It’s an obvious assumption that car insurance companies don’t want their policyholders to compare prices. People who get comparison quotes once a year will, in all likelihood, switch car insurance companies because there is a high probability of finding a lower-cost company. A recent car insurance study revealed that people who compared rate quotes regularly saved $70 a month compared to other drivers who never compared rates.
If finding budget-friendly car insurance is your ultimate goal, then having a good understanding how to shop and compare insurance rates can help make the process easier.
Really, the only way to save money on Subaru WRX insurance is to start comparing prices regularly from providers in Oakland.
Step 1: Learn about individual coverages and the factors you can control to lower rates. Many things that result in higher prices such as speeding tickets, accidents and a lousy credit rating can be rectified by paying attention to minor details. Continue reading for additional ideas to get low prices and find discounts that may have been missed.
Step 2: Request price quotes from direct carriers, independent agents, and exclusive agents. Direct companies and exclusive agencies can give quotes from one company like GEICO or Farmers Insurance, while agents who are independent can quote rates for a wide range of insurance providers.
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to the premium of your current policy to see if a cheaper rate is available in Oakland. If you find a lower rate, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.
One key aspect when comparing rates is to compare identical limits and deductibles on every price quote and and to get price quotes from as many auto insurance providers as possible. Doing this provides the most accurate price comparison and a complete selection of prices.
The goal of this article is to introduce you to how to compare rates easily. If you are paying for car insurance now, you stand a good chance to be able to lower your rates using the concepts covered in this article. But California drivers benefit from understanding how insurance companies determine premium rates because it varies considerably.
To find the best insurance quotes, there are several ways to compare rate quotes from many available insurance companies in California. One of the best ways to find the cheapest Subaru WRX insurance rates is to perform an online rate comparison.
Getting free price quotes online is quite simple, and it replaces the need to spend your day driving to insurance agents’ offices. The internet eliminates the need for an insurance agent unless your situation requires the professional advice of a licensed agent. However, consumers can compare online quotes and still use a local agent. When price shopping your coverage, quoting more helps increase your odds of locating lower pricing.
The providers in the list below are ready to provide quotes in California. In order to find cheaper car insurance in California, it’s a good idea that you click on several of them to get the most affordable price.
Get cheaper Subaru WRX insurance in Oakland with discounts
Companies offering auto insurance don’t always list every possible discount in an easy-to-find place, so the list below details some of the best known as well as some of the hidden discounts that may be available.
- Braking Control Discount – Cars, trucks, and SUVs with ABS braking systems or traction control can reduce accidents and earn discounts up to 10%.
- New Car Discount – Buying a new car instead of a used WRX can save you some money due to better safety requirements for newer models.
- Club Memberships – Joining specific professional or occupational memberships or organizations is a simple method to lower premiums on your bill.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your policy upfront instead of paying each month you can avoid monthly service charges.
- Drivers Education – Teen drivers should enroll in driver’s education as it can save substantially.
- Multiple Cars – Drivers who insure several vehicles with one company can reduce the rates for all insured vehicles.
- Accident Free – Claim-free drivers have much lower rates as opposed to frequent claim filers.
Just know that most discounts do not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only apply to the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like all the discounts add up to a free policy, companies wouldn’t make money that way. But any discount will lower your policy premium.
To see insurance companies who offer online Subaru WRX insurance quotes in California, click here to view.
Insurance agent or online?
Many people just want to sit down with an agent and that is a personal choice. A good thing about price shopping on the web is that you can obtain cheaper auto insurance rates and still choose a local agent. Supporting local insurance agents is important particularly in Oakland.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this quick form, your insurance coverage information is instantly submitted to insurance agents in Oakland who will give you bids to get your business. You won’t need to even leave your home because prices are sent to the email address you provide. It’s the lowest rates without requiring a lot of work. If you need to get a price quote for a specific company, you can always search and find their rate quote page and fill out the quote form the provide.
Shown below is a short list of insurance companies in Oakland willing to provide rate quotes for Subaru WRX insurance in Oakland.
Fiesta Auto Insurance Center
4102 International Blvd – Oakland, CA 94601 – (510) 261-1300 – View Map
All Purpose Insurance Agency
5857 MacArthur Blvd – Oakland, CA 94605 – (510) 382-1900 – View Map
Farmers Insurance – Anthony Sue
3333 Grand Ave #203 – Oakland, CA 94610 – (510) 465-1544 – View Map
Allstate Insurance: Amy Cheok
180 2nd St #1 – Oakland, CA 94607 – (510) 338-3570 – View Map
Selecting an provider should include more criteria than just a cheap quote. Before buying a policy in Oakland, get answers to these questions.
- How are claims handled?
- Do they prorate repair cost based on vehicle mileage?
- Is their price quote a firm figure or are their hidden costs?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Which companies can they place coverage with?
- Do they have 24-hour customer assistance?
The Subaru WRX Insurance Price Equation
An important part of buying insurance is that you know a few of the rating criteria that go into determining the level of your policy premiums. When consumers understand what determines base rates, this empowers consumers to make smart changes that can help you get cheaper rates. Many different elements are used in the calculation when pricing auto insurance. Some are pretty understandable like your driving record, but other criteria are less obvious like your continuous coverage and annual miles driven.
- Tickets inflate prices – Having a single driving citation can bump up the cost by as much as thirty percent. Drivers with clean records pay lower auto insurance prices than bad drivers. Drivers who have dangerous tickets like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may be required to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state’s licensing department in order to legally drive a vehicle.
- Men are more aggressive – Statistics have proven that females take fewer risks when driving. The data does not necessarily mean that women are BETTER drivers than men. They both cause fender benders in similar numbers, but the men have accidents that have higher claims. Men also tend to have more aggressive citations like DWI (DUI) or reckless driving.
- Lower stress equals lower rates – Careers such as lawyers, business owners, and emergency personnel tend to pay higher premiums than the average policyholder due to intense work requirements and lots of time spent away from family. On the flip side, jobs such as professors, engineers and homemakers have lower than average premiums.
- Performance affects costs – The performance level of the car or truck you need to insure makes a big difference in your auto insurance rates. Smaller low performance passenger models normally have pretty low rates, but that’s not the only thing that factors into the final price.
- Safer cars lower rates – Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. Vehicles engineered for safety help reduce the chance of injuries in an accident and fewer injuries translates into savings for insurance companies and thus lower rates.
- Qualify for multi-policy discounts – Most larger insurance companies give better rates to customers who carry more than one policy in the form of a multi-policy discount. Even with this discount applied, you may still want to get quotes from other companies to make sure you are getting the best deal.
- City traffic equals higher premiums – Residing in smaller towns and rural areas of the country has definite advantages when insuring your vehicles. People who live in big cities have to deal with more road rage incidents and a longer drive to work. Lower population means a lower chance of having an accident in addition to fewer liability claims.
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Subaru WRX statistical loss data – Companies analyze past claim statistics to help calculate a profitable premium rate. Vehicles that the data shows to have increased losses will have a higher premium rate. The information below illustrates the loss history for Subaru WRX vehicles.
For each policy coverage, the claim amount for all vehicles, regardless of make or model, is set at 100. Values under 100 indicate a favorable loss history, while percentages above 100 indicate frequent claims or tendency to have higher losses.
Subaru WRX Insurance Claim Statistics Vehicle Make and Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Subaru WRX 4WD 141 82 158 94 81 84 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEStatistics Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2013-2015 Model Years
Why you need to buy car insurance
Despite the fact that car insurance is not cheap in Oakland, insurance is required by state law in California and it also provides benefits you may not be aware of.
First, almost all states have minimum liability requirements which means the state requires specific minimum amounts of liability insurance in order to license the 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.
Second, if you have a loan on your WRX, it’s most likely the lender will require you to carry insurance to ensure loan repayment if the vehicle is totaled. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the lender may have to buy a policy to insure your Subaru at a significantly higher premium and require you to pay the higher price.
Third, car insurance preserves not only your Subaru WRX but also your financial assets. It will also pay for medical expenses for you, any passengers, and anyone 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 your vehicle suffers damage from an accident or hail, comprehensive and collision coverage will cover the repair costs.
The benefits of buying car insurance more than offset the price you pay, particularly if you ever have a claim. On average, a vehicle owner in Oakland is currently overpaying as much as $850 per year so it’s important to compare rates once a year at a minimum to make sure the price is not too high.
Best auto insurance in California
Choosing the right company is difficult considering how many choices you have in Oakland. The ranking data in the lists below could help you choose which auto insurance companies you want to consider putting your business with.
Top 10 Oakland Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Value
- USAA
- American Family
- The Hartford
- AAA of Southern California
- Titan Insurance
- The General
- AAA Insurance
- State Farm
- Mercury Insurance
- Nationwide
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
One last thing about your coverage
You just learned a lot of ways to save on Subaru WRX insurance in Oakland. It’s most important to understand that the more quotes you get, the higher your chance of finding low cost Oakland car insurance quotes. Consumers may even find the lowest rates are with some of the lesser-known companies. Some small companies often have lower auto insurance rates on specific markets than their larger competitors like Progressive and GEICO.
Budget-friendly car insurance in Oakland is available from both online companies and with local Oakland insurance agents, and you should compare rates from both in order to have the best chance of saving money. There are still a few companies who may not offer online price quotes and usually these smaller providers prefer to sell through independent agencies.
When buying insurance coverage, it’s a bad idea to buy poor coverage just to save money. There have been many cases where drivers have reduced comprehensive coverage or liability limits and discovered at claim time that the savings was not a smart move. Your strategy should be to find the BEST coverage at the best cost, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
Additional information can be read at these links:
- Tools for Teen Driving Safety (State Farm)
- What Car Insurance is Cheapest for Electric Cars in Oakland? (FAQ)
- How Much is Car Insurance for Drivers with Accidents in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance Quotes for College Graduates in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Vehicle Safety Ratings (iihs.org)
- Reducing Your Risks in a Car Crash Video (iihs.org)