Finding dependable, low-cost insurance is not easy, and determining which company offers the best auto insurance rates for drivers with accidents requires even more perseverance.
Every insurance company has a proprietary method for determining rates, so we’ll go over the auto insurance companies with the overall best prices in San Jose.
Compare Cheap Insurance Quotes for Accident Prone Drivers
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,121 |
| 2 | Century National | $1,178 |
| 3 | Wawanesa | $1,181 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,186 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,250 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,325 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,433 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,503 |
| 9 | Allstate | $1,513 |
| 10 | GEICO | $1,529 |
| 11 | Progressive | $1,542 |
| 12 | Allied | $1,556 |
| 13 | The Hartford | $1,639 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,654 |
| 15 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 16 | Unitrin | $1,733 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,756 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,788 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,849 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,966 |
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USAA normally has some of the best car insurance rates in San Jose at around $1,121 each year. Century National, Wawanesa, CSAA, and Nationwide would also make the list of some of the cheaper San Jose, CA insurance companies.
As shown in the rates above, if you are a policyholder with Century National and switched to USAA, you could earn annual savings of upwards of $57. Insureds with Wawanesa may save as much as $60 a year, and CSAA customers might reduce prices by as much as $65 a year.
To find cheaper insurance rates for your vehicle, click here to start your custom quote or quote rates from the companies below.
Bear in mind that those premium estimates are averaged for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and and are not figured with a specific location for drivers with accidents. So the car insurance company that has the lowest price for you may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That’s why you need to quote rates from as many companies as possible using your own personal information and vehicle type.
For drivers with at-fault accidents, one of the big components that are used to help calculate the annual cost of car insurance is where you call home in San Jose. Cities with larger populations or higher claim trends tend to pay more, whereas areas that tend to be more rural can boast about having cheaper rates.
The illustration below rates the most expensive places in California for drivers with accidents to buy auto insurance in. San Jose comes in at #18 with the yearly price of $1,423 for the average policyholder, which is about $119 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,121 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,104 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,763 |
| 4 | Oakland | $1,704 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,652 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,628 |
| 7 | Santa Clarita | $1,595 |
| 8 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 9 | Garden Grove | $1,570 |
| 10 | Long Beach | $1,562 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,556 |
| 12 | Moreno Valley | $1,506 |
| 13 | Riverside | $1,497 |
| 14 | Modesto | $1,487 |
| 15 | Santa Ana | $1,483 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,457 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,430 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,423 |
| 19 | Bakersfield | $1,381 |
| 20 | Irvine | $1,371 |
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Prices are estimated as zip code location can lower or raise premium rates considerably.
Impact of careless driving on auto insurance rates
One of the best ways to get affordable auto insurance rates in California for drivers with at-fault accidents is to drive safe and avoid getting tickets or having accidents. The example below highlights how speeding tickets and accidents can affect premium costs for each age group. The prices are based on a single female driver, full coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
In the prior example, the average cost of car insurance in San Jose per year with no accidents or violations is $2,354. Add in two speeding tickets and the average cost increases to $3,138, an increase of $784 each year. Now add in two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of auto insurance for drivers with accidents increases to an average of $6,439. That’s an increase of $4,085, or $340 per month, just for not being a responsible driver!
The example below demonstrates how deductibles can increase or decrease insurance rates when researching cheap insurance for drivers with accidents. The data assumes a single female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
In the chart above, a 50-year-old driver could reduce rates by $420 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $632 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, like the Age 20 chart data, can cut up to $1,068 annually just by choosing larger deductibles. When raising deductibles, it is a good idea to have enough funds in savings to allow you to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some drivers from choosing higher deductibles.
Discount San Jose auto insurance rates
Auto insurance companies that offer quotes for drivers with accidents may also offer policy discounts that can lower rates by as much as 35% if you are eligible. Popular auto insurance companies and their offered discounts can be read below.
- State Farm has savings for accident-free, student away at school, defensive driving training, multiple policy, and good driver.
- American Family offers discounts for good student, air bags, Steer into Savings, accident-free, and early bird.
- AAA includes discounts for AAA membership discount, education and occupation, good driver, anti-theft, and pay-in-full.
- GEICO may have discounts that include daytime running lights, seat belt use, anti-theft, multi-policy, and emergency military deployment.
- Mercury Insurance may include discounts for age of vehicle, good driver, annual mileage, location of vehicle, professional/association, anti-theft, and low natural disaster claims.
- Farmers Insurance discounts include switch companies, business and professional, distant student, multi-car, and bundle discounts.
- Progressive offers premium reductions for good student, homeowner, multi-vehicle, online signing, continuous coverage, and multi-policy.
The chart below compares insurance premiums with and without discounts. The premium estimates are based on a female driver, one accident and no citations, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with paid-in-full, anti-theft, homeowner, multiple policy, vehicle safety, and marriage discounts applied. When taking advantage of discounts, theaverage yearly reduction on auto insurance for drivers with accidents is 28% or $1,003.
Don’t stick with an overpriced policy
San Jose, CA auto insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can significantly increase or decrease the cost of coverage. Simply having another birthday, buying a home, or getting a driving violation may generate price changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper than before. In addition to those changes, auto insurance companies change rates at least once a year in order to offset underwriting gains or losses. A period of higher than normal claims can cause high rates, while lower claims can cause lower-priced San Jose car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the bar chart below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in San Jose, CA for a 40-year-old male driver with a clean driving record, no accidents, and good credit. If we estimate rates based on his current rating profile, Wawanesa quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in San Jose at $1,256 a year. This is $395 less than the average price paid by California drivers of $1,651. USAA, Century National, Nationwide, and CSAA are the remainder of the cheapest San Jose, CA auto insurance companies.
Now we will give the driver from the first example a chargeable claim, poor credit, and a blemish on his driving record. Since each auto insurance company has their own process for setting rates, getting updated rate quotes may now present a different list of affordable companies as shown below.
Mercury now has the cheapest rate in San Jose, CA with Grange, Allied, Progressive, and Allstate also having competitive pricing. This shows why it is critical to perform an extensive rate comparison when trying to find the most economical insurance quotes for drivers with accidents.
Rates are made up of many factors and change dramatically, so the cheapest company the last time you checked may now be priced much higher than other options.