California Car Insurance: Get an Auto Quote | Mercury Insurance (2024)

FAQs

Who has the cheapest auto insurance in California? ›

Geico, USAA, Mercury Insurance, Progressive and CSAA are the five cheapest car insurance companies in California, according to our research. The average cost of full-coverage car insurance in California is $193 per month or $2,313 per year.

California Car Insurance Companies

Based on our research, Geico offers the best car insurance in California. Progressive, USAA, State Farm and Allstate are also reliable options for most drivers.

Factors like inflation and a greater number of accidents can make taking new business in California less attractive when the rates can't be raised higher. In addition to auto insurance, it is currently harder for Californians to get home insurance because the prevalence of wildfires is growing more common.

Most financial experts recommend raising your liability to $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident if you have few assets. With more assets — like a house, expensive car, or large amounts of savings — experts recommend bumping your coverage up to at least $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident.

Cheapest quotes for most drivers: Geico

Geico charges slightly cheaper rates if you have a clean record. Geico offers quotes that average $1,937 annually for a full-coverage policy and $727 for a liability policy. Both Geico and Progressive offer quotes at average rates that are close to the national average rate.

The cheapest car insurance rate is $38 a month from Geico according to our research team's cost analysis of national average prices for minimum coverage. The top 10 cheapest car insurance companies are Nationwide, Geico, State Farm, Travelers, Progressive, AAA, Allstate, Chubb, Farmers and USAA.

The conditions in the state have led the insurers to believe that California drivers are too expensive to insure. Auto accidents increased 25% between 2020 and 2021, where at the time, premiums increased only 4.5%. The insurers were paying more in claims than they were making in premiums.

Car insurance in California is expensive because the state has multiple densely populated, high-crime urban areas. In California, you can expect to pay approximately $4,556 per year for full coverage car insurance or $1,291 per year for minimum coverage.

The company has closed each of its 38 California offices. Geico is going all digital with its insurance policies in California. The American insurance giant is no longer offering in-person locations to purchase car and homeowners insurance in the state, the company's website shows.

Non-renewal notices to more than 12,500 customers affected will start being mailed out in July. The companies did not give a reason why they would be ceasing policies in California. Tokio Marine and Trans Pacific join State Farm and Allstate in discontinuing coverage for California residents.

Why is California not offering full coverage insurance? ›

The insurance companies cite the increasing frequency of natural disasters, rising costs of construction and inflation as the cause. The departure may mean more Californias only option for insurance in the state FAIR Plan — an insurer of last resort.

Customize a coverage plan that protects what's important to you and your family. State Farm® helps you save money on your car insurance with a variety of great discounts. Take a look at the discounts available in California.

Some states allow individual drivers to self insure if they set aside the equivalent of the minimum required amount of car insurance. For example, California allows drivers to set aside $35,000 in a cash deposit or surety bond and consider themselves self-insured.

Can my car be registered in one state and insured in another? In general, your car must be registered and insured in the same state, since both vehicle registration and auto insurance are based on your permanent residence.

For policies issued or renewed after January 1, 2025 the minimum limits for private passenger automobile insurance will increase to $30,000 per person, $60,000 per accident, and $15,000 for property damage. As noted, this law will not apply to policies issued or renewed in 2024.

Cheapest Full-coverage Car Insurance Comparison

According to our rate estimates, Nationwide offers the cheapest full-coverage car insurance at an average rate of $119 per month for a single 35-year-old with a clean driving record and good credit. USAA is also another cheap option, at $126 per month.

So it's important to understand insurance groups – after all, there are 50 of them in total. Cars in group 1 are the least risky from an underwriter's perspective and the cheapest to insure. Those in group 50 are the riskiest and most expensive – usually higher performance models and luxury SUVs.

USAA Bank products are only available to military members, veterans who have honorably served, and their eligible family members.

Ted Chen reports for the NBC4 News on March 22, 2024. State Farm will discontinue coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments in California starting this summer, the insurance giant said this week, nine months after announcing it would not issue new home policies in the state.