Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates for Immigrants in Bakersfield?

It’s hard to miss the captivating ads from auto insurance companies like Allstate and Farmers that say if you switch you’ll get big savings. So you should just choose the one with the most memorable commercial, right?

It’s not that easy, however, as there are a whole slew of unknown aspects such as if you have a tendency to get pulled over, if you are married, and the performance level of your vehicle. In this article, we will cover some of these criteria and educate you enough to have a good beginning to your search for cheaper coverage.

The type of vehicle you are trying to insure is a significant factor when comparing quotes for the most economical auto insurance for immigrants. Vehicles with higher performance, a lack of advanced safety features, or an increased likelihood of liability claims will cost significantly more to insure than safer models. The list below illustrates insurance premiums for a number of the most affordable vehicles to insure in California.

Table data assumes single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, claim-free, and safe-driver. Premium costs do not factor in garaging location in Bakersfield, CA which can affect price quotes substantially.

Based upon the rates shown, makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Toyota Tacoma, and Dodge Grand Caravan are most likely to be some of the most economical vehicles to insure for foreigners.

For foreigners, one of the big components that are used to help calculate auto insurance rates is where you keep your car. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people tend to pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims have the luxury of cheap car insurance rates.

The following table rates the highest-priced areas in California for immigrants in which to buy car insurance. Bakersfield ranks #20 costing $1,394 for the average policy, which is about $116 each month.

Prices are approximated as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can decrease or increase coverage rates greatly.

Should you buy full coverage?

Paying a lower price for insurance is probably important to most drivers, and one of the easiest ways to buy cheap insurance for immigrants is to only buy liability coverage. The example below visualizes the comparison of insurance costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The prices are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied.

As an average for all age groups, full coverage costs $2,812 per year more than insuring for liability only. That is a significant amount which raises the question when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no definitive formula of when to stop paying for physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is about 10% or more of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s book value is $11,500 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, you would only receive $10,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If you are paying more than $1,050 annually for physical damage coverage, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.

How to get discounts on Bakersfield car insurance rates

Insurers that provide policies for immigrants may also provide rate discounts that could potentially reduce rates by 40% or more if you meet certain criteria. Larger insurance companies and their offered discounts are:

• State Farm has savings for defensive driving training, multiple policy, good driver, safe vehicle, student away at school, and good student.
• American Family may have discounts that include multi-vehicle, mySafetyValet, bundled insurance, TimeAway discount, defensive driver, and air bags.
• GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including daytime running lights, membership and employees, multi-policy, five-year accident-free, defensive driver, federal employee, and anti-lock brakes.
• 21st Century offers discounts for teen driver, 55 and older, student driver, early bird, good student, and homeowners.
• Progressive may offer discounts for multi-policy, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, homeowner, online quote discount, and good student.

The chart below shows the comparison of insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. The premiums are based on a male driver, no claims or driving violations, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with accident-free, safe-driver, homeowner, multiple policy, vehicle safety, and claim-free discounts applied. With discounts applied, theaverage yearly reduction on insurance for immigrants is 28% or $944.

Impact of citations and accidents on insurance rates

The obvious way to get cheap insurance premiums for foreigners is to drive cautiously and avoid accidents and traffic citations. The diagram below illustrates how violations and accident claims can affect insurance prices for each age group. The rate quotes are based on a married female driver, full physical damage coverage, $100 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.

The data in the chart shows the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Bakersfield per year with no accidents or violations is $2,596. Factor in one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $3,023, an increase of $427 each year. Then add two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the 12-month cost of insurance for immigrants jumps again to an average of $6,655. That’s an increase of $4,059, or $338 per month, just for being a less-than-perfect driver!

What aren’t you shopping around?

California insurance rates are calculated based on many things which can substantially decrease or increase your annual premium. Simply having another birthday, buying a new vehicle, or having an accident can trigger rate changes that can make some companies cheaper than competitors.

And not only may your rating factors change, but insurance companies change their prices every year or even multiple times each year to help ensure profitability. Heavier than normal losses can cause additional price hikes, while profitable underwriting can cause more affordable Bakersfield car insurance rates.

To help illustrate this point, the bar chart below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Bakersfield, CA for a 30-year-old male driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and great credit. If we compare prices based on his current risk factors, USAA offers the most affordable car insurance rates in Bakersfield at $1,158 annually. This is $493 less than the average rate paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide round out the rest of the cheapest Bakersfield, CA auto insurance companies.

Now we will pretend the driver from the above example a claim, a lower credit rating, and a speeding ticket. Since each company has their own formula to set premium rates, getting updated rate quotes may result in a completely different list of the cheapest companies as shown below.

Grange now has the cheapest car insurance in Bakersfield with Progressive, Allstate, Mercury, and Allied now being in the top five. This example shows why California drivers need to perform a complete rate comparison to find the most budget-friendly auto insurance rates for immigrants. Auto insurance prices can be determined by many risk factors and change substantially, so the best option six months ago may now be costing you a lot of money.