For safe drivers, one of the more important factors that aid in calculating the annual cost of car insurance is where your residence is. Areas with increased crime or more people tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents have the benefit of cheaper car insurance.
The next table rates the most expensive areas in California for good drivers to buy car insurance in. Los Angeles is ranked #1 with an annual premium of $2,104 for coverage, which is about $175 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,058 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,763 |
| 4 | Oakland | $1,687 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,578 |
| 8 | Fontana | $1,566 |
| 9 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 10 | Santa Clarita | $1,533 |
| 11 | Riverside | $1,527 |
| 12 | Garden Grove | $1,508 |
| 13 | Fresno | $1,502 |
| 14 | Moreno Valley | $1,491 |
| 15 | Modesto | $1,487 |
| 16 | Anaheim | $1,474 |
| 17 | Santa Ana | $1,453 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,423 |
| 19 | Huntington Beach | $1,416 |
| 20 | Fremont | $1,389 |
| 21 | Irvine | $1,384 |
| 22 | Bakersfield | $1,381 |
| 23 | San Diego | $1,381 |
| 24 | Oxnard | $1,344 |
| 25 | Chula Vista | $1,337 |
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Rate information is approximated as the garaging address in Los Angeles can decrease or increase insurance rates noticeably.
Establishing which company offers the cheapest auto insurance rates for good drivers will involve a little more effort in order to find a policy that fits your budget. Each auto insurer uses their own method for setting prices, so to begin we’ll rank the auto insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in Los Angeles.
Compare Cheap Insurance Quotes for Good Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,143 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,178 |
| 4 | Nationwide | $1,213 |
| 5 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,338 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Allstate | $1,513 |
| 9 | GEICO | $1,513 |
| 10 | Mercury | $1,533 |
| 11 | Progressive | $1,558 |
| 12 | Allied | $1,588 |
| 13 | MetLife | $1,606 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,623 |
| 15 | State Farm | $1,682 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,699 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,756 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,777 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,842 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,026 |
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USAA quotes some of the best car insurance rates in Los Angeles at around $1,143 a year. This is $508 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA also qualify as some of the best Los Angeles, CA auto insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you buy coverage from Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you may realize an annual savings of roughly $14. Insureds with Century National might save as much as $35 a year, and Nationwide policyholders might lower prices by up to $70 a year.
To find out how your current rates compare, click here to get quotes or quote rates from the companies below.
It’s important to note that these rates are averaged for all drivers and vehicles in California and do not take into consideration a specific location for good drivers. So the company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That emphasizes why you need to get rate quotes from many companies using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
Rate increases following a ticket or accident
In a perfect world, the ideal way to get low auto insurance prices for safe drivers is to drive safe and avoid at-fault accidents and violations. The example below demonstrates how speeding tickets and at-fault accidents can raise insurance prices for different categories of driver ages. The data is based on a single male driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no additional discounts are factored in.
The data above shows the average cost of an auto insurance policy in California per year with no accidents or violations is $3,444. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost swells to $3,880, an increase of $436 each year. Now throw in two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of auto insurance for good drivers jumps again to an average of $7,525. That’s an increase of $4,081, or $340 per month, just for not being a responsible driver!
The diagram below shows how different deductible levels can raise or lower insurance rates when researching cheap insurance for good drivers. The costs are based on a married male driver, full coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.
A 30-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $476 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $718 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the 20-year-old category, could potentially save up to $1,434 or more by using a higher deductible.
When increasing deductibles, it will be required to have enough spare savings to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one shortcoming of high deductibles.
The importance of comparing Los Angeles car insurance rates
California auto insurance rates are based on many factors that can increase the cost of having a policy. Improving your credit score, having a teenage driver, or getting a speeding ticket can trigger changes in premium that can make some companies more affordable than others. Not only that, but insurance companies change rates multiple times each year to adjust for heavy claims or excess profits. An extended period of higher than normal claims can result in rate hikes, while a better loss history can cause lower-cost Los Angeles car insurance rates.
For instance, the graph below shows a variety of companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Los Angeles, CA for a 45-year-old male driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and a good credit rating. If we estimate rates based on his current risk profile, USAA has the cheapest car insurance rates in Los Angeles at $1,929 a year. This is $278 more than the average price paid by California drivers of $1,651. Century National, Wawanesa, CSAA, and Nationwide round out the rest of the cheapest Los Angeles, CA auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first chart an accident claim, bad credit, and a few traffic violations. Since every car insurance company uses a different method to set policy rates, comparing quotes may now show a different set of the cheapest companies as shown below.
Grange now has the cheapest rate in Los Angeles with Mercury, GEICO, Progressive, and Allstate now being in the top five. This example shows why it is crucial to compare lots of rates when trying to find cheap car insurance rates for good drivers. Auto insurance prices are impacted by many different factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the most affordable company three years ago may now be one of the more expensive options.