I've Got the Blues Regarding My Auto Insurance DuesInsurance
September 13, 2011 5:05 PM   Subscribe

Going to need auto insurance soon. Where can I find the best rates if I have 3-4 points on my driving record?

Yes, its a drag and annoying. Any advice here? Any ideal scenario (auto garaged, minimum yearly mileage, etc?) What can I say or do to get the best possible rate?
posted by goalyeehah to Work & Money (6 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Oops on title!
posted by goalyeehah at 5:11 PM on September 13, 2011


Is sitting down and calling companies for quotes not an option? Because people here will give you lots of anecdotal advice, but the thing about insurance is it's all about your personable variables. I really don't think it's smart to go by other peoples' experiences for this kind of thing.

But if you have access to USAA for this kind of thing, I couldn't recommend them more.
posted by InsanePenguin at 5:16 PM on September 13, 2011


Response by poster: Began doing that. First quote was off the charts. Will still pursue...
posted by goalyeehah at 5:26 PM on September 13, 2011


I used to work in the industry but wasn't directly involved in quoting, so don't take any of this as gospel, but conventional wisdom is that Progressive has the best rates for drivers with points on their record.
posted by telegraph at 5:31 PM on September 13, 2011


From Ms. Vegetable:
Call a company life SafeAuto car insurance. No, I am not affiliated with them, yes, I've seen their commercial, yes, I work for a car insurance company.
You are going to want minimum limits. Alternative, similar company from what I can tell, The General. My instinct is that they're cheap for what you need, and I also suspect they're going to be pretty nice to drivers with points.
So probably you want one of those "you need to be legal" insurance companies. You probably don't want one of the regular household names like Allstate/StateFarm/etc, because they tend to go after the good drivers like whoa.
Perhaps google "SR22 insurance" in your area.
You might be served well by an independent agent, too - an agent without just one company associated with them. These tend to be places like "John Smith Insurance", not "Allstate Insurance - John Smith, Agent". They have contracts with a bunch of companies and can compare shop for you.

Good luck. Keep your record clean for the next 3 years, then insurance will get cheaper.
posted by a robot made out of meat at 6:04 PM on September 13, 2011


No one is going to be able to give you more than anecdotal information, because car insurance companies rate structures go down to the zip code level. One carrier may be higher than another in this zip code, and the opposite might be true in the next state or even the next town. You're just going to have to get a couple of quotes and go with the cheap one.

If you're poor, check out the Califonria Low Cost Auto Insurance Program. This is a state-run program for people to get car insurance who have very limited incomes, i.e. under $27k for a single person, and about $56k for a family of four.

Otherwise, here's a list of all the licensed auto insurance carriers in California. Check some websites and get yourself some quotes. They've even got phone numbers if you'd rather.

If you have trouble just getting a quote due to your driving record, you'll need the California Auto Assigned Risk Plan. This is another state program, but it works a little differently than the CLCA program. The Department of Insurance, authorized by the Legislature, mandates that all insurers who write car insurance in the state take a certain percentage of high-risk drivers as a cost of doing business. Drivers are randomly assigned in proportion to the percentage of business that a given carrier writes.
posted by valkyryn at 6:59 PM on September 13, 2011


« Older Ideas for "laugh therapy"   |   Here come the warm jets. Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.