The words “economical” and “insurance” really shouldn’t be used together, specifically when you are trying to find the cheapest car insurance for drivers under 21. In an attempt to save some money, let’s teach you some of the things that impact insurance rates, and find out if we can help you take the sting out of the next policy you buy.
Deciphering which company quotes the best car insurance rates for drivers under 21 involves a bit more effort in order to find the lowest price. Every auto insurer uses a little different formula for determining prices, so let’s rank the lowest cost car insurance companies in San Francisco.
It’s important that readers know that California car insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially decrease or increase the price you pay for coverage. Simply getting older, adding a teenager to your policy, or getting a ticket for running a stop sign can cause premium changes that may make certain companies more affordable than competitors.
Find Cheaper Auto Insurance for Minors
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,143 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,214 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,226 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,338 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,488 |
| 9 | Progressive | $1,512 |
| 10 | GEICO | $1,513 |
| 11 | Allstate | $1,513 |
| 12 | The Hartford | $1,575 |
| 13 | Allied | $1,603 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,638 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,699 |
| 16 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,739 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,849 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,860 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,026 |
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USAA has some of the lowest car insurance rates in San Francisco at around $1,143 each year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide would also make the list of some of the cheaper San Francisco, CA car insurance companies.
In this example, if you are insured with Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you might achieve savings of in the vicinity of $69. Drivers with 21st Century might save as much as $181 a year, and Grange policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $320 a year.
To see how much you can save, click here to start your free quote or click through to the companies below.
It’s important to note that these premium estimates are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and do not factor in an exact location for drivers under 21. So the auto insurance company that is best for you may not even be in the top 24 companies shown above. That point stresses why you need to get rate quotes using your own individual information.
For minors, one of the largest components that are looked at to determine the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is your zip code. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents receive better rates.
The illustration below rates the highest-priced areas in California for drivers under 21 to buy car insurance in. San Francisco comes in at #5 with an annual premium of $1,693 for coverage, which is approximately $141 monthly.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,142 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,083 |
| 3 | Oakland | $1,738 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,703 |
| 5 | San Francisco | $1,693 |
| 6 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 7 | Stockton | $1,603 |
| 8 | Santa Clarita | $1,595 |
| 9 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
| 10 | Fontana | $1,566 |
| 11 | Moreno Valley | $1,551 |
| 12 | Riverside | $1,542 |
| 13 | Garden Grove | $1,508 |
| 14 | Anaheim | $1,488 |
| 15 | Modesto | $1,487 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,457 |
| 17 | Santa Ana | $1,453 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,395 |
| 19 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
| 20 | Oxnard | $1,358 |
| 21 | Bakersfield | $1,353 |
| 22 | Fremont | $1,348 |
| 23 | Irvine | $1,343 |
| 24 | San Diego | $1,327 |
| 25 | Chula Vista | $1,311 |
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Price information shown is approximated as the specific garaging location can increase or decrease coverage prices greatly.
Types of discounts on San Francisco auto insurance rates
Insurers that sell policies for drivers under 21 may also give you discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 35% if you are eligible to receive them. A few popular companies and some of their more popular discounts are included below.
- State Farm may offer discounts for passive restraint, anti-theft, good student, multiple autos, student away at school, driver’s education, and accident-free.
- GEICO offers discounts for anti-lock brakes, federal employee, anti-theft, good student, seat belt use, and air bags.
- Progressive may have discounts that include homeowner, continuous coverage, online quote discount, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, good student, and online signing.
- 21st Century discounts include air bags, homeowners, early bird, driver training, and teen driver.
- American Family offers premium reductions for mySafetyValet, air bags, bundled insurance, good student, and Steer into Savings.
- The Hartford has savings for vehicle fuel type, good student, air bag, defensive driver, and bundle.
- AAA may include discounts for good student, education and occupation, pay-in-full, AAA membership discount, good driver, anti-theft, and multi-policy.
The illustration below shows the comparison of yearly insurance costs with and without discounts applied. The data is based on a female driver, no violations or accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second shows the rates with paperless filing, passive restraint, anti-theft, paid-in-full, good student, and continuous coverage discounts applied. When discounts are applied, theamount saved on car insurance for drivers under 21 is 28% or $738.
Full coverage versus liability-only
Buying cheaper car insurance is important to most vehicle owners, and one common way to save on the cost of insurance for drivers under 21 is to not pay for full coverage. The chart below shows the comparison of yearly insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying liability only. The prices are based on no claims, a clean driving record, $100 deductibles, single status, and no policy discounts are applied.
Averaged for all ages 20 through 70, physical damage coverage costs $2,525 per year over and above liability only. That is a large expense which might make you wonder when is it a good idea to stop buying full coverage. There is no set rule to eliminate physical damage coverage, but there is a general convention. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
There are some situations where buying only liability insurance is not advised. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you are required to maintain full coverage in order to satisfy the requirements of the loan. Also, if your emergency fund is not enough to purchase a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should keep full coverage.
Finding a high-quality auto insurance provider can be difficult considering how many companies sell insurance in San Francisco. The ranking data in the next section can help you choose which car insurance providers you want to consider when comparing insurance rates for drivers under 21.
These rankings include companies that insure vehicles across America, so smaller regional companies are not included in the list. If you’d like to compare prices from these companies and more, just click here.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USAA | 98 | 100 | 100 | 94% | A++ | 98.6 |
| American Family | 98 | 89 | 100 | 86% | A | 95.4 |
| AAA of Southern California | 91 | 94 | 97 | 92% | A+ | 94.1 |
| State Farm | 88 | 93 | 96 | 90% | A++ | 92.4 |
| The Hartford | 94 | 92 | 90 | 89% | A+ | 91.7 |
| AAA Insurance | 88 | 89 | 95 | 91% | A | 91.2 |
| GEICO | 84 | 93 | 93 | 89% | A++ | 90.3 |
| The General | 89 | 91 | 89 | 88% | A- | 90 |
| Titan Insurance | 90 | 87 | 91 | 95% | A+ | 89.6 |
| Progressive | 84 | 91 | 93 | 87% | A+ | 89.5 |
| Mercury Insurance | 88 | 91 | 90 | 85% | A+ | 89.4 |
| Allstate | 85 | 90 | 92 | 88% | A+ | 89.3 |
| Nationwide | 87 | 88 | 84 | 90% | A+ | 88.7 |
| Liberty Mutual | 84 | 87 | 93 | 88% | A | 88.5 |
| 21st Century | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88% | A | 86.7 |
| Esurance | 85 | 80 | 95 | 87% | A+ | 85.9 |
| Safeco | 85 | 85 | 85 | 86% | A | 85.8 |
| Travelers | 80 | 87 | 87 | 83% | A++ | 85.2 |
| Farmers Insurance | 78 | 87 | 88 | 79% | A | 84.3 |
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies