It’s an obvious statement that car insurance companies don’t want you quoting rates from other companies. Drivers who shop around for a cheaper policy will, in all likelihood, buy a different policy because of the high probability of finding more affordable rates. A recent insurance study discovered that consumers who compared prices regularly saved approximately $865 a year as compared to drivers who never compared prices.
If saving money on car insurance in Irvine is the reason you’re reading this, knowing how to get free comparison quotes and analyze car insurance can help you succeed in saving money.
If you want to save the most money, the best way to get low-cost car insurance rates in Irvine is to regularly compare price quotes from insurance carriers in California. You can shop around by completing these steps.
Step 1: Try to understand how auto insurance works and the changes you can make to prevent rate increases. Many policy risk factors that are responsible for high rates such as traffic violations, accidents, and a less-than-favorable credit rating can be remedied by paying attention to minor details.
Step 2: Request rate estimates from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Direct and exclusive agents can only provide price estimates from a single company like Progressive or Allstate, while independent agencies can provide prices from many different companies. View a list of agents
Step 3: Compare the new rate quotes to the premium of your current policy and see if you can save money. If you find a lower rate quote and buy the policy, ensure coverage does not lapse between policies.
Step 4: Provide notification to your current agent or company of your intention to cancel your current coverage. Submit a down payment along with a completed application for your new policy. As soon as you have the new policy, keep the new certificate verifying proof of insurance in an easily accessible location in your vehicle.
A good piece of advice is to try to use identical coverages on each quote and to quote with as many companies as possible. This ensures a fair rate comparison and a complete price analysis.
Keep in mind that comparing more prices helps locate more affordable rates. Some insurance companies are not set up to provide rate quotes online, so it’s important to compare quotes from them as well.
The following companies are our best choices to provide comparison quotes in Irvine, CA. If you want the best cheap car insurance in Irvine, CA, we recommend you visit as many as you can to get the most affordable price.
Auto insurance is an important decision
Despite the fact that auto insurance is not cheap in Irvine, auto insurance is required in California but also provides important benefits.
First, almost all states have mandatory insurance requirements which means state laws require a specific level of liability in order to drive the car. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
Second, if your vehicle has a lienholder, most lenders will force you to have physical damage coverage to ensure the loan is repaid in case of a total loss. If you let the policy lapse, the bank may insure your Dodge at a much higher rate and require you to reimburse them a much higher amount than you were paying before.
Third, insurance protects your Dodge and your assets. It will also reimburse you for all forms of medical expenses for yourself as well as anyone injured by you. One of the most valuable coverages, liability insurance, will also pay for a defense attorney if someone files suit against you as the result of an accident. If you receive damage to your vehicle caused by a storm or accident, comprehensive and/or collision insurance will pay to repair the damage.
The benefits of having auto insurance more than cancel out the cost, specifically if you ever have a liability claim. On average, a vehicle owner in Irvine is overpaying more than $820 a year so it’s important to compare rates at every policy renewal to make sure the price is not too high.
Dodge Challenger insurance statistics and information
The rate table displayed below outlines different insurance policy prices for Dodge Challenger models. Having a better understanding of how auto insurance policy rates are figured can help you make smart choices when comparing insurance rates.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Challenger SE | $342 | $628 | $604 | $36 | $180 | $1,790 | $149 |
Challenger R/T | $378 | $724 | $604 | $36 | $180 | $1,922 | $160 |
Challenger SRT-8 | $412 | $818 | $604 | $36 | $180 | $2,050 | $171 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Data variables include single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, homeowner, claim-free, safe-driver, and multi-policy. Information does not factor in garaging location in Irvine which can revise insurance rates substantially.
Choosing deductibles
One of the hardest decisions when shopping for car insurance is where should you set your physical damage deductibles. The tables below illustrate the rate differences of buying low and high comp and collision deductibles. The first pricing table uses a $100 deductible for comp and collision and the second set of rates uses a $1,000 deductible.
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Challenger SE | $478 | $810 | $500 | $30 | $150 | $1,993 | $166 |
Challenger R/T | $528 | $932 | $500 | $30 | $150 | $2,165 | $180 |
Challenger SRT-8 | $576 | $1054 | $500 | $30 | $150 | $2,335 | $195 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Challenger SE | $266 | $426 | $500 | $30 | $150 | $1,372 | $114 |
Challenger R/T | $292 | $490 | $500 | $30 | $150 | $1,462 | $122 |
Challenger SRT-8 | $320 | $556 | $500 | $30 | $150 | $1,556 | $130 |
Get Your Own Custom Quote Go |
Data rating is based on married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, multi-vehicle, homeowner, multi-policy, and safe-driver. Table data does not factor in specific location which can lower or raise price quotes greatly.
Based on the figures above, using a $100 deductible costs about $58 more each month or $696 a year than buying the higher $1,000 deductible. Since the policyholder would be required to pay $900 more to file a claim with a $1,000 deductible as compared to a $100 deductible, if you normally average more than 16 months between claim filings, you would probably save some money going with the higher deductible.
Impact of citations and accidents on insurance rates
The information below shows how violations and at-fault fender-benders influence Dodge Challenger premium costs for different ages of insureds. The premiums are based on a single female driver, full coverage, $1,000 deductibles, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
Full coverage or liability only
The chart below illustrates the difference between Dodge Challenger annual premium costs with and without full coverage. The data assumes no violations or accidents, $500 deductibles, single status, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
Should you pay for full coverage or liability only?
There is no definitive rule of when to phase out physical damage coverage, but there is a guideline you can use. If the annual cost of comprehensive and collision coverage is more than around 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your Dodge Challenger replacement cost is $6,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most you would receive is $5,000 after you pay the deductible. If premium cost is more than $500 a year for full coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
There are some scenarios where eliminating full coverage is not a good plan. If you haven’t satisfied your loan, you have to maintain full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not buy liability only.
Affordable Irvine insurance rates with discounts
Not many people think insurance is cheap, but you might already qualify for some discounts that you may not even know about. A few discounts will automatically apply when you quote, but a few must be requested specifically prior to receiving the credit.
- New Car Discount – Buying a new car model may earn a small discount because new model year vehicles are generally safer.
- Bundled Policy Discount – When you have multiple policies with the same insurance company they may give you a discount of nearly 15% which can help you find affordable Dodge Challenger insurance rates in Irvine.
- More Vehicles More Savings – Buying coverage for multiple vehicles with one company may reduce the rate for each vehicle.
- Professional Memberships – Being a member of a civic or occupational organization in Irvine may earn a discount on your policy.
- Early Payment Discounts – If paying your policy premium upfront rather than paying monthly you can actually save on your bill.
- Seat Belts Save more than Lives – Forcing all vehicle occupants to use a seat belt could save 15% off the personal injury premium cost.
It’s important to note that most discount credits are not given to the whole policy. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like liability, collision or medical payments. Just because it seems like you would end up receiving a 100% discount, it just doesn’t work that way. But all discounts will help lower your insurance premiums.
The example below compares Dodge Challenger insurance premiums with and without policy discounts. The prices are based on a female driver, a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, California state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $100 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with safe-driver, multi-policy, marriage, homeowner, claim-free, and multi-car discounts applied.
Large insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are included below.
- State Farm has discounts for accident-free, student away at school, Drive Safe & Save, passive restraint, safe vehicle, good driver, and good student.
- GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including membership and employees, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, daytime running lights, good student, and federal employee.
- SAFECO offers discounts including accident prevention training, multi-car, bundle discounts, drive less, teen safety rewards, teen safe driver, and anti-theft.
- Farmers Insurance discounts include switch companies, good student, distant student, pay in full, and business and professional.
- AAA may offer discounts for multi-policy, good driver, pay-in-full, AAA membership discount, education and occupation, and multi-car.
- USAA offers premium reductions for multi-policy, defensive driver, new vehicle, good student, family discount, safe driver, and military installation.
When getting free Irvine auto insurance quotes, it’s a good idea to every insurance company to give you their best rates. Some discounts may not apply to policyholders in Irvine. For a list of providers who offer free Dodge Challenger insurance quotes in Irvine, click this link.
Your situation helps dictate your coverage
When buying the best car insurance coverage, there isn’t really a one-size-fits-all type of policy. Your needs are unique to you.
Here are some questions about coverages that might point out whether or not you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
- Is upholstery damage covered by car insurance?
- Do I need medical payments coverage since I have good health insurance?
- How high should deductibles be on a Dodge Challenger?
- Does my medical payments coverage pay my health insurance deductible?
- How many claims can I have before being canceled?
- Why am I be forced to buy a membership to get insurance from some companies?
- Do I really need UM/UIM coverage?
- Is my babysitter covered when using my vehicle?
- Where can I find high-risk insurance?
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, then you may want to think about talking to a licensed agent. To find lower rates from a local agent, fill out this quick form.