The words "affordable" and "insurance" probably shouldn't be used in the same sentence, specifically when shopping around for the lowest insurance rates for Lyft drivers. To save some money, let's start off by going over some things that impact car insurance premiums, and figure out some ideas to take a little off your next policy.
One of the many considerations that are used to help calculate car insurance rates is where your residence is. Areas with more people or more claims will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion benefit from lower prices.
The illustration below shows the most expensive places in California for Lyft drivers to buy an auto insurance policy in. Santa Ana is ranked at #17 with an annual premium of $1,439 for car insurance, which is around $120 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,146 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,058 |
| 3 | Oakland | $1,755 |
| 4 | Sacramento | $1,720 |
| 5 | San Francisco | $1,711 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,628 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 8 | Moreno Valley | $1,551 |
| 9 | Santa Clarita | $1,548 |
| 10 | Modesto | $1,547 |
| 11 | Stockton | $1,541 |
| 12 | Fontana | $1,535 |
| 13 | Fresno | $1,517 |
| 14 | Garden Grove | $1,508 |
| 15 | Riverside | $1,482 |
| 16 | Anaheim | $1,444 |
| 17 | Santa Ana | $1,439 |
| 18 | San Jose | $1,423 |
| 19 | Fremont | $1,403 |
| 20 | Huntington Beach | $1,374 |
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Premium costs are approximated as specific location information can alter auto insurance rates noticeably.
Determining which company has the best auto insurance rates for Lyft drivers will take a little more effort than just picking a company at random. Every auto insurer has a unique approach for setting prices, so let's take a look at the overall cheapest auto insurance companies in Santa Ana.
It's important to know that California auto insurance rates are influenced by many factors that can increase the cost of a policy. Getting older, buying another vehicle, or having a fender bender can produce rate changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than competitors.
Best Car Insurance Prices for Your Lyft Vehicle
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $1,121 |
| 2 | Wawanesa | $1,157 |
| 3 | CSAA | $1,186 |
| 4 | Century National | $1,226 |
| 5 | Nationwide | $1,263 |
| 6 | 21st Century | $1,325 |
| 7 | Grange | $1,491 |
| 8 | Mercury | $1,503 |
| 9 | Progressive | $1,512 |
| 10 | Allstate | $1,543 |
| 11 | Allied | $1,556 |
| 12 | GEICO | $1,575 |
| 13 | The Hartford | $1,591 |
| 14 | MetLife | $1,654 |
| 15 | Esurance | $1,688 |
| 16 | State Farm | $1,733 |
| 17 | Unitrin | $1,750 |
| 18 | Travelers | $1,842 |
| 19 | Bristol West | $1,849 |
| 20 | Farmers | $2,026 |
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USAA may have some of the lowest car insurance rates in Santa Ana at around $1,121 each year. This is $530 less than the average policy premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Wawanesa, CSAA, Century National, and Nationwide also make the cut as some of the best Santa Ana, CA car insurance companies.
In the above example, if you have coverage with CSAA and switched to USAA, you may see savings of in the vicinity of $65. Insureds with Century National may save as much as $105 a year, and Nationwide customers might cut rates by $142 a year.
If you want to see how much you could save, click here or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
Be aware that those prices are averages for all insureds and vehicles and do not factor in a specific location for Lyft drivers. So the company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver data and vehicle information.
Finding a high-quality auto insurance provider is hard considering how many companies are available to choose from in California. The ranking data in the lists below may help you choose which insurers you want to consider comparing price quotes from. These ratings only include companies with a nationwide focus, so smaller companies that only insure vehicles in California are not taken into consideration for these rankings.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Companies Overall in Santa Ana
- USAA
- American Family
- AAA of Southern California
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- AAA Insurance
- GEICO
- The General
- Titan Insurance
- Progressive
Discounts on Santa Ana insurance rates
Insurers that provide policies for Lyft drivers may provide rate discounts that could lower prices by 40% or more if you meet the requirements. The best auto insurance companies and some of the premium reductions they offer include:
- State Farm may include discounts for Drive Safe & Save, passive restraint, accident-free, multiple policy, and defensive driving training.
- Esurance offers discounts for paid-in-full, multi-policy, emergency road assistance, good driver, Pac-12 alumni, anti-theft, and safety device.
- Progressive policyholders can earn discounts including good student, online signing, online quote discount, homeowner, and continuous coverage.
- Liberty Mutual includes discounts for teen driver discount, newly married, good student, hybrid vehicle, and new graduate.
- Auto-Owners Insurance may have discounts that include teen driver, anti-lock brakes, multi-policy, mature driver, good student, multiple vehicles, and group or association.
- GEICO discounts include federal employee, daytime running lights, air bags, good student, military active duty, membership and employees, and anti-lock brakes.
The illustration below illustrates the comparison of annual premium costs with and without discounts. The costs are based on a male driver, no accidents, no driving violations, California state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $1,000 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with multiple policy, safe-driver, defensive driving course, claim-free, marriage, and multiple vehicle discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, theamount saved on auto insurance for Lyft drivers is 28% or $695.
Difference between liability only and full coverage rates
Finding the cheapest auto insurance is the goal of most drivers, and one way to lower the cost of insurance for Lyft drivers is to only buy liability coverage. The chart below visualizes the comparison of annual premium costs when comparing full coverage to liability only. Data assumes no claims or violations, $500 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are applied.
If averaged out across all ages, full coverage costs $2,772 per year over and above liability coverage. Many of you may wonder if you should buy full coverage at all. There isn't a written rule of when to eliminate comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of having full coverage is more than 10% of the vehicle's replacement cost less your deductible, then it might be time to consider dropping full coverage.
For example, let's pretend your vehicle's settlement value is $7,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would get paid by your company is $6,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If premium cost is more than $650 annually for full coverage, then it's probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
There are a few cases where dropping full coverage is not a good plan. If you still owe a portion of the original loan, you have to carry 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 not consider dropping full coverage.