For financially responsible drivers, one of the big components that help determine the annual cost of car insurance is where you keep your car. Cities with larger populations or higher claim trends will most likely pay more, whereas areas that tend to be more rural can boast about having cheaper rates.
The illustration below lists the most expensive areas in Washington for drivers with good credit to purchase auto insurance in. Seattle is ranked at #7 costing $1,349 for coverage, which is approximately $112 each month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Federal Way | $1,435 |
| 2 | Auburn | $1,422 |
| 3 | Tacoma | $1,399 |
| 4 | Lakewood | $1,392 |
| 5 | Renton | $1,361 |
| 6 | Shoreline | $1,352 |
| 7 | Seattle | $1,349 |
| 8 | Kent | $1,337 |
| 9 | South Hill | $1,314 |
| 10 | Everett | $1,288 |
| 11 | Kirkland | $1,243 |
| 12 | Marysville | $1,208 |
| 13 | Bellevue | $1,206 |
| 14 | Redmond | $1,201 |
| 15 | Sammamish | $1,196 |
| 16 | Vancouver | $1,146 |
| 17 | Olympia | $1,105 |
| 18 | Spokane | $1,104 |
| 19 | Lacey | $1,089 |
| 20 | Spokane Valley | $1,065 |
| 21 | Yakima | $1,037 |
| 22 | Bellingham | $1,017 |
| 23 | Kennewick | $1,011 |
| 24 | Pasco | $998 |
| 25 | Richland | $983 |
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Rates are estimated as specific Seattle garaging address can influence rates significantly.
Shopping around for budget insurance is easier said than done, and finding out which companies offer the most affordable insurance rates for drivers with good credit will require a bit more work. Every car insurance company has a different formula to set their prices, so let’s take a look at the overall cheapest insurance companies in Seattle, WA.
It’s important that you understand Seattle insurance rates are impacted by many things that control the price you pay. Events like turning one year older, marrying your spouse, or getting caught speeding can trigger rate changes resulting in some companies being way too expensive in comparison to the competition.
Best Auto Insurance Prices for High Credit
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capital | $754 |
| 2 | Grange | $813 |
| 3 | Nationwide | $952 |
| 4 | PEMCO | $964 |
| 5 | Travelers | $998 |
| 6 | USAA | $1,060 |
| 7 | Mutual Enumclaw | $1,065 |
| 8 | The Hartford | $1,080 |
| 9 | California Casualty | $1,105 |
| 10 | Chubb | $1,116 |
| 11 | Allied | $1,142 |
| 12 | American Family | $1,160 |
| 13 | State Farm | $1,165 |
| 14 | Amica | $1,206 |
| 15 | Safeco | $1,228 |
| 16 | Liberty Mutual | $1,270 |
| 17 | Farmers | $1,355 |
| 18 | National General | $1,480 |
| 19 | Progressive | $1,510 |
| 20 | GEICO | $1,673 |
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Capital has some of the best car insurance rates in Seattle at around $754 each year. This is $658 less than the average policy premium paid by Washington drivers of $1,412. Grange, Nationwide, PEMCO, and Travelers also are some of the cheaper Seattle, WA auto insurance companies.
As shown in the table above, if you are currently insured with PEMCO and switched to Grange, you might achieve savings of in the vicinity of $151. Insureds with Travelers may save as much as $185 a year, and USAA policyholders might lower prices by $247 a year.
If you would like to find cheaper car insurance rates, click here to begin a quote or quote rates from the companies below.
Remember that these policy prices are averaged for all drivers and vehicles in Washington and do not factor in a specific location for drivers with good credit. So the company that has the lowest price for you may not even be in the top 25 companies in the list above. That emphasizes why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own driver data and vehicle information.
The type of vehicle driven is probably the most important factor when trying to find the most affordable coverage for drivers with good credit. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, modern passenger safety features, or a positive history of liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than fast, unsafe models.
The table below showcases auto insurance premiums for a number of the most affordable vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,419 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $1,538 |
| Honda Odyssey LX | $1,557 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,571 |
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $1,627 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $1,676 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $1,709 |
| Toyota Corolla LE | $1,765 |
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $1,782 |
| Ford F-150 XL Super Cab 2WD | $1,787 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT Crew Cab 4WD | $1,798 |
| Toyota Tacoma 4WD | $1,825 |
| Kia Optima SX | $1,919 |
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Premium data assumes single female driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, claim-free, and safe-driver. Prices do not factor in specific garaging location which can decrease or increase insurance rates noticeably.
By looking at the data, we can infer that models like the Honda Accord, Hyundai Elantra, Honda Odyssey, Toyota Prius, and Honda CR-V should be some of the most affordable vehicles to insure for financially responsible drivers.
Full coverage rates vs. liability-only in Seattle
Lowering the price of insurance is probably important to most vehicle owners, and one of the fastest ways to buy cheap insurance for drivers with good credit is to only buy liability insurance. The chart below shows the difference between yearly insurance costs with and without physical damage coverage. The price estimates are based on no claims or driving citations, $100 deductibles, single marital status, and no other discounts are factored in.
If we average the cost for ages 20 through 70, physical damage coverage costs $2,266 per year more than just insuring for liability. At some point, every insured wonders if buying full coverage is a good investment. There is no definitive guideline of when to phase out physical damage coverage, but there is a general convention. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost of your vehicle minus the policy deductible, then you may need to consider dropping full coverage.
There are some cases where removing full coverage is not advised. If you still have a loan on your vehicle, you are required to maintain full coverage in order to prevent the bank from purchasing higher-priced coverage. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is totaled, you should keep full coverage on your policy.
Choosing the right company is difficult considering how many different insurance companies sell coverage in Seattle. The company information displayed below may help you decide which coverage providers to look at purchasing a policy from.
The rankings below only include the largest companies in America, so companies that have a smaller presence are not factored into these rankings. To get rate quotes from the insurers below and more, just click here.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurers in Seattle Ranked by Claims Service
- State Farm
- Esurance
- AAA Insurance
- Progressive
- GEICO
- Liberty Mutual
- Allstate
- Titan Insurance
- The Hartford
- The General
Top 10 Major Auto Insurers in Seattle Ranked by A.M. Best Rating
- USAA – A++
- Travelers – A++
- GEICO – A++
- State Farm – A++
- The Hartford – A+
- Esurance – A+
- Nationwide – A+
- Allstate – A+
- Titan Insurance – A+
- Progressive – A+
The chart below demonstrates how deductibles can influence yearly insurance costs when getting quotes for cheap insurance for drivers with good credit. The rates are based on a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.
As shown above, a 40-year-old driver could save $316 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $476 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the Age 20 category, can cut $808 annually by using a higher deductible. When increasing deductibles, it will be important to have additional savings on hand to enable you to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.
The importance of shopping around
Seattle, WA insurance rates are impacted by many factors that will increase or decrease the price of your policy. Turning one year older, buying another vehicle, or getting into an accident can produce rate changes that can make some companies much cheaper than others.
Not only that, but insurers change their prices multiple times each year to adjust for heavy claims or excess profits. Higher than normal claim frequency or severity can cause additional price hikes, while long-term profits can result in lower-cost Seattle car insurance rates.
To help illustrate this point, the chart below compares the cheapest car insurance in Seattle, WA for a 35-year-old male driver with no violations or accidents, and good financial standing. If we estimate prices based on his personal risk profile, Capital has the cheapest car insurance rates in Seattle at $1,019 per year. This is $393 less than the average price paid by Washington drivers of $1,412. Grange, Nationwide, PEMCO, and Travelers are the remaining top five cheapest Seattle, WA auto insurance companies.
Now let’s give the driver in the first chart some claims, a lower credit rating, and a stop sign violation. Since every car insurance company uses a different method for determining rates, comparing insurance quotes could result in a different ranking of the cheapest companies as shown below.
USAA now has the best auto insurance rate in Seattle, WA with The Hartford, Allied, California Casualty, and Chubb also having competitive pricing. This illustrates why it is so important to compare as many rates as possible when trying to get the most affordable car insurance rates for drivers with good credit. Rates are impacted by many things and can increase or decrease at any time, so the cheapest company two years ago may now be quite expensive.