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s very important that you do not reduce needed coverages to save money. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage and found out when filing a claim that the savings was not a smart move. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at an affordable rate, not the least amount of coverage.

We’ve covered a lot of ways to compare Volvo XC70 insurance prices in Oakland. The key thing to remember is the more companies you get rates for, the more likely it is that you will get a better rate. You may even discover the lowest priced car insurance comes from a company that doesn’t do a lot of advertising. These companies may often insure only within specific states and give better rates than the large multi-state companies such as Allstate and Progressive.

There are still a few companies who don’t offer online rate quotes and many times these regional insurance providers only sell coverage through independent insurance agencies. Discount Volvo XC70 insurance is attainable both online and from local insurance agents, and you should compare price quotes from both to get a complete price analysis.

More information can be read below:

• A Tree Fell on Your Car: Now What? (Allstate)
• Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for High Risk Drivers in Oakland? (FAQ)
• How Much Auto Coverage do I Need? (Insurance Information Institute)
• Liability Insurance Coverage (Nationwide)