You have most likely watched the catchy commercials from companies like Progressive and State Farm that claim dirt cheap rates, so drivers should just pick one randomly, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there are a whole slew of unknowns such as if you currently have coverage, citations or tickets, if you own or rent your home, and how old you are. We will attempt to cover the types of situations that result in high rates and will hopefully give you a good beginning to your search for cheaper coverage.
Deciphering which company quotes the cheapest car insurance rates for drivers over age 70 involves a bit more work in order to find a policy that fits your budget. Every car insurance company has a different formula to establish rates, so let’s examine the car insurance companies with the overall best prices in San Jose, CA.
It’s important to understand that San Jose car insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially decrease or increase the price of coverage. Improving your credit rating, buying a new vehicle, or getting caught speeding may cause policy rate changes that may make certain companies more affordable than before.
Find the Cheapest Car Insurance for Age 70+
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,143 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | Century National | $1,178 |
| 4 | CSAA | $1,186 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,213 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,366 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,477 |
| 8 | Progressive | $1,512 |
| 9 | GEICO | $1,529 |
| 10 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 11 | Mercury | $1,548 |
| 12 | MetLife | $1,590 |
| 13 | Allied | $1,603 |
| 14 | The Hartford | $1,639 |
| 15 | Esurance | $1,688 |
| 16 | State Farm | $1,699 |
| 17 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,806 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,849 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,026 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | ||
USAA may have some of the most affordable car insurance rates in San Jose at around $1,143 a year. Wawanesa, Century National, CSAA, and Nationwide also are some of the lowest-priced San Jose, CA insurance companies.
In the above rates, if you are a policyholder with Nationwide and switched to Wawanesa, you could see an annual premium reduction of about $56. Customers with 21st Century may save as much as $209 a year, and Grange insureds might cut rates by $320 a year.
Bear in mind that those estimates are averaged across all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a vehicle location for drivers over age 70. So the company that is best suited for you may not even be in the top 24 companies in the list above. That affirms the importance of why you need to get car insurance quotes using your own individual information.
For older drivers, one of the largest considerations that are looked at to determine the cost of insurance is where you choose to live. Areas with increased crime or more people are more likely to have higher rates, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates have the gratification of cheaper auto insurance rates.
The information below lists the highest-priced places in California for drivers over age 70 in which to purchase auto insurance. San Jose is ranked at #19 with a yearly premium of $1,381 for the average policyholder, which is approximately $115 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,168 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,121 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,711 |
| 4 | Oakland | $1,704 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,669 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,596 |
| 7 | Fontana | $1,581 |
| 8 | Long Beach | $1,578 |
| 9 | Garden Grove | $1,570 |
| 10 | Santa Clarita | $1,548 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 12 | Moreno Valley | $1,536 |
| 13 | Modesto | $1,532 |
| 14 | Riverside | $1,527 |
| 15 | Fresno | $1,517 |
| 16 | Anaheim | $1,488 |
| 17 | Santa Ana | $1,439 |
| 18 | Fremont | $1,389 |
| 19 | San Jose | $1,381 |
| 20 | Irvine | $1,371 |
| Find Cheaper Insurance Go | ||
Premium costs are comparative as the vehicle garaging location can change auto insurance rates noticeably.
The example below shows how choosing a deductible can impact insurance premiums when getting quotes for cheap insurance for drivers over age 70. Data assumes a married female driver, full coverage, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
The chart above illustrates that a 50-year-old driver could save $300 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $456 by using a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, like the 20-year-old, could save as much as $750 each year by choosing a higher deductible.
If you do raise deductibles, it will be important to have additional savings on hand to satisfy the extra out-of-pocket expense. That is the one drawback of using higher deductibles.
How to get discounts on San Jose auto insurance
Car insurance companies that offer cheap quotes for drivers over age 70 may also provide premium discounts that can lower rates by 30% or more if you qualify. A list of companies and a partial list of their discounts are included below.
- State Farm has savings for anti-theft, passive restraint, good student, good driver, Steer Clear safe driver discount, and driver’s education.
- GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including driver training, seat belt use, membership and employees, air bags, and anti-theft.
- Progressive may have discounts that include multi-policy, good student, continuous coverage, online signing, and multi-vehicle.
- 21st Century offers premium reductions for air bags, theft prevention, automatic seat belts, defensive driver, and anti-lock brakes.
- American Family offers discounts including good student, early bird, air bags, multi-vehicle, mySafetyValet, Steer into Savings, and TimeAway discount.
- The Hartford includes discounts for good student, vehicle fuel type, bundle, air bag, driver training, and defensive driver.
- AAA offers discounts for education and occupation, multi-policy, multi-car, good driver, AAA membership discount, and anti-theft.
The illustration below shows the difference between annual premium costs with and without discounts applied. The premium estimates are based on a female driver, no accidents or driving violations, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with claim-free, multiple vehicle, accident-free, passive restraint, anti-theft, and safe-driver discounts applied. When discounts are factored in, the average amount saved each year on car insurance for drivers over age 70 is 28% or $608.
Car insurance rates are higher with tickets and accidents
The ideal way to obtain low car insurance rates in San Jose for older drivers is to be an attentive driver and have a clean driving record. The example below shows how violations and at-fault collisions drive up car insurance costs for different age groups of insureds. The prices are based on a single male driver, comp and collision included, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
In the prior example, the average cost of a car insurance policy per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $3,093. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost surges to $4,103, an increase of $1,010 each year. Now get one accident along with the two speeding tickets and the annual cost of car insurance for drivers over age 70 goes up to an average of $5,133. That’s an increase of $2,040, or $170 per month, just for not maintaining a clean driving record!
You may be paying too much for car insurance
San Jose car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors which can substantially change the price you have to pay for coverage. Simply turning a year older, having a claim, or getting a couple of tickets can trigger changes in premium that can cause some rates to be affordable when they were higher priced.
In addition, insurance companies modify pricing as often as every quarter to adjust for unexpected claims or profits. An unexpected high level of claims can result in rate hikes, while long-term profits may cause more affordable San Jose car insurance rates.
The bar chart below shows which companies have the cheapest car insurance in San Jose, CA for a 40-year-old female driver with a good driving record, no prior claims, and a good credit rating. If we estimate rates based on her personal profile, USAA has the lowest car insurance rates in San Jose at $1,192 each year. This is $459 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Nationwide, and Century National round out the rest of the cheapest San Jose, CA auto insurance companies.
Now we will pretend the driver from the first set of rates a claim surcharge, poor credit, and a traffic ticket or two. Since every car insurance company has their own formula to determine rates, comparing prices may now result in a different set of affordable San Jose car insurance companies as shown below.
Grange now has the cheapest car insurance in San Jose, CA with Mercury, Progressive, Allstate, and GEICO now rounding out the top five. This example proves why consumers need to take the time to do a thorough rate comparison when trying to get the best auto insurance rates for drivers over age 70. Car insurance prices are determined by many things and change frequently, so the most affordable company the last time you compared rates may now be quite expensive.