This would be a quick read if we could just give you the name of the one company in California that has the cheapest rate quotes in California. It’s just not that simple, as there are a lot of unknowns such as your financial stability, if you have any driving citations, and what coverage limits you want, that all factor into the price you pay. We will touch on the different ways you can keep rates low and will hopefully give you a good start to your coverage search.
Shopping around for low-priced insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and finding out which companies have the lowest-priced car insurance rates for good drivers will require even more shopping around. Every insurance provider uses their own method for setting prices, so let’s take a look at the car insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in California.
It’s important to know that California car insurance rates are based on many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price you pay. This price variability is why California drivers need to perform a complete rate comparison to find the cheapest auto insurance rates for good drivers. Insurance prices are calculated by many factors and change substantially, so the lowest-price company six months ago may now cost much more than other companies.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance for Good Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,143 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,178 |
| 4 | Nationwide | $1,213 |
| 5 | CSAA | $1,234 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,338 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,447 |
| 8 | Allstate | $1,497 |
| 9 | Mercury | $1,503 |
| 10 | Progressive | $1,512 |
| 11 | GEICO | $1,559 |
| 12 | The Hartford | $1,575 |
| 13 | Allied | $1,588 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,590 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,699 |
| 16 | Esurance | $1,705 |
| 17 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,806 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,831 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,006 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
USAA may have some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Riverside at around $1,143 annually. This is $508 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA are also some of the more affordable Riverside, CA insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you buy coverage from Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you might realize an annual savings of around $14. Customers with Century National might save as much as $35 a year, and Nationwide insureds might cut rates by $70 a year.
It’s important to note that these policy prices are averaged for all types of insureds and vehicles and do not take into consideration a specific vehicle garaging location for good drivers. So the insurer that can offer you the best price may not even be in the list above. That emphasizes why you need to get quotes using your own specific driver and vehicle information.
The vehicle that needs insurance is probably the most important factor when trying to find the most affordable insurance for good drivers. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, good safety features, or a low likelihood of having liability claims will cost less to insure than high performance models.
The data below outlines car insurance prices for a selection of the more affordable automobiles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $1,232 |
| Honda CR-V EX 4WD | $1,277 |
| Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $1,283 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $1,303 |
| GMC Sierra SLE Regular Cab 2WD | $1,311 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $1,303 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,308 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,339 |
| Ford F-150 XL Regular Cab 4WD | $1,348 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $1,357 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $1,372 |
| Ford Edge Sport 2WD | $1,379 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 4WD | $1,398 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ AWD | $1,408 |
| Ford Explorer Limited 4WD | $1,454 |
| Toyota RAV4 Limited 2WD | $1,469 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LTZ Crew Cab Diesel 4WD | $1,492 |
| Compare Cheap Rates Go | |
Cost estimates assume single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, multi-vehicle, homeowner, safe-driver, and claim-free. Rate quotes do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can increase or decrease prices greatly.
Based upon the table data, cars like the Toyota Tacoma, Honda CR-V, and Ford Escape are a few of the most economical vehicles to insure for safe drivers.
Drive safe and save
In a perfect world, the best way to obtain the most affordable car insurance prices in Riverside for safe drivers is to drive carefully and avoid at-fault accidents and violations. The diagram below illustrates how speeding tickets and accidents drive up auto insurance rates for each different age category. The price estimates are based on a single male driver, comp and collision included, $100 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
In the prior example, the average cost of auto insurance in Riverside per year with no violations or accidents is $3,385. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost jumps to $4,499, an increase of $1,114 each year. Now get one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of car insurance for good drivers increases to an average of $5,640. That’s an increase of $2,256, or $188 per month, just for a couple of infractions!
How to get discounts on Riverside car insurance rates
Insurance providers that provide policies for good drivers may also provide discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 30% if you can meet the requirements. The best car insurance companies and a selection of discounts are shown below.
- State Farm may include discounts for anti-theft, student away at school, passive restraint, driver’s education, and good student.
- American Family has discounts for good driver, Steer into Savings, defensive driver, good student, multi-vehicle, and early bird.
- AAA offers premium reductions for education and occupation, pay-in-full, anti-theft, AAA membership discount, multi-car, and good driver.
- GEICO includes discounts for driver training, seat belt use, multi-vehicle, membership and employees, anti-lock brakes, and defensive driver.
- Mercury Insurance offers discounts for location of vehicle, good student, multi-policy, accident-free, age of vehicle, anti-theft, and annual mileage.
- Farmers Insurance policyholders can earn discounts including multi-car, business and professional, good student, homeowner, and pay in full.
- Progressive offers discounts including online quote discount, homeowner, multi-policy, good student, online signing, continuous coverage, and multi-vehicle.
The chart below shows the difference between insurance prices with and without discounts. The premiums assume a male driver, a clean driving record, no claims, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $100 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with safe-driver, defensive driving course, homeowner, vehicle safety, multiple policy, and accident-free discounts applied. When these discounts are applied, the average savings per year on car insurance for good drivers is 28% or $698.
What aren’t you shopping around?
California car insurance rates are calculated based on many things that will increase or decrease the price of your policy. Simply turning a year older, buying a home, or getting a few speeding tickets may prompt premium changes resulting in some companies being much cheaper than others. Not only may things change on your end, but insurers change premium rates as needed in order to protect their financial rating. Significantly higher losses may result in price increases, while long-term profits can cause more affordable Riverside car insurance rates.
The graph below compares the cheapest car insurance in Riverside, CA for a 40-year-old female driver with no violations or accidents, and excellent credit. When quoting prices based on her personal risk profile, USAA quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in Riverside at $1,312 per year. This is $339 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA are also on the list of the top five cheapest Riverside, CA auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first chart an at-fault accident, poor credit, and a speeding citation. Since each auto insurer has a proprietary formula to determine rates, analyzing rates could now result in a completely different list of cheap Riverside auto insurance companies as shown below.
Grange now has the best auto insurance rate in Riverside with Allstate, GEICO, Mercury, and Allied completing the list. This example proves why it is critical to compare as many rates as possible when trying to get the cheapest car insurance rates for good drivers. Prices are made up of many things and can change without notice, so the most economical company three years ago may now be one of the more expensive options.