Who Has Affordable Car Insurance Quotes for College Graduates in Sacramento?

Wouldn’t it be perfect if we could tell you instantly the one perfect company that has the lowest rates for college graduates? That is not the case, however, as there are a whole slew of unknown aspects like the number of miles you drive each year, your marital status, if you are a man or woman, and your financial stability. This article should teach you a little about these things and will hopefully give you a jump start in finding the best auto insurance in California.

Buying low-cost car insurance is challenging, and deciding which insurers offer the cheapest insurance rates for college graduates may require even more work. Every insurance company uses a different method for determining rates in each state, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies with the overall best prices in Sacramento.

We do need to point out that California insurance rates are impacted by many factors that control your annual premium. Simply improving your credit score, buying a different home, or getting a few speeding tickets can cause premium changes that can make some companies much cheaper than others.

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California auto insurance company rankings
Rank Company Cost Per Year
1 USAA $1,143
2 Wawanesa $1,157
3 Century National $1,178
4 Nationwide $1,226
5 CSAA $1,234
6 21st Century $1,379
7 Grange $1,477
8 Mercury $1,503
9 Progressive $1,512
10 Allstate $1,513
11 GEICO $1,559
12 Allied $1,588
13 The Hartford $1,591
14 MetLife $1,654
15 State Farm $1,682
16 Esurance $1,705
17 Unitrin $1,733
18 Bristol West $1,777
19 Travelers $1,860
20 Farmers $1,946
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USAA offers some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Sacramento at around $1,143 a year. Wawanesa, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA also are some of the more affordable Sacramento, CA auto insurance companies.

As the example above demonstrates, if you are a customer of Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you may see an annual savings of upwards of $69. California drivers with CSAA might save as much as $77 a year, and 21st Century insureds might lower prices by $222 a year.

It’s important to note that these policy rates are averages across all drivers and vehicles and do not take into consideration an exact location for college graduates. So the insurer that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the top 24 companies shown above. That point stresses why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own personal information and vehicle type.

One of the more important things that are used to help calculate the annual cost of car insurance is where you choose to live in Sacramento. Larger areas tend to pay slightly more, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents benefit from lower prices.

The table below rates the highest-priced areas in California for college graduates to purchase auto insurance in. Sacramento comes in at #5 with the yearly price of $1,669 on average, which is approximately $139 each month.

How much does car insurance cost in Sacramento, CA?
Rank City Premium Per Year
1 Glendale $2,142
2 Los Angeles $2,104
3 San Francisco $1,711
4 Oakland $1,687
5 Sacramento $1,669
6 San Bernardino $1,596
7 Santa Clarita $1,595
8 Stockton $1,588
9 Fontana $1,566
10 Long Beach $1,562
11 Modesto $1,532
12 Riverside $1,527
13 Fresno $1,517
14 Garden Grove $1,508
15 Moreno Valley $1,491
16 Anaheim $1,444
17 Santa Ana $1,439
18 San Jose $1,437
19 Huntington Beach $1,374
20 San Diego $1,368
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Price information shown is estimated as the specific geographic location can decrease or increase price quotes noticeably.

The vehicle to be insured is one of the primary factors in finding the cheapest car insurance for college graduates. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, a great safety record, or a positive history of liability claims will cost significantly less to insure than higher performance models. The next list estimates insurance prices for some of the most economical automobiles to buy insurance for.

Cheapest Vehicles to Insure in Sacramento, CA
Make and Model Estimated Cost for Full Coverage
Honda Accord LX-P 4-Dr Sedan $1,324
Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon $1,437
Toyota Prius $1,465
Ford Escape XLS 4WD $1,515
Toyota RAV4 2WD $1,570
Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD $1,575
Dodge Grand Caravan Crew $1,599
Ford Explorer Limited AWD $1,608
Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 2WD 4-Dr $1,622
Honda CR-V EX 4WD $1,664
Ford F-150 XL Super Cab 2WD $1,669
GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE Extended Cab 4WD $1,679
GMC Sierra SLE Regular Cab 4WD $1,687
Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited 2WD $1,679
Nissan Altima Hybrid 4-Dr Sedan $1,688
Dodge Ram Crew Cab ST 4WD $1,708
GMC Sierra 3500HD SLT Extended Cab 2WD $1,711
Nissan Rogue SL AWD $1,760
Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon $1,771
Dodge Ram 2500 Mega Cab Laramie 4WD $1,821
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Prices based on single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-vehicle, claim-free, homeowner, and multi-policy. Premium amounts do not factor in specific location information which can influence coverage prices substantially.

Based on these rates, you can infer that vehicles like the Honda Accord, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius, Ford Escape, and Toyota RAV4 will definitely be some of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for college grads.

The information below demonstrates how deductible levels can change insurance prices when searching for cheap insurance for college graduates. Data assumes a married male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

A 50-year-old driver could lower rates by $416 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $626 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the Age 20 category, could potentially save $1,398 annually by using higher deductibles when buying full coverage.

If you do raise deductibles, it is important to have additional funds squirreled away to allow you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one shortcoming of high deductibles.

Should you buy full coverage?

Finding cheaper insurance is important to the majority of vehicle owners, and an effective way to pay less for insurance for college graduates is to not buy full coverage. The chart below visualizes the comparison of auto insurance rates with and without physical damage coverage. Data assumes no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, single marital status, and no other discounts are factored in.

If the expense is averaged for all age categories, physical damage coverage costs $3,093 per year over and above liability only. Lot’s of drivers question if buying full coverage is a good investment. There is no written rule of when to eliminate physical damage insurance, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is about 10% or more of the vehicle’s replacement cost less your deductible, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

There are some conditions where only buying liability is not in your best interest. If you haven’t satisfied your loan, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle in the event your current vehicle is totaled, you should keep full coverage.

Insuring your vehicle with a high-quality company is difficult considering how many companies provide coverage in Sacramento. The company rank data listed below may help you choose which car insurance companies you want to consider when comparing auto insurance rates for college graduates.

The ratings below include companies with a national presence, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in California are not taken into consideration for this list. To compare prices from the insurers below and more, simply click here.

Top 15 Insurance Companies for College Graduates in California
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
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies