You have seen the ads from car insurance companies like The General and Farmers that make claims of enormous savings. So you just need to pick the company with the catchiest ad, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there are a ton of unknown factors like your credit history, what coverage limits you need, if you just need liability coverage, and if you are a homeowner, that all impact the cost of coverage. Car insurance is kind of a dry topic, but this article will explain the best ways to maintain low rates and will hopefully give you a good start to your coverage search.
The type of vehicle that needs insurance is one of the largest considerations when consumers are trying to find the most economical coverage for seniors. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, good crash test ratings, or a positive history of liability claims will cost much less to insure than adrenaline junky models. The list below outlines insurance costs for a number of the most affordable automobiles to insure in California.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $984 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $1,006 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Regular Cab 2WD | $1,079 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,091 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $1,101 |
| Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $1,140 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT 2WD | $1,162 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $1,170 |
| Toyota Camry LE | $1,162 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $1,170 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $1,187 |
| Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $1,204 |
| Honda Civic VP 4-Dr Sedan | $1,209 |
| Chevrolet Impala LTZ | $1,226 |
| Honda Odyssey EX-L W/Rear Entertainment | $1,233 |
| Ford Edge Sport AWD | $1,226 |
| Nissan Rogue S AWD | $1,245 |
| Toyota Corolla XRS | $1,250 |
| GMC Sierra SL Crew Cab 2WD | $1,257 |
| Ford Fusion SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $1,250 |
| Start a Quote Go | |
Table data assumes married male driver age 60, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, claim-free, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Rate information does not factor in vehicle garaging location which can lower or raise auto insurance rates greatly.
Looking at the data, models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, and Ford F-150 will definitely be a few of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for senior citizens.
For senior citizens, one of the largest components that aid in calculating the amount you pay for auto insurance is where you normally keep your vehicle. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people will most likely pay more, whereas areas that tend to be more rural have the luxury of cheap car insurance rates.
The illustration below shows the highest-priced places in California for seniors to buy auto insurance in. Stockton is ranked #8 with an annual cost of $1,556 for the average policy, which is around $130 each month.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,146 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,058 |
| 3 | Oakland | $1,755 |
| 4 | San Francisco | $1,745 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,644 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,562 |
| 8 | Stockton | $1,556 |
| 9 | Garden Grove | $1,554 |
| 10 | Moreno Valley | $1,551 |
| 11 | Fontana | $1,535 |
| 12 | Santa Clarita | $1,533 |
| 13 | Modesto | $1,532 |
| 14 | Riverside | $1,497 |
| 15 | Santa Ana | $1,483 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,472 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,444 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,423 |
| 19 | Huntington Beach | $1,402 |
| 20 | Bakersfield | $1,394 |
| 21 | Irvine | $1,371 |
| 22 | San Diego | $1,368 |
| 23 | Fremont | $1,361 |
| 24 | Chula Vista | $1,350 |
| 25 | Oxnard | $1,304 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | ||
Rates are comparative as the specific garaging location can lower or raise premiums substantially.
Figuring out which company has the best insurance rates for seniors calls for a bit more work than just getting one or two price quotes.
Each company uses different criteria for filing rates in each state, so let’s rank the most affordable insurance companies in Stockton. It’s important to understand that Stockton insurance rates are influenced by many factors that may substantially change the cost of your policy. Improving your credit rating, increasing liability limits, or getting a ticket for careless driving may generate price changes that can make some companies affordable when they were higher priced.
Best Cheap Insurance Rates for Mature Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,143 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,181 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,190 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,234 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,379 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,503 |
| 9 | GEICO | $1,513 |
| 10 | Progressive | $1,542 |
| 11 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 12 | Allied | $1,588 |
| 13 | MetLife | $1,590 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,623 |
| 15 | State Farm | $1,750 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,756 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,795 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,842 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,966 |
| View More Rates Go | ||
USAA may have some of the best car insurance rates in Stockton at around $1,143 a year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide are also some of the cheaper Stockton, CA car insurance companies.
In the above rates, if you are a customer of CSAA and switched to Wawanesa, you may see savings of about $53. Insureds with Nationwide could save as much as $69 a year, and 21st Century policyholders might cut rates by $198 a year.
If you want to see how much you could save, click here to begin a quote or click several companies below for low rates.
Be aware that those policy prices are averaged for all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a vehicle location for seniors. So the insurer that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That emphasizes why you need to quote rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
Impact of citations and accidents on Stockton insurance rates
The recommended way to maintain low insurance prices for senior citizens is to be a good driver and not receive tickets or have accidents. The chart below highlights how traffic violations and accidents increase insurance prices for different age groups. The information is based on a married female driver, full physical damage coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.
In the chart above, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Stockton per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,948. Get one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $2,267, an increase of $319 each year. Now throw in one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of insurance for seniors goes up to an average of $3,165. That’s an increase of $1,217, or $101 per month, just for not driving attentively!
Liability-only versus full coverage
Paying a lower price for insurance is important to the majority of people, and an easy way to find cheaper insurance for seniors is to buy liability only. The illustration below shows the comparison of insurance premiums when comparing full coverage to liability only. The costs are based on no accidents, no driving violations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are single, and no policy discounts are applied.
Averaged for all age groups, physical damage coverage on your policy costs an extra $2,501 per year more than just buying liability only. Many drivers may wonder if full coverage is worth the money. There isn’t a steadfast formula that works best for making the decision to drop comp and collision coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of coverage is about 10% or more of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
There are some situations where eliminating full coverage is not a good plan. If you still owe a portion of the original loan, you must maintain physical damage coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should not buy liability only.
Stockton insurance companies
Selecting the highest-rated auto insurance provider is hard considering how many companies sell insurance in California. The ranking information displayed below can help you decide which companies you want to consider when comparing auto insurance rates for seniors. The ratings below are for insurance companies that insure vehicles in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in California are not factored into the list.
| 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 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
How to find budget-friendly auto insurance for seniors
The list below summarizes some penny-pinching ideas that can help drivers buy cheap car insurance.
- Save money by obeying traffic laws and keeping a clean driving record
- Drop full coverage on older vehicles
- At-fault accidents will increase rates
- If possible, do not file small claims
- Buy a car with high safety ratings
- Buying home and auto together can help save money
- Compare price quotes at least once a year
The last tip in the list is certainly significant, as was stressed in this article. Auto insurance rates change a lot, so you should be ready to buy a different policy if you can find a cheaper rate.
Brand loyalty is not necessarily bad, but is isn’t recommended if your bullheadedness ends up costing you a small fortune year after year. In less than five minutes you could compare prices and find cheaper car insurance for seniors in Stockton.