It’s hard to miss the catchy advertisements from car insurance companies like GEICO and The General claiming dirt cheap rates. So drivers just need to choose any one of them, right?
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there are a whole bunch of unknown factors such as if you are a homeowner or renter, your financial responsibility, and if you have a tendency to get pulled over, that all influence how much you pay for auto insurance. In this article, we will teach you about the causes of high insurance rates and also should give you a good start in finding the cheapest car insurance in Washington.
Deciphering which companies have the cheapest car insurance rates for state employees will require a bit more effort than just picking a company at random. Each company uses their own calculation to set policy rates, so to begin we’ll rank the most budget-friendly car insurance companies in Seattle, WA.
Best Insurance Companies in Washington
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Capital | $784 |
| 2 | Grange | $813 |
| 3 | Nationwide | $981 |
| 4 | PEMCO | $994 |
| 5 | Travelers | $1,008 |
| 6 | Mutual Enumclaw | $1,023 |
| 7 | USAA | $1,082 |
| 8 | The Hartford | $1,090 |
| 9 | Chubb | $1,094 |
| 10 | Allied | $1,098 |
| 11 | California Casualty | $1,116 |
| 12 | State Farm | $1,141 |
| 13 | Safeco | $1,192 |
| 14 | American Family | $1,208 |
| 15 | Amica | $1,256 |
| 16 | Liberty Mutual | $1,257 |
| 17 | Farmers | $1,355 |
| 18 | Progressive | $1,465 |
| 19 | National General | $1,525 |
| 20 | MetLife | $1,631 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
Capital may have some of the best car insurance rates in Seattle at around $784 each year. Grange, Nationwide, PEMCO, and Travelers also qualify as some of the cheapest Seattle, WA car insurance companies.
As shown above, if you are a customer of Grange and switched to Capital, you could realize yearly savings of roughly $29. Policyholders with Nationwide could save as much as $197 a year, and PEMCO policyholders might lower prices by $210 a year.
Remember that these rates are averages across all drivers and vehicles and and are not figured with a specific vehicle garaging location for state employees. So the insurer that fits your needs best may not even be in the top 25 companies in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own driver and vehicle profiles.
For state workers, one of the more important components that are looked at to determine the price you pay for insurance is where you choose to live in Seattle. Cities with more crime and/or more people tend to have higher rates, whereas more rural areas have the luxury of cheap car insurance rates.
The next table rates the most expensive areas in Washington for state employees in which to buy car insurance. Seattle comes in at #9 with an annual cost of $1,349 on average, which is around $112 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakewood | $1,420 |
| 2 | Renton | $1,389 |
| 3 | Tacoma | $1,385 |
| 4 | Auburn | $1,380 |
| 5 | Federal Way | $1,379 |
| 6 | South Hill | $1,354 |
| 7 | Shoreline | $1,352 |
| 8 | Kent | $1,350 |
| 9 | Seattle | $1,349 |
| 10 | Everett | $1,288 |
| 11 | Bellevue | $1,256 |
| 12 | Marysville | $1,208 |
| 13 | Kirkland | $1,207 |
| 14 | Redmond | $1,201 |
| 15 | Sammamish | $1,184 |
| 16 | Vancouver | $1,157 |
| 17 | Lacey | $1,122 |
| 18 | Spokane | $1,104 |
| 19 | Olympia | $1,072 |
| 20 | Spokane Valley | $1,065 |
| Start a Quote Go | ||
Price information shown is estimated as the specific geographic location can decrease or increase auto insurance rates greatly.
Violations and accidents raise rates
The recommended way to obtain the most affordable car insurance premiums for state workers is to drive safely and avoid accidents and violations. The example below illustrates how traffic citations and at-fault claims raise yearly insurance costs for each age group. The data is based on a married female driver, comp and collision included, $500 deductibles, and no additional discounts are factored in.
In the previous example, the average cost of an auto insurance policy in Seattle per year with no violations or accidents is $1,074. Receive two speeding tickets and the average cost hikes up to $1,518, an increase of $444 each year. Then include two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of car insurance for state employees jumps again to an average of $3,257. That’s an increase of $2,183, or $182 per month, just for not being a responsible driver!
The diagram below demonstrates how deductible levels can increase or decrease insurance costs when searching for cheap insurance for state employees. The premium estimates are based on a married male driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are factored in.
The data above shows that a 50-year-old driver could lower their policy premium by $204 a year by switching from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $312 by using a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, such as the Age 20 example, could lower their rates $682 every year by choosing a higher deductible.
If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it is a good idea to have enough funds in savings to allow you to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense associated with higher deductibles.
Get discounts on Seattle insurance rates
Insurance providers that sell policies for state employees may have special discounts that can lower rates by 25% or more if you meet the requirements. The best car insurance companies and some of their more popular discounts are:
- State Farm has savings for good driver, safe vehicle, student away at school, Steer Clear safe driver discount, defensive driving training, driver’s education, and anti-theft.
- GEICO offers discounts including membership and employees, anti-lock brakes, driver training, five-year accident-free, and defensive driver.
- SAFECO may offer discounts for anti-lock brakes, teen safe driver, homeowner, multi-car, and accident prevention training.
- Farmers Insurance discounts include youthful driver, distant student, good student, electronic funds transfer, homeowner, teen driver, and switch companies.
- AAA policyholders can earn discounts including pay-in-full, anti-theft, multi-car, good driver, good student, AAA membership discount, and multi-policy.
- USAA may have discounts that include multi-policy, vehicle storage, multi-vehicle, annual mileage, good student, military installation, and family discount.
The chart below shows the difference between annual premium costs with and without discounts. The premium estimates are based on a male driver, no accidents, no driving violations, Washington state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with defensive driving course, multiple vehicle, marriage, anti-theft, accident-free, and passive restraint discounts applied. When discounts are factored in, theaverage amount saved on car insurance for state employees is 28% or $420.