Wouldn’t this article be short if you could just magically know the one company that has the best insurance prices for high mileage drivers? It’s not that simple, unfortunately, as there are a whole bunch of unknown aspects like if you are married, if you are a homeowner or renter, the level of liability coverage you want, and whether you just need liability insurance, that help determine the price you have to pay. In this article, we will cover these topics and should give you a good start to your coverage search.
Establishing which companies quote the cheapest auto insurance rates for high mileage drivers will involve a little more effort than just picking a company at random.
Every insurance provider has a different process to determine rates, so we will examine the most budget-friendly auto insurance companies in San Jose, CA.
Compare Cheap Insurance Quotes in California
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,155 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,192 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,214 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,222 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,263 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,338 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,488 |
| 9 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 10 | Progressive | $1,558 |
| 11 | The Hartford | $1,575 |
| 12 | GEICO | $1,575 |
| 13 | Allied | $1,603 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,638 |
| 15 | Unitrin | $1,733 |
| 16 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 17 | Esurance | $1,756 |
| 18 | Bristol West | $1,849 |
| 19 | Travelers | $1,860 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,946 |
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USAA generally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in San Jose at around $1,155 per year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide are also some of the more affordable San Jose, CA auto insurance companies.
As shown in the table above, if you are insured with Wawanesa and switched to USAA, you may realize a yearly price reduction of roughly $37. Policyholders with Century National might save as much as $59 a year, and CSAA customers might see rate reductions of $67 a year.
If you want to see how much you could save, click here to get a free quote or click through to the companies below.
Understand that those prices are averaged across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and and are not figured with an exact location for high mileage drivers. So the insurer that has the cheapest price for you may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That emphasizes why you need to get quotes using your own personal information and vehicle type.
One of the many criteria that are used to help calculate the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is the neighborhood you call home. Cities with more crime and/or more people tend to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion get the luxury of paying less.
The table below sorts the most expensive areas in California for high mileage drivers to purchase a policy in. San Jose makes the list at #19 with an annual premium of $1,381 for car insurance, which is approximately $115 per month.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Glendale | $2,142 |
| 2 | Los Angeles | $2,083 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,711 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,703 |
| 5 | Oakland | $1,687 |
| 6 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 7 | Santa Clarita | $1,580 |
| 8 | San Bernardino | $1,580 |
| 9 | Long Beach | $1,578 |
| 10 | Garden Grove | $1,554 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 12 | Moreno Valley | $1,506 |
| 13 | Modesto | $1,487 |
| 14 | Santa Ana | $1,483 |
| 15 | Riverside | $1,482 |
| 16 | Fresno | $1,472 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,430 |
| 18 | Fremont | $1,403 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,381 |
| 20 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
| 21 | Irvine | $1,371 |
| 22 | San Diego | $1,368 |
| 23 | Chula Vista | $1,350 |
| 24 | Bakersfield | $1,340 |
| 25 | Oxnard | $1,318 |
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Rate information is comparative as the vehicle garaging location can lower or raise coverage prices substantially.
Tickets and at-fault accidents raise rates
The recommended way to find good auto insurance rates for high mileage drivers is to drive cautiously and avoid tickets and accidents. The chart below shows how speeding tickets and at-fault fender-benders raise auto insurance costs for different age groups. The rates are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
In the previous example, the average cost of auto insurance in San Jose per year with no violations or accidents is $2,421. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost surges to $3,450, an increase of $1,029 each year. Next add one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of auto insurance for high mileage drivers jumps again to an average of $4,485. That’s an increase of $2,065, or $172 per month, just for not maintaining a clean driving record!
The information below demonstrates how deductible levels can raise or lower yearly insurance costs when quoting cheap insurance for high mileage drivers. The costs are based on a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The data above shows that a 50-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $420 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $632 by using a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, like the Age 20 category, could lower their rates as much as $1,068 annually by using higher deductibles when buying full coverage. If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it’s a good idea to have spare funds to allow you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense that deters many people from opting for higher deductibles.
Does it make sense to buy full coverage?
Finding the cheapest auto insurance is the goal of most drivers, and one of the best ways to reduce the cost of insurance for high mileage drivers is to only buy liability insurance. The diagram below shows the comparison of car insurance costs with full coverage and liability only. The data is based on no claims or driving citations, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
Averaged for all age groups, comp and collision coverage costs $2,467 per year more than buying just liability insurance. That brings up the question if it’s a good idea to buy full coverage. There is no definitive rule to eliminate full coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is more than around 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.
For example, let’s say your vehicle’s claim settlement value is $4,500 and you have $1,000 deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most your company will settle for is $3,500 after paying your policy deductible. If you are currently paying more than $350 annually for physical damage coverage, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
There are some conditions where removing full coverage is not recommended. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest in the vehicle. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should not remove full coverage.