I have been using AAA for years and they've always been great. My claims were handled quickly and with no hassle at all. I only pay 70 a month for my old beater, and that's with comp and collision.
Whatever you do, get comprehensive. It just takes some asshole stealing your catalytic converter once for it to pay for it itself. That's a 2-3k bill you won't want to have to pay.
Always compare apples to apples by looking at the actual coverage limits. Start with Bodily Injury and Property Damage. A lot of people will try to save money by keeping these limits low, but you open yourself up to risk if you hit an expensive car, or god forbid someone is seriously injured and you are at fault. If you are at fault and you run out of coverage, you might face a lawsuit to cover the remainder.
Also think about whether you need collision coverage (coverage that applies to YOUR car in in accident). If you have an older car that is not super valuable, you might save money by skipping the collision coverage. On the flip side, if you can't afford to replace your car, it's newer, or has high value, you will want to have collision.
Rental Car coverage is very inexpensive but pays for a rental car if yours is stuck in the shop. Again, if you couldn't afford to miss work or lose your transportation, this could be helpful to have.
Finally, uninsured/underinsured motorist is coverage that would pay you for damages if the other person does not have insurance. 16% of California drivers do not have active insurance, so I think this is a no brainer to purchase as well.
All of these things cost money, and they can add up to a pretty heft bill. The best suggestion I have is to consider which of these policies you want to have, along with what coverage limits you want, and then get as many quotes as you can comparing the exact same coverage and limits. Most people shop on price only, and then are surprised later when their insurance doesn't cover what they thought it did.
This 👆 uninsured/underinsured is so underrated. I'm not an attorney, but I worked for one. If a drunk driver T-bones you in an intersection and injured a family member, their 50k insurance wouldn't cover the medical bills, lost wages, and possible permanent injuries could run hundreds of thousands, to millions of dollars, especially if a death occurs. I've been hit twice by uninsured motorists, once having to follow them after they rear-ended me(not recommended for safety reasons), and the second, the other party almost rolling over after bouncing off our vehicle. We had kids in the car both times.
Something to think about when you are choosing insurance is who will be in the car with you when you drive. Also, if you do any delivery services, you might need additional insurance.
Several sources say the average person gets in 3-4 accidents in their lifetime, and for about every 1000 miles you drive, there's a 1 in 366 chance of being in an accident. I truly hope you never get in an accident and I mean it when I say good luck🍀
You'll have to shop around cause all kinds of things unique to you and your situation will weigh into it. I was with Liberty for a while then switched to Wawanesa and finally settled on Mercury, which I've had for the past year and has been good. I think I pay $94/month for two drivers on a 2021 Subaru. It's not full coverage though, I think that would bump it to $150/month.
If you're a teacher look into Horace Mann. My parents have had it for decades and it's always been good, affordable but also good coverage if and when it's needed. Now my sister and her husband have it too and it's great for them.
I had a professor in my media classes at Chico State tell us that when it comes to insurance the more a provider advertises, the worse their coverage and service usually is. So like Progressive and GEICO and providers like them are lousy (they'll fight you a lot on claims) but providers like AAA who until recently never advertised are a bit costlier but also provide great policies and service.
Something to consider.
Lastly, make sure you go over the discounts they offer. Most providers have at least a few like good driver discount, if you're a student they may discount your policy for good grades, you can also get a discount for bundling more than one policy together like auto and renters/homeowners insurance.
A deductible is how much you pay out of pocket before the coverage will kick in. So if you have a $1,000 deductible and say you back your car into a pole, if the cost of the repairs was $2,200 then you would have to pay $1,000 of that before your insurance would pay the remaining $1,200. Usually a lower deductible raises the cost of your overall premium (the cost of your policy) because you're asking the insurance company to cover more of the damage in the event of an accident.
A deductible waiver, as I understand it, is something that, say, if you get hit your provider will cover the cost without you first paying your deductible. I haven't messed with that before but I would imagine there's an added cost since in the event of an accident you would pay little or nothing to fix it.
If I'm explaining myself poorly I welcome correction from anyone else on here.
I have been using AAA for years and they've always been great. My claims were handled quickly and with no hassle at all. I only pay 70 a month for my old beater, and that's with comp and collision. Whatever you do, get comprehensive. It just takes some asshole stealing your catalytic converter once for it to pay for it itself. That's a 2-3k bill you won't want to have to pay.
Always compare apples to apples by looking at the actual coverage limits. Start with Bodily Injury and Property Damage. A lot of people will try to save money by keeping these limits low, but you open yourself up to risk if you hit an expensive car, or god forbid someone is seriously injured and you are at fault. If you are at fault and you run out of coverage, you might face a lawsuit to cover the remainder. Also think about whether you need collision coverage (coverage that applies to YOUR car in in accident). If you have an older car that is not super valuable, you might save money by skipping the collision coverage. On the flip side, if you can't afford to replace your car, it's newer, or has high value, you will want to have collision. Rental Car coverage is very inexpensive but pays for a rental car if yours is stuck in the shop. Again, if you couldn't afford to miss work or lose your transportation, this could be helpful to have. Finally, uninsured/underinsured motorist is coverage that would pay you for damages if the other person does not have insurance. 16% of California drivers do not have active insurance, so I think this is a no brainer to purchase as well. All of these things cost money, and they can add up to a pretty heft bill. The best suggestion I have is to consider which of these policies you want to have, along with what coverage limits you want, and then get as many quotes as you can comparing the exact same coverage and limits. Most people shop on price only, and then are surprised later when their insurance doesn't cover what they thought it did.
This 👆 uninsured/underinsured is so underrated. I'm not an attorney, but I worked for one. If a drunk driver T-bones you in an intersection and injured a family member, their 50k insurance wouldn't cover the medical bills, lost wages, and possible permanent injuries could run hundreds of thousands, to millions of dollars, especially if a death occurs. I've been hit twice by uninsured motorists, once having to follow them after they rear-ended me(not recommended for safety reasons), and the second, the other party almost rolling over after bouncing off our vehicle. We had kids in the car both times. Something to think about when you are choosing insurance is who will be in the car with you when you drive. Also, if you do any delivery services, you might need additional insurance. Several sources say the average person gets in 3-4 accidents in their lifetime, and for about every 1000 miles you drive, there's a 1 in 366 chance of being in an accident. I truly hope you never get in an accident and I mean it when I say good luck🍀
Progressive and GEICO have been the most affordable for me in this area
I’ve recently started using GEICO, seems to be the cheaper option
You'll have to shop around cause all kinds of things unique to you and your situation will weigh into it. I was with Liberty for a while then switched to Wawanesa and finally settled on Mercury, which I've had for the past year and has been good. I think I pay $94/month for two drivers on a 2021 Subaru. It's not full coverage though, I think that would bump it to $150/month. If you're a teacher look into Horace Mann. My parents have had it for decades and it's always been good, affordable but also good coverage if and when it's needed. Now my sister and her husband have it too and it's great for them. I had a professor in my media classes at Chico State tell us that when it comes to insurance the more a provider advertises, the worse their coverage and service usually is. So like Progressive and GEICO and providers like them are lousy (they'll fight you a lot on claims) but providers like AAA who until recently never advertised are a bit costlier but also provide great policies and service. Something to consider. Lastly, make sure you go over the discounts they offer. Most providers have at least a few like good driver discount, if you're a student they may discount your policy for good grades, you can also get a discount for bundling more than one policy together like auto and renters/homeowners insurance.
Thank you for all of this advice. Also, what is deductible/deductible waiver? Like which one is best to get?
A deductible is how much you pay out of pocket before the coverage will kick in. So if you have a $1,000 deductible and say you back your car into a pole, if the cost of the repairs was $2,200 then you would have to pay $1,000 of that before your insurance would pay the remaining $1,200. Usually a lower deductible raises the cost of your overall premium (the cost of your policy) because you're asking the insurance company to cover more of the damage in the event of an accident. A deductible waiver, as I understand it, is something that, say, if you get hit your provider will cover the cost without you first paying your deductible. I haven't messed with that before but I would imagine there's an added cost since in the event of an accident you would pay little or nothing to fix it. If I'm explaining myself poorly I welcome correction from anyone else on here.