I’m sure you’ve seen the catchy advertisements from insurers like Allstate, GEICO, and Nationwide that promise big savings. So you just need to select the one with the best jingle, right?
That is not the case, however, as there are a whole slew of unknown aspects such as where you live in Bakersfield, whether you are male or female, your credit rating, and the level of liability coverage you want, that all impact the price you pay. This article covers the types of things that cause high car insurance rates and will hopefully give you a good start in finding the cheapest insurance in California.
One of the many considerations that are used to help calculate the cost of insurance is where your residence is. Regions with more people or even just more weather-related claims are more likely to pay higher prices, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims benefit from lower prices.
The next table ranks the most expensive places in California for homeowners in which to purchase auto insurance. Bakersfield shows up at #20 with a yearly cost of $1,381 for the average policyholder, which is approximately $115 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,146 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,142 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,763 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,703 |
| 5 | Oakland | $1,687 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,628 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 8 | Stockton | $1,603 |
| 9 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 10 | Santa Clarita | $1,580 |
| 11 | Modesto | $1,547 |
| 12 | Riverside | $1,542 |
| 13 | Garden Grove | $1,524 |
| 14 | Moreno Valley | $1,491 |
| 15 | Fresno | $1,457 |
| 16 | Santa Ana | $1,453 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,444 |
| 18 | Huntington Beach | $1,402 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,381 |
| 20 | Bakersfield | $1,381 |
| Compare Prices Now Go | ||
Table data uses comparative as the specific zip code location can change coverage rates substantially.
Figuring out which companies offer the lowest-priced insurance rates for homeowners takes a bit more effort than just comparing a company or two. Every car insurance company has their own guidelines to set policy rates, so let’s rank the insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Bakersfield, CA.
We do need to point out that Bakersfield, CA insurance rates are impacted by many factors that will increase or decrease the cost of having a policy. Turning one year older, adding a teenager to your policy, or getting a few speeding tickets can trigger price changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper than competitors.
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| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,155 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,226 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,234 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,325 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,491 |
| 8 | Progressive | $1,496 |
| 9 | Allstate | $1,513 |
| 10 | GEICO | $1,529 |
| 11 | Mercury | $1,548 |
| 12 | MetLife | $1,590 |
| 13 | Allied | $1,603 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,639 |
| 15 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,756 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,795 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,842 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,026 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
USAA may have some of the best car insurance rates in Bakersfield at around $1,155 per year. This is $496 less than the average price paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also rank well as some of the most economical Bakersfield, CA car insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you have coverage with Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you could realize savings of upwards of $93. Policyholders with 21st Century could save as much as $168 a year, and Grange insureds might lower prices by up to $334 a year.
Be aware that those policy prices are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a specific location for homeowners. So the car insurance company that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the top 24 companies shown above. That point stresses why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
The chart below illustrates how your choice of deductibles can affect insurance premiums when getting quotes for cheap insurance for homeowners. The costs are based on a married female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The chart above illustrates that a 40-year-old driver could pocket $408 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $614 by changing to a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, like the 20-year-old, could drop their prices up to $1,008 or more by choosing a larger deductible amount.
If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it is a good idea to have enough savings to satisfy the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one inconvenience of using high deductibles.
Accidents and violations increase rates
The ideal way to earn affordable insurance rates for people who own their homes is to be a careful driver and not receive tickets or have accidents. The illustration below shows how violations and fender-benders drive up auto insurance rates for different age groups. The information is based on a married male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $100 deductibles, and no additional discounts are factored in.
In the example above, the average cost of an auto insurance policy per year with no violations or accidents is $2,404. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost hikes up to $2,758, an increase of $354 each year. Now throw in one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the 12-month cost of insurance for homeowners jumps again to an average of $3,763. That’s an increase of $1,359, or $113 per month, just for not driving carefully!
Insuring your vehicle with a good quality insurance company can be rather challenging considering how many companies sell coverage in California. The information shown below may help you decide which auto insurance companies to look at when comparing rate quotes.
These rankings are for the largest companies in the United States, so smaller regional companies are not factored into the list. To check rates from these companies and more, follow this link.
| 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 |
| Mercury Insurance | 88 | 91 | 90 | 85% | A+ | 89.4 |
| Allstate | 85 | 90 | 92 | 88% | A+ | 89.3 |
| Nationwide | 87 | 88 | 84 | 90% | A+ | 88.7 |
| Liberty Mutual | 84 | 87 | 93 | 88% | A | 88.5 |
| 21st Century | 85 | 86 | 87 | 88% | A | 86.7 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Why you are probably overpaying for car insurance
Bakersfield, CA insurance rates are calculated based on many things which can substantially decrease or increase your annual premium. Simply having a birthday, becoming a homeowner, or getting a speeding ticket may cause policy rate changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than competitors.
In addition to those changes, companies file new rates every year or even multiple times each year in order to protect their financial rating. Larger than normal claims may result in more expensive premiums, while long-term profits may result in lower-priced Bakersfield car insurance rates.
To help illustrate this point, the bar chart below shows a variety of companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Bakersfield, CA for a 30-year-old male driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and a high credit rating. If we look at prices based on his current risk factors, USAA quotes the most affordable car insurance rates in Bakersfield at $1,163 a year. This is $488 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide round out the rest of the best Bakersfield, CA auto insurance companies.
Let’s now give the driver from the first rate comparison some claims, a lower credit score, and an imperfect driving record. Since every car insurance company has a unique approach to determine rates, comparing rates will most likely result in a significantly different list of affordable Bakersfield car insurance companies as shown below.
Grange now has the cheapest rate in Bakersfield with Mercury, Progressive, Allstate, and GEICO completing the list. This example shows why Bakersfield drivers need to perform an extensive rate comparison when trying to get the best auto insurance quotes for homeowners. Auto insurance prices are impacted by many things and change frequently, so the lowest-price company when you bought your policy may now be an over-priced policy.