It takes a few minutes, but the best way to get more affordable car insurance rates is to start comparing prices yearly from different companies that insure vehicles in San Francisco.
Step 1: Learn about how your policy works and the measures you can take to prevent expensive coverage. Many rating factors that drive up the price like distracted driving and an imperfect credit score can be controlled by being financially responsible and driving safely. Keep reading for information to get better rates and find more discounts that you may not know about.
Step 2: Compare prices from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can give quotes from a single company like Progressive and State Farm, while agents who are independent can provide prices from multiple insurance companies. Begin your rate comparison
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to the price on your current policy to see if cheaper Yaris iA coverage is available in San Francisco. If you find a better price and switch companies, ensure coverage does not lapse between policies.
An important part of this process is to use identical coverages on every quote request and to quote with as many car insurance companies as possible. This provides the most accurate price comparison and the best price quote selection.
It’s shocking but the vast majority of consumers have purchased from the same company for more than four years, and nearly half have never shopped around. Most drivers in America can save nearly $860 each year just by comparing rates, but most undervalue the big savings they would realize if they switched to a more affordable policy.
Buying the cheapest car insurance in San Francisco is quite easy if you know the best way to do it. If you are insured now, you will definitely be able to find better prices using the tips covered below. Vehicle owners just need to understand the least time-consuming way to shop for car insurance on the web.
Most major insurance companies like Allstate, GEICO and Progressive allow consumers to get prices on their websites. Doing online quotes for Toyota Yaris iA insurance in San Francisco is quite simple as you simply enter your coverage information on the page. After you submit the form the quote system orders your credit score and driving record and returns a price based on the data you entered.
This streamlines rate comparisons, and it’s very important to get many rate quotes in order to find cheaper prices.
In order to find out how much you can save on insurance, compare quotes from the companies shown below. If you have your current policy handy, we recommend you complete the form with deductibles and limits identical to your current policy. This way, you’re receiving rate quotes using the exact same coverages.
The companies in the list below are ready to provide comparison quotes in California. If more than one company is shown, we recommend you visit as many as you can to get the most affordable price.
Check for these premium slashing discounts
Insurance is neither fun to buy or cheap, but discounts can save money and there are some available that many people don’t even know exist. Certain discounts will be triggered automatically at quote time, but occasionally some discounts must be manually applied before being credited.
- Full Payment Discount – By paying your policy upfront instead of monthly or quarterly installments you may reduce your total bill.
- Defensive Driver – Successfully completing a course in driver safety could possibly earn you a 5% discount and make you a better driver.
- Telematics Data Discounts – Insureds that choose to allow driving data submission to monitor their driving habits through the use of a telematics system such as Progressive’s Snapshot may see discounts if they have good driving habits.
- Student Discounts – Being a good student may save as much as 25% on a San Francisco car insurance quote. You can use this discount normally until age 25.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – Not a discount per se, but some companies like Progressive, Allstate, and Liberty Mutual will forgive one accident without raising rates if you have no claims for a certain period of time.
Please keep in mind that most discounts do not apply to the overall cost of the policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like medical payments or collision. If you do the math and it seems like having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, insurance companies aren’t that generous.
A partial list of companies that may offer quotes with these discounts include:
When getting a coverage quote, ask each company or agent which credits you are entitled to. All car insurance discounts may not apply in your area. To find insurers that provide some of the discounts listed above in California, click here to view.
Car insurance protects more than just your car
Even though it’s not necessarily cheap to insure a Toyota in San Francisco, buying car insurance serves an important purpose.
- Just about all states have minimum liability requirements which means you are required to carry a specific level of liability insurance 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 took out a loan on your Toyota Yaris iA, more than likely the lender will require you to have insurance to guarantee loan repayment. If coverage lapses or is canceled, the bank may buy a policy for your Toyota for a much higher rate and require you to fork over much more than you were paying before.
- Car insurance preserves not only your vehicle but also your assets. Insurance will pay for medical transport and hospital expenses for you, any passengers, and anyone injured in an accident. As part of your policy, liability insurance will also pay attorney fees if anyone sues you for causing an accident. If you have damage to your Toyota as the result of the weather or an accident, your policy will pay all costs to repair after the deductible has been paid.
The benefits of carrying adequate insurance greatly outweigh the cost, particularly if you ever have a claim. The average driver in California is overpaying over $869 every year so we recommend shopping around once a year at a minimum to ensure rates are competitive.
When should I get advice from a local insurance agent?
A lot of people just want to go talk to an agent and we recommend doing that Professional insurance agents will help you protect your assets and help in the event of a claim. A good thing about price shopping on the web is the fact that you can find cheap auto insurance quotes but also keep your business local.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this form (opens in new window), your coverage information gets sent to local insurance agents in San Francisco that can provide free San Francisco car insurance quotes for your coverage. There is no need to search for any insurance agencies due to the fact that quote results will go immediately to you. If you wish to compare prices from a particular provider, you can always go to their quote page and give them your coverage information.
Deciding on an provider requires more thought than just the bottom line cost. You should also get answers to these questions.
- If you are a high risk driver, do they have special markets for your coverage?
- How long has the business existed?
- Which companies do they recommend if they are an independent agency?
- Are glass claims handled on-site or do you have to take your vehicle to a repair shop?
- How many companies do they write for?
- Will their companies depreciate repairs to your car based on the mileage?
- Does the company have a local claim office in San Francisco?
- How long have they worked with personal auto insurance coverage?
When searching for a reputable agency, it’s important to understand the different types of agencies and how they work. Agencies in San Francisco are either independent agents or exclusive agents depending on their employer. Either one can write policy coverage, but it’s good to learn how they are different since it could factor into your selection of an agent.
Exclusive Agents
These type of agents can only write with one company and examples are Allstate and State Farm. They generally cannot provide other company’s prices so keep that in mind. They receive a lot of sales training on sales techniques which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums. Some consumers prefer to use the same exclusive agent primarily because of the prominent brand name and strong financial ratings.
The following are exclusive agencies in San Francisco who can help you get comparison quotes.
- Darlene Chow – State Farm Insurance Agent
206 Spear St – San Francisco, CA 94105 – (415) 441-1119 – View Map - Fillia Fransisca – State Farm Insurance Agent
2315 Noriega St – San Francisco, CA 94122 – (415) 661-3726 – View Map - State Farm: Debra O’Farrell
870 Market St #440 – San Francisco, CA 94102 – (415) 982-9900 – View Map
View more San Francisco agents
Independent Agents
Agents that elect to be independent are appointed with more than one company so they can quote policies with any number of different companies and find you cheaper rates. If they quote lower rates, they can switch companies in-house and you stay with the same agent. When shopping rates, we recommend you get some free quotes from a couple of independent agencies to have the best price comparison. Most can insure with smaller regional carriers that can offer cheaper rates than bigger companies.
The following are independent insurance agencies in San Francisco that are able to give comparison quotes.
- Nationwide Insurance: Anita Daisy Lo Agency
6037 Geary Blvd – San Francisco, CA 94121 – (415) 592-8388 – View Map - CAL Insurance and Associates
2311 Taraval St – San Francisco, CA 94116 – (415) 661-6500 – View Map - John A. Morton Insurance Agency
3372 22nd St – San Francisco, CA 94110 – (415) 282-5888 – View Map