Wouldn’t this article be short if we could just give you the name of the single best company in San Diego that has the lowest car insurance rates for drivers with accidents? It’s not quite that easy, unfortunately, as there are many unknown factors such as the vehicle you drive, your credit rating, and tickets or driving violations, that all impact the price you pay. This article goes into detail about the best ways to save on auto insurance and hopefully give you enough understanding to have a good beginning to your search for cheaper coverage.
The type of vehicle you are trying to insure is one of the largest factors when quoting cheaper car insurance for drivers with accidents. Vehicles with high performance, poor passenger safety features, or an increased likelihood of liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than more economical and safe models. The information below outlines auto insurance rates for a handful of the most budget-friendly vehicles to buy coverage for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $1,903 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $1,927 |
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,989 |
| Toyota Prius | $2,070 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $2,139 |
| Ford Edge Limited 2WD | $2,233 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $2,235 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan CV | $2,240 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Regular Cab 4WD | $2,235 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 4WD | $2,257 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $2,265 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LT | $2,281 |
| Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $2,352 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $2,360 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Extended Cab 4WD | $2,366 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $2,362 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $2,376 |
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Data assumes single male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Rate quotes do not factor in zip code location which can modify coverage rates substantially.
Based upon these rates, vehicles like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Honda Accord are most likely to be some of the less-costly vehicles to insure for drivers with at-fault accidents. Prices will tend to be more expensive just because there is more liability risk for drivers with accidents, but overall those models will tend to have the cheapest auto insurance rates compared to all other vehicles.
Establishing which company quotes the best insurance rates for drivers with accidents will take more time in order to find the lowest price quote.
Each insurer has a unique formula to determine premium rates, so we’ll go over the insurance companies with the most affordable rates in San Diego, CA. It’s a good idea to know that San Diego insurance rates are calculated based on many things that control the cost of coverage. Getting older, having a teen driver, or getting a DUI may prompt premium changes that can make some companies more affordable than the competition.
Find Cheaper Auto Insurance for Accident Prone Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,109 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,146 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,226 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,234 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,366 |
| 7 | Mercury | $1,488 |
| 8 | Grange | $1,491 |
| 9 | GEICO | $1,513 |
| 10 | Allied | $1,541 |
| 11 | Progressive | $1,542 |
| 12 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 13 | The Hartford | $1,575 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,654 |
| 15 | State Farm | $1,682 |
| 16 | Esurance | $1,688 |
| 17 | Unitrin | $1,699 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,788 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,795 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,966 |
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USAA may offer some of the best car insurance rates in San Diego at around $1,109 a year. This is $542 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also rank well as some of the most economical San Diego, CA insurance companies.
As shown above, if you are a customer of Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you could earn annual savings of in the neighborhood of $37. Policyholders with Century National may save as much as $117 a year, and CSAA customers might realize rate reductions of up to $125 a year.
To discover how much you can save, click here to begin a quote or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
Understand that those policy rates are averaged for all insureds and vehicles and do not take into consideration a vehicle location for drivers with accidents. So the insurer that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the top 24 companies shown above. That’s why you need to compare rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
One of the many factors that determine the cost of insurance is the neighborhood you call home in San Diego. Areas with more people or even just a higher incidence of claims are more likely to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion have the benefit of cheaper auto insurance prices.
The information below rates the most costly cities in California for drivers with accidents to purchase a policy in. San Diego ranks #24 with a yearly premium of $1,340 for the average policyholder, which is about $112 monthly.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,121 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,711 |
| 4 | Oakland | $1,704 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,652 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,596 |
| 7 | Stockton | $1,588 |
| 8 | Long Beach | $1,578 |
| 9 | Moreno Valley | $1,536 |
| 10 | Santa Clarita | $1,533 |
| 11 | Garden Grove | $1,524 |
| 12 | Fontana | $1,519 |
| 13 | Riverside | $1,497 |
| 14 | Modesto | $1,487 |
| 15 | Anaheim | $1,474 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,472 |
| 17 | Santa Ana | $1,453 |
| 18 | Huntington Beach | $1,416 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,381 |
| 20 | Irvine | $1,371 |
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Prices are estimated as the garaging address in San Diego can increase or decrease auto insurance rates greatly.
Discounts on San Diego auto insurance
Insurance providers that provide coverage for drivers with accidents may have premium discounts that can reduce rates by as much as 35% or more if you meet specific criteria. A list of companies and their offered discounts can be found below.
- State Farm may have discounts that include student away at school, Steer Clear safe driver discount, anti-theft, passive restraint, good student, and multiple autos.
- Nationwide offers premium reductions for defensive driving, easy pay, anti-theft, business or organization, accident-free, multi-policy, and Farm Bureau membership.
- GEICO has savings for anti-lock brakes, good student, daytime running lights, federal employee, emergency military deployment, air bags, and defensive driver.
- AAA may offer discounts for good student, anti-theft, multi-policy, AAA membership discount, and pay-in-full.
- 21st Century offers discounts for homeowners, theft prevention, 55 and older, student driver, and anti-lock brakes.
- The Hartford includes discounts for vehicle fuel type, driver training, defensive driver, good student, anti-theft, and air bag.
The illustration below compares insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The prices are based on a female driver, no citations and two at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $500 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with passive restraint, homeowner, paid-in-full, anti-theft, multiple vehicle, and multiple policy discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, theaverage yearly reduction on insurance for drivers with accidents is 28% or $1,043.
How accidents and tickets impact rates in San Diego
In a perfect world, the best way to enjoy the cheapest insurance rates in San Diego for drivers with at-fault accidents is to be a safe driver and have a clean driving record. The illustration below highlights how speeding tickets and fender-benders raise car insurance rates for different age groups of insureds. The data is based on a married female driver, full physical damage coverage, $100 deductibles, and no additional discounts are factored in.
The data charted above shows the average cost of an auto insurance policy in San Diego per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $1,948. Add in one speeding ticket and the average cost swells to $2,267, an increase of $319 each year. Then add in one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the 12-month cost of insurance for drivers with accidents jumps again to an average of $3,165. That’s an increase of $1,217, or $101 per month, just for being a careless driver!
The diagram below illustrates how your deductible choice can impact insurance costs when searching for cheap insurance for drivers with accidents. The premiums assume a married female driver, full coverage, and no other discounts are factored in.
The data above shows that a 30-year-old driver could reduce rates by $350 a year by switching their comprehensive and collision coverages from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $530 by changing to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the 20-year-old, can save as much as $750 each year just by choosing larger deductibles.
If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it is important to have additional funds squirreled away to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some people from using high deductibles.