It’s a fact that insurance companies don’t want you to look for a cheaper policy. Consumers who compare rates once a year are highly likely to switch car insurance companies because there are good odds of getting low-cost coverage. Remarkably, a study showed that people who compared prices once a year saved as much as $3,500 over four years compared to those who never shopped around for better prices.
If finding discount rates on car insurance is your target objective, then learning about how to shop and compare coverages can help you be more efficient.
Truthfully, the best way to find better pricing on Volvo XC90 insurance in Sacramento is to annually compare prices from companies that sell auto insurance in California. Prices can be compared by following these guidelines.
- Step 1: Spend some time learning about how your policy works and the things you can control to keep rates low. Many factors that cause rate increases like tickets, at-fault accidents, and an unacceptable credit rating can be amended by making minor changes to your lifestyle. This article provides instructions to lower rates and find discounts that you may qualify for.
- Step 2: Compare price quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Exclusive and direct companies can provide rates from a single company like GEICO and State Farm, while independent agents can quote rates from multiple insurance companies.
- Step 3: Compare the quotes to the premium of your current policy and determine if there is any savings. If you find a better price, make sure coverage does not lapse between policies.
- Step 4: Give notification to your current company of your intention to cancel your current car insurance policy. Submit the required down payment along with the signed application to your new insurance company. As soon as you have the new policy, put the new proof of insurance paperwork somewhere easily accessible.
The most important part of shopping around is to make sure you’re comparing identical limits and deductibles on each quote and and to get price quotes from all possible companies. This helps ensure an apples-to-apples comparison and a complete price analysis.
Cut Insurance Costs with These Tips
Many factors are taken into consideration when you get your auto insurance bill. Some are obvious like an MVR report, but others are less apparent like your continuous coverage or your financial responsibility. An important part of buying insurance is that you know the different types of things that help calculate insurance rates. If you know what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this enables you to make decisions that will entitle you to big savings.
Listed below are just a few of the factors companies use to determine prices.
- Lower stress equals lower premiums – Jobs like lawyers, airline pilots, and medical professionals have the highest average rates because of intense work requirements and long work hours. On the flip side, professions such as actors, historians and homemakers have lower than average premiums.
- Lower premiums for safer vehicles – Safer cars tend to have better insurance rates. Safer cars result in less severe injuries and lower injury rates translates into savings for insurance companies and cheaper rates on your policy. If your Volvo XC90 has at least an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website or four stars on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website it is probably cheaper to insure.
- Being married equates to better rates – Walking down the aisle actually saves money on your policy. Marriage is viewed as being more mature than a single person and statistics prove married drivers tend to file fewer claims.
- Deter car thieves – Choosing to buy a car with a theft deterrent system can help lower your premiums. Advanced theft deterrents like OnStar found on GM vehicles, advanced tracking like LoJack, and vehicle immobilization systems all hinder your car from being stolen.
- Liability limits are a factor – Your policy’s liability coverage will afford coverage in the event that you are found liable for causing personal injury or damage in an accident. Your liability coverage provides you with a defense in court starting from day one. Liability insurance is quite affordable compared to other policy coverages, so insureds should have plenty of protection for their assets.
- Cheaper rates by bundling – Most larger insurance companies give a discount for people that have more than one policy, otherwise known as a multi-policy discount. The discount can add up to ten or even up to twenty percent in some cases. Even if you’re getting this discount you still need to comparison shop to help ensure you have the lowest rates. Drivers may still save more without the discount even if you have your coverage with different companies
The following companies offer free rate quotes in California. To locate the cheapest auto insurance in Sacramento, we recommend you compare several of them to find the most competitive auto insurance rates.
Car insurance data for a Volvo XC90
The coverage information shown next covers different insurance prices for Volvo XC90 models. Knowing how prices are calculated is important for making smart choices when choosing a car insurance company.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XC90 3.2 2WD | $378 | $780 | $534 | $32 | $160 | $1,884 | $157 |
| XC90 3.2 R-Design 2WD | $378 | $780 | $534 | $32 | $160 | $1,884 | $157 |
| XC90 3.2 AWD | $420 | $898 | $534 | $32 | $160 | $2,044 | $170 |
| XC90 V8 AWD | $420 | $898 | $534 | $32 | $160 | $2,044 | $170 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Price data assumes single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, multi-vehicle, claim-free, homeowner, and multi-policy. Rates do not factor in your specific Sacramento location which can lower or raise premium rates considerably.
Can higher deductibles save money?
The hardest decision when buying coverage is how high should the physical damage coverage deductibles be. The data tables below illustrate the difference in cost between high and low coverage deductibles. The first pricing table uses a $250 physical damage coverage deductible and the second set of rates uses a $1,000 deductible.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XC90 3.2 2WD | $386 | $678 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,689 | $141 |
| XC90 3.2 R-Design 2WD | $386 | $678 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,689 | $141 |
| XC90 3.2 AWD | $430 | $780 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,835 | $153 |
| XC90 V8 AWD | $430 | $780 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,835 | $153 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XC90 3.2 2WD | $238 | $426 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,264 | $105 |
| XC90 3.2 R-Design 2WD | $238 | $426 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,264 | $105 |
| XC90 3.2 AWD | $266 | $490 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,356 | $113 |
| XC90 V8 AWD | $266 | $490 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,356 | $113 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Above prices assume married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Rate quotes do not factor in vehicle garaging location which can alter rates considerably.
Based on this data, using a $250 deductible costs approximately $38 more each month or $456 each year than opting for the higher $1,000 deductible. Because you would be required to pay $750 more if you file a claim with a $1,000 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you have at a minimum 20 months between claims, you would save more money by going with a higher deductible.
How to determine if raising deductibles makes sense
| Average monthly premium for $250 deductibles: | $147 |
| Average monthly premium for $1,000 deductibles (subtract): | – $109 |
| Monthly savings from raising deductible: | $38 |
| Difference between deductibles ($1,000 – $250): | $750 |
| Divide difference by monthly savings: | $750 / $38 |
| Number of months required between physical damage coverage claims in order to save money by choosing the higher deductible | 20 months |
Careless Sacramento drivers pay higher rates
The illustration below highlights how traffic violations and at-fault fender-benders can influence Volvo XC90 car insurance rates for each age group. The premiums are based on a married female driver, comp and collision included, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
Impact of age and gender on car insurance rates
The diagram below illustrates the comparison of Volvo XC90 premium costs for male and female drivers. The information is based on no claims, a clean driving record, comp and collision included, $1,000 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are factored in.
Does full coverage make sense?
The example below shows the difference between Volvo XC90 car insurance rates with full coverage compared to only the California minimum liability coverage. The rates are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, single marital status, and no additional discounts are factored in.
Should you be buying full coverage?
There is no definitive rule for eliminating comp and collision coverage, but there is a general guideline. If the yearly cost of full coverage is about 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s say your Volvo XC90 replacement value is $4,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most your company will settle for is $3,000 after the deductible is paid. If it’s costing in excess of $300 a year for your policy with full coverage, then you might consider buying liability only.
There are some conditions where eliminating full coverage is not a good idea. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage in order to satisfy the requirements of the loan. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not consider dropping full coverage.
Why car insurance is not optional
Even though it’s not necessarily cheap to insure a Volvo in Sacramento, car insurance serves an important purpose.
- Almost all states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means state laws require specific limits of liability in order to be legal. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you have a loan on your Volvo, almost every bank will make it a condition of the loan that you buy full coverage to guarantee loan repayment. If you default on your policy, the bank may insure your Volvo at a much higher rate and require you to fork over for it.
- Insurance safeguards not only your Volvo but also your assets. It also can pay for medical expenses that are the result of an accident. Liability insurance, one of your policy coverages, also pays expenses related to your legal defense in the event you are sued. If your vehicle suffers damage from an accident or hail, collision and comprehensive (also known as other-than-collision) coverage will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.
The benefits of insuring your car outweigh the cost, especially when you need to use it. An average driver in America is currently overpaying as much as $820 a year so we recommend shopping around every year to help ensure money is not being wasted.
Discounts can help lower premiums on Volvo XC90 insurance in Sacramento
The price of auto insurance can be rather high, but companies offer discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. Certain reductions will be credited when you purchase, but once in a while a discount must be asked about before being credited.
- Savings for New Vehicles – Insuring a vehicle that is new can save up to 30% because new vehicles are generally safer.
- Accident Forgiveness Coverage – This one isn’t a discount, but a few companies such as GEICO and Liberty Mutual permit an accident before hitting you with a surcharge so long as you haven’t had any claims for a particular time prior to the accident.
- Driver Training Discounts – Completing a safe driver class is a good idea and can lower rates depending on where you live.
- E-sign Discounts – Some of the larger companies give back up to $50 for buying a policy and signing up on the internet.
- Discount for Good Grades – Maintaining excellent grades may save as much as 25% on a Sacramento car insurance quote. The discount lasts well after school through age 25.
- Onboard Data Collection – Insureds who allow their company to study vehicle usage by using a telematic data system like Drivewise from Allstate or In-Drive from State Farm could possibly reduce rates if they show good driving skills.
- No Accidents – Sacramento drivers who stay claim-free can earn big discounts as opposed to frequent claim filers.
- Pay Now and Pay Less – By paying your entire bill at once instead of monthly or quarterly installments you can avoid monthly service charges.
- Safety Restraint Discount – Buckling up and requiring all passengers to buckle up before driving could save 15% on medical payment and PIP coverage.
- Discount for Life Insurance – Companies who offer life insurance give a break if you buy some life insurance too.
Don’t be shocked that most of the big mark downs will not be given to the entire cost. Most only apply to individual premiums such as medical payments or collision. So when the math indicates adding up those discounts means a free policy, you aren’t that lucky.
The illustration below illustrates the comparison of Volvo XC90 car insurance costs with and without discounts. The premium estimates are based on a male driver, no tickets, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with homeowner, marriage, claim-free, multi-car, safe-driver, and multi-policy discounts applied.
Popular auto insurance companies and a partial list of their discounts can be found below.
- 21st Century has discounts for driver training, good student, 55 and older, air bags, and anti-lock brakes.
- Progressive may have discounts that include multi-vehicle, homeowner, multi-policy, online signing, and good student.
- State Farm has savings for safe vehicle, good driver, good student, accident-free, driver’s education, and anti-theft.
- Nationwide may include discounts for easy pay, multi-policy, Farm Bureau membership, good student, business or organization, and defensive driving.
- Esurance policyholders can earn discounts including online shopper, defensive driver, Pac-12 alumni, online quote, good student, Switch & Save, and anti-lock brakes.
- The Hartford offers discounts including vehicle fuel type, bundle, driver training, air bag, and good student.
When getting a coverage quote, ask each company the best way to save money. Some discounts listed above might not be offered in your area. If you would like to choose from a list of auto insurance companies with discount auto insurance rates in California, click here.
Buying insurance from Sacramento auto insurance agents
Certain consumers just want to talk to an insurance agent and that is a smart decision Good agents can help you choose the best coverages and will help you if you have claims. A nice benefit of comparing insurance prices online is that drivers can save money and get lower prices and also buy local.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this simple form, your insurance data is emailed to agents in your area that give free quotes for your business. There is no reason to search for any insurance agencies since price quotes are sent instantly to you. If you wish to get a price quote from a specific company, just go to their quote page and submit a quote form there.
Picking the best provider shouldn’t rely on just the price. A good agent in Sacramento will have answers to these questions.
- What company holds the largest book of business for them?
- Does the quote include credit and driving reports?
- If you have an accident, will your rates go up?
- Do they feel the quoted coverages are adequate?
- Do they write coverage based solely on cost?
- Will the agent help in case of a claim?
If you are wanting to find a local Sacramento insurance agent, it’s helpful to know the different types of agents from which to choose. Insurance policy providers can be described as either independent agents or exclusive agents. Both types of agents can insure your vehicles properly, but we need to point out how they differ because it may have an impact on the kind of agent you use.
Exclusive Insurance Agencies
Exclusive agencies work for only one company like Farmers Insurance and State Farm. They are unable to provide other company’s prices so it’s a take it or leave it situation. These agents are usually well trained on what they offer which helps them sell on service rather than price. Some insured continue to buy from the same agent for years primarily because of the brand name and the convenience of having a single billing for all their coverages.
The following is a short list of exclusive insurance agents in Sacramento willing to provide comparison quotes.
- Trevor Fong – State Farm Insurance Agent
7485 Rush River Dr #715 – Sacramento, CA 95831 – (916) 392-1240 – View Map - Moira Little – State Farm Insurance Agent
9700 Business Park Dr #304 – Sacramento, CA 95827 – (916) 854-5985 – View Map - Ron Andre – State Farm Insurance Agent
394 Florin Rd – Sacramento, CA 95831 – (916) 428-2918 – View Map
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Agents that choose to be independent can sell policies from many different companies so they can insure your vehicles through many different insurance companies depending on which coverage is best. If prices rise, the business is moved internally and you won’t have to switch agencies. If you need cheaper insurance rates, you will definitely want to get quotes from at least one independent agent in order to have the best price comparison. Most also write with less well-known companies that may provide cheaper insurance rates.
The following is a list of independent insurance agencies in Sacramento that can give you rate quotes.
- Pan American Underwriters
1610 Arden Way # 121 – Sacramento, CA 95815 – (916) 286-5960 – View Map - McClatchy Insurance Agency
2410 Fair Oaks Blvd #140 – Sacramento, CA 95825 – (916) 488-4702 – View Map - Thrive Insurance Agency
1353 Fulton Ave – Sacramento, CA 95825 – (916) 339-6490 – View Map
Don’t give up on cheap premiums
There are still a few companies who don’t offer online price quotes and these smaller companies only sell coverage through local independent agents. Lower-priced auto insurance in Sacramento can be found online as well as from independent agents in Sacramento, so you should be comparing quotes from both in order to have the best chance of saving money.
When buying insurance coverage, never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There have been many cases where consumers will sacrifice liability coverage limits only to regret at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your focus should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage for the lowest cost, not the least amount of coverage.
We just showed you a lot of tips how to find affordable Volvo XC90 insurance in Sacramento. It’s most important to understand that the more providers you compare, the higher your chance of finding affordable Sacramento car insurance quotes. Drivers may even discover the best prices are with a smaller regional carrier.
Additional auto insurance information can be found at these links:
- Rollover Crash FAQ (iihs.org)
- Who Has Affordable Car Insurance Quotes for College Graduates in Sacramento? (FAQ)
- What Car Insurance is Cheapest for a Toyota Highlander in Sacramento? (FAQ)
- How Much are Sacramento Car Insurance Rates for Used Cars? (FAQ)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for a 20 Year Old Male in Sacramento? (FAQ)
- What Car Insurance is Cheapest for Welfare Recipients in Sacramento? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Sacramento Car Insurance Quotes for Low Mileage Drivers? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Sacramento Car Insurance Rates for Police Officers? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Sacramento Car Insurance Quotes for High School Students? (FAQ)
- Who Has Cheap Sacramento Auto Insurance Quotes for Handicapped Drivers? (FAQ)
- Your Car has been Stolen: Now What? (Allstate)
- Alcohol Impaired Driving FAQ (iihs.org)