What Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers with Bad Credit in San Diego?

The vehicle model requiring coverage is one of the biggest factors that determines whether or not you find low-cost auto insurance for drivers with bad credit. Vehicles with high performance, a lack of advanced safety features, or an increased likelihood of liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models.

The table below showcases coverage costs for a number of the cheapest automobiles to insure.

Above prices assume single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-vehicle, claim-free, multi-policy, and safe-driver. Table data does not factor in San Diego, CA location which can modify coverage rates considerably.

Looking at the rates, we can conclude that models like the Honda Accord, Jeep Wrangler, Chevrolet Impala, and Ford Explorer are some of the most affordable vehicles to insure for people with poor credit. The price for an auto insurance policy will tend to be more expensive anyway because of the fact that there is more risk for drivers with bad credit, but generally speaking those makes and models will most likely have the lowest insurance prices that you are likely to find.

For people with poor credit, one of the more important things that aid in calculating the price you pay for insurance is where you keep your vehicle in San Diego. Cities with larger populations or higher claim trends likely pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims have the luxury of cheap car insurance rates.

The following table ranks the priciest cities in California for drivers with bad credit to purchase auto insurance in. San Diego ranks #24 with an annual cost of $1,327 for the average insurance policy, which is approximately $111 per month.

Price information shown is estimated as specific location information can alter auto insurance rates greatly.

Deciding which company has the best auto insurance rates for drivers with bad credit will involve a tad more effort than just comparing a company or two.

Each insurance company uses their own formula for determining prices, so we will examine the most affordable auto insurance companies in California.

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USAA quotes some of the most affordable car insurance rates in San Diego at around $1,143 each year. This is $508 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 cheaper San Diego, CA auto insurance companies.

In the rate table above, if you are a policyholder with CSAA and switched to USAA, you might realize a yearly price reduction of approximately $43. Customers with Century National could save as much as $71 a year, and Nationwide policyholders might see rate reductions of $107 a year.

To see if you’re overpaying, click here to start a quote or visit several of the following companies.

Understand that those policy rates are averages for all drivers and vehicles in California and do not factor in an exact vehicle garaging location for drivers with bad credit. So the insurer that has the lowest price for you may not even be in the list above. That’s why you need to get rate quotes using your own specific driver and vehicle information.

The diagram below illustrates how your choice of deductibles can increase or decrease insurance prices when trying to find cheap insurance for drivers with bad credit. Data assumes a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

The data above shows that a 50-year-old driver could lower their policy premium by $360 a year by switching their comprehensive and collision coverages from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $544 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, like the 20-year-old category, could drop their prices $896 annually by choosing larger deductibles on their policy.

When choosing a higher deductible, it is essential to have additional savings on hand to be able to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main disadvantage of using high deductibles.

Discounts on San Diego insurance

Insurance companies that offer cheap quotes for drivers with bad credit may also offer policy discounts that could reduce prices by as much as 30% if you can meet the requirements. The best auto insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are included below.

• The Hartford offers discounts including anti-theft, vehicle fuel type, good student, driver training, and defensive driver.
• American Family may have discounts that include early bird, good driver, good student, defensive driver, air bags, mySafetyValet, and Steer into Savings.
• Progressive discounts include homeowner, online signing, continuous coverage, good student, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and online quote discount.
• Travelers may include discounts for driver training, good student, payment discounts, multi-policy, hybrid/electric vehicle, new car, and early quote.
• Farmers Insurance may offer discounts for multi-car, bundle discounts, mature driver, switch companies, distant student, alternative fuel, and youthful driver.
• USAA has savings for new vehicle, military installation, family discount, multi-vehicle, and safe driver.
• Liberty Mutual policyholders can earn discounts including new graduate, exclusive group savings, newly married, good student, hybrid vehicle, safety features, and multi-car.

The example below illustrates the difference between insurance costs with and without policy discounts. The premiums assume a female driver, no tickets, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with passive restraint, safe-driver, accident-free, multiple policy, vehicle safety, and marriage discounts applied. When drivers qualify for the discounts, theaverage yearly reduction on auto insurance for drivers with bad credit is 28% or $819.

Should you buy full coverage?

Saving money on auto insurance is probably important to most vehicle owners, and a great way to pay lower rates for insurance for drivers with bad credit is to only buy liability insurance. The diagram below compares insurance rates with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The costs are based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, single marital status, and no other discounts are factored in.

If the expense is averaged for all age categories, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs $2,314 per year over having just liability coverage. That brings up the question if you should buy full coverage. There is no written rule of when to stop paying for physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is more than about 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.

For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $12,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most your company would pay you is $11,000 after paying your policy deductible. If premium cost is more than $1,100 annually for comprehensive and collision coverage, then it could be time to drop full coverage.

There are some situations where dropping physical damage coverage is not financially feasible. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you cannot afford to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not buy liability only.

Why you are probably overpaying for car insurance

San Diego auto insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the price you have to pay. Simply having another birthday, buying higher coverage limits, or getting caught speeding may cause policy rate changes that can make some companies more affordable than competitors. And not only may your rating factors change, but auto insurance companies file new California auto insurance rates every year or even multiple times each year to adjust for heavy claims or excess profits. An unexpected high level of claims may result in price increases, while a lower level of claims can produce lower-priced San Diego car insurance rates.

To help illustrate this point, the graph below shows which company has the cheapest car insurance in San Diego, CA for a 35-year-old male driver with no accidents or violations, and a decent credit rating. If we compare prices based on his personal profile, USAA quotes the most affordable car insurance rates in San Diego at $1,180 annually. This is $471 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA are the rest of the best San Diego, CA auto insurance companies.

In this example, we will give the driver from the above example a chargeable claim, poor credit, and a traffic citation. Since each auto insurer has a different process for setting rates, comparing rates may result in a significantly different list of the cheapest San Diego car insurance companies as shown below.

Grange now has the cheapest insurance rate in San Diego, CA with Progressive, GEICO, Mercury, and Allstate completing the list. This illustrates why it is critical to shop around with many companies when trying to get affordable car insurance rates for drivers with bad credit.

Car insurance prices can be determined by many risk factors and change frequently, so the most affordable company when you last compared rates may now be wasting a lot of money.

The agents below can most likely provide answers to your questions and help you determine which is the best policy, as some drivers aren’t sure which coverage they need and prefer to get some professional input when shopping around for cheaper insurance for drivers with bad credit. It can be hard to find the best policy on your own, and getting professional guidance from a licensed agent can give you peace of mind knowing you have adequate coverage if you have an accident or claim. To locate a San Diego car insurance agency using an interactive map, click the button below the list.

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