The words “affordable” and “insurance” probably shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, especially when you are looking for the best price on coverage for homeowners. Let’s start the ball rolling by going over a few of the factors that can significantly affect auto insurance rates, and see if you can cut the cost of the next policy you buy.
For people who own their homes, one of the big criteria that help determine the annual cost of car insurance is your address in San Francisco. More populated areas tend to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion have the luxury of lower rates.
The illustration below ranks the most expensive places in California for homeowners to buy car insurance in. San Francisco shows up at #3 having an annual price of $1,763 for the average insured, which is about $147 per month.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,083 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,079 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,763 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,720 |
| 5 | Oakland | $1,687 |
| 6 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 7 | Stockton | $1,603 |
| 8 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
| 9 | Santa Clarita | $1,580 |
| 10 | Fontana | $1,566 |
| 11 | Modesto | $1,532 |
| 12 | Riverside | $1,527 |
| 13 | Garden Grove | $1,508 |
| 14 | Moreno Valley | $1,506 |
| 15 | Anaheim | $1,474 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,472 |
| 17 | Santa Ana | $1,453 |
| 18 | Huntington Beach | $1,416 |
| 19 | Irvine | $1,384 |
| 20 | San Jose | $1,381 |
| 21 | San Diego | $1,381 |
| 22 | Bakersfield | $1,381 |
| 23 | Chula Vista | $1,350 |
| 24 | Fremont | $1,348 |
| 25 | Oxnard | $1,318 |
| Find the Best Rates Go | ||
Premium costs are approximated as the garaging address in San Francisco can decrease or increase rates noticeably.
Comparing rates for cheap insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and deciding which company offers the cheapest insurance rates for homeowners involves more quotes for comparison. Every insurance provider has a unique formula to set premium rates, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies with the overall best prices in San Francisco.
It’s important to understand that San Francisco insurance rates are impacted by many factors that will increase or decrease the cost of having a policy. That is why it is so important to compare rates to get cheap auto insurance quotes for homeowners. Insurance rates are impacted by many risk factors and change substantially, so the cheapest rate the last time you shopped around may now be an over-priced policy.
Cheap Insurance Rates for Homeowners
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,155 |
| 2 | Century National | $1,178 |
| 3 | Wawanesa | $1,192 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,325 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,433 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,503 |
| 9 | Allstate | $1,513 |
| 10 | GEICO | $1,529 |
| 11 | Allied | $1,556 |
| 12 | Progressive | $1,558 |
| 13 | The Hartford | $1,591 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,654 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,682 |
| 16 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,756 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,795 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,842 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,966 |
| Find Your Rate Go | ||
USAA offers some of the lowest car insurance rates in San Francisco at around $1,155 annually. Century National, Wawanesa, CSAA, and Nationwide also rank well as some of the best San Francisco, CA insurance companies.
As the rates illustrate above, if you currently have coverage with CSAA and switched to Century National, you could see an annual savings of upwards of $44. Insureds with Nationwide might save as much as $72 a year, and 21st Century insureds might cut rates by $147 a year.
If you want to find out if you’re overpaying, click here to get quotes or feel free to get quotes from the companies below.
Bear in mind that those premiums are averaged across all insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a specific vehicle garaging location for homeowners. So the auto insurance company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
How to get discounts on San Francisco car insurance
Auto insurance companies that offer coverage for homeowners could also offer special discounts that can lower rates by 25% or more if you meet eligibility requirements. A list of companies and a selection of discounts are detailed below.
- State Farm offers discounts including anti-theft, student away at school, accident-free, defensive driving training, and driver’s education.
- Progressive discounts include continuous coverage, homeowner, multi-policy, online signing, good student, multi-vehicle, and online quote discount.
- Travelers may have discounts that include good student, payment discounts, IntelliDrive, home ownership, and multi-car.
- American Family may offer discounts for bundled insurance, early bird, air bags, TimeAway discount, and mySafetyValet.
- Liberty Mutual may include discounts for exclusive group savings, good student, safety features, hybrid vehicle, multi-car, and multi-policy.
The example below shows the comparison of insurance rates with and without policy discounts. The premium estimates are based on a female driver, no accidents or driving violations, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with anti-theft, safe-driver, vehicle safety, multiple policy, marriage, and homeowner discounts applied. With discounts applied, theaverage amount saved on insurance for homeowners is 28% or $819.
How violations and accidents impact rates
The recommended way to get the most affordable insurance rates in California for people who own their homes is to drive safely and have a clean driving record. The illustration below highlights how speeding tickets and at-fault claims impact insurance costs for different age groups of insureds. The costs are based on a married male driver, full physical damage coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
In the example above, the average cost of a car insurance policy in California per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,570. Receive one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $1,810, an increase of $239 each year. Then include one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of insurance for homeowners goes up to an average of $2,466. That’s an increase of $896, or $75 per month, just for being a less-than-perfect driver!
Why are you paying too much for car insurance?
San Francisco, CA insurance rates are impacted by many things which can significantly increase or decrease the cost of having a policy. Simply having a birthday, buying a home, or getting a driving violation may prompt premium changes that can cause some rates to be more affordable than others. Not only that, but insurers file new California car insurance rates at least once a year in order to maintain liquidity for claims. Significantly higher losses may result in more expensive premiums, while profitable underwriting may cause lower-priced San Francisco car insurance rates.
The bar chart below shows rates for the cheapest car insurance in San Francisco, CA for a 30-year-old male driver with a clear driving record, no claims, and a decent credit rating. If we compare prices based on his current risk factors, Wawanesa quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in San Francisco at $1,541 per year. This is $110 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. USAA, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide are also included in the top five cheapest San Francisco, CA auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from above a couple of claims, bad credit, and a speeding ticket. Because every insurance company has their own process to set their prices, getting updated rate quotes may now result in a slightly different list of affordable companies as shown below.
Grange now has the cheapest auto insurance in San Francisco with Mercury, Progressive, Allstate, and GEICO now being in the top five. This example shows why California drivers need to shop around with many companies when trying to get the most economical auto insurance rates for homeowners. Rates can be determined by many different factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the most economical option the last time you shopped around may now be priced much higher than other options.
How to find low-cost car insurance for homeowners
The list below summarizes some of the better thrifty ideas that can help California drivers find lower-cost coverage.
- Vehicles with good safety ratings are usually cheaper to insure
- Clean up your credit
- Remain accident-free and save
- Increase your deductibles
- On older vehicles, drop full coverage
- Do not get tickets or violations
- Comparison shop frequently
The final tip is highly vital, as we discussed in this article. Car insurance prices can change significantly in a year, so don’t be tentative to switch carriers if a lower-cost policy is available. Staying with the same car insurance company is fine, but is isn’t recommended if that dedication is costing hundreds of dollars year after year. It only takes a couple minutes to shop around and find cheaper auto insurance for homeowners in San Francisco.
The agents below can help you decide which insurance coverage you need, as lots of people like to get help from a professional when trying to find the best insurance rates for homeowners. It can be difficult to find the best policy on your own, and using a licensed agent can provide satisfaction knowing your policy gives you enough coverage when you need it. To locate a San Francisco car insurance agency by location nearest to you, click the link at the bottom.
Basic West Insurance Agency
1641 Taraval St – San Francisco, CA 94116 – (415) 665-7400
Wang Insurance
2620 Judah St – San Francisco, CA 94122 – (415) 731-7062
Allstate Insurance: Myrna De Vera
2121 19th Ave Ste 102 – San Francisco, CA 94116 – (415) 566-9400