The words “bargain” and “insurance” really shouldn’t be used together, especially when trying to find the best car insurance for drivers with accidents. Because of the high cost, let’s teach you a few of the factors that significantly impact car insurance premiums, and find some ways to reduce the cost of the next policy you buy.
Figuring out which company offers the lowest-priced insurance rates for drivers with accidents involves a bit more work in order to find coverage that fits your budget. Each auto insurance company uses different criteria to set premium rates, so let’s examine the insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in California.
It’s a good idea to know that Oakland, CA insurance rates are impacted by many things that will increase or decrease the policy price. Simply having a birthday, buying a different home, or having an accident can produce rate changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than competitors.
Cheapest Insurance Rates for Accident Prone Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,155 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,192 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,214 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,263 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,366 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,491 |
| 8 | GEICO | $1,529 |
| 9 | Mercury | $1,533 |
| 10 | Allied | $1,541 |
| 11 | Progressive | $1,542 |
| 12 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 13 | MetLife | $1,590 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,623 |
| 15 | Esurance | $1,705 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 17 | State Farm | $1,750 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,795 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,842 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,946 |
| View More Rates Go | ||
USAA normally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Oakland at around $1,155 a year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide would also be considered some of the best Oakland, CA car insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you currently have coverage with Century National and switched to USAA, you might achieve savings of about $59. Policyholders with CSAA could save as much as $67 a year, and Nationwide customers might lower prices by up to $108 a year.
Remember that these premiums are averaged across all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a vehicle location for drivers with accidents. So the company that has the cheapest price for you may not even be in the top 24 companies shown above. That affirms the importance of why you need to compare rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
For drivers with at-fault accidents, one of the largest things that aid in calculating auto insurance rates is where you choose to live in Oakland. Areas with more people or more claims tend to pay more, whereas areas with lower crime rates and fewer weather claims benefit from having to pay less for coverage.
The next table lists the priciest cities in California for drivers with accidents to purchase car insurance in. Oakland makes the list at #5 with a yearly premium of $1,704 for the average policyholder, which is about $142 per month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,168 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,058 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,745 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,720 |
| 5 | Oakland | $1,704 |
| 6 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 7 | Stockton | $1,603 |
| 8 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 9 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
| 10 | Garden Grove | $1,570 |
| 11 | Santa Clarita | $1,548 |
| 12 | Moreno Valley | $1,536 |
| 13 | Modesto | $1,532 |
| 14 | Fresno | $1,502 |
| 15 | Santa Ana | $1,497 |
| 16 | Riverside | $1,482 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,474 |
| 18 | Huntington Beach | $1,416 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,395 |
| 20 | Fremont | $1,389 |
| 21 | Irvine | $1,384 |
| 22 | San Diego | $1,381 |
| 23 | Chula Vista | $1,350 |
| 24 | Bakersfield | $1,340 |
| 25 | Oxnard | $1,304 |
| Find the Best Rates Go | ||
Table data uses approximated as specific Oakland garaging address can change coverage prices greatly.
California insurance companies ranked
Buying coverage from the highest-rated auto insurance provider is hard considering how many companies there are in Oakland. The information in the next section may help you pick which car insurance providers you want to consider shopping your coverage with.
These ratings are only made up of companies who write in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies will not be included in these rankings. To compare prices from these top insurers and more, click this link.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USAA | 98 | 100 | 100 | 94% | A++ | 98.6 |
| American Family | 98 | 89 | 100 | 86% | A | 95.4 |
| AAA of Southern California | 91 | 94 | 97 | 92% | A+ | 94.1 |
| State Farm | 88 | 93 | 96 | 90% | A++ | 92.4 |
| The Hartford | 94 | 92 | 90 | 89% | A+ | 91.7 |
| AAA Insurance | 88 | 89 | 95 | 91% | A | 91.2 |
| GEICO | 84 | 93 | 93 | 89% | A++ | 90.3 |
| The General | 89 | 91 | 89 | 88% | A- | 90 |
| Titan Insurance | 90 | 87 | 91 | 95% | A+ | 89.6 |
| Progressive | 84 | 91 | 93 | 87% | A+ | 89.5 |
| Mercury Insurance | 88 | 91 | 90 | 85% | A+ | 89.4 |
| Allstate | 85 | 90 | 92 | 88% | A+ | 89.3 |
| Nationwide | 87 | 88 | 84 | 90% | A+ | 88.7 |
| Liberty Mutual | 84 | 87 | 93 | 88% | A | 88.5 |
| 21st Century | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88% | A | 86.7 |
| Esurance | 85 | 80 | 95 | 87% | A+ | 85.9 |
| Safeco | 85 | 85 | 85 | 86% | A | 85.8 |
| Travelers | 80 | 87 | 87 | 83% | A++ | 85.2 |
| Farmers Insurance | 78 | 87 | 88 | 79% | A | 84.3 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Full coverage versus liability only rates
Paying less for insurance is important to most vehicle owners, and one of the quickest ways to pay less for insurance for drivers with accidents is to only buy liability insurance. The example below illustrates the comparison of insurance rates when comparing full coverage to liability only. The costs are based on a clean driving record, no claims, $250 deductibles, single marital status, and no policy discounts are applied.
If averaged out across all ages, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $2,314 per year more than just buying liability only. Many people question if buying full coverage is worth the money. There isn’t a written rule that works best for making the decision to drop comp and collision coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is about 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s replacement cost is $8,500 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, you would only receive $7,500 after paying your deductible. If you are currently paying more than $750 annually for comprehensive and collision coverage, then you might consider buying liability only.
The importance of shopping around
Oakland, CA insurance rates are based on many factors that control the policy premium. Turning one year older, buying a different home, or having an at-fault accident can trigger changes in premium that can cause some rates to be cheaper than competitors.
Not only that, but insurers file new California auto insurance rates at least once a year as an adjustment for underwriting gains or losses. Higher than normal claims can result in higher prices, while less frequent claims can produce lower-priced Oakland car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the bar chart below shows the company with the cheapest car insurance in Oakland, CA for a 45-year-old male driver with no accidents or violations, and a decent credit rating. If we estimate rates based on his current risk profile, USAA has the best car insurance rates in Oakland at $1,443 annually. This is $208 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide are also on the list of the cheapest Oakland, CA auto insurance companies.
Now let’s give the driver from the first example an accident claim, a little lower credit rating, and a blemish on his driving record. Since each auto insurer has a different process to set premium rates, comparing rates may now result in a different set of the cheapest car insurance companies in Oakland as shown below.
Grange now has the lowest car insurance rate in Oakland, CA with Mercury, Progressive, GEICO, and Allstate now being in the top five. This example illustrates why it is so important to perform an extensive rate comparison to get the cheapest auto insurance rates for drivers with accidents.
Prices are influenced by many different factors and change substantially, so the cheapest company three years ago may now be priced much higher than other options.
The insurance agencies listed below can help you determine which auto insurance policy would work best for you, since lots of drivers aren’t clear which coverage they need and would like to have the advice of a professional agent when shopping for the best coverage for drivers with accidents. It’s not always easy to find coverage yourself, and professional agents can give you comfort knowing your policy gives you sufficient coverage at claim time.
To find an auto insurance agency close to where you live, click the button following the list.
- Farmers Insurance – Kim McGuire Reid
4323 Piedmont Ave – Oakland, CA 94611 – (510) 428-2016 - Farmers Insurance: Howard Ruud
5956 MacArthur Blvd – Oakland, CA 94605 – (510) 635-0608 - Farmers Insurance – Scott Halbrook
1433 Leimert Blvd – Oakland, CA 94602 – (510) 531-1432 - State Farm: Grantland Bailey
2115 MacArthur Blvd – Oakland, CA 94602 – (510) 482-7700