Deciding which companies have the best car insurance rates for homeowners involves more work than just comparing a company or two. Every car insurance company uses their own method for determining rates, so let’s examine the overall cheapest car insurance companies in California.
Best Auto Insurance Prices for Homeowners
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,155 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 4 | Century National | $1,226 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,379 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Progressive | $1,496 |
| 9 | Allstate | $1,497 |
| 10 | GEICO | $1,513 |
| 11 | Mercury | $1,548 |
| 12 | Allied | $1,603 |
| 13 | MetLife | $1,638 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,639 |
| 15 | Esurance | $1,688 |
| 16 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 17 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,795 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,860 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,006 |
| Find Your Rate Go | ||
USAA quotes some of the best car insurance rates in Sacramento at around $1,155 annually. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide also are some of the cheaper Sacramento, CA car insurance companies.
As illustrated above, if you buy coverage from Century National and switched to USAA, you might achieve yearly savings of upwards of $71. Insureds with Nationwide could save as much as $95 a year, and 21st Century policyholders might cut rates by $224 a year.
Remember that these estimates are averages for all drivers and vehicles and do not take into consideration a specific location for homeowners. So the insurer that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.
One of the more important factors that are used to help calculate the cost of insurance is where you normally keep your vehicle in Sacramento. Regions with larger populations or more claims are more likely to have higher rates, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims have the benefit of cheaper car insurance.
The table below rates the highest-priced places in California for homeowners to purchase car insurance in. Sacramento is listed at #5 costing $1,669 for the average policy, which is around $139 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,058 |
| 3 | Oakland | $1,755 |
| 4 | San Francisco | $1,745 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,578 |
| 8 | Fontana | $1,566 |
| 9 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 10 | Moreno Valley | $1,536 |
| 11 | Santa Clarita | $1,533 |
| 12 | Modesto | $1,532 |
| 13 | Garden Grove | $1,508 |
| 14 | Riverside | $1,497 |
| 15 | Fresno | $1,457 |
| 16 | Santa Ana | $1,453 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,444 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,395 |
| 19 | Bakersfield | $1,394 |
| 20 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
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Rates are comparative as specific location information can impact price quotes considerably.
The type of vehicle you are trying to insure is a large factor that determines whether or not you find the cheapest coverage for homeowners. Vehicles with reasonable performance levels, a plethora of safety features, or low incidents of liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than higher performance models. The data below features insurance rates for a handful of the most cost-effective automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $1,373 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $1,416 |
| Honda CR-V EX 4WD | $1,464 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,469 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,537 |
| Honda Odyssey LX | $1,565 |
| Ford Edge Sport 2WD | $1,575 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT-8 4WD | $1,603 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,613 |
| Kia Optima LX | $1,603 |
| Volkswagen Jetta SE 2.5 Station Wagon | $1,628 |
| Ford F-150 Lariat Super Cab 4WD | $1,669 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $1,678 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Crew | $1,669 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara 2WD 4-Dr | $1,677 |
| Compare Cheap Rates Go | |
Data variables include single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Price estimates do not factor in specific zip code location which can lower or raise coverage prices greatly.
Looking at the rates, we can assume that cars like the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Ford Focus, and Toyota Prius will definitely be the more affordable vehicles to insure for people who own their homes.
Picking the right insurer can be difficult considering how many different companies insure vehicles in Sacramento. The rank data in the lists below could help you analyze which auto insurers to look at to insure your vehicles. The rankings below are for insurance companies that insure vehicles in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies are not factored into this list.
Top 10 Large Auto Insurers Overall in Sacramento
- USAA
- American Family
- AAA of Southern California
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- AAA Insurance
- GEICO
- The General
- Titan Insurance
- Progressive
Cost of full coverage in Sacramento
Paying less for car insurance is probably important to most drivers, and one easy way to buy cheaper insurance for homeowners is to not pay for full coverage. The diagram below compares car insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in California. The costs are based on a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
On average, physical damage coverage costs $2,772 per year over having just liability coverage. That is a significant amount which raises the question if you should buy full coverage. There is no definitive guideline for eliminating physical damage insurance, but there is a general convention. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than around 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.
There are a few cases where removing full coverage is not a good idea. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you must maintain physical damage coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest in the vehicle. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not buy liability only.
Safe drivers Sacramento pay cheaper rates
The best way to maintain good car insurance premiums in California for people who own their homes is to drive attentively and avoid getting tickets or having accidents. The example below shows how traffic citations and at-fault fender-benders can impact insurance premiums for different categories of driver ages. The data assumes a married male driver, full physical damage coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
In the previous chart, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Sacramento per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $2,939. Get written up for one speeding ticket and the average cost surges to $3,375, an increase of $436 each year. Then add two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of car insurance for homeowners goes up to an average of $7,020. That’s an increase of $4,081, or $340 per month, just for being a less-than-perfect driver!
Why you should be comparing rates
California car insurance rates are influenced by many factors that can increase the cost of a policy. Improving your credit score, buying a home instead of renting, or getting a DUI can trigger rate changes that can now make some companies cheaper in comparison to the competition. Not only may things change on your end, but insurance companies amend pricing at least once a year as an adjustment for underwriting gains or losses. Significantly higher claims can result in a rate increase, while a profitable period can cause cheaper Sacramento car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the chart below demonstrates which company has the cheapest car insurance in Sacramento, CA for a 30-year-old male driver with a clear driving record, no claims, and good financial standing. If we estimate rates based on his personal risk profile, USAA has the most affordable car insurance rates in Sacramento at $1,419 each year. This is $232 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide are the remainder of the cheapest Sacramento, CA auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first example an at-fault accident, slightly worse credit, and a traffic ticket or two. Because each company has a proprietary method for setting rates, analyzing rate quotes may now show a completely different list of cheap Sacramento auto insurance companies as shown below.
Grange now has the best price on car insurance in Sacramento, CA with Allstate, Mercury, GEICO, and Allied now being in the top five. This shows why it is important to perform an extensive rate comparison when trying to find the most affordable insurance rates for homeowners. Car insurance prices can be determined by many factors and can increase or decrease at any time, so the best option two years ago may now be priced much higher than other options.