Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance Rates for 17 Year Olds in Stockton?

For teen drivers, one of the more important considerations that are looked at to determine car insurance rates is where you keep your vehicle in Stockton. Areas with more people or even just a higher incidence of claims tend to pay more, whereas areas with less crime or weather claims get the luxury of paying less.

The following table sorts the most expensive places in California for 17 year olds to purchase a policy in. Stockton ranks #11 with an annual cost of $1,541 for the average policyholder, which is about $128 each month.

Rate quotes are estimated as the specific geographic location can revise price quotes noticeably.

The car, truck, or SUV to be insured is one of the largest factors when consumers are trying to find cheap car insurance for 17 year olds. Vehicles with high performance features, a lack of modern safety features, or high incidents of liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than safer, lower-performance models. The information below estimates coverage costs for a number of the most affordable vehicles to buy coverage for.

Data based on single female driver age 17, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, and claim-free. Price estimates do not factor in specific location information which can increase or decrease premium rates greatly.

Based upon the rates shown, we can expect models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Volkswagen Jetta are going to be some of the more affordable vehicles to insure for teen drivers. Prices will tend to be higher because of the fact that there is more claim exposure for 17 year olds, but generally speaking those models will most likely have the cheapest auto insurance rates that you are likely to find.

Determining which companies quote the lowest-priced insurance rates for 17 year olds calls for a bit more effort in order to find the best price. Every insurance company uses their own calculation to set premium rates, so let’s look at the rankings for the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in Stockton, CA.

It’s a good idea to know that Stockton insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially change the price you pay for coverage. Simply having a birthday, becoming a homeowner, or getting a speeding ticket can cause premium changes that can make some companies cheaper in comparison to the competition.

Best Insurance Companies for Teens

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USAA normally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Stockton at around $1,155 annually. This is $496 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide also make the cut as some of the most economical Stockton, CA car insurance companies.

As shown in the table above, if you are a policyholder with CSAA and switched to USAA, you may realize an annual savings of roughly $31. Drivers with Century National might save as much as $59 a year, and Nationwide insureds might realize rate reductions of up to $95 a year.

Be aware that those estimates are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a specific vehicle garaging location for 17 year olds. So the auto insurance company that can offer you the best price may not even be in the list above. That illustrates why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own individual information.

Full coverage or liability only

Saving on insurance is probably important to the majority of people, and one good way to reduce the cost of insurance for 17 year olds is to only buy liability coverage. The chart below illustrates the comparison of yearly insurance costs with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The prices are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied.

On average, comp and collision coverage costs an additional $3,385 per year over and above liability only. That is a large expense and it proposes the question when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no set guideline for excluding comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is 10% or more of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.

There are some situations where buying only liability insurance is not financially feasible. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage in order to prevent your loan from defaulting. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not consider dropping full coverage.

How accidents and tickets impact rates

One of the best ways to enjoy the best insurance premiums in Stockton for teen drivers is to pay attention while driving and avoid accidents and keep your driving record clean. The diagram below shows how traffic citations and at-fault claims can raise auto insurance costs for different insured age categories. Data assumes a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

In the previous chart, the average cost of car insurance in California per year with no violations or accidents is $1,948. Get two speeding tickets and the average cost swells to $2,776, an increase of $828 each year. Then include one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of insurance for 17 year olds goes up to an average of $3,605. That’s an increase of $1,657, or $138 per month, just for not keeping your driving record clean!

Buying coverage from the highest-rated insurance company is hard considering how many choices there are in Stockton. The company information in the next section may help you choose which car insurance providers you want to consider when comparing rate quotes. The ratings below only include major nationwide insurance companies, so companies that focus mainly on California business will not be included in these rankings.

Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Providers in Stockton Ranked by Customer Service

1. AAA of Southern California
2. GEICO
3. State Farm
4. The Hartford
5. Mercury Insurance
6. The General
7. Progressive
8. Allstate
9. AAA Insurance
10. American Family