One of the many considerations that are looked at to help calculate insurance cost is where you normally keep your vehicle. Areas with more people or higher crime rates tend to have more expensive auto insurance rates, whereas areas with less congestion have the luxury of lower rates.
The information below rates the highest-priced areas in California for high risk drivers to buy car insurance in. Irvine is listed at #24 with an annual cost of $1,330 for the average insured, which is about $111 monthly.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,083 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,079 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,745 |
| 4 | Oakland | $1,687 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,644 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 8 | Stockton | $1,603 |
| 9 | Garden Grove | $1,570 |
| 10 | Santa Clarita | $1,533 |
| 11 | Fontana | $1,519 |
| 12 | Fresno | $1,517 |
| 13 | Moreno Valley | $1,506 |
| 14 | Modesto | $1,502 |
| 15 | Santa Ana | $1,497 |
| 16 | Riverside | $1,497 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,474 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,437 |
| 19 | Huntington Beach | $1,402 |
| 20 | Bakersfield | $1,394 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | ||
Premium amounts are approximated as the specific Irvine residence address can raise or lower price quotes greatly.
The vehicle model that needs insurance is probably the largest consideration when shopping around for economical coverage for high risk drivers. Vehicles with reasonable performance levels, advanced safety features, or a track record of few liability claims will cost significantly less to insure than fast, unsafe models. The table below illustrates coverage costs for some of the cheapest automobiles to insure in California.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $3,200 |
| Toyota Prius | $3,250 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $3,279 |
| Ford Edge SE 2WD | $3,381 |
| Honda Odyssey LX | $3,390 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Regular Cab 4WD | $3,537 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $3,572 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $3,574 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $3,581 |
| Dodge Ram 3500 Crew Cab Laramie 2WD | $3,610 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $3,736 |
| Chevrolet Impala LTZ | $3,744 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD | $3,743 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $3,752 |
| Ford Fusion Sport 4-Dr Sedan | $3,772 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $3,780 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $3,789 |
| Ford F-150 Lariat Crew Cab Platinum 4WD | $3,805 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $3,836 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $3,888 |
| Toyota Corolla S | $3,911 |
| Toyota Camry XLE | $3,916 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ AWD | $3,949 |
| Start Your Quote Go | |
Data based on single female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, homeowner, and multi-policy. Premium amounts do not factor in specific location information which can affect coverage rates significantly.
Looking at the rates, you can infer that cars like the Ford Escape, Toyota Prius, and Honda CR-V are most likely to be some of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for high risk drivers. The cost of a car insurance policy will tend to be higher because of the fact that there is more inherent risk for high risk drivers, but generally speaking those particular models will most likely have the cheapest auto insurance rates compared to other vehicles.
Does it make sense to buy full coverage?
Reducing premiums for car insurance is the goal of most vehicle owners, and one common way to find cheap insurance for high risk drivers is to not buy full coverage. The example below compares annual premium costs with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The rates are based on no claims or driving citations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
Averaged for all age groups, comp and collision coverage costs $2,467 per year more than just insuring for liability. That brings up the question if you should buy full coverage. There is no set rule of when to exclude full coverage on your policy, but there is a general convention. If the annual cost of having full coverage is about 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
There are a few cases where only buying liability is not recommended. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest in the vehicle. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should keep full coverage.
Get discounts on Irvine auto insurance rates
Auto insurance companies that offer quotes for high risk drivers may also provide rate discounts that may potentially lower prices by 25% or more if you can meet the requirements. Larger car insurance companies and the discounts they provide include:
- GEICO offers discounts for five-year accident-free, anti-lock brakes, air bags, membership and employees, and multi-policy.
- SAFECO discounts include teen safety rewards, anti-lock brakes, anti-theft, homeowner, safe driver, teen safe driver, and multi-car.
- State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including anti-theft, good student, multiple policy, good driver, and Steer Clear safe driver discount.
- MetLife has savings for multi-policy, good student, good driver, accident-free, defensive driver, claim-free
- 21st Century may offer discounts for defensive driver, driver training, anti-lock brakes, good student, theft prevention, teen driver, and air bags.
- Progressive may include discounts for online quote discount, homeowner, online signing, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and good student.
The chart below shows the difference between auto insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the rates. The premiums assume a female driver, one at-fault accident and three violations, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with paid-in-full, multiple policy, homeowner, passive restraint, vehicle safety, and marriage discounts applied. With discounts applied, theaverage amount saved on car insurance for high risk drivers is 28% or $1,242.
Buying coverage from the highest-rated company can be difficult considering how many choices you have in Irvine. The company rank data below can help you choose which insurers to look at when comparing insurance rates for high risk drivers. These rankings only include large, nationwide insurance companies, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in California are not taken into consideration for this list.
| 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 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
The benefit of shopping around
Irvine car insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the policy premium. Improving your credit rating, buying a new vehicle, or getting a ticket for running a stop sign may generate price changes that can now make some companies affordable when they were higher priced. And not only may your rating factors change, but insurance companies file new California car insurance rates as often as every quarter to adjust for gains or losses. Unexpectedly high claims may result in rate hikes, while lower claim expenses can result in cheaper Irvine car insurance rates.
The data below shows the cheapest car insurance in Irvine, CA for a 40-year-old female driver with no violations or accidents, and a decent credit rating. If we estimate prices based on her current rating profile, USAA offers the lowest car insurance rates in Irvine at $1,189 per year. This is $462 less than the average price paid by California drivers of $1,651. CSAA, Wawanesa, Century National, and Nationwide are also on the list of the cheapest Irvine, CA auto insurance companies.
In the next rate comparison, we’ll give the driver in the first chart a chargeable accident, poor credit, and a few traffic violations. Because every insurance company uses a different method for filing rates in each state, getting updated rate quotes may now show a different ranking of cheap Irvine auto insurance companies as shown below.
Grange now has the best insurance rate in Irvine with Allstate, GEICO, Allied, and Progressive also being competitive. This example illustrates why it is so important to perform an extensive rate comparison when trying to get the best auto insurance quotes for high risk drivers. Insurance rates are determined by many risk factors and change dramatically, so the most affordable company a year ago may now be quite expensive.