Toyota Tacoma Insurance Quotes in San Diego

Feeling guilty for buying high-priced Toyota Tacoma insurance in San Diego? Believe me, there are a lot of people in San Diego just like you who feel imprisoned by their auto insurance policy.

It’s hard to fathom, but the vast majority of California auto insurance customers have purchased from the same company for well over three years, and almost half have never compared rates with other companies. Many consumers in the U.S. could save up to $860 a year by just comparing rate quotes, but most undervalue the rate savings if they switched to a more affordable policy.

You have so many insurers to purchase coverage from, and though it is a good thing to have multiple companies, too many choices makes it more difficult to find the lowest rates for Toyota Tacoma insurance in San Diego.

Finding the cheapest insurance coverage in San Diego is easy if you know what you’re doing. If you are insured now, you should be able to get lower rates using these methods. But California vehicle owners must learn the way insurance companies market insurance on the web and take advantage of how the system works.

When comparison shopping, there are several ways to compare quotes from many different California insurance companies. The fastest way to find competitive Toyota Tacoma insurance rates is simply to get online rate quotes.

Comparing price quotes online is fast and free, and it takes the place of having to spend your day driving to and from local San Diego insurance agencies. Quoting and buying Toyota Tacoma insurance online reduces the need to sit down with an agent unless you’re the type of person who wants the trained guidance that only an agent can give. However, consumers can price shop your coverage online but buy the policy through an agent.

When quoting insurance, remember that comparing more rates from different companies helps locate the best price.

The following companies offer price quotes in San Diego, CA. If multiple providers are shown, it’s a good idea that you get rates from several of them in order to get a fair rate comparison.

Premium data assumes married male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-vehicle, claim-free, multi-policy, and homeowner. Premium amounts do not factor in specific location which can raise or lower price quotes considerably.

Full coverage versus liability only rates

The illustration below illustrates the comparison of Toyota Tacoma insurance premiums with full physical damage coverage and with liability coverage only. The rate quotes are based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, married female driver, and no additional discounts are factored in.

When to stop buying full coverage

There isn’t a steadfast formula of when to exclude comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than around 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.

For example, let’s pretend your Toyota Tacoma settlement value is $8,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would get paid by your company is $7,000 after paying your policy deductible. If you are paying over $700 annually for physical damage coverage, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

There are some circumstances where dropping full coverage is not in your best interest. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not remove full coverage.

Save money with these ten discounts

Companies offering auto insurance don’t always publicize all their discounts in an easy-to-find place, so the following is a list of both well-publicized and also the lesser-known discounts that may be available. If you aren’t receiving every discount you deserve, you’re paying more than you need to.

• Seat Belts Save – Drivers who require all vehicle occupants to fasten their seat belts can save a little off the PIP or medical payment premium.
• Sign Early and Save – A few companies offer discounts for renewing your policy before your current Tacoma insurance policy expires. The savings is around 10%.
• Defensive Driver Discounts – Taking part in a course teaching driver safety skills could cut 5% off your bill if your company offers it.
• Early Payment Discounts – If you pay your bill all at once rather than spreading payments over time you can avoid monthly service charges.
• Good Student – A discount for being a good student could provide a savings of up to 20% or more. This discount can apply up until you turn 25.
• Low Mileage Discounts – Driving less can earn better premium rates on cars that stay parked.
• Discount for Multiple Policies – If you can bundle your homeowners and auto insurance and place coverage with the same company you may save up to 20% off your total Tacoma insurance premium.
• Accident Forgiveness Coverage – This one isn’t a discount, but some companies like Liberty Mutual, Allstate and State Farm allow you one accident before hitting you with a surcharge if you have no claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
• Discounts for Multiple Vehicles – Insuring more than one vehicle with the same auto insurance company could earn a price break for each car.
• Save with a New Car – Buying a new car model can save up to 30% since newer models are generally safer.

A little note about advertised discounts, most discount credits are not given to the entire policy premium. Some only apply to the price of certain insurance coverages like collision or personal injury protection. Despite the fact that it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.

A few of the larger companies and their offered discounts are detailed below.

• AAA offers premium reductions for anti-theft, education and occupation, multi-policy, AAA membership discount, multi-car, and pay-in-full.
• Progressive offers discounts including homeowner, multi-policy, online quote discount, online signing, continuous coverage, good student, and multi-vehicle.
• State Farm includes discounts for multiple autos, safe vehicle, Drive Safe & Save, good driver, good student, accident-free, and student away at school.
• Esurance has savings for multi-car, online quote, multi-policy, safety device, and online shopper.
• Nationwide has discounts for good student, easy pay, Farm Bureau membership, family plan, anti-theft, accident-free, and multi-policy.

If you need low cost San Diego auto insurance quotes, ask all companies you are considering which discounts you may be entitled to. Depending on the company, some discounts may not be available in San Diego. To find insurance companies who offer auto insurance discounts in San Diego, follow this link.

When to get advice from an insurance agent

Certain consumers still prefer to have an agent’s advice. An additional benefit of comparing rates online is that drivers can save money and get cheap rate quotes and still have a local agent.

Upon completion of this form (opens in new window), your insurance data is immediately sent to local insurance agents in San Diego that give free quotes for your insurance coverage. You don’t have to search for an agent since rate quotes are delivered directly to your email. You can find better rates and an insurance agent to talk to. If you want to get a comparison quote from a specific company, you just need to visit that company’s website and fill out their quote form.

Finding the right company is decision based upon more than just a cheap quote. You should also get answers to these questions.

• Is there a local claims center in San Diego?
• Do they have cheaper tiers of coverage?
• How long have they been in business?
• Is working in the agency their full-time job?
• Which insurance company do they prefer to write with?
• Do you need full coverage on every vehicle?
• Do they assist clients in filing claims?
• Will one accident increase rates?

San Diego auto insurance agents come in two flavors

If you are searching for a reliable agent, it’s helpful to know the types of insurance agents that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Insurance agencies in San Diego can be described as either exclusive agents or independent agents.

Exclusive Auto Insurance Agents

Agents that choose to be exclusive can only quote rates from one company and examples are Allstate, Farmers Insurance, State Farm, and AAA. Exclusive agencies are unable to provide other company’s prices so they really need to provide good service. These agents are very knowledgeable on the products they sell and that allows them to sell at a higher price point.

Listed below are San Diego exclusive agencies that can give you rate quotes.

View more San Diego agents

Independent Insurance Agents

Agents of this type are not restricted to one company so they can insure your vehicles through many different auto insurance companies and get the cheapest rates. If prices rise, they can switch companies in-house and that require little work on your part.

If you are comparing rate quotes, we recommend you get several quotes from at a minimum one independent agency so that you can do a thorough price comparison.

Listed below are San Diego independent insurance agents willing to provide price quotes.

View more San Diego agents

Choosing Toyota Tacoma insurance is an important decision

Despite the high cost, buying car insurance is required by state law in California and it also provides benefits you may not be aware of.

• Most states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means you are required to buy a specific level of liability protection if you drive a vehicle. 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 you have a lien on your Tacoma, most lenders will stipulate that you have physical damage coverage to guarantee their interest in the vehicle. If the policy lapses, the lender will be forced to insure your Toyota at an extremely high rate and force you to reimburse them for the expensive policy.
• Car insurance preserves both your vehicle and your personal assets. It will also reimburse you for medical transport and hospital expenses for you, any passengers, and anyone injured in an accident. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, will also pay to defend you if you are named as a defendant in an auto accident. If your Toyota gets damaged, your car insurance policy will pay to have it repaired.

The benefits of having insurance definitely exceed the cost, particularly for liability claims. According to a survey of 1,000 drivers, the average driver is overpaying over $810 a year so compare rate quotes at every policy renewal to make sure the price is not too high.

Auto insurance coverage options for a Toyota Tacoma

Knowing the specifics of your policy can be of help when determining which coverages you need and proper limits and deductibles. Policy terminology can be ambiguous and nobody wants to actually read their policy. These are typical coverage types found on the average auto insurance policy.

Collision insurance

This will pay to fix damage to your Tacoma caused by collision with a stationary object or other vehicle. You will need to pay your deductible and then insurance will cover the remainder.

Collision can pay for claims such as scraping a guard rail, sustaining damage from a pot hole, damaging your car on a curb and crashing into a building. Collision coverage makes up a good portion of your premium, so analyze the benefit of dropping coverage from older vehicles. Another option is to increase the deductible on your Tacoma in order to get cheaper collision rates.

Medical expense coverage

Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and medical payments coverage reimburse you for short-term medical expenses like nursing services, rehabilitation expenses, funeral costs, surgery and EMT expenses. They are used to cover expenses not covered by your health insurance policy or if you are not covered by health insurance. Coverage applies to not only the driver but also the vehicle occupants as well as any family member struck as a pedestrian. PIP is not available in all states but can be used in place of medical payments coverage

Auto liability insurance

This protects you from injuries or damage you cause to other’s property or people by causing an accident. This coverage protects you from claims by other people. Liability doesn’t cover your injuries or vehicle damage.

Liability coverage has three limits: bodily injury for each person, bodily injury for the entire accident, and a limit for property damage. You might see liability limits of 15/30/5 which means $15,000 in coverage for each person’s injuries, a limit of $30,000 in injury protection per accident, and a limit of $5,000 paid for damaged property.

Liability can pay for things like loss of income, attorney fees, pain and suffering, repair bills for other people’s vehicles and medical services. How much coverage you buy is a personal decision, but you should buy as much as you can afford. California requires minimum liability limits of 15/30/5 but you should consider buying more liability than the minimum.

Comprehensive protection

Comprehensive insurance coverage will pay to fix damage OTHER than collision with another vehicle or object. You first must pay your deductible then the remaining damage will be covered by your comprehensive coverage.

Comprehensive can pay for claims such as hitting a bird, fire damage, vandalism and a tree branch falling on your vehicle. The maximum amount your auto insurance company will pay is the cash value of the vehicle, so if the vehicle is not worth much consider dropping full coverage.

Uninsured or underinsured coverage

Uninsured or Underinsured Motorist coverage provides protection when other motorists are uninsured or don’t have enough coverage. This coverage pays for medical payments for you and your occupants as well as your vehicle’s damage.

Since a lot of drivers only purchase the least amount of liability that is required (15/30/5 in California), it doesn’t take a major accident to exceed their coverage limits. That’s why carrying high Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverage is important protection for you and your family.

Affordable insurance rates are available

When getting San Diego auto insurance quotes online, you should never buy poor coverage just to save money. There are a lot of situations where an insured cut comprehensive coverage or liability limits to discover at claim time that their decision to reduce coverage ended up costing them more. Your objective should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest price, but don’t skip important coverages to save money.

More affordable insurance in San Diego is definitely available both online and from local insurance agents, and you need to price shop both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some insurance companies may not offer rate quotes online and these small insurance companies prefer to sell through independent insurance agencies.

More tips and info about insurance can be found in the articles below:

• Bodily Injury Coverage (Liberty Mutual)
• How Much is Auto Insurance for Lyft Drivers in San Diego? (FAQ)
• Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Rates for 4×4 Vehicles in San Diego? (FAQ)
• What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers Over Age 70 in San Diego? (FAQ)
• Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance Quotes for a Kia Forte in San Diego? (FAQ)
• Understanding your Policy (NAIC.org)
• Senior Drivers (Insurance Information Institute)