You have most likely watched the catchy advertisements from companies like Allstate and Liberty Mutual guaranteeing the cheapest rates. So drivers should just pick the one with the best commercial, right?
It’s just not that easy, however, as there are a lot of unknown aspects like how experienced of a driver you are, if you have ever had a gap in coverage, and your credit rating. The content below will cover the best ways to avoid paying too much and will give you a good beginning to your quest for cheaper car insurance in Irvine.
One of the many criteria that determine the annual cost of car insurance is the neighborhood you call home in Irvine. Areas with high crime rates or more dense population tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims receive better rates.
The table below ranks the highest-priced areas in California for welfare recipients to buy car insurance in. Irvine shows up at #24 having an annual price of $1,330 for the average insured, which is around $111 monthly.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,121 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,745 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,720 |
| 5 | Oakland | $1,704 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,644 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 8 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 9 | Garden Grove | $1,554 |
| 10 | Riverside | $1,542 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 12 | Santa Clarita | $1,533 |
| 13 | Fresno | $1,517 |
| 14 | Modesto | $1,502 |
| 15 | Moreno Valley | $1,491 |
| 16 | Santa Ana | $1,483 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,430 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,395 |
| 19 | Bakersfield | $1,381 |
| 20 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
| 21 | San Diego | $1,368 |
| 22 | Chula Vista | $1,350 |
| 23 | Fremont | $1,348 |
| 24 | Irvine | $1,330 |
| 25 | Oxnard | $1,304 |
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Rates are estimated as the vehicle garaging location can lower or raise insurance rates noticeably.
The type of vehicle you are insuring is one of the largest factors that determines if you can find the lowest-priced coverage for welfare recipients. Vehicles with high performance, a lack of modern safety features, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost more to insure than more modest models.
The information below estimates coverage rates for some of the more affordable automobiles to insure in California.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $807 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Super Cab 2WD | $886 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $904 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $916 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $926 |
| Ford Edge SE AWD | $916 |
| Toyota RAV4 2WD | $934 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 2WD 4-Dr | $949 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $953 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $983 |
| Toyota Camry SE | $992 |
| Honda CR-V EX 4WD | $993 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $1,001 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,010 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $1,015 |
| Dodge Ram Crew Cab ST 4WD | $1,019 |
| Honda Accord LX-S 2-Dr Coupe | $1,049 |
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Prices above based on single female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, safe-driver, claim-free, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Estimates do not factor in your specific Irvine, CA location which can increase or decrease premium rates noticeably.
Based upon these rates, we can tell that cars like the Ford Escape, Ford F-150, and Hyundai Elantra are most likely to be some of the cheaper vehicles to insure for drivers on welfare.
The illustration below highlights how deductible choice can increase or decrease yearly insurance costs when quoting cheap insurance for welfare recipients. The rate quotes are based on a single male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The data above shows that a 50-year-old driver could reduce rates by $492 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $738 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, such as the 20-year-old example, can cut up to $1,640 every year just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage. If you do raise deductibles, it will be required to have additional funds in a savings account to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some people from using high deductibles.
Violations and accidents raise rates
The obvious way to receive affordable car insurance rates for drivers on welfare is to drive safe and avoid tickets and accidents. The example below illustrates how speeding tickets and at-fault claims can influence insurance rates for each age group. Data assumes a single female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.
In the example above, the average cost of a car insurance policy in Irvine per year with no accidents or violations is $1,767. Factor in two speeding tickets and the average cost surges to $2,351, an increase of $585 each year. Now add in one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of car insurance for welfare recipients goes up to an average of $2,946. That’s an increase of $1,179, or $98 per month, just for not driving responsibly!
Why you should be comparing rates
Irvine, CA car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can substantially decrease or increase the price of coverage. Simply having a birthday, having a teenage driver, or having an accident can produce rate changes that can now make some companies more affordable than the competition. Also, car insurance companies amend pricing as often as every quarter to reflect underwriting profits or losses. An extended period of higher than normal claims may cause additional price hikes, while profitable underwriting can cause cheaper Irvine car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the bar chart below shows the company with the cheapest car insurance in Irvine, CA for a 40-year-old female driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and a high credit rating. If we look at prices based on her current risk factors, USAA might quote the best car insurance rates in Irvine at $1,131 annually. This is $520 less than the average premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Century National, Wawanesa, CSAA, and Nationwide are the rest of the most affordable Irvine, CA auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from above a chargeable claim, slightly worse credit, and a speeding citation. Since each auto insurer has a proprietary method to determining premium rates, analyzing rate quotes could now result in a slightly different list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Irvine as shown below.
Grange now has the best auto insurance rate in Irvine, CA with Mercury, Allstate, Progressive, and Allied now rounding out the top five. This example demonstrates why California drivers need to do a thorough rate comparison when trying to find the lowest insurance quotes for welfare recipients.
Prices consist of many different factors and change substantially, so the best company the last time you shopped your coverage around may now not even be in the top five.