Do you want an efficient way to compare lower-priced Lexus ES 350 insurance in San Diego? Comparison shopping for cheaper Lexus ES 350 insurance in San Diego may be hard for drivers new to online comparison shopping. With a ridiculous number of online companies, it can easily turn into a burden to find the best prices.
A study showed that the vast majority of car insurance customers in California have been with the same company for four years or more, and approximately 40% of consumers have never even compared quotes to find lower-cost rates. With the average car insurance premium being $1,847, U.S. drivers could save themselves $850 a year, but they don’t invest the time required to compare rates online.
If you have a policy now, you will most likely be able to buy cheaper insurance using the ideas covered in this article. Our objective is to help you learn how car insurance quotes work and also pocket some savings But California vehicle owners do need to learn how the larger insurance companies determine what you pay and use it to your advantage.
Learn How to Lower Your Insurance Premiums
The best way to find cheaper insurance is to take a look at the different types of things that go into determining the rates you pay for insurance. If you understand what determines base rates, this allows you to make educated decisions that will entitle you to better insurance rates.
Listed below are a few of the “ingredients” used by your company to calculate your premiums.
- Drive lots and pay more – The more miles you rack up on your Lexus in a year’s time the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. Most insurance companies charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Cars and trucks that sit idle most of the time cost less to insure than vehicles that are driven to work every day. Ask your agent if your vehicle rating correctly shows annual mileage. An improperly rated ES 350 may be costing you.
- City dwellers may pay more – Being located in areas with lower population is a positive aspect if you are looking for the lowest rates. People who live in big cities have more traffic problems and more severe claims. Fewer people corresponds to lower accident rates in addition to lower liability claims
- Premiums are lower the older you get – Inexperience drivers are statistically shown to get distracted easily when behind the wheel so they pay higher insurance rates. Adding a first-time driver onto a policy can be quite pricey. Older insureds are more cautious drivers, file fewer claims, and get fewer tickets.
- Responsible drivers pay lower prices – Your driving citation history impacts premiums far more than you think. Drivers who don’t get tickets receive lower rates compared to drivers with tickets. Having a single chargeable violation could increase your next policy renewal by as much as twenty percent. People who have careless violations like DWI, reckless driving or hit and run convictions may find they need to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) to the state department of motor vehicles in order to drive a vehicle legally.
- Vehicles with better crash test results cost less to insure – Cars with high safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and lower injury rates means your insurance company pays less and more competitive rates for policyholders.
- Add-on coverages that may not be needed – There are many extra coverages that you can buy when buying insurance. Insurance for things like coverage for rental cars, better glass coverage, and term life insurance could be just wasting money. These coverages may sound good when you first buy your policy, but your money might be better spent on other coverage so eliminate them to save money.
- Lexus ES 350 claim statistics – Companies analyze past claim statistics to help calculate a profitable premium price. Models that the data shows to have a trend towards higher claim severity or frequency will be charged more to insure. The next table shows the compiled insurance loss statistics for Lexus ES 350 vehicles.
For each policy coverage, the claim amount for all vehicles, regardless of manufacturer or model, is a value of 100. Percentages below 100 suggest a positive loss record, while values that are above 100 indicate more frequent losses or an increased chance of a larger loss.
Lexus ES 350 Insurance Claim Statistics
Specific Lexus Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Lexus ES 350 4dr 126 79 160 91 100 78 Statistics Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety for 2013-2015 Model Years
When quoting car insurance, remember that comparing all the rates in your area helps locate the best rates. Some smaller insurers do not give online price quotes, so it’s important to also get price estimates from the smaller companies as well.
The providers in the list below are our best choices to provide quotes in California. If multiple providers are shown, we recommend you visit several of them in order to get a fair rate comparison.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ES 350 | $300 | $648 | $424 | $26 | $128 | $1,526 | $127 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Premium data assumes single male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Rates do not factor in specific zip code location which can raise or lower auto insurance rates substantially.
Physical damage deductibles
When comparing auto insurance rates, the most common question is how high should the physical damage deductibles be. The following insurance rates help summarize the price difference when you buy lower versus higher policy deductibles. The first rate table uses a $100 deductible for comprehensive and collision coverage and the second rate chart uses a $500 deductible.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ES 350 | $478 | $932 | $376 | $22 | $112 | $1,945 | $162 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
ES 350 | $348 | $630 | $376 | $22 | $112 | $1,488 | $124 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Table data assumes married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, safe-driver, homeowner, and claim-free. Price information does not factor in garaging location in San Diego which can increase or decrease price quotes considerably.
Based on the figures above, using a $100 deductible will cost you about $38 more each month or $456 every year than opting for the higher $500 deductible. Because you would be required to pay $400 more to settle a claim with a $500 deductible as compared to a $100 deductible, if you have more than 11 months between claims, you would probably save some money by selecting a higher deductible.
How to determine if a higher deductible is a good idea
Average monthly premium for $100 deductibles: | $162 |
Average monthly premium for $500 deductibles (subtract): | – $124 |
Monthly savings from raising deductible: | $38 |
Difference between deductibles ($500 – $100): | $400 |
Divide difference by monthly savings: | $400 / $38 |
Number of months required between physical damage coverage claims in order to save money by choosing the higher deductible | 11 months |
Protect your Lexus ES 350 and other assets
Despite the high cost, insurance serves a purpose in several ways.
- Almost all states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means the state requires specific minimum amounts of liability if you don’t want to risk a ticket. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
- If your Lexus ES 350 has a loan, most lenders will force you to have full coverage to protect their interest in the vehicle. If you default on your policy, the bank will be required to insure your Lexus at a much higher premium rate and require you to pay the higher premium.
- Insurance safeguards both your vehicle and your personal assets. Insurance will pay for medical bills for you, any passengers, and anyone injured in an accident. One policy coverage, liability insurance, will also pay to defend you if you are named as a defendant in an auto accident. If mother nature or an accident damages your car, comprehensive and collision coverage will pay to have it repaired.
The benefits of insuring your car more than cancel out the cost, especially with large liability claims. The average driver in America is wasting up to $750 every year so you should quote your policy with other companies at least once a year to be sure current rates are still competitive.
Discount San Diego car insurance quotes
Companies don’t always advertise every discount they offer in a way that’s easy to find, so below is a list both the well known as well as the least known discounts that you may qualify for. If you don’t get every credit you qualify for, you are paying more than you should be.
- Accident Forgiveness – This one isn’t a discount, but some insurance companies will forgive one accident before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a specific time period.
- Drivers Ed for Students – It’s a good idea to have your young drivers take driver’s ed class in high school.
- Anti-lock Brake System – Anti-lock brake equipped vehicles are safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Pay Upfront and Save – If paying your policy premium upfront rather than paying monthly you could save 5% or more.
- College Student Discount – Youth drivers who are enrolled in a college that is more than 100 miles from San Diego and do not take a car to college may qualify for this discount.
- Claim Free – Claim-free drivers get the best car insurance rates compared to policyholders that have many claims.
You can save money using discounts, but some of the credits will not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. So even though it sounds like it’s possible to get free car insurance, companies don’t profit that way. Any qualifying discounts will help reduce the amount you have to pay.
A few of the larger companies and some of the discounts are included below.
- State Farm may include discounts for student away at school, good student, good driver, Steer Clear safe driver discount, and driver’s education.
- Progressive discounts include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, continuous coverage, online quote discount, good student, homeowner, and online signing.
- Travelers offers discounts including student away at school, multi-policy, IntelliDrive, save driver, home ownership, driver training, and good student.
- American Family offers premium reductions for bundled insurance, mySafetyValet, defensive driver, good student, multi-vehicle, and accident-free.
- Liberty Mutual has discounts for new move discount, preferred payment discount, new vehicle discount, hybrid vehicle, new graduate, newly married, and good student.
Before buying, ask every insurance company the best way to save money. Depending on the company, some discounts may not apply everywhere.
What if I want to buy from local San Diego insurance agencies?
Many people still like to buy from a local agent and that can be a smart move A good thing about comparing rate quotes online is you may find cheap rate quotes and also buy local. Buying from neighborhood insurance agencies is still important in San Diego.
By using this quick form, your insurance coverage information is submitted to insurance agents in San Diego who can give free rate quotes for your coverage. It’s much easier because you don’t need to even leave your home since rate quotes are delivered immediately to you. Get lower rates AND a local agent. If you want to get a price quote for a specific company, you can always visit that company’s website and submit a quote form there.
Finding a good insurer is decision based upon more than just a cheap quote. Any agent in San Diego should be willing to answer these questions.
- Is their price quote a firm figure or are their hidden costs?
- Do they reduce claim amounts on high mileage vehicles?
- Does the agency have a good rating with the Better Business Bureau?
- How experienced are they in personal risk management?
- How much will you save each year by using a higher deductible?
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Is every driver in your family covered?
How do I know if I need professional advice?
When it comes to choosing the right insurance coverage for your vehicles, there really is no “perfect” insurance plan. Coverage needs to be tailored to your specific needs and your policy should reflect that.
For instance, these questions may help highlight if your situation might need professional guidance.
- How much will a speeding ticket raise my rates?
- How much underlying liability do I need for an umbrella policy?
- If I use my vehicle for business use is it covered?
- What is no-fault insurance?
- Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
- Does medical payments coverage apply to all occupants?
- Is water damage covered by my policy?
- What companies insure drivers after a DUI or DWI?
- Do I have ACV or replacement cost coverage?
- Am I covered when driving on a suspended license?
If you’re not sure about those questions but you know they apply to you then you might want to talk to an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, fill out this quick form or click here for a list of insurance companies in your area.
In conclusion
When getting San Diego auto insurance quotes online, never buy lower coverage limits just to save a few bucks. There have been many cases where an insured dropped uninsured motorist or liability limits only to discover later that they should have had better coverage. The ultimate goal is to purchase plenty of coverage at a price you can afford, but do not sacrifice coverage to save money.
We covered a lot of techniques to shop for Lexus ES 350 insurance online. The key concept to understand is the more times you quote, the higher your chance of finding affordable Lexus ES 350 insurance quotes. Consumers could even find that the lowest rates are with a lesser-known regional company. They often have lower auto insurance rates on specific markets than their larger competitors like State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
Cheaper car insurance in San Diego can be purchased both online in addition to many San Diego insurance agents, so you need to shop San Diego auto insurance with both to have the best selection. Some insurance companies do not provide online rate quotes and many times these regional insurance providers prefer to sell through independent agents.
To learn more, feel free to visit the resources below:
- Understanding Car Crashes Video (iihs.org)
- What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers with a DUI in San Diego? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes for Teenagers in San Diego? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Car Insurance for First-time Drivers in San Diego? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Auto Insurance for a Honda CR-V in San Diego? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for a Kia Forte in San Diego? (FAQ)
- What is Full Coverage? (Allstate)
- What is Covered by GAP Insurance? (Allstate)