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Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in San Diego, CA (May 2022)
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Edited by Olivia Oksenhorn | Reviewed by licensed insurance agent, Amber Benka
Last Updated February 4, 2022
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Quick Facts
- The average cost of car insurance in San Diego is $165 per month, or $1980 annually.
- Car insurance in San Diego is $12 less than the average cost of car insurance in California.
- The cheapest car insurance provider in San Diego on average is Mile Auto, but you should always compare quotes to find your best personal rate.
Car Insurance in San Diego, CA
For drivers in California, it is a requirement to maintain an auto insurance policy that provides at least the state minimum coverage. However, most motorists opt for an insurance plan with more protection, like a full-coverage policy that includes collision coverage, liability coverage, and property damage liability coverage.
To find the best rates for these types of policies, you should consider shopping around with multiple insurance providers using Insurify.
Quotes by Top Companies
Bluefire$104
Metromile$116
Travelers$119
Clearcover$125
Freedom National$125
Cheapest Car Insurance in San Diego, CA
When you begin shopping for car insurance, it is important to compare different auto insurance companies. Generally, you will want to include large insurance providers such as GEICO, Allstate, and State Farm, as well as regional insurance companies. For San Diego drivers, the cheapest coverage option is Bluefire, with an average rate of $104 per month.
| Insurance Provider in San Diego | Quotes |
|---|---|
| Bluefire | $104 /mo |
| Metromile | $116 /mo |
| Travelers | $119 /mo |
| Clearcover | $125 /mo |
| Freedom National | $125 /mo |
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Best Car Insurance in San Diego, CA
When comparing car insurance companies, there are many methodologies you can use to determine which provides the best value. Insurify uses ICS, or the Insurify Composite Score, to create rankings for insurance providers in the areas. See how insurance companies rank in the San Diego area below.
| Best Companies | Score | Quotes |
|---|---|---|
| Clearcover | 97 | $125 /mo |
| Safeco | 86 | $174 /mo |
| Travelers | 80 | $119 /mo |
| 21st Century | 80 | $138 /mo |
| National General | 58 | $152 /mo |
See More: Best Car Insurance Companies
Average Car Insurance Cost
| California Cities | |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles | $195/mo |
| San Jose | $210/mo |
| San Francisco | $132/mo |
| Sacramento | $112/mo |
| San Diego | $172/mo |
| California | $164/mo |
Sacramento$112
San Francisco$132
Average for CA$164
San Diego$172
Los Angeles$195
San Jose$210
Click here to learn about car insurance quotes and save on your current policy.
Minimum Car Insurance Requirements in CA
California effected a number of new traffic laws for 2018, including legislation on DUI policies for rideshare service drivers, seat belts on public transport, and smoking or ingesting cannabis in moving vehicles. Most significantly, a change in the California Department of Motor Vehicle's road rehabilitation and maintenance program signals that registration or renewed registration of a motor vehicle will now come with a fee of $25 to $175.
California's minimum liability car insurance limits are as follows:
- $15,000 bodily injury liability per person
- $30,000 bodily injury liability per accident
- $5,000 property damage liability per accident
San Diego Car Insurance Rates by Driver Age
Even California’s best car insurance companies will use a driver’s age to determine their monthly rates. The younger a driver is, the more they will pay to insure their motor vehicle. For example, in California, teen drivers pay about $260 more a month than those in their 60s.The table below offers a look into the average premium different age groups pay in California.
| Driver's Age | Avg. Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Teens | $388 |
| 20s | $272 |
| 30s | $174 |
| 40s | $148 |
| 50s | $136 |
| 60s | $133 |
| 70s | $150 |
| 80s | $157 |
San Diego Car Insurance Rates by Driving and Accident History
Risk is generally one of the most significant factors that determine the quotes you receive. For example, drivers with a clean driving record pay $45 less a month for coverage than drivers who are considered high-risk with speeding tickets. Discover how other driving incidents and accidents can impact your average monthly insurance cost.
| Driving History | Avg. Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Clean Record | $179 |
| Speeding Ticket | $224 |
| At-Fault Accident | $216 |
| DUI | $218 |
Find local San Diego agents
Wilson and Company Insurance Services, Inc.
401 B Street,
Suite 2340, San Diego, CA 92101JPL Insurance Services
3033 5th Avenue,
Suite 325, San Diego, CA 92103WHINS Insurance Agency, LLC
2358 University Avenue,
Suite 2035, San Diego, CA 92104Fusco, Orsini Associates Risk and Insurance Services
5095 Murphy Canyon Road,
Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92123IOA Insurance Services
4370 La Jolla Village Drive,
Suite 600, San Diego, CA 92122Ahern Insurance Brokerage LLC
9655 Granite Ridge Drive,
Suite 500, San Diego, CA 92123Allenbrooke Insurance Services, Inc.
1322 Scott Street,
Suite 201, San Diego, CA 92106Champion Risk & Insurance Services, L.P.
12250 El Camino Real,
Suite 375, San Diego, CA 92130Ives Insurance Services, Inc.
2850 Womble Road,
Suite 103, San Diego, CA 92106HUB International Insurance Services Inc.
5405 Morehouse Drive,
Suite 340, San Diego, CA 92121
San Diego DMV Information
As a driver in San Diego, it is essential to know the location of the closest DMV office in case you need to renew your license or get a tag for your vehicle. Depending on where you live in the city, you have two DMV options. The first is at 3960 Normal Street, San Diego, CA 92103, and you can find the second office at 4375 Derrick Drive, San Diego, CA 92117.
Regardless of which office you choose, both provide many of the primary services you will need as a driver. For instance, you can go to either location to transfer your vehicle’s title or to get a new driver’s license.Both locations also feature self-service terminals that allow you to skip the line and complete several services on your own.
Public Transportation in San Diego
In San Diego, there are many alternative options to driving. Tourists and citizens can travel throughout the city and region via bus, trolley, and rail. The San Diego Metropolitan Transit System and the San Diego Breeze Bus provide bus service, the COASTER, the SPRINTER, and the Pacific Surfliner provide rail services, and the San Diego Trolley provides trolley service.
How to Get the Cheapest Car Insurance in San Diego
With hundreds of insurance providers throughout California, it can be challenging to determine which will offer the cheapest car insurance in San Diego. One way to ensure you get the best rates is to request quotes from multiple companies that provide auto insurance. While this can be time-consuming on your own, it is the best way to find the cheapest coverage.
To assist you in shopping for auto insurance, Insurify has multiple tools to make the process easier and less time-consuming. For instance, the Insurify platform allows you to quickly compare multiple quotes from qualified providers on a single page, making it possible to find your perfect coverage in a matter of minutes.
FAQs - San Diego, CA Car Insurance
Finding cheap auto insurance coverage in San Diego is often easiest when you shop around. Requesting car insurance quotes from multiple insurance providers allows you the opportunity to compare prices and coverage limits.
San Diego has much lower average rates for car insurance premiums than other cities in California. Generally, the average cost of car insurance for San Diego drivers is $171 per month, but rates can vary depending on several factors like age and driving history.
Many factors can drive car insurance rates up in San Diego, CA. For example, one car accident could cause your monthly premium to increase significantly. Other items that could cause an increase in your auto insurance policy include age, credit score, vehicle type, driving history, and location.
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Methodology
The car insurance quotes displayed are based on an analysis of Insurify’s database of over 40 million quotes from 500 ZIP codes nationwide. To obtain representative rates, Insurify’s data science team performs frequent comprehensive analyses of the factors car insurance providers weigh to calculate rates including driver demographics, driving record, credit score, desired coverage level, and more.
Insurify’s analysis also incorporates the Insurify Composite Score (ICS) assigned to each insurance provider. The ICS is a proprietary rating that weighs multiple factors reflecting the quality, reliability, and health of an insurance company. Ratings used to calculate the ICS include Financial Strength Ratings from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s, and Fitch; J.D. Power ratings; Consumer Reports customer satisfaction surveys and customer complaints; mobile app reviews; and user-generated company reviews.
With the above insights and ranking methods, Insurify is able to offer car insurance shoppers insight into how various insurance providers compare to one another in terms of both cost and quality. Note, actual quotes will vary based on unique attributes including the policyholder’s driver history and their garaging address.
Insurify Insights
How San Diego Drivers Measure Up
While most drivers know that car insurance quotes are determined in part by your personal driving history, many may be unaware that rates are also impacted by the average risk of the drivers around you as well. Check out Insurify's latest analysis of driving records in San Diego, California below:
Methodology
Drawing from an internal database of over 4 million car insurance applications, the research team at Insurify analyzes patterns in car ownership and driver behavior - including how San Diego drivers measure up to their fellow motorists across California in areas including speeding, DUIs, and more.
Insurify Insights publishes data-driven articles, trend analyses, and national rankings each week on all factors related to cars and those who drive them.
Honda Civic
Most Popular Car in San Diego
#120
City with the Most Speeding Tickets Rank in California
#189
City with the Most Moving Violations Rank in California
#121
City with the Most DUIs Rank in California
#125
City with the Most Suspended Licenses in California
While car accidents are a sadly unavoidable feature of time spent on the road, rates of accidents do vary from city to city and from state to state. San Diego drivers rank 82 in the number of car accidents per driver across all cities in California.
- Rank within state: #82
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with an accident: 11.84%
- Drivers in San Diego, CA with an accident in their driving history pay on average 26.22% more than drivers with a clean record
Exceeding the speed limit can endanger others and leave a permanent stain on your driving record. When compared to other cities in California, San Diego drivers rank 120 in the number of speeding infractions per driver.
- Rank within state: #120
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with a speeding ticket: 6.97%
- Drivers in San Diego, CA with a speeding ticket in their driving history pay on average 31.71% more than drivers with a clean record
While driving while intoxicated is never acceptable, it’s a more common offense than many assume. San Diego drivers rank 121 in the number of DUI’s per driver across all cities in California.
- Rank within state: #121
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with a DUI: 2.3%
- Drivers in San Diego, CA with a DUI in their driving history pay on average 21.34% more than drivers with a clean record
Some car models are just more popular than others and trends can vary from place to place. The most popular vehicle in San Diego is the Honda Civic.
The Insurify team classifies rude drivers as those who commit the following driving offenses: failure to yield or failure to stop, improper backing, passing where prohibited, tailgating, street racing, or hit-and-runs. Among all cities in California, San Diego drivers rank 59 in rude driving infractions.
- Rank within state: #59
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with a reckless driving violation: 2.18%
- Drivers in San Diego, CA with a reckless driving violation in their driving history pay on average 10.37% more than drivers with a clean record.
Having a squeaky-clean driving record is an accomplishment to be proud of. Some cities have safer drivers than others; San Diego drivers rank 43 in clean driving records across all cities in California.
- Rank within state: #43
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with clean record: 80.75%
Failing to yield the right of way isn’t just frustrating for other drivers; it’s dangerous, too. San Diego drivers rank 34 in failure to yield violations per driver across all cities in California.
- Rank within state: #34
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with a failure to yield violation: 0.31%
- Drivers in San Diego, CA with a failure to yield violation in their driving history pay on average 1500% more than drivers with a clean record
Reckless driving refers to a specific traffic violation: when drivers willfully act dangerously in spite of the risks they’re imposing on both themselves and others. Among all cities in California, San Diego drivers rank 50 in the number of reckless driving offenses per driver.
- Rank within state: #50
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with a reckless driving offense: 0.01%
As auto manufacturers increasingly turn towards producing greener car models, more and more motorists are embracing hybrids and EV’s. San Diego drivers rank 88 in hybrid and electric vehicle ownership across all cities in California.
- Rank within state: #88
- Percent of drivers in San Diego with a hybrid/electric vehicle: 3.01%
Insurify Insights
Insurify's team of data scientists and content specialists presents Insurify Insights, a series of automotive, home, and health studies focusing on the topics that impact us all. through expert analysis of over 4 million car insurance applications and an array of top data sources, the Insurify Insights team produces new data-driven articles, trend analyses, regional superlatives, and national rankings every week. See Insurify Insights as featured in Forbes, Fox News, USA Today, NPR, and more.
Content Manager at Insurify
Tanveen Vohra is a content manager at Insurify specializing in writing property and casualty insurance content. Through her content, Tanveen helps consumers better understand the components of their insurance policies so they can make smarter purchase decisions. Tanveen's work has been cited by CNBC, Fox Business, Business Insider, Fortune, and Market Watch, among others
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