Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for Police Officers in San Francisco?

It’s hard to miss the catchy advertisements from companies like Farmers and Allstate that make promises of dirt cheap rates, so you should just choose any one of them, right?

It’s not that easy, however, as there are a lot of unknown elements like what physical damage coverage deductibles you want, whether you are female or male, the miles you drive each year, and what coverage limits you want, that all impact the price you pay. This article delves into the different scenarios that increase car insurance cost and also should give you a good beginning to your quest for cheaper car insurance in California.

The type of vehicle requiring insurance is one of the largest considerations in finding affordable car insurance for police officers. Vehicles with lower performance, good safety features, or a positive history of liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than high performance models. The table below outlines auto insurance rates for a handful of the cheapest vehicles to insure in California.

Data based on single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and homeowner. Rate quotes do not factor in vehicle location which can alter insurance rates greatly.

By looking at the data, we can conclude that models like the Ford Escape, Hyundai Elantra, and Toyota Prius will definitely be the cheapest vehicles to insure for law enforcement personnel.

Finding low-priced car insurance is not the easiest thing to accomplish, and determining which companies offer the cheapest auto insurance rates for police officers takes even more diligence. Every auto insurer has a different formula for setting prices, so let’s begin by examining the auto insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in California.

Best Auto Insurance Prices for Law Enforcement

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USAA quotes some of the most affordable car insurance rates in San Francisco at around $1,109 each year. This is $542 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide also make the cut as some of the lowest-priced San Francisco, CA insurance companies.

As the rates illustrate above, if you currently have coverage with CSAA and switched to USAA, you may see a yearly price reduction of upwards of $77. Policyholders with Century National might save as much as $105 a year, and Nationwide policyholders might cut rates by $141 a year.

To see if your current coverage is too expensive, click here to get quotes or visit any of the low-priced companies below.

Remember that these rates are averaged for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and are not factoring in an exact location for police officers. So the insurer that fits you best may not even be in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own personal information and vehicle type.

For law enforcement personnel, one of the big things that help determine car insurance rates is where you live. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people tend to have more expensive car insurance rates, whereas less populated areas have the luxury of lower rates.

The table below ranks the most costly cities in California for police officers to buy car insurance in. San Francisco is ranked at #4 with the annual price of $1,711 for the average insurance policy, which is about $143 per month.

Premium costs are comparative as specific San Francisco zip code can change coverage prices greatly.

What is the best auto insurance company in California?

Picking the top auto insurance provider is difficult considering how many companies there are to choose from in California. The company rank data displayed below could help you decide which car insurance providers you want to consider shopping prices with. The rankings below are for large nationwide companies, so companies that have a smaller presence are not included in the list.

Top 10 Large Car Insurance Companies in San Francisco Ranked by Claims Service

1. AAA of Southern California
2. State Farm
3. Esurance
4. AAA Insurance
5. Progressive
6. Liberty Mutual
7. GEICO
8. Allstate
9. Titan Insurance
10. The Hartford

Top 10 Large Car Insurance Companies in San Francisco Ranked by Value

1. USAA
2. American Family
3. The Hartford
4. AAA of Southern California
5. Titan Insurance
6. The General
7. AAA Insurance
8. State Farm
9. Mercury Insurance
10. Nationwide

Liability only or full coverage

Saving on auto insurance should be important to the majority of drivers, and one great way to pay lower rates for insurance for police officers is to not buy comprehensive and collision coverage. The example below shows the difference between insurance prices with full coverage compared to only the California minimum liability coverage. The premiums are based on no violations or claims, $250 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

As an average for all age groups, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs an extra $3,147 per year over having just liability coverage. That raises the question if buying full coverage is a waste of money. There isn’t a steadfast formula that is best for determining when to drop full coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is 10% or more of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

Here’s why price comparisons are so important

San Francisco auto insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can significantly increase or decrease the policy price. Improving your credit score, increasing deductibles, or getting a ticket for running a stop sign can trigger rate changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper than others. In addition to those changes, auto insurance companies change their prices every year or even multiple times each year in order to offset underwriting gains or losses. An extended period of higher than normal claims can result in a rate increase, while long-term profits can cause cheaper San Francisco car insurance rates.

To illustrate this point, the chart below demonstrates which company has the cheapest car insurance in San Francisco, CA for a 35-year-old male driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and solid credit. If we compare prices based on his personal profile, USAA offers the lowest car insurance rates in San Francisco at $1,449 a year. This is $202 less than the average premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA are the remaining most affordable San Francisco, CA auto insurance companies.

The next chart shows rates after we give the driver in the first chart a claim, slightly worse credit, and a speeding citation. Because every insurance company has a unique formula for setting prices, comparing insurance quotes will most likely result in a slightly different list of the cheapest San Francisco car insurance companies as shown below.

Grange now has the cheapest price in San Francisco with GEICO, Allstate, Mercury, and Allied also having competitive pricing. This demonstrates why it is crucial to compare lots of rates to get the cheapest car insurance quotes for police officers.

Rates are determined by many things and can change without notice, so the most affordable company the last time you shopped around may now be priced much higher than other options.