Auto Insurance Quotes for a Nissan Sentra in San Jose

No one in their right mind fancies paying their premiums for car insurance, particularly when their premiums are through the roof.

Everyone knows that insurance companies want to prevent you from shopping around. Consumers who shop around for a cheaper policy are inclined to buy a new policy because they have a good chance of getting low-cost coverage. A study discovered that people who made a habit of comparing rates saved over $70 a month compared to other drivers who never compared rates.

If finding the cheapest price for insurance in San Jose is your objective, then having a grasp of the best way to shop and compare insurance rates can make the process more efficient. Many auto insurance companies vie to insure your vehicles, so it can be very hard to choose a company to discover the definitive best rates possible on Nissan Sentra insurance in San Jose.

Affordable Nissan insurance rate quotes in San Jose

The car insurance companies shown below offer quotes in San Jose, CA. If several companies are displayed, we suggest you visit as many as you can to get the best price comparison.

Nissan Sentra coverage analysis

The premium table displayed below covers estimates of rate quotes for Nissan Sentra models. Having insight into how insurance policy premiums are determined can help customers make informed decisions when comparing rate quotes.

Data rating is based on married female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, claim-free, safe-driver, and multi-vehicle. Prices do not factor in zip code location which can modify rates noticeably.

Comparison of policy deductibles

One of the hardest decisions when shopping for auto insurance is the level to set your comp and collision deductibles. The data tables below outline the differences in premium rates between high and low physical damage deductibles. The first set of rates uses a $250 deductible for comprehensive and collision coverage and the second set of rates uses a $500 deductible.

Data variables include married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, safe-driver, claim-free, multi-vehicle, and homeowner. Price estimates do not factor in vehicle location which can revise price quotes substantially.

Based on the above data, using a $250 deductible will cost in the ballpark of $17 more each month or $204 each year than requesting the higher $500 deductible. Since you would pay $250 more out-of-pocket with a $500 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you average more than 15 months between claims, you would probably come out ahead if you opt for a higher deductible. The numbers below show how we made this calculation.

An important thing to remember is that a higher deductible level results in a higher out-of-pocket expense when you have a physical damage claim. You must have enough extra savings in the event you need to pay the higher deductible in order to repair your vehicle.

The information below demonstrates how choosing different deductibles and can impact Nissan Sentra insurance costs for each different age group. The rates are based on a single female driver, comp and collision included, and no other discounts are factored in.

Illustration showing the impact of accidents and violations

The example below highlights how speeding tickets and accident claims can increase Nissan Sentra car insurance costs for each different age group. The data is based on a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.

Full coverage versus liability-only

The diagram below compares Nissan Sentra annual premium costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. The prices are based on no accidents or driving violations, $100 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

Should you buy full coverage or liability only?

There is no definitive rule to exclude full coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of coverage is more than about 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.

For example, let’s pretend your Nissan Sentra replacement value is $9,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would receive is $8,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If it’s costing in excess of $800 a year for your policy with full coverage, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.

There are some scenarios where buying only liability insurance is not in your best interest. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you have to keep full coverage to protect the lienholder’s interest. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not eliminate full coverage.

Eight Tips to Get Lower-cost San Jose Insurance Prices

The best way to find cheaper car insurance is to take a look at some of the things that go into determining car insurance rates. When you understand what controls the rates you pay, this allows you to make good choices that can earn you lower car insurance prices. Many different elements are part of the calculation when premium rates are determined. Some are pretty understandable such as traffic violations, but other criteria are more obscure such as whether you are married or how safe your car is.

The items below are some of the major factors car insurance companies consider when setting premiums.

Lower premiums for safer cars – Safer cars tend to be cheaper to insure. Vehicles built for safety reduce the chance of injuries and fewer injuries translates directly to fewer claims which can result in lower premiums. If your Nissan scored at minimum an “acceptable” rating on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website you may be receiving a better rate.

Prices are affected by your address – Being located in less populated areas is a good thing when buying car insurance. Fewer drivers and short commutes means reduced accidents as well as less vandalism and auto theft. People in densely populated areas have more road rage incidents and longer commute times. Spending more time driving means higher likelihood of an accident.

Only buy incidental coverages you need – There are a lot of optional add-on coverages you can purchase if you aren’t diligent. Things like vanishing deductibles, death and dismemberment, and extra equipment coverage could be just wasting money. These coverages may sound good when buying your policy, but if they’re wasting money consider taking them off your policy.

Females tend to be lower risk – Over time, data shows women tend to be less risk to insure than men. However, don’t assume that males are worse at driving than females. Both sexes cause at-fault accidents at a similar rate, but guys get into accidents with more damage. Not only that, but men also have more aggressive citations such as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving recklessly. Teenage male drivers have the highest risk to insure so it costs more to insure them.

The example below shows the difference between Nissan Sentra yearly insurance costs for male and female drivers. Data assumes no claims or driving violations, full coverage, $250 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

Your stress level may be raising your rates – Jobs like judges, airline pilots, and emergency personnel tend to have higher rates than average in part from job stress and lots of time spent at work. On the flip side, professions such as actors, students and the unemployed get better rates.

Consider raising deductibles – Comp and collision deductibles define how much you are willing to pay out-of-pocket if you file a covered claim. Insurance for physical damage, commonly called comprehensive (or other-than-collision) and collision coverage, protects your car from damage. A few examples of covered claims would be rear-ending another vehicle, collision with a deer, and damage caused by road hazards. The more expense you choose to pay out-of-pocket, the less money you will pay for car insurance.

Compare rates if you bundle your policies – Many insurance companies will award better rates to policyholders who carry more than one policy such as combining an auto and homeowners policy. Discounts can amount to 10 percent or more. Even with this discount, it’s in your best interest to compare Nissan Sentra rates in San Jose to ensure the best deal.

Claim-free discounts can add up – Companies in California award the best rates to people who file claims infrequently. If you tend to file frequent claims, you can definitely plan on either a policy non-renewal or much higher rates. Your insurance policy is designed for more catastrophic claims.

Claims statistics for a Nissan Sentra – Insurers analyze historical claim data in order to profitably underwrite each model. Models that historically have a trend towards higher claims will have higher rates for specific coverages.

The next table shows the compiled insurance loss statistics for Nissan Sentra vehicles. For each coverage type, the loss probability for all vehicles, regardless of manufacturer or model, equals 100. Numbers shown that are under 100 suggest a better than average loss history, while values that are above 100 point to more claims or statistically larger losses.

Lower-cost San Jose car insurance rates with discounts

Some insurers do not advertise every available discount in a way that’s easy to find, so the following list contains both well-publicized in addition to some of the lesser obvious credits that you can use to lower your rates.

• Early Renewal Discounts – A few companies allow discounts for signing up before your current expiration date. This can save 10% or more.
• Telematics Data Discounts – Drivers that enable data collection to look at driving patterns remotely such as Drivewise from Allstate or Snapshot from Progressive may get a rate reduction if they are good drivers.
• Membership in Organizations – Belonging to qualifying employment or professional organizations can get you a small discount on your next renewal.
• Mature Driver Discount – If you qualify as a senior citizen, you may qualify for a slight reduction on a San Jose auto insurance quote.
• Early Payment Discounts – By making one initial payment instead of paying each month you may reduce your total bill.

As a sidenote, most credits do not apply to the whole policy. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Even though the math looks like all those discounts means the company will pay you, nobody gets a free ride.

The information below shows the difference between Nissan Sentra insurance costs with and without discounts applied. The premiums are based on a female driver, no violations or accidents, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with multi-car, homeowner, claim-free, marriage, multi-policy, and safe-driver discounts applied.

To view insurance companies that offer the discounts shown above in California, click here.

When should I talk to a local insurance agent?

Many people still prefer to sit down with an agent and that is not a bad decision Licensed agents can point out coverage gaps and will help you if you have claims. A nice benefit of comparing auto insurance online is that you can find cheap auto insurance quotes and also buy local. Buying insurance from neighborhood insurance agencies is important particularly in San Jose.

By using this short form, your coverage information is emailed to companies in San Jose who will give you bids to get your business. You never need to leave your computer since rate quotes are delivered to the email address you provide. If you need to compare rates from a specific insurance company, you would need to navigate to their website and complete a quote there.

When finding a reliable insurance agent, you need to know there are two different agency structures that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Auto insurance policy providers may be either independent or exclusive depending on the company they work for. Either one can do a good job, but it’s worth mentioning the differences because it can influence your agent selection.

Independent Auto Insurance Agencies or Brokers

Independent insurance agents do not write with just one company so they can insure your vehicles through many companies and find you the best rates. If they find a lower price, they can switch companies in-house without you having to go to a different agency.

If you are comparing rate quotes, you should always get rate quotes from several independent insurance agents in order to compare the most rates.

Shown below are San Jose independent agents that can give you free auto insurance rate quotes.

More San Jose agents

Exclusive Agents

These type of agents can only place business with one company and some examples include AAA, Allstate, State Farm, or Farmers Insurance. They usually cannot shop your coverage around so if the price isn’t competitive there isn’t much they can do. They receive a lot of sales training on their company’s products which helps them sell insurance even at higher premiums.

Listed below are exclusive agencies in San Jose willing to provide comparison quotes.

More San Jose agents

Selecting an insurance agency requires you to look at more than just a cheap price quote. Below are some questions you should ask.

• What kind of financial rating does the company have?
• Does their agency support local causes in San Jose?
• Do they write coverage based solely on cost?
• Do they carry Errors and Omissions coverage?
• How are they compensated?
• What companies can they write with?
• How long has their agency been in business in San Jose?
• How much training do they have in personal risk management?

Once you have acceptable answers to any questions you have and a low price estimate, you have narrowed it down to an auto insurance agent that can be trusted to adequately provide auto insurance. Just understand that you can terminate coverage whenever you wish so don’t think that you’re stuck with any specific agency with no way to switch.

Special considerations

When quoting and comparing adequate coverage for your vehicles, there really is no “best” method to buy coverage. Your financial needs are unique.

These are some specific questions might point out whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.

• Do I need rental car coverage?
• What is the ISO rating for a Nissan Sentra?
• Does my Nissan Sentra need full coverage?
• If my car is totaled with they pay enough to replace it?
• What discounts do I qualify for?
• What states are considered no-fault?
• What companies insure drivers after a DUI or DWI?
• I have health insurance so do I need medical payments coverage?
• When should I buy a commercial auto policy?

If you’re not sure about those questions but one or more may apply to you, you may need to chat with an agent. If you want to speak to an agent in your area, simply complete this short form. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and can help protect your family.

How much can you save?

We just presented some good ideas how to get a better price on Nissan Sentra insurance in San Jose. The most important thing to understand is the more quotes you get, the higher your chance of finding inexpensive San Jose auto insurance quotes. Consumers could even find that the most savings is with a small mutual company.

The cheapest Nissan Sentra insurance in San Jose is available both online and from local agencies, so you need to quote San Jose auto insurance with both to have the best selection. There are still a few companies who do not provide online rate quotes and usually these regional insurance providers only sell through independent insurance agents.

Drivers leave their current company for a number of reasons such as high prices, not issuing a premium refund, delays in paying claims or even high rates after DUI convictions. It doesn’t matter why you want to switch finding a new company is pretty easy and you might even save some money in the process.

Steps to buying low-cost Nissan Sentra insurance in San Jose

The recommended way to find cheaper auto insurance rates is to regularly compare price quotes from companies that sell auto insurance in San Jose.

1. Learn about how companies set rates and the factors you can control to prevent expensive coverage. Many factors that result in higher prices such as distracted driving and a not-so-good credit history can be improved by making small lifestyle or driving habit changes.
2. Get rate quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Direct and exclusive agents can only provide price estimates from one company like GEICO and State Farm, while independent agencies can provide price quotes for a wide range of insurance providers.
3. Compare the new rates to the premium of your current policy to determine if you can save on Sentra insurance. If you find better rates and change companies, verify that coverage does not lapse between policies.
4. Give proper notification to your current agent or company of your intention to cancel your current policy. Submit payment along with a signed and completed policy application to the new company. Once received, put the proof of insurance certificate in an accessible location in your vehicle.

One important bit of advice is that you’ll want to compare identical limits and deductibles on every quote and and to get rate quotes from as many auto insurance providers as possible. This enables a fair price comparison and the best price quote selection.

For more information, feel free to browse these articles:

• Shopping for a Safe Car (Insurance Information Institute)
• Who Has the Cheapest San Jose Car Insurance Rates for a Toyota Corolla? (FAQ)
• Safety Features for Your New Car (State Farm)
• Vehicle Safety Ratings (iihs.org)
• Property Damage Coverage (Liberty Mutual)