How to Save on San Diego Cadillac CTS Insurance

If online auto insurance comparisons are new to you, there’s a good chance you are bewildered due to the large selection of insurance providers all offering big savings in San Diego.

A recent study showed that most auto insurance buyers kept buying from the same company for four years or more, and just short of a majority have never shopped around. San Diego drivers can cut their rates by roughly 35% a year just by shopping around, but most tend to underestimate how much money they would save if they switched.

It’s a great practice to do price comparisons yearly because prices change quite often. Despite the fact that you may have had the best deal on Cadillac CTS insurance in San Diego a couple years back you can probably find a lower rate today. Block out anything you think you know about auto insurance because you’re going to get a crash course in the easiest way to properly buy coverages and cut your premium.

This article’s intent is to introduce you to how to compare rates easily and some tricks to saving. If you currently have auto insurance, you stand a good chance to be able to buy cheaper auto insurance using the tips covered below. Although California drivers must know the way companies calculate your policy premium.

Keep in mind that obtaining a wide range of quotes helps locate the best offered rates. Some insurance companies are not set up to provide online rate quotes, so you also need to get price quotes on coverage from those companies, too.

The car insurance companies shown below offer price quotes in San Diego, CA. If multiple companies are listed, it’s highly recommended you visit as many as you can to find the lowest car insurance rates.

Data rating is based on single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, homeowner, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Premium costs do not factor in specific zip code location which can alter rates substantially.

Rate increases following a ticket or accident

The diagram below demonstrates how citations and accidents can affect Cadillac CTS insurance rates for different age groups. The premiums assume a single male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.

Policy deductibles

The example below shows how different deductible levels and can affect Cadillac CTS yearly insurance costs for different ages of insureds. The data assumes a single female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.

Higher deductibles lower rates

The hardest decision when buying coverage is how high should your deductibles be. The following tables may help you to understand the costs and benefits when you choose different deductibles. The first set of prices uses a $100 deductible for physical damage and the second rate table uses a $1,000 deductible.

Table data represents married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and safe-driver. Information does not factor in vehicle garaging location which can revise premiums significantly.

Using the data above, we can ascertain that using a $100 deductible costs roughly $54 more each month or $648 annually than quoting the higher $1,000 deductible. Since you would have to pay $900 more if you turn in a claim with a $1,000 deductible as compared to a $100 deductible, if you normally average more than 17 months between claim filings, you would more than likely save some money if you choose a higher deductible. Here is how you can do this calculation yourself.

Do you qualify for discounts?

Insurance can cost an arm and a leg, but there could be significant discounts that may help make it more affordable. Certain reductions will be credited at the time of purchase, but some may not be applied and must be specifically requested prior to receiving the credit.

• Renewal Discounts – Some insurance companies give discounts for renewing your policy before your current CTS insurance policy expires. You can save around 10% with this discount.
• Data Collection Discounts – San Diego drivers who agree to allow driving data collection to monitor when and where they use their vehicle by installing a telematics device such as Progressive’s Snapshot could save a few bucks if their driving habits are good.
• Discounts for New Vehicles – Putting coverage on a new CTS can save you some money because newer vehicles are generally safer.
• ABS Brakes – Vehicles that have steering control and anti-lock brakes are safer to drive so you can save 10 percent or more.
• Senior Discount – If you’re over the age of 55, you can possibly qualify for reduced rates.
• Student in College – Children living away from San Diego attending college and won’t have access to an insured vehicle could qualify for this discount.
• No Claim Discounts – Good drivers with no accidents get the best insurance rates as compared to bad drivers.
• Policy Bundle Discount – If you can bundle your home and auto insurance and insure them with the same company you may save over 10 percent off each policy depending on the company.
• Drive Less and Save – Keeping the miles down on your Cadillac may enable drivers to earn slightly better prices than normal.
• Homeowners Savings – Being a homeowner can help you save on insurance since home ownership means you have a higher level of financial diligence.

One last thing about discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Some only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as physical damage coverage or medical payments. Even though it appears all the discounts add up to a free policy, insurance companies aren’t that generous. Any qualifying discounts should help lower your policy cost.

A few popular companies and a selection of discounts are outlined below.

• Progressive may have discounts that include continuous coverage, multi-policy, online quote discount, good student, online signing, and homeowner.
• MetLife discounts include defensive driver, claim-free, multi-policy, accident-free, and good driver.
• Mercury Insurance policyholders can earn discounts including annual mileage, good student, accident-free, low natural disaster claims, age of vehicle, anti-theft, and multi-car.
• Nationwide has discounts for accident-free, good student, defensive driving, easy pay, multi-policy, anti-theft, and business or organization.
• GEICO offers discounts for anti-lock brakes, driver training, emergency military deployment, air bags, five-year accident-free, membership and employees, and anti-theft.
• AAA includes discounts for education and occupation, AAA membership discount, pay-in-full, multi-car, multi-policy, anti-theft, and good driver.

If you are trying to find inexpensive San Diego car insurance quotes, ask each company which discounts can lower your rates. Some of the earlier mentioned discounts may not apply in San Diego. If you would like to choose from a list of providers that offer some of these discounts in California, click here to view.

Why you need vehicle insurance in California

Despite the fact that insurance is not cheap in San Diego, insurance may be required for several reasons.

First, almost all states have minimum liability requirements which means you are required to carry a minimum amount of liability insurance 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.

Second, if your Cadillac CTS has a lien holder, most lenders will require that you have insurance to guarantee loan repayment. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the lender may insure your Cadillac at a much higher rate and require you to reimburse them the higher premium.

Third, insurance protects both your assets and your car. It also can pay for medical bills for you, any passengers, and anyone injured in an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, also pays expenses related to your legal defense if someone files suit against you as the result of an accident. If you have damage to your Cadillac as the result of the weather or an accident, your policy will pay to restore your vehicle to like-new condition.

The benefits of carrying enough insurance more than cancel out the cost, particularly when you have a large claim. But the average driver in California overpays more than $800 each year so you should quote your policy with other companies at least once a year to make sure the price is not too high.

Compare rates but still have a local neighborhood San Diego car insurance agent

Many drivers still prefer to talk to a local agent and often times that is recommended A nice benefit of comparing rate quotes online is the fact that you can find the lowest rates and still have a local agent. And providing support for local agents is definitely important in San Diego.

To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this simple form, the coverage information is transmitted to companies in San Diego who will gladly provide quotes for your business. You won’t need to drive around since price quotes are sent to the email address you provide. It’s the lowest rates without having to waste a lot of time. If you need to get a comparison quote from a specific auto insurance provider, feel free to go to their quote page and fill out their quote form.

If you want a local insurance agency, it’s important to understand the types of insurance agents and how they differ in how they quote coverages. Auto insurance policy providers are classified as either exclusive or independent (non-exclusive).

Independent Auto Insurance Agents (or Brokers)

Agents that choose to be independent do not sell for just one brand so they can quote policies with a variety of different insurance companies and get the cheapest rates. If your premiums go up, your agent can just switch to a different company and you won’t have to switch agencies.

When comparison shopping, you will want to get several quotes from a few independent agents so that you have a good selection of quotes to compare. Most have the option of insuring with small mutual carriers which could offer lower prices.

Featured below is a small list of independent insurance agents in San Diego who may provide price quote information.

• Einhorn Insurance
  3940 Hancock St – San Diego, CA 92110 – (858) 336-4644 – View Map
• ARROWHEAD General Insurance Agency, Inc.
  701 B St #2100 – San Diego, CA 92101 – (619) 744-5000 – View Map
• Nationwide Insurance: Richard Turner Insurance Agency
  3443 Camino del Rio S #221 – San Diego, CA 92108 – (619) 296-6222 – View Map

View more agents

Exclusive Agencies

Agents that elect to be exclusive can only quote rates from one company and examples are Farmers Insurance, State Farm, Allstate, and AAA. They generally cannot provide other company’s prices so they have no alternatives for high prices. Exclusive insurance agents receive a lot of sales training on their company’s products which can be an advantage. Some people will only buy from the same agent for years primarily because of the brand name and strong financial ratings.

The following is a short list of exclusive agents in San Diego willing to provide rate quotes.

• R J Blake – State Farm Insurance Agent
  1040 University Ave B201 – San Diego, CA 92103 – (619) 681-0060 – View Map
• Allstate Insurance: Philip Mullane
  3555 Rosecrans St Ste 202 – San Diego, CA 92110 – (619) 223-2191 – View Map
• Karen L Wroan – State Farm Insurance Agent
  12780 High Bluff Dr #180 – San Diego, CA 92130 – (858) 755-7553 – View Map

View more agents

Choosing the best auto insurance agent requires more thought than just a low price. Any good agent in San Diego should know the answers to these questions.

• Are they giving you every discount you deserve?
• Which family members are covered?
• Does the agent recommend any additional coverage?
• Will you work with the agent or an assistant?
• How much experience to they have in personal lines coverages?
• Can they provide you with a list of referrals?
• Is the agent CPCU or CIC certified?
• How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?