A recent NerdWallet.com study revealed that most car insurance policyholders kept their coverage with the same car insurance company for a minimum of four years, and 38% of customers have never compared rate quotes at all. California drivers could save an average of up to $500 each year, but they mistakenly think it’s difficult to shop their coverage around.
The easiest way to find cheaper prices for Lexus IS 200t insurance in Oakland is to compare prices annually from providers who sell auto insurance in California.
- First, spend a few minutes and learn about what is in your policy and the measures you can control to lower rates. Many risk factors that cause high rates like tickets, at-fault accidents, and a low credit score can be eliminated by making lifestyle changes or driving safer.
- Second, obtain price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can only provide price estimates from a single company like GEICO or Farmers Insurance, while agents who are independent can quote rates from many different companies.
- Third, compare the new rates to your existing coverage and see if you can save money. If you find better rates and switch companies, verify that coverage does not lapse between policies.
- Fourth, tell your current agent or company of your intent to cancel the current policy. Submit the required down payment along with the signed application for your new policy. Be sure to place your new proof of insurance certificate with the vehicle registration.
One key aspect when comparing rates is to try to use similar deductibles and liability limits on every quote and and to get rates from every insurance company. Doing this guarantees an apples-to-apples comparison and many rates to choose from.
The companies in the list below offer free rate quotes in Oakland, CA. To locate the best cheap car insurance in Oakland, we suggest you compare several of them to find the lowest auto insurance rates.
Three good reasons to insure your IS 200t
Even though it can be expensive, auto insurance is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.
- Most states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means you are required to buy a specific minimum amount of liability if you drive a vehicle. 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.
- If you have a loan on your Lexus, almost every bank will require that you have comprehensive coverage to protect their interest in the vehicle. If you do not keep the policy in force, the bank or lender will purchase a policy for your Lexus at a much higher premium rate and force you to pay the higher price.
- Auto insurance protects both your assets and your vehicle. Insurance will also pay for medical bills for you, your passengers, and anyone else injured in an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, also pays for attorney fees and expenses if you cause an accident and are sued. If damage is caused by hail or an accident, comprehensive and collision coverage will cover the repair costs.
The benefits of having auto insurance outweigh the cost, particularly for liability claims. On average, a vehicle owner in Oakland is currently overpaying as much as $855 a year so you should quote rates every year to make sure the price is not too high.
Do you qualify for discounts on Lexus IS 200t insurance in Oakland?
Properly insuring your vehicles can get expensive, but there could be significant discounts to reduce the price significantly. A few discounts will be applied when you purchase, but some need to be specifically requested before being credited. If you do not check that you are getting every discount you qualify for, you could be paying more than you need to.
- Student Discount for Driver Training – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to successfully complete driver’s ed class if it’s offered in school.
- Professional Memberships – Being a member of a qualifying organization can get you a small discount on your next auto insurance statement.
- Oakland Homeowners Discount – Owning a home in Oakland can earn you a little savings since owning and maintaining a home requires a higher level of personal finance.
- Anti-theft System – Cars, trucks, and SUVs equipped with anti-theft or alarm systems can help prevent theft and earn discounts up to 10% off your Oakland auto insurance quote.
- Save with a New Car – Insuring a new IS 200t can save up to 30% since new vehicles are generally safer.
- Payment Discounts – If you pay your bill all at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can avoid the installment charge.
- Government Employees – Federal government employees could cut as much as 10% off with select insurance companies.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Keeping the miles down on your Lexus could qualify for substantially lower prices.
- Multi-line Discount – If the company offers life insurance, you could get a break if you buy some life insurance too.
It’s important to understand that many deductions do not apply to all coverage premiums. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, you aren’t that lucky.
A few popular companies and the discounts they provide are included below.
- Progressive may have discounts that include continuous coverage, good student, online quote discount, homeowner, multi-vehicle, online signing, and multi-policy.
- MetLife offers discounts for defensive driver, accident-free, good driver, multi-policy, and good student.
- Mercury Insurance discounts include annual mileage, good driver, professional/association, multi-car, type of vehicle, location of vehicle, and age of vehicle.
- Nationwide offers discounts including anti-theft, family plan, Farm Bureau membership, multi-policy, good student, business or organization, and defensive driving.
- GEICO has discounts for daytime running lights, emergency military deployment, five-year accident-free, anti-theft, membership and employees, and federal employee.
- AAA has savings for multi-policy, good student, good driver, pay-in-full, and AAA membership discount.
If you want cheaper Oakland auto insurance quotes, ask each insurance company the best way to save money. A few discounts may not apply to policies in Oakland. To view insurance companies that can offer you the previously mentioned discounts in California, click here to view.
Local insurance agents
Many drivers still prefer to go talk to an agent and that is OK! Professional insurance agents can point out coverage gaps and help in the event of a claim. The best thing about comparing insurance prices online is the fact that you can find cheap rate quotes but still work with a licensed agent.
After filling out this simple form, the quote information is emailed to participating agents in Oakland that can provide free Oakland auto insurance quotes for your coverage. There is no need to find an agent on your own because prices are sent to your email. If for some reason you want to compare rates from a specific insurance company, feel free to jump over to their website and give them your coverage information.
Picking an insurer is decision based upon more than just a low price. Any agent in Oakland should be forthright in answering these questions:
- Does the agent have professional designations like CIC, CPCU or AIC?
- If you have an accident, are you able to get your vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice?
- Are there any discounts for paying up front?
- Do they have any clout with companies to ensure a fair claim settlement?
- Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
More quotes mean more insurance savings
Throughout this article, we presented quite a bit of information on how to reduce Lexus IS 200t insurance car insurance rates online in Oakland. The key concept to understand is the more price quotes you have, the better likelihood of getting inexpensive Oakland auto insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the lowest priced insurance comes from a small mutual company. They may cover specific market segments cheaper as compared to the big name companies such as Allstate or State Farm.
When shopping online for insurance, never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage and discovered at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage for the lowest price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.
Even more information can be found in these articles:
- Side Impact Crash Tests (iihs.org)
- Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance for a Honda CR-V in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Oakland Auto Insurance Quotes for Drivers Under 25? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance for Seniors in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Oakland Auto Insurance for Safe Drivers? (FAQ)
- Five Steps to Filing an Auto Insurance Claim (Insurance Information Institute)
- Distracted Driving Extends Beyond Texting (State Farm)