The words “low-priced” and “auto insurance” really don’t belong together, specifically when searching for the best insurance rates for good students. To save some money, let’s lead off by showing you some things that significantly impact car insurance prices, and find a way to lower the cost of the next policy you buy.
One of the more important things that are looked at to help calculate auto insurance rates is where you keep your vehicle in Stockton. Areas with increased crime or more people tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims have the benefit of cheaper auto insurance prices.
The next table lists the most expensive areas in California for good students to buy auto insurance in. Stockton ranks #7 with the yearly price of $1,603 for the average insured, which is about $134 each month.
Rank | City | Annual Premium |
---|---|---|
1 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
2 | Glendale | $2,058 |
3 | Oakland | $1,738 |
4 | Sacramento | $1,720 |
5 | San Francisco | $1,711 |
6 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
7 | Stockton | $1,603 |
8 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
9 | Santa Clarita | $1,580 |
10 | Fontana | $1,566 |
11 | Garden Grove | $1,554 |
12 | Modesto | $1,532 |
13 | Moreno Valley | $1,506 |
14 | Riverside | $1,497 |
15 | Fresno | $1,472 |
16 | Santa Ana | $1,439 |
17 | Anaheim | $1,430 |
18 | Fremont | $1,403 |
19 | San Jose | $1,381 |
20 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
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Rate information is approximated as the specific Stockton residence address can change insurance rates greatly.
The vehicle model requiring insurance is one of the primary factors when looking for economical coverage for good students. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, advanced safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost less to insure than adrenaline junky models.
The next table showcases auto insurance premiums for a handful of the most budget-friendly automobiles to insure in California.
Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $4,372 |
Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $4,381 |
Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $4,372 |
Toyota Prius | $4,732 |
Ford F-150 XL Super Cab 2WD | $4,868 |
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $4,910 |
Chevrolet Impala LS | $5,145 |
Toyota RAV4 2WD | $5,187 |
Volkswagen Jetta LE 4-Dr Sedan | $5,195 |
Chevrolet Malibu LS | $5,187 |
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $5,193 |
GMC Sierra SLE Crew Cab 2WD | $5,187 |
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $5,229 |
Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $5,236 |
Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $5,419 |
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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. Rate information does not factor in vehicle location which can alter prices greatly.
Based on these rates, you can see that cars like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, and Ford F-150 are likely to be some of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for student drivers.
Discounts on Stockton auto insurance
Insurers that offer coverage for good students could also offer price discounts that can reduce rates by as much as 35% or more if you meet specific criteria. The best car insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts can be found below.
- Progressive may include discounts for multi-policy, continuous coverage, online quote discount, multi-vehicle, and good student.
- Farmers Insurance offers discounts for homeowner, business and professional, bundle discounts, pay in full, electronic funds transfer, and alternative fuel.
- Farm Bureau discounts include multi-policy, 55 and retired, multi-vehicle, youthful driver, good student, safe driver, and driver training.
- State Farm may offer discounts for defensive driving training, Drive Safe & Save, student away at school, good student, passive restraint, driver’s education, and accident-free.
- GEICO has discounts for air bags, defensive driver, membership and employees, anti-theft, driver training, emergency military deployment, and military active duty.
- SAFECO has savings for drive less, accident prevention training, anti-theft, bundle discounts, teen safety rewards, anti-lock brakes, and safe driver.
- Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including new move discount, safety features, teen driver discount, newly married, multi-car, and exclusive group savings.
The chart below compares auto insurance rates with and without discounts. The rate quotes are based on a female driver, no tickets, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $250 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second shows the rates with anti-theft, continuous coverage, passive restraint, paid-in-full, paperless filing, and vehicle safety discounts applied. With discounts applied, theaverage amount saved on car insurance for good students is 28% or $1,034.
The example below shows how choosing a deductible can increase or decrease annual premium costs when researching cheap insurance for good students. The premium estimates are based on a single female driver, full coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.
A 30-year-old driver could cut expenses by $400 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $604 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, such as the Age 20 example, could drop their prices up to $888 or more just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage.
If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it is important to have spare funds to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some people from using high deductibles.
Cost difference between full coverage and liability
Buying cheaper car insurance is probably important to most people, and a good way to pay lower rates for insurance for good students is to buy only liability coverage. The chart below shows the difference between premium costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The premium estimates are based on a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are applied.
If averaged out across all ages, physical damage coverage costs $2,525 per year over liability only. At some point, every insured wonders if it’s a good idea to buy full coverage. There is no clear-cut rule to drop comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of having full coverage is 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s settlement value is $9,000 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, you would only receive $8,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying over $800 a year for physical damage coverage, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
There are some scenarios where only buying liability is not in your best interest. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you must maintain physical damage coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest in the vehicle. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should not eliminate full coverage.
Comparing rates can save you money
California car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that can increase the price of coverage. Simply improving your credit, buying a home, or getting a few speeding tickets can cause premium changes that can cause some rates to be affordable when they were higher priced.
In addition to those changes, insurers file new California car insurance rates multiple times each year to help ensure profitability. A period of increased losses can cause rate increases, while long-term profits may result in lower-cost Stockton car insurance rates.
As an example, the graph below shows which company has the cheapest car insurance in Stockton, CA for a 30-year-old female driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and good financial standing. If we look at prices based on her current risk profile, USAA offers the cheapest car insurance rates in Stockton at $1,384 a year. This is $267 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Century National, Wawanesa, CSAA, and Nationwide round out the rest of the most affordable Stockton, CA auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from the first example a chargeable claim, slightly worse credit, and a traffic citation. Since each auto insurance company uses their own formula for setting rates, comparing quotes may now present a different set of companies as shown below.
Grange now has the cheapest rate in Stockton with Progressive, Allstate, GEICO, and Mercury now being in the top five. This example proves why California drivers need to do a thorough rate comparison when trying to find affordable insurance quotes for good students.
Car insurance prices are determined by many factors and change dramatically, so the lowest-price company the last time you checked may now cost much more than other companies.