Inconceivable but true, most car insurance buyers in California renewed their policy with the same company for well over three years, and roughly 40% of drivers have never compared quotes from other companies. Most drivers in America can save approximately 46.5% each year by just comparing rate quotes, but they just don’t understand how much money they would save if they just switched companies.
It takes a little time, but the best way to find lower priced auto insurance rates is to compare quotes once a year from insurance carriers who sell auto insurance in Oakland.
- Read about the different coverages in a policy and the things you can change to keep rates in check. Many things that result in higher prices like careless driving and a substandard credit score can be eliminated by making lifestyle changes or driving safer.
- Quote rates from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can give quotes from one company like GEICO or Farmers Insurance, while agents who are independent can give you price quotes from multiple insurance companies. View rates
- Compare the new quotes to your current policy premium and see if there is a cheaper rate in Oakland. If you can save some money and buy the policy, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
- Tell your current agent or company of your decision to cancel your current policy. Submit the signed application along with the required initial payment to your new carrier. Immediately upon receiving it, keep the new certificate verifying coverage in an accessible location in your vehicle.
The key thing to remember is that you’ll want to compare identical coverages on every price quote and and to analyze as many auto insurance providers as possible. Doing this provides a fair rate comparison and a thorough selection of prices.
These tips will help you learn how to compare rates easily and some tricks to saving. If you currently have car insurance, you should be able to cut your premiums using these tips. But California consumers can benefit by having an understanding of how insurance companies sell insurance online and use it to find better rates.
Most major insurance companies such as Allstate and Progressive make it easy to get insurance quotes on their websites. Comparing prices online for Audi A4 insurance in Oakland can be done by anyone as you simply enter the coverages you want as detailed in the form. Behind the scenes, their rating system makes automated requests for your driving record and credit report and gives you a price quote.
Being able to quote online for Audi A4 insurance in Oakland makes it easy to compare insurance prices and it is imperative to have as many quotes as possible if you want to find lower-cost rates.
In order to compare rates using this form now, visit the companies below or click here to submit a quote request to multiple companies at once. If you have a policy now, it’s recommended you type in your coverages exactly as shown on your declarations page. Using the same limits helps guarantee you will be getting a fair comparison based on identical coverages.
The companies shown below have been selected to offer quotes in California. If you want the best car insurance in California, it’s highly recommended you click on several of them to get the most affordable price.
Analysis of Audi A4 rates
The coverage table displayed below outlines estimates of insurance prices for Audi A4 models. Being more informed about how insurance prices are determined can be valuable when making decisions on the best policy coverages.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A4 2.0T Quattro Premium Turbo Station Wagon | $296 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,508 | $126 |
| A4 2.0T Premium Turbo 4-Dr Sedan | $296 | $562 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,422 | $119 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Premium Turbo 4-Dr Sedan | $296 | $562 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,422 | $119 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Premium Plus Turbo Station Wagon | $296 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,508 | $126 |
| A4 2.0T Premium Plus Turbo 4-Dr Sedan | $330 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,542 | $129 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Premium Plus Turbo 4-Dr Sedan | $330 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,542 | $129 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Premium Plus 4-Dr Sedan | $330 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,542 | $129 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Prestige Turbo Station Wagon | $330 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,542 | $129 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Prestige 4-Dr Sedan | $330 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,542 | $129 |
| A4 2.0T Quattro Prestige Turbo 4-Dr Sedan | $330 | $648 | $416 | $24 | $124 | $1,542 | $129 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Data based on married female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and safe-driver. Premium costs do not factor in vehicle garaging location which can affect rates greatly.
The diagram below shows how choosing a deductible and can increase or decrease Audi A4 insurance costs for each age group. The information is based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are applied.
Rate difference between full and liability-only coverage
The information below visualizes the comparison of Audi A4 insurance premiums with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The premiums are based on no violations or claims, $1,000 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
When to stop buying full coverage
There is no written rule to stop paying for comp and collision coverage, but there is a guideline you can use. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.
For example, let’s pretend your Audi A4 settlement value is $9,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, you would only receive $8,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If premium cost is more than $800 a year for your policy with full coverage, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
There are some situations where only buying liability is not recommended. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage in order to satisfy the requirements of the loan. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not opt for liability only.
Insurance just makes sense
Even though it’s not necessarily cheap to insure an Audi in Oakland, paying for insurance may not be optional for several reasons.
- Just about all states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means the state requires a specific level of liability insurance coverage in order to get the vehicle licensed. 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 lien on your Audi A4, more than likely the lender will make it mandatory that you carry insurance to ensure they get paid if you total the vehicle. If you do not keep the policy in force, the bank may buy a policy for your Audi for a lot more money and require you to fork over for the much more expensive policy.
- Insurance protects both your assets and your Audi. It will also cover medical expenses for yourself as well as anyone injured by you. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, also covers all legal expenses up to the policy limit if you are sued as the result of your driving. If you have damage to your Audi as the result of the weather or an accident, comprehensive (other-than-collision) and collision coverage will pay to repair the damage.
The benefits of having insurance are without a doubt worth the cost, particularly if you ever have a claim. An average driver in America overpays as much as $830 a year so you should quote your policy with other companies at every policy renewal to make sure the price is not too high.
How You Can Control Audi A4 Insurance Premiums
Lots of factors are considered when you get your auto insurance bill. A few of the factors are predictable such as your driving record, but others are less apparent such as whether you are married or how financially stable you are. Consumers need to have an understanding of some of the elements that play a part in calculating insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively impacts premium levels, this allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to lower premium levels.
- Marriage discount – Walking down the aisle can get you a discount compared to being single. Marriage means you’re more mature and responsible and statistics prove married drivers tend to file fewer claims.
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Fast cars cost more to insure – The make and model of the vehicle you are buying insurance for makes a substantial difference in your rates. The lowest performance passenger cars normally have pretty low rates, but other factors influence the final cost greatly.
The following data uses these assumptions: single male driver age 40, full coverage with $500 deductibles, and no discounts or violations. It compares Audi A4 rates compared to other makes and models that have a range of performance risks.
- Eliminate extra policy coverages – Insurance companies have many optional add-on coverages that can add up if you aren’t diligent. Add-on coverages like rental car coverage, accidental death, and additional equipment coverage may be wasting your money. The coverages may be enticing initially, but if they’re wasting money eliminate them to save money.
- Use one insurance company and save – Most major insurers allow lower prices to customers that buy multiple policies such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. The discount can be ten percent or more. Even if you’re getting this discount drivers will still want to comparison shop to guarantee you are still saving the most.
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Audi A4 claim probability – Insurers factor in historical loss data to help set a rate to offset losses. Models that the data determines to have higher claim frequency or loss amount will cost more for coverage. The next table illustrates the actual insurance loss data for Audi A4 vehicles.
For each type of coverage, the statistical loss for all vehicles averaged together is represented as 100. Values that are below 100 suggest a positive loss record, while numbers above 100 point to more frequent losses or tendency to have higher losses.
Audi A4 Insurance Loss Statistics Vehicle Make and Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Audi A4 4dr 2WD 179 107 103 80 112 100 Audi A4 4dr 4WD 160 94 118 66 68 77 Audi A4 Allroad Station Wagon 4WD 145 84 110 47 47 70 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEStatistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Discounts for cheaper insurance rates
Companies offering auto insurance don’t necessarily list every discount very clearly, so below is a list some of the best known and the harder-to-find discounts that may be available.
- Government Employees – Simply working for the federal government could provide a small rate reduction depending on your insurance provider.
- Discount for Good Grades – Excelling in school can save 20 to 25%. Many companies even apply the discount to college students until age 25.
- Cautious Driver Discounts – Drivers who avoid accidents can save as much as half off their rates than drivers with accidents.
- Seat Belt Usage – Using a seat belt and requiring all passengers to buckle their seat belts may be able to save a few bucks on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
- Lower Rates for Military – Having a family member in the military can result in better rates.
- Drive Less and Save – Driving fewer miles could earn lower rates due to less chance of an accident.
- Driver’s Ed – Require your teen driver to successfully take a driver’s education course as it can save substantially.
- E-sign – Some companies will provide an incentive shop Oakland auto insurance on your computer.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – If paying your policy premium upfront instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – This one is not really a discount per se, but certain companies will forgive one accident before they charge you more for coverage if you have no claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
One thing to note about discounts is that many deductions do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only reduce individual premiums such as comprehensive or collision. Despite the fact that it seems like all the discounts add up to a free policy, insurance companies wouldn’t stay in business.
The chart below shows the comparison of Audi A4 auto insurance rates with and without some available policy discounts. The data is based on a female driver, no claims, a clean driving record, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with safe-driver, multi-car, marriage, multi-policy, homeowner, and claim-free discounts applied.
Companies and some of their more popular discounts are:
- Progressive offers discounts including online quote discount, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, online signing, homeowner, and continuous coverage.
- AAA may include discounts for education and occupation, AAA membership discount, multi-policy, multi-car, good driver, and good student.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts for youthful driver, homeowner, switch companies, good student, distant student, teen driver, and pay in full.
- GEICO discounts include multi-policy, seat belt use, military active duty, five-year accident-free, and anti-lock brakes.
- Esurance has discounts for good student, multi-car, claim free, anti-lock brakes, homeowner, and defensive driver.
- SAFECO offers premium reductions for homeowner, bundle discounts, teen safe driver, anti-lock brakes, anti-theft, and safe driver.
- State Farm may have discounts that include good driver, Steer Clear safe driver discount, defensive driving training, multiple policy, good student, and Drive Safe & Save.
It’s a good idea to ask each company to give you their best rates. Discounts might not apply in your state. To see a list of insurance companies that provide some of the discounts listed above in Oakland, follow this link.
Insurance agents can help
When it comes to coverage for your vehicles, there really isn’t a perfect coverage plan. Everyone’s needs are different.
Here are some questions about coverages that may help highlight if your situation may require specific advice.
- Is my trailer covered?
- Should I file a claim if it’s only slightly more than my deductible?
- Does coverage follow the driver or the vehicle?
- Is business property covered if stolen from my car?
- Why am I required to buy high-risk coverage?
- Can I use my car for my catering business?
- Can I rate high risk drivers on liability-only vehicles?
- I have good health insurance, so how much medical payments coverage do I need?
- I don’t drive much so do I pay less?
- Should I buy only the required California minimum liability coverage?
If you can’t answer these questions but you think they might apply to your situation then you might want to talk to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form.
Neighborhood Oakland auto insurance agents
Many drivers just prefer to talk to an insurance agent and that is OK! One of the benefits of getting free rate quotes online is you can get better rates and still choose a local agent. And supporting neighborhood insurance agencies is important particularly in Oakland.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this short form, the quote information gets sent to companies in Oakland who will give you quotes for your auto insurance coverage. There is no need to find an agent on your own since rate quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. You’ll get the best rates and work with a local agent. In the event you want to quote rates for a specific company, don’t hesitate to find their quoting web page and submit a quote form there.
If you want to use a local Oakland insurance agent, there are a couple of different types of agents and how they differ in how they quote coverages. Agencies in Oakland can either be independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for.
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Agents that choose to be independent are not limited to a single company so they can insure your vehicles with a variety of different insurance companies and find the cheapest auto insurance rates. To transfer your coverage to a different company, an independent agent can move your coverage and you don’t have to switch agencies. If you need lower rates, it’s a good idea to get some free quotes from independent agents to have the most options to choose from. Many independent agencies also insure through small mutual carriers that may provide cheaper auto insurance rates.
Listed below is a small list of independent agents in Oakland that may be able to provide free price quotes.
- Bucheku Insurance Agency
1714 Franklin St Suite 305 – Oakland, CA 94612 – (510) 655-6969 – View Map - JCB Insurance Services
6427 Westover Dr – Oakland, CA 94611 – (510) 336-3490 – View Map - All Purpose Insurance Agency
5857 MacArthur Blvd – Oakland, CA 94605 – (510) 382-1900 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agents
Exclusive agencies work for only one company like AAA, State Farm, Farmers Insurance, and Allstate. Exclusive agencies are unable to shop your coverage around so it’s a take it or leave it situation. They are usually well trained on their company’s products and that allows them to sell at a higher price point. A lot of people use the same exclusive agent primarily because of high brand loyalty and strong financial ratings.
Below is a short list of exclusive agents in Oakland willing to provide comparison quotes.
- Frank Sanchez – State Farm Agent
5301 Claremont Ave – Oakland, CA 94618 – (510) 658-2722 – View Map - Farmers Insurance: Patrick Siu
993 Jackson St – Oakland, CA 94607 – (510) 350-7829 – View Map - Ken Bullock – State Farm Insurance Agent
4490 Piedmont Ave – Oakland, CA 94611 – (510) 658-9616 – View Map
Finding a good insurance agency should include more criteria than just the premium amount. Any agent in Oakland should be forthright in answering these questions:
- What company holds the largest book of business for them?
- Do they have adequate Errors and Omissions coverage? This protects you if they make a mistake.
- Do you need full coverage on every vehicle?
- Do they write coverage based solely on cost?
- Do they reduce claim amounts on high mileage vehicles?
- Do they offer accident forgiveness?
Once you have received good feedback to your questions and a low price estimate, you have narrowed it down to a car insurance agent that will properly insure your vehicles.
Don’t give up on cheap rates
When searching for affordable Oakland auto insurance quotes, never reduce needed coverages to save money. In many cases, an insured dropped full coverage to discover at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your focus should be to find the BEST coverage at the best price and still be able to protect your assets.
Lower-priced insurance in Oakland is possible from both online companies in addition to many Oakland insurance agents, and you need to comparison shop both to have the best chance of lowering rates. There are still a few companies who may not provide online rate quotes and many times these small, regional companies work with local independent agents.
People change insurance companies for a number of reasons such as policy cancellation, being labeled a high risk driver, lack of trust in their agent and even delays in paying claims. It doesn’t matter what your reason, finding a great new company is actually quite simple.
Additional detailed information can be found at these sites:
- Choosing an Insurance Company (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates for a Chevrolet Equinox in Oakland? (FAQ)
- What Car Insurance is Cheapest for Unemployed Drivers in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Oakland Auto Insurance Rates for Drivers with Good Credit? (FAQ)
- How Much are Auto Insurance Rates for a Nissan Altima in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes for a Ford Escape in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance Quotes for a Hyundai Elantra in Oakland? (FAQ)
- What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers Requiring a SR22 in Oakland? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for Uninsured Drivers in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Comprehensive Coverage (Liberty Mutual)
- Distracted Driving Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)