Life would sure be easier if we could simply give you the name of the one best car insurance company that has the lowest rates in California. It’s not that simple, unfortunately, as there are a whole bunch of unknown aspects such as how many years you have been driving, what deductibles to use for physical damage coverage, how far you drive each year, and whether you just want liability only, that all factor into the price you pay. The information below will cover the best ways to pay less and educate you enough to have a good start to your coverage search.
For financially responsible drivers, one of the more important components that are looked at to help calculate the cost of insurance is where you live. Areas with more people or higher crime rates tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with less congestion benefit from lower rates.
The information below shows the most expensive cities in California for drivers with good credit in which to purchase auto insurance. Fresno shows up at #16 with an annual premium of $1,472 for the average insured, which is about $123 each month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,142 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 3 | Oakland | $1,738 |
| 4 | San Francisco | $1,693 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,644 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 8 | Santa Clarita | $1,580 |
| 9 | Moreno Valley | $1,551 |
| 10 | Modesto | $1,547 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 12 | Fontana | $1,535 |
| 13 | Garden Grove | $1,524 |
| 14 | Santa Ana | $1,497 |
| 15 | Riverside | $1,482 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,472 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,430 |
| 18 | Huntington Beach | $1,416 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,395 |
| 20 | Bakersfield | $1,394 |
| Get a Custom Quote Go | ||
Premium amounts are comparative as vehicle location can change insurance rates substantially.
Finding low-priced car insurance is confusing at best, and figuring out which companies have the lowest-priced car insurance rates for drivers with good credit involves even more work. Each company uses their own calculation for setting prices, so let’s begin by taking a look at the lowest cost car insurance companies in California.
Find Cheaper Car Insurance for High Credit
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,121 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,146 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,178 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,366 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,533 |
| 9 | Progressive | $1,542 |
| 10 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 11 | GEICO | $1,559 |
| 12 | Allied | $1,603 |
| 13 | MetLife | $1,638 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,639 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,682 |
| 16 | Esurance | $1,688 |
| 17 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,788 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,831 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,026 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
USAA normally has some of the best car insurance rates in Fresno at around $1,121 per year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also make the cut as some of the most economical Fresno, CA auto insurance companies.
As shown above, if you have coverage with Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you may realize an annual savings of approximately $104. Customers with 21st Century might save as much as $220 a year, and Grange insureds might reduce rates by $331 a year.
These rates are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific vehicle garaging location for drivers with good credit. So the car insurance company that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That’s why you need to quote rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
The vehicle that is being insured is a large factor when trying to find cheaper car insurance for drivers with good credit. Vehicles with high performance features, a lack of safety features, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost quite a bit more to insure than more economical and safe models. The next table showcases car insurance rates for a number of the cheapest automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $1,001 |
| Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $1,006 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $1,121 |
| Toyota Camry LE | $1,182 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $1,189 |
| Ford F-150 FX4 Super Cab 4WD | $1,205 |
| Honda CR-V EX 4WD | $1,255 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sport Islander Package 4WD 2-Dr | $1,259 |
| Ford Fusion Sport 4-Dr Sedan | $1,266 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,269 |
| Dodge Ram Quad Cab SLT 4WD | $1,289 |
| GMC Sierra SLT Crew Cab 4WD | $1,350 |
| Hyundai Sonata Limited 4-Dr Sedan | $1,355 |
| Toyota Camry Hybrid | $1,350 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 2WD | $1,357 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $1,362 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Crew | $1,382 |
| Ford Focus SES 4-Dr Sedan | $1,402 |
| Nissan Altima 3.5 SR 2-Dr Coupe | $1,411 |
| Ford Edge SEL AWD | $1,423 |
| Start a Quote Go | |
Data assumes single female driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, homeowner, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Rate information does not factor in garaging location in Fresno, CA which can revise rates substantially.
Looking at the numbers, we can conclude that cars like the Ford Escape, Hyundai Elantra, and Ford Explorer are likely to be a few of the cheaper vehicles to insure for financially responsible drivers.
Picking the top auto insurance company can be rather challenging considering how many choices you have in California. The company information shown next may help you choose which auto insurance companies to look at when shopping around. These ratings are only made up of the companies with a significant amount of written premium nationwide, so companies that focus mainly on California business are not included in this 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
Get discounts on Fresno insurance
Insurance companies that offer cheap quotes for drivers with good credit could also offer special discounts that could lower prices by 25% or more if you are eligible for them. Larger car insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are:
- State Farm has discounts for student away at school, multiple autos, Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, and passive restraint.
- GEICO may have discounts that include membership and employees, air bags, driver training, defensive driver, federal employee, and multi-vehicle.
- SAFECO has savings for anti-theft, safe driver, teen safe driver, bundle discounts, and teen safety rewards.
- Farmers Insurance discounts include multi-car, mature driver, bundle discounts, business and professional, and switch companies.
- AAA may offer discounts for pay-in-full, education and occupation, anti-theft, good student, multi-policy, AAA membership discount, and good driver.
- USAA includes discounts for safe driver, good student, loyalty savings, multi-vehicle, annual mileage, and family discount.
The information below compares car insurance costs with and without discounts applied to the premium. The costs are based on a female driver, no tickets, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with marriage, defensive driving course, multiple policy, claim-free, safe-driver, and anti-theft discounts applied. In this example, the amount saved on car insurance for drivers with good credit is 28% or $735.
Full coverage rates vs. liability-only in Fresno
Reducing premiums for car insurance is important to the majority of drivers, and one easy way to buy cheap insurance for drivers with good credit is to only pay for liability coverage. The information below illustrates the difference between insurance prices when comparing full coverage to liability only. The prices are based on no claims, a clean driving record, $250 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are applied.
As an overall average, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs an extra $3,147 per year more than just buying liability only. That is a large expense which might make you wonder if buying full coverage is a good investment. There is no clear-cut formula to delete physical damage coverage, but there is a general school of thought. If the annual cost of coverage is 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might consider buying liability only.