What Insurance is Cheapest for Low Income Drivers in San Francisco?

This would be a much quicker read if we could tell you the one car insurance company that is cheapest in California. It’s just not that simple, as there are a whole bunch of unknown factors such as whether or not you have had gaps between policies, whether you just need liability insurance, and how high your deductibles should be. The content below will cover the best ways to find cheap car insurance and will hopefully give you a solid foundation to find cheaper car insurance in California.

Figuring out which companies quote the lowest-priced insurance rates for low income drivers calls for a bit more effort in order to find the most economical policy. Each auto insurer used slightly different criteria to determine premium rates, so to begin we’ll rank the insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in California.

Best Auto Insurance Prices in California

Start Your Free Quote

Rankings for the cheapest car insurance companies in California
Rank Company Cost Per Year
1 USAA $1,121
2 Wawanesa $1,157
3 CSAA $1,198
4 Century National $1,214
5 Nationwide $1,263
6 21st Century $1,366
7 Grange $1,447
8 GEICO $1,529
9 Allied $1,541
10 Progressive $1,542
11 Allstate $1,543
12 Mercury $1,548
13 MetLife $1,606
14 The Hartford $1,623
15 State Farm $1,699
16 Unitrin $1,733
17 Esurance $1,756
18 Bristol West $1,795
19 Travelers $1,806
20 Farmers $2,006
Find Cheaper Rates Go

USAA generally has some of the cheapest car insurance rates in San Francisco at around $1,121 annually. This is $530 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide would also be considered some of the most economical San Francisco, CA insurance companies.

In the above example, if you currently have a policy with Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you could realize an annual premium reduction of about $106. Policyholders with 21st Century may save as much as $209 a year, and Grange customers might cut rates by $290 a year.

These policy rates are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and do not factor in a specific vehicle garaging location for low income drivers. So the auto insurance company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to compare rates from multiple companies using your own personal information and vehicle type.

For poor drivers, one of the largest criteria that aid in calculating the amount you pay for auto insurance is where you live. More populated areas will most likely pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims benefit from having to pay less for coverage.

The information below shows the most expensive cities in California for low income drivers to buy auto insurance in. San Francisco is ranked at #5 with an annual rate of $1,693 for coverage, which is approximately $141 monthly.

How much is car insurance in San Francisco?
Rank City Annual Rate
1 Glendale $2,142
2 Los Angeles $2,104
3 Oakland $1,755
4 Sacramento $1,720
5 San Francisco $1,693
6 San Bernardino $1,644
7 Long Beach $1,610
8 Fontana $1,581
9 Stockton $1,556
10 Garden Grove $1,554
11 Santa Clarita $1,548
12 Riverside $1,542
13 Moreno Valley $1,491
14 Anaheim $1,488
15 Modesto $1,487
16 Fresno $1,472
17 Santa Ana $1,453
18 Huntington Beach $1,402
19 San Jose $1,395
20 Fremont $1,361
Compare Rates Now Go

Rate quotes are comparative as the vehicle garaging location can influence premium rates substantially.

The type of vehicle you are buying coverage for is probably the biggest factor that determines if you can find low-cost auto insurance for low income drivers. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, an excellent safety record, or a positive history of liability claims will cost less to insure than fast, unsafe models. The list below showcases coverage premiums for the more affordable automobiles to buy coverage for.

Cheapest Vehicles to Insure in San Francisco, CA
Make and Model Estimated Cost for Full Coverage
Honda Accord LX-P 4-Dr Sedan $1,095
Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon $1,101
Toyota Prius $1,218
Ford Escape XLT 4WD $1,262
Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD $1,270
Ford Focus SEL 4-Dr Sedan $1,336
Toyota Tacoma 4WD $1,341
Volkswagen Jetta S 2.5 Station Wagon $1,347
Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr $1,341
Ford F-150 XL Super Cab 4WD $1,374
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD $1,384
Ford Edge SEL 2WD $1,385
Nissan Altima 3.5 SR 4-Dr Sedan $1,390
Toyota RAV4 2WD $1,415
Chevrolet Equinox LS 2WD $1,422
Compare Rates Now Go

Above prices assume married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Rate information does not factor in specific San Francisco, CA garaging location which can alter auto insurance rates noticeably.

Based upon the rates shown, you can conclude that vehicles like the Honda Accord, Hyundai Elantra, and Toyota Prius are likely to be a few of the more affordable vehicles to insure for poor drivers.

Get discount San Francisco insurance rates

Insurance for poor drivers in San Francisco, CAInsurers that provide coverage for low income drivers may also give you premium discounts that may potentially lower prices by 40% or more if you meet the requirements. A few popular companies and their offered discounts are outlined below.

The example below visualizes the comparison of insurance prices with and without policy discounts. The prices are based on a male driver, no claims or driving citations, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles.

The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with marriage, safe-driver, accident-free, defensive driving course, multiple vehicle, and homeowner discounts applied. With discounts applied, theaverage yearly reduction on insurance for low income drivers is 28% or $707.

Choosing the right insurance company can be difficult considering how many companies are available to choose from in California. The rank data in the next section can help you decide which coverage providers you want to consider when shopping around. The rankings below include companies with a nationwide focus, so companies that may only write in California are not included in this list.

Best Insurance Companies for Low Income Drivers 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
Esurance 85 80 95 87% A+ 85.9
Safeco 85 85 85 86% A 85.8
Travelers 80 87 87 83% A++ 85.2
Farmers Insurance 78 87 88 79% A 84.3
Compare Rates Now Go

Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies

Tickets and at-fault accidents raise rates

The easiest method to snag the most affordable insurance premiums in San Francisco for poor drivers is to be a careful driver and avoid accidents and violations. The example below demonstrates how citations and at-fault fender-benders raise insurance rates for different categories of driver ages. The premiums assume a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $250 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.

In the prior example, the average cost of car insurance in San Francisco per year with no accidents or violations is $2,372. Get two speeding tickets and the average cost surges to $3,382, an increase of $1,009 each year. Then add one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of insurance for low income drivers jumps again to an average of $4,412. That’s an increase of $2,040, or $170 per month, just for not driving safely!

Tips for finding low-cost auto insurance for low income drivers

The list below summarizes many money-saving ideas that can help you find low-cost coverage.

That last piece of advice is certainly important, as we hit on in the prior article. Prices charged by companies change constantly, so you should be ready to change to a new company if a cheaper price is available. We understand brand loyalty, but it’s not recommended if that devotion results in you overpaying thousands of dollars over several years. If you have a few minutes, compare prices and find cheaper auto insurance for low income drivers in San Francisco.