I'm 25, never had a car before, never been insured before except for a little while on my parents' plan. Got license when I was 19. Never been in any accidents or anything like that. Trying to insure a 2002 Ford Ranger. I've looked at Geico, Progressive, they're not quoting me anything less than around 70 for minimum insurance. Is there a way to get cheaper insurance? Friends have told me I should be able to do it for around 20. I've never done this before and have no clue what I'm doing.

Answers from Quora (Keven Khach) :

Every individual driver has different insurance needs. If the car insurance company may fulfill his demands, it is the best one. If the same fails in providing the services according to the commitment, it becomes the most horrible one for any other individual. I consider only those car insurance companies the best ones in California that provide their policyholders what they expect in the form of insurance coverage.

 

For Southern California personal auto insurance there are 5 great insurance companies, around 40 good insurance companies, and hundreds of bad insurance companies. You asked about cheap but good. Cheap but good is generally found with Geico, Wawanesa, and Ameriprise. These three can be “good” companies depending on what coverage and endorsements you choose. They are almost always the three cheapest of the “good” companies. If you want great insurance and price isn’t an issue try Chubb, Hagerty, AIG Private Client, Pure, or Nationwide Private Client. They won’t be cheap but they have the best policies in the industry. Their policies are worded to favor you the client, whereas most insurance policies are worded to favor the insurance company. So don’t be surprised if they are double or triple the price of the “good” companies. Also the greats won’t insure anybody, you have to fit into their target market, most people won’t even be eligible for insurance with the great companies.

What do you mean when you say the best? All insurance companies are required to follow the laws of the department of insurance in the state they are doing business in. This is so the general public can have some peace of mind knowing the company they use will be there if they ever have a claim. I would say though to answer your question is the best insurance for a new driver will more than likely be the cheapest price. Make sure when you are getting a quote from several companies that they are quoting on the exact same parameters of coverage. A sneaky way some companies use to quote a lower price is not using the same coverages for comparison. Good luck as you begin your driving days!


What's the best (i.e. cheap but good company) car insurance in California?

Where can I get good cheap full coverage car insurance in California ?

Where can I get good cheap full coverage car insurance in California ? /

The cheapest will always be those bargain basement guys like The General or Safe Auto. That’s because their entire market niche is low coverage, cheap prices and limited service. They get you to “just legal” in your coverage. They’re almost always going to be the cheapest and —if you ever have to use them— you’ll know exactly why they’re so cheap. For the most part, in my experience, there’s a nexus point where you trade good coverage for good prices. Another thing to consider, is that after medicine, insurance is the most tightly regulated industry state-by-state. Insurance companies cannot “dump” insurance on a state to put others out of business (i.e. — selling it below cost). They can’t even charge beyond a standard deviation in prices. A lot of people LOVE to shake their fists at insurance companies but the profit margins are so fucking slim that the actual “insurance” part of their business is usually a money loser. Most insurance companies take your monthly payments and invest it in other industries (commodities, etc.) and take the profits from THOSE transactions and make their money off that. Seriously, insurance SUCKS at making a profit. So don’t blame them when your premiums are high. 

 The cheapest will be decided by which companies offer in your state, your driving record, your sex (where permitted), your credit rating (where permitted), your claims (“CLUE”) report, your type of car, your age, your marital status, where you live, how much property you own and how far you drive to work. It really will vary from company to company.