If saving money is your primary concern, then the best way to get affordable Lincoln LS insurance in Oakland is to make a habit of regularly comparing prices from insurance carriers in California. You can compare prices by following these steps.
First, spend some time learning about how insurance companies determine prices and the things you can change to prevent expensive coverage. Many things that increase rates such as speeding tickets, accidents and an imperfect credit history can be amended by making minor changes in your lifestyle.
Second, request price quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct and exclusive agents can only give rate quotes from a single company like Progressive and State Farm, while agents who are independent can provide prices from multiple insurance companies.
Third, compare the quotes to the price on your current policy and determine if cheaper LS coverage 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 thing to point out is that you’ll want to make sure you compare identical deductibles and limits on each price quote and and to get price quotes from as many car insurance companies as possible. Doing this enables an apples-to-apples comparison and a complete rate analysis.
Unbelievable but true according to a study most drivers in California renewed their policy with the same company for well over three years, and 38% of customers have never compared rates with other companies. Consumers in America could save as much as $859 a year just by comparing rates, but they just don’t understand how easy it is to compare rate quotes online.
Quote Oakland Lincoln LS insurance online
All the larger insurance companies like 21st Century, Allstate and State Farm make it easy to get pricing from their websites. Doing online price comparisons for Lincoln LS insurance in Oakland is easy for anyone as all you need to do is type in your coverage information into the quote form. Once entered, their quoting system makes automated requests for reports for credit and driving violations and provides a quote based on these and other factors. This makes it simple to compare prices and it’s very important to do this if you want to get the best rate possible.
To quickly find out how much you can save on insurance, check out the insurance providers below. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you input your coverages identical to your current policy. This helps ensure you will have a fair comparison for similar insurance coverage.
The providers in the list below are ready to provide price quotes in California. To buy cheap auto insurance in Oakland, it’s a good idea that you visit as many as you can to find the most affordable auto insurance rates.
Insurance just makes sense
Even though it’s not necessarily cheap to insure a Lincoln in Oakland, insurance may be required for several reasons.
- Almost all states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means state laws require a minimum amount of liability insurance coverage 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.
- If you took out a loan on your vehicle, it’s guaranteed your bank will force you to have physical damage coverage to ensure they get paid if you total the vehicle. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the bank may buy a policy for your Lincoln at a much higher premium rate and force you to pay the higher premium.
- Insurance protects both your car and your assets. It will also reimburse you for hospital and medical expenses for both you and anyone you injure as the result of an accident. Liability coverage, the one required by state law, will also pay attorney fees if you are sued as the result of your driving. If your Lincoln gets damaged, your insurance policy will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance are without a doubt worth the cost, especially with large liability claims. As of last year, the average driver in California is overpaying over $865 each year so compare rates at least once a year to make sure the price is not too high.
You may qualify for discounts for Lincoln LS insurance in Oakland
Some insurers don’t always advertise all available discounts very well, so below is a list both the well known and the harder-to-find ways to save on auto insurance.
- Auto/Life Discount – Not all companies offer life insurance, but some may give you better prices if you take out life insurance.
- Discount for Swiching Early – A few larger companies offer discounts for signing up before your current LS insurance policy expires. You may see this discount when you get Oakland car insurance quotes online.
- No Accidents – Drivers who don’t have accidents can earn big discounts when compared with accident-prone drivers.
- Theft Prevention Discount – Vehicles that have factory alarm systems and tracking devices have a lower chance of being stolen and will qualify for a discount on a Oakland car insurance quote.
- Passive Restraint Discount – Factory options such as air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of more than 20%.
- Student Discounts – Getting good grades can get you a discount of up to 25%. Many companies even apply the discount to college students well after school through age 25.
- Discount for Multiple Policies – When you combine your auto and home insurance and place coverage with the same company they may give you a discount of 10% to 20% off each policy.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Drivers who always wear seat belts and also require passengers to buckle up before driving can save a little on the premium charged for medical payments and/or PIP.
Remember that most credits do not apply to your bottom line cost. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like liability, collision or medical payments. If you do the math and it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, companies don’t profit that way.
Some companies that may have most of these discounts include:
Before purchasing a policy, check with each company or agent which discounts you qualify for. Some discounts listed above may not be offered in Oakland. To view insurance companies who offer discounts in Oakland, click here to view.
You may need help from an insurance agency
A lot of people still like to talk to an insurance agent. Good insurance agents are very good at helping people manage risk and will help you if you have claims. The best thing about comparing rates online is you can get the best rates but also keep your business local. Buying from and supporting local agencies is especially important in Oakland.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this quick form, your insurance data is transmitted to participating agents in Oakland who will give you bids for your coverage. You won’t even need to leave your house since price quotes are sent directly to you. In the event you want to compare rates from a specific auto insurance provider, you would need to find their quoting web page to submit a rate quote request.
When searching for local Oakland agents, it helps to know the two different types of agents and how they function. Agencies in Oakland are considered either independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for. Either one can sell and service auto insurance coverage, but it’s good to learn the difference in the companies they write for because it can factor into your selection of an agent.
Independent Insurance Agents
Agents of this type are not restricted to one company so they can insure your vehicles through lots of different companies and find you the best rates. To transfer your coverage to a different company, your agent can just switch to a different company which makes it simple for you.
When comparing auto insurance rates, you will definitely want to compare quotes from a few independent agents to get the best comparison.
Shown below are Oakland independent insurance agents that may be able to give free rate quotes.
Fred Loya Insurance
1620 High St STE B – Oakland, CA 94601 – (510) 434-1801 – View Map
Fiesta Auto Insurance Center
4102 International Blvd – Oakland, CA 94601 – (510) 261-1300 – View Map
JCB Insurance Services
6427 Westover Dr – Oakland, CA 94611 – (510) 336-3490 – View Map
Exclusive Agents
Agents in the exclusive channel are contracted to one company and examples are Allstate, State Farm and Farmers Insurance. These agents are unable to provide prices from multiple companies so always compare other rates. These agents receive a lot of sales training on their products and sales techniques which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.
Shown below is a short list of exclusive insurance agents in Oakland that can give you comparison quotes.
Farmers Insurance – Anthony Sue
3333 Grand Ave #203 – Oakland, CA 94610 – (510) 465-1544 – View Map
State Farm Insurance – Oakland – Mat Dahms Agency
4400 Keller Ave #260 – Oakland, CA 94605 – (510) 636-1440 – View Map
Farmers Insurance – Lorraine Yip Yung
1168 Franklin St – Oakland, CA 94607 – (510) 832-5113 – View Map
Selecting an auto insurance agent should include more criteria than just a cheap quote. Agents should be asked these questions:
- Do they get paid more for recommending certain coverages?
- Does the agent have a valid license to sell insurance in California?
- Is every driver in your family covered?
- Do they specialize in personal lines coverage in Oakland?
- Do they prorate repair cost based on vehicle mileage?
- How many companies do they write for?
- Does their agency support local causes in Oakland?
- Will the agent help in case of a claim?
Persistence will pay off
When you buy Oakland car insurance online, never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are too many instances where an insured cut full coverage only to regret that it was a big error on their part. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
We just presented many ways to find cheap Lincoln LS insurance in Oakland. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote Oakland car insurance, the better chance you’ll have of finding affordable Oakland car insurance quotes. Consumers could even find that the biggest savings come from a lesser-known regional company. These smaller insurers can often provide lower prices in certain areas compared to the large companies like State Farm or Progressive.
Other resources
- Vehicle Size and Weight FAQ (iihs.org)
- What Car Insurance is Cheapest for Electric Cars in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Car Insurance for Active Military in Oakland? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Oakland Auto Insurance for College Students? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for a School Permit in Oakland? (FAQ)
- What are my Rights when Filing a Claim? (Insurance Information Institute)
- Information for Teen Drivers (GEICO)
- Choosing an Insurance Company (Insurance Information Institute)
- Side Impact Crash Tests (iihs.org)