How can you get a Los Angeles auto insurance bargain? Obtaining the cheapest car insurance is easier for some groups of drivers and harder for others. Following, I will talk about what groups of drivers get cheaper rates as a given, as well as what any driver can do to lower their rates in LA.
Drivers that get the lowest rates are female drivers, senior citizens, and safe car owners.
Stats show that female drivers drive more carefully, select safer cars, maintain their cars better, and park more securely. Obviously, there are many males, who are as careful and cautious as “statistical females”, but the average “statistical male” is less careful with their car and driving, and that is why insurers give discounts to females.
The other group of statistically safer drivers is senior citizens – this is the term that insurers use to refer to people aged around 50-65 or 65 and up. These drivers are also more careful and cautious with their vehicles, and so insurers are happy to offer them bargain rates.
Finally, people with safe and secure vehicles will generally also get the cheapest auto insurance deals. Safer cars are those equipped with: an immobilizer, alarm, global positioning system, front airbags, side airbags, automatic seatbelts, daytime running lights (automatic), and an antilock braking system. The more of these features that are present in a given vehicle, the cheaper it will be to insure it. The rates will drop even more if this vehicle is not on a list of commonly stolen cars.
What if you do not belong to any of the above three groups of drivers? The good point is that there are things that anyone can do to lower their premium rates.
The first step is to obtain quotes from a large number of California auto insurance companies. The major and popular insurance carriers that operate in CA include: Allstate, Access, GEICO, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Nationwide, Safeco, State Farm, and 21st Century.
The next step is to compare the rates and choose a few that are the lowest. Then you need to ask each affordable company about each discount that you may be eligible for. Chances are that you will be eligible for at least one or two discounts from the following: experienced driver, good driver, claim-free record, low mileage, carpooling, public transit, multicar policy, multi-policy, student away, or good student.
If you are not eligible for any discounts from the above, you can still reduce your rates by undertaking a defensive driving course – a course designed to teach you how to prevent accidents. This course is available on many websites. It is short and very cheap – all you need to do is find an approved service that offers it at a lower cost. Once you are done and pass your exam online, you can get as much as a 10% discount for this course.
In general, regardless of your age, type of car, gender, credit score, and all other factors that insurers take into consideration, you can find bargain car insurance rates with a little research and comparison.