What Car Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers with a Bad Driving Record in San Francisco?

The words “low-priced” and “insurance” really shouldn’t be used in the same sentence, specifically when you are shopping around for the lowest insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record. In an attempt to save some money, let’s start off by going over a few of the factors that significantly impact auto insurance premiums, and find out if we can help you lower the price of the next policy you buy.

Figuring out which companies have the most affordable auto insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record takes a bit more work in order to find the best policy. Each auto insurer has a different process to determine rates, so let’s take a look at the lowest cost auto insurance companies in San Francisco, CA.

Cheap Insurance Rates for Imperfect Drivers

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California auto insurance company rankings
Rank Company Cost Per Year
1 USAA $1,109
2 Wawanesa $1,181
3 Century National $1,190
4 CSAA $1,198
5 Nationwide $1,250
6 21st Century $1,379
7 Grange $1,477
8 Mercury $1,488
9 Progressive $1,496
10 Allstate $1,497
11 GEICO $1,513
12 Allied $1,556
13 The Hartford $1,575
14 MetLife $1,590
15 Esurance $1,688
16 Unitrin $1,699
17 State Farm $1,699
18 Bristol West $1,777
19 Travelers $1,806
20 Farmers $2,026
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USAA normally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in San Francisco at around $1,109 annually. This is $542 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also rank well as some of the lowest-priced San Francisco, CA auto insurance companies.

In the rate table above, if you are currently insured with Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you might realize an annual premium reduction of approximately $72. Drivers with Century National could save as much as $81 a year, and CSAA customers might see rate reductions of $89 a year.

It’s important to note that these rates are averages for all insureds and vehicles and do not factor in an exact vehicle garaging location for drivers with a bad driving record. So the insurer that has the cheapest price for you may not even be in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.

The car, truck, or SUV needing coverage is a large consideration that determines whether or not you can buy cheap coverage for drivers with a bad driving record. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, a plethora of safety features, or a track record of few liability claims will cost substantially less to insure than higher performance models.

The list below outlines coverage costs for a selection of the most affordable automobiles to buy coverage for.

Cheapest Vehicles to Insure in San Francisco, CA
Vehicle Insured Estimated Cost for Full Coverage
Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD $4,894
Ford Escape XLT 4WD $4,902
Jeep Wrangler Sport 4WD 2-Dr $4,925
Honda Accord LX-P 4-Dr Sedan $4,958
Toyota Prius $4,971
Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon $5,290
Volkswagen Jetta S 2.5 Station Wagon $5,296
Chevrolet Impala LS $5,416
Ford F-150 XLT Crew Cab 2WD $5,599
Ford Edge Limited AWD $5,714
Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD $5,730
GMC Sierra SL Crew Cab 2WD $5,769
Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan $5,807
Toyota RAV4 2WD $5,869
Ford F-350 XLT Crew Cab 2WD $5,874
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Data based on single female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Premium costs do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can lower or raise prices significantly.

Based upon the rates shown, you can see that models like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Jeep Wrangler, and Honda Accord are most likely going to be the cheapest vehicles to insure for bad drivers. Prices will be more expensive because of the fact that there is more risk for drivers with a bad driving record, but generally speaking those models will most likely have the best rates possible.

Insuring your vehicle with a highly-rated auto insurance company is difficult considering how many choices you have in San Francisco. The company information below could help you select which auto insurers to look at comparing rates with.

These ratings are for companies who write in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in California are not taken into consideration for this list. If you’d like to compare prices from these top insurers and more, simply click here.

Best 15 Auto Insurance Companies for Drivers with a Bad Driving Record in San Francisco
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

Full coverage or liability only

Finding the cheapest auto insurance is probably important to the majority of drivers, and one of the fastest ways to pay less for insurance for drivers with a bad driving record is to only pay for liability coverage. The illustration below illustrates the comparison of insurance prices with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The data is based on no claims or violations, $100 deductibles, drivers are single, and no additional discounts are factored in.

As an overall average, full coverage on your policy costs $3,385 per year more than just insuring for liability. Lot’s of drivers question if you should buy full coverage. There is no specific rule for excluding full coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of full coverage is more than 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.

For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s book value is $5,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, you would only receive $4,500 after you pay the deductible. If it’s costing in excess of $450 annually to have full coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.

There are a few cases where eliminating full coverage is not recommended. If you still owe money on your vehicle, you are required to maintain full coverage in order to prevent the bank from purchasing higher-priced coverage. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should maintain full coverage.

If you like to have a professional recommendation when shopping for cheaper insurance for drivers with a bad driving record, the professional agents shown below are willing to help you determine which coverages and limits you need. To find an agent close to where you live, click the button after the list or click here to compare prices now.

Toan Tieu – State Farm Insurance Agent
690 Monterey BlvdSan Francisco, CA 94127(415) 610-8000

Wilson Chan – State Farm Insurance Agent
25 Division St #200San Francisco, CA 94103(415) 593-8802

Jing Lee – State Farm Insurance Agent
4444 Geary Blvd #300San Francisco, CA 94118(415) 752-8888

Primeras Insurance Agency
3339 23rd StSan Francisco, CA 94108(415) 829-7312

More San Francisco, CA insurance agents

Tips for buying cheaper insurance for drivers with a bad driving record

Below you’ll find many thrifty suggestions that can help drivers locate more affordable coverage.

The last tip is extraordinarily critical, as was noted in this article. Car insurance rates can be changed at any time, so don’t be hesitant to buy from a new company if you find a cheaper price. Many drivers prefer to stick with one company, but is isn’t recommended if that faithfulness ends up costing you hundreds every year. Take a couple minutes and compare rates to find cheaper car insurance for drivers with a bad driving record in San Francisco.