Truthfully, the best way to get discount car insurance rates is to regularly compare price quotes from insurance carriers who sell insurance in San Francisco.
Step 1: Learn about how insurance works and the changes you can make to keep rates in check. Many things that increase rates like getting speeding tickets and a substandard credit score can be controlled by making minor changes to your lifestyle. Keep reading for more details to help find cheaper rates and earn a bigger discount.
Step 2: Compare price quotes from exclusive agents, independent agents, and direct providers. Exclusive and direct companies can give quotes from one company like Progressive or Farmers Insurance, while independent agents can quote prices from multiple sources.
Step 3: Compare the new rates to your current policy premium to see if a cheaper rate is available in San Francisco. If you find better rates and switch companies, verify that coverage does not lapse between policies.
Step 4: Notify your company or agent of your intention to cancel your current auto insurance policy and submit a signed application and payment to your new agent or company. As soon as you receive it, safely store the certificate verifying proof of insurance with your vehicle’s registration.
A valuable tip to remember is to compare the same coverage limits and deductibles on each quote request and and to get rate quotes from every insurance company. Doing this guarantees an apples-to-apples comparison and the best price quote selection.
A recent NerdWallet.com study revealed that the vast majority of drivers have been with the same company for well over three years, and 38% of customers have never quoted rates to find cheaper coverage. Most drivers in the U.S. could save roughly $850 every year just by shopping around, but they don’t believe the rate savings if they switched.
Best Chevy Trax insurance prices in California
The following companies provide price comparisons in San Francisco, CA. If the list has multiple companies, we recommend you get prices from several of them to get the best price comparison.
Insurance policy discounts you can’t miss
Insurance is not an enjoyable expense, but you might be missing out on some discounts that can dramatically reduce your bill. Most are applied at the time you complete a quote, but once in a while a discount must be specially asked for prior to receiving the credit.
- Driver’s Ed – Reduce the cost of insurance for teen drivers by having them enroll and complete driver’s education if offered at their school.
- Smart Student Discounts – Getting good grades could provide a savings of up to 20% or more. You can use this discount normally up to age 25.
- Early Renewal Discounts – Select companies give a discount for signing up prior to the expiration date on your current Trax insurance policy. Ten percent is about the average savings.
- Lower Rates for Military – Being on active duty in the military could qualify you for better prices.
- Club Memberships – Having an affiliation with a professional or civic organization is a simple method to lower premiums on your next insurance statement.
Discounts save money, but please remember that most of the big mark downs will not be given to your bottom line cost. Some only reduce the price of certain insurance coverages like physical damage coverage or medical payments. If you do the math and it seems like adding up those discounts means a free policy, insurance companies aren’t that generous.
A partial list of companies that may offer most of these discounts include:
Before you buy a policy, ask each company the best way to save money. Discounts may not be available in San Francisco.
Six Things That Determine Your Insurance Costs
An important part of buying insurance is that you know some of the factors that aid in calculating your auto insurance rates. When you know what positively or negatively influences your rates, this enables you to make decisions that can help you get big savings.
- Prevent auto insurance lapses – Not maintaining insurance is a big no-no and companies may charge more for letting your insurance expire. Not only will rates go up, being ticketed for driving with no insurance can result in fines and jail time.
- Keep the miles off and save – The more you drive your Chevy every year the more you’ll pay to insure your vehicle. The majority of insurers charge to insure your cars based on their usage. Vehicles that sit idle most of the time can be on a lower rate level than vehicles that have high annual mileage. It’s a smart idea to ensure your declarations sheet properly reflects the right rating data. An improperly rated Trax can cost quite a bit.
- Prevent theft and save – Buying a car that has a built-in theft deterrent system can save you some money. Anti-theft features like GM’s OnStar, tamper alarm systems and vehicle immobilizers help track and prevent car theft and help bring rates down.
- Choose high crash test ratings and save – Cars with five star safety ratings are cheaper to insure. Safe vehicles reduce the chance of injuries and lower injury rates means lower claim amounts and more competitive rates for policyholders. If your Chevy Trax has at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website it is probably cheaper to insure.
- Liability coverage – The liability section of your policy kicks in when a jury decides you are liable for physical damage or personal injury to other. It will provide for a legal defense to attempt to prove you were not liable. This coverage is very inexpensive when compared to the cost of physical damage coverage, so buy as much as you can afford.
- Teenage drivers pay higher costs – More mature drivers are more responsible, statistically cause fewer accidents, and tend to be get fewer driving tickets. Teen drivers have a tendency to be less responsible in a vehicle so they pay higher auto insurance rates.
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Chevy Trax insurance loss statistics – Insurers analyze claim trends for every vehicle to help set a rate to offset losses. Vehicles that the data determines to have high amounts or severity of claims will have a higher cost to insure.
The table below outlines the insurance loss data for Chevy Trax vehicles. For each insurance policy coverage type, the loss probability for all vehicles, as a total average, is a value of 100. Numbers below 100 suggest a positive loss record, while values that are above 100 indicate more frequent claims or tendency to have larger claims.
Chevrolet Trax Insurance Loss Statistics Vehicle Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Chevrolet Trax 4dr 2WD 79 Chevrolet Trax 4dr 4WD 81 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEEmpty fields indicate not enough data collected
Statistics from IIHS.org for 2013-2015 Model Years
Do I need a local insurance agent?
Many drivers still like to get advice from a local agent and that can be a great decision The biggest benefit of comparing rate quotes online is you can get lower car insurance rates but also keep your business local. Buying from and supporting small agencies is important particularly in San Francisco.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this quick form, your coverage information is transmitted to local insurance agents in San Francisco who will give you quotes for your insurance coverage. You never need to contact any agents as quotes are delivered directly to your email. You can find lower rates without a big time investment. In the event you want to get a comparison quote from a specific company, you would need to search and find their rate quote page and fill out the quote form the provide.
Choose the right auto insurance agent
If you are wanting to purchase insurance from a reputable agency, you must know there are a couple different agency structures and how they are slightly different. Insurance agents are classified as either exclusive or independent.
Independent Agents (or Brokers)
These type of agents are not limited to a single company and that gives them the ability to insure with many different companies and find you the best rates. To transfer your coverage to a different company, they simply switch companies in-house and you don’t have to do anything.
If you need cheaper insurance rates, you absolutely need to get quotes from a couple of independent agencies in order to compare the most rates. Many write coverage with small mutual carriers which may provide better rates.
Shown below are independent insurance agents in San Francisco who may be able to give you price quotes.
- Sam and Associates Insurance Agency
2225 Taraval St – San Francisco, CA 94116 – (415) 665-0181 – View Map - Steven Cresci Insurance Agency
544 Golden Gate Ave – San Francisco, CA 94102 – (415) 212-8190 – View Map - Scarborough Insurance Agency
329 Bryant St – San Francisco, CA 94107 – (415) 371-1398 – View Map
View more San Francisco agents
Exclusive Insurance Agencies
Agents that choose to be exclusive can only quote rates from one company such as Farmers Insurance and State Farm. They usually cannot provide rate quotes from other companies so they are skilled at selling on more than just price. Exclusive agents are very knowledgeable on the products they sell which helps them sell on service rather than price. A lot of people use the same exclusive agent partially due to high brand loyalty rather than having low rates.
Shown below are San Francisco exclusive insurance agencies who can help you get comparison quotes.
- Farmers Insurance – Elbert Taylor
386 29th St – San Francisco, CA 94131 – (415) 285-4800 – View Map - Dave and Jake Stewart State Farm Insurance
821 Folsom St #101 – San Francisco, CA 94107 – (415) 982-9033 – View Map - Fillia Fransisca – State Farm Insurance Agent
2315 Noriega St – San Francisco, CA 94122 – (415) 661-3726 – View Map
View more San Francisco agents
Finding the right car insurance agent is decision based upon more than just the price. Before buying a policy in San Francisco, get answers to these questions.
- Are they involved in claim handling?
- Is there a 24/7 contact number?
- Are they primarily personal or commercial lines agents in San Francisco?
- Is the coverage adequate for your vehicle?
- Do they get paid more for recommending certain coverages?
- How often do they review policy coverages?
- Are all drivers listed on the coverage quote?
In Summary
When buying insurance coverage, it’s not a good idea to sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are too many instances where someone dropped liability coverage limits only to regret at claim time that a couple dollars of savings turned into a financial nightmare. The aim is to buy a smart amount of coverage at the best price but still have enough coverage for asset protection.
Drivers switch companies for any number of reasons including high rates after DUI convictions, delays in responding to claim requests, unfair underwriting practices and high prices. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, finding a new insurance company can be pretty painless.
You just learned a lot of techniques to get a better price on Chevy Trax insurance in San Francisco. The most important thing to understand is the more companies you get premium rates for, the higher your chance of finding affordable Chevrolet Trax insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the lowest priced insurance comes from a smaller regional carrier.
Additional detailed information can be found at these sites:
- Crash Avoidance Technologies FAQ (iihs.org)
- Senior Drivers (Insurance Information Institute)
- Pickups fall short in headlight tests (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- What does Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Cover? (Allstate)
- Top Signs Your Brakes are Giving Out (State Farm)