It’s hard to miss the captivating commercials from auto insurance companies like GEICO, Progressive, and The General claiming the cheapest price. So drivers just need to choose the one with the most memorable commercial, right?
Regrettably, it’s not quite that easy, as there are many unknown elements like if you own or rent your home, what deductibles to use for physical damage coverage, and your annual mileage driven, that all have an effect on the price. This article will cover the best ways to maintain low rates and will hopefully give you a jump start in finding the best auto insurance in Washington.
For high risk drivers, one of the largest criteria that aid in calculating auto insurance rates is where you keep your car. Larger areas tend to pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims benefit from lower rates.
The illustration below sorts the most expensive areas in Washington for high risk drivers to buy an auto insurance policy in. Seattle ranks #8 with an annual premium of $1,349 for the average policy, which is about $112 monthly.
Rank | City | Annual Rate |
---|---|---|
1 | Tacoma | $1,441 |
2 | Federal Way | $1,435 |
3 | Auburn | $1,408 |
4 | Lakewood | $1,378 |
5 | South Hill | $1,354 |
6 | Shoreline | $1,352 |
7 | Kent | $1,350 |
8 | Seattle | $1,349 |
9 | Renton | $1,348 |
10 | Everett | $1,250 |
11 | Marysville | $1,245 |
12 | Sammamish | $1,220 |
13 | Redmond | $1,214 |
14 | Kirkland | $1,207 |
15 | Bellevue | $1,206 |
16 | Vancouver | $1,157 |
17 | Lacey | $1,122 |
18 | Olympia | $1,105 |
19 | Spokane Valley | $1,098 |
20 | Spokane | $1,060 |
21 | Yakima | $1,026 |
22 | Richland | $1,023 |
23 | Pasco | $1,018 |
24 | Bellingham | $1,007 |
25 | Kennewick | $1,001 |
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Rate information is estimated as the specific Seattle residence address can influence prices noticeably.
The make and model of vehicle you are trying to insure is one of the largest considerations when quoting the lowest-priced coverage for high risk drivers. Vehicles with limited speed and performance, good safety features, or low incidents of liability claims will cost much less to insure than higher performance models.
The next list showcases coverage rates for some of the most cost-effective vehicles to insure.
Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
---|---|
Honda CR-V LX 2WD | $5,658 |
Honda Accord EX 4-Dr Sedan | $5,663 |
Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $6,142 |
Toyota Prius | $6,381 |
Volkswagen Jetta SE 2.5 Station Wagon | $6,390 |
Chevrolet Impala LT | $6,700 |
Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $6,709 |
Toyota RAV4 2WD | $6,700 |
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD | $6,851 |
Toyota Camry SE | $7,002 |
Toyota Corolla LE | $7,012 |
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $7,016 |
Chevrolet Malibu LTZ | $7,067 |
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Prices above based on single female driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and homeowner. Table data does not factor in specific garaging location which can revise insurance rates significantly.
Based upon these rates, you can see that makes and models like the Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, and Ford Escape will definitely be a few of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for high risk drivers. The cost of auto insurance will tend to be more expensive just because there is more claim exposure for high risk drivers, but overall those particular models will probably have the cheapest car insurance rates that you’ll find.
Trying to find low-cost car insurance is not most people’s favorite thing to do, and determining which company has the most affordable insurance rates for high risk drivers calls for even more perseverance.
Every insurance company uses a slightly different approach for determining rates in each state, so we need to take a look at the lowest cost insurance companies in Seattle. It’s important to know that Washington insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can substantially decrease or increase the cost of your policy. Taking a driver safety course, buying a newer car, or having an at-fault accident can trigger changes in premium resulting in some companies being more expensive than others.
Cheap Insurance Rates for Risky Drivers
Capital offers some of the lowest car insurance rates in Seattle at around $784 annually. This is $628 less than the average premium paid by Washington drivers of $1,412. Grange, Nationwide, PEMCO, and Mutual Enumclaw would also make the list of some of the best Seattle, WA auto insurance companies.
In the above rates, if you buy coverage from Nationwide and switched to Capital, you could earn annual savings of in the neighborhood of $177. Washington drivers with PEMCO might save as much as $220 a year, and Mutual Enumclaw policyholders might lower prices by $250 a year.
To discover how much you can save, click here to start your custom quote or click through to the companies below.
Understand that those premiums are averages across all drivers and vehicles in Washington and and are not calculated with an exact location for high risk drivers. So the insurer that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to get quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
Types of discounts on Seattle auto insurance rates
Car insurance companies that sell policies for high risk drivers could also offer premium discounts that can lower rates by 40% or more if you qualify. A list of insurance companies and some of the discounts include:
- State Farm offers discounts including accident-free, driver’s education, defensive driving training, student away at school, good driver, and passive restraint.
- GEICO may offer discounts for anti-lock brakes, federal employee, daytime running lights, emergency military deployment, military active duty, and anti-theft.
- SAFECO has savings for safe driver, bundle discounts, homeowner, multi-car, and teen safe driver.
- Farmers Insurance includes discounts for pay in full, early shopping, bundle discounts, alternative fuel, teen driver, switch companies, and youthful driver.
- AAA may have discounts that include AAA membership discount, good driver, education and occupation, anti-theft, good student, pay-in-full, and multi-policy.
- USAA offers discounts for loyalty savings, family discount, vehicle storage, new vehicle, safe driver, and driver training.
The example below illustrates the comparison of insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The information is based on a male driver, three traffic citations and one accident, Washington state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $1,000 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the average rate with no discounts. The second shows the rates with passive restraint, paid-in-full, marriage, continuous coverage, homeowner, and multiple policy discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, theaverage yearly reduction on insurance for high risk drivers is 28% or $839.
The example below illustrates how your deductible choice can impact insurance costs when searching for cheap insurance for high risk drivers. The data assumes a single male driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The chart above illustrates that a 30-year-old driver could save $378 a year by switching their comprehensive and collision coverages from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $572 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Youthful drivers, like the 20-year-old, could lower their rates up to $1,116 or more just by using higher deductibles.
If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it is important to have plenty of discretionary funds to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense. That is the one drawback of using higher deductibles.
Impact of citations and accidents on Seattle insurance rates
In a perfect world, the ideal way to find the cheapest insurance rates in Washington for high risk drivers is to drive attentively and not receive tickets or have accidents. The illustration below illustrates how violations and fender-benders raise car insurance costs for each different age category. The costs are based on a single female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are applied.
In the previous chart, the average cost of an auto insurance policy per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,967. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost hikes up to $2,640, an increase of $673 each year. Now include two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of insurance for high risk drivers goes up to an average of $5,147. That’s an increase of $3,180, or $265 per month, just for not driving safely!
If you have coverage questions and would like to have some professional guidance when buying car insurance for high risk drivers, the agents shown below can help you determine which auto insurance coverages would be the best in your situation.
To find an auto insurance agency using an interactive map, click the button at the bottom or click here to get price quotes now.
Johnson Insurance Agency
9200 Holman Rd NW – Seattle, WA 98117 – (206) 789-5940
Greg Nunn – State Farm Insurance Agent
200 Roy St #102 – Seattle, WA 98109 – (206) 284-9700
David Lo – State Farm Insurance Agent
12705 Renton Ave S – Seattle, WA 98178 – (206) 772-3388