Smart shopping for car insurance in California starts with comparing the top 10 California car insurance companies.
The best way to get the best rates and coverage for your money is to compare the top 10 California auto insurance companies and asking a broker or agent for help if you don’t understand the policies.
Keep in mind that all car insurance companies in CA will offer different coverage options, and your willingness to take the time to compare the top 10 will result in significant savings and the most appropriate policy for you.
Compare The Top 10 California Car Insurance Companies: Compare Similar Coverage
California’s Compulsory Financial Responsibility Law requires every driver and owner of a car to carry minimum liability insurance of $5,000 for property damage for any one accident, $15,000 for death or injury of any one person in any one accident and $30,000 for all persons in any one accident. Just because these are the minimum requirements does not mean that they will allot you full protection in the case of an accident.
You may want to purchase additional coverage, especially if you have a new vehicle. While each auto insurance company offers the same services, either as a basic package or as an additional rider, rates will be different from company to company.
A lot of people take a policy with the company that offers them the lowest rates, but that doesn’t mean that is the best company and they are getting the best service for their money. The lowest rates don’t mean anything if you can’t get a claim paid in a timely manner or their customer service people are difficult to work with.
The Top 10 California Car Insurance Companies: The List
It’s difficult to find any two lists that agree on what the top 10 car insurance companies are for the entire nation, let alone one state. The lists change based on the criteria used to rank the companies, be it price, reliability, flexibility or financial backing.
To add to the confusion, even though a company is on a top 10 list doesn’t mean that the consumers are happy with the company. After all, the consumers, not the “experts”, are the ones that deal with the insurance companies daily and in real world situations. The experts mostly look at how good the company looks on paper.
While making your car insurance choice and collecting rates and quotes, log onto the California State Department of Insurance Website. They list consumer complaint ratios for each insurance company in the state. This ratio will let you know how many complaints an insurance company received per 1,000 claims filed.
The following insurance companies are ranked in different orders on different top ten California car insurance lists. However, as you can tell by consumer opinions reported on line, you get what you pay for and as the cliché states, your mileage may vary.
- State Farm – Consumers complain about their high rates but are very happy with the service and turn around time they have when they have to file a claim.
- Farmers Insurance – Overall, consumers are happy with the price of service but those that have filed claims complain that Farmers Insurance has a habit of fighting claims.
- 21st Century Group – 21st Century Group has low rates for perfect drivers. The two biggest complaints against this insurance company from consumers are the lack of a website and there is no warning when they raise rates.
- Mercury Insurance – Consumers are happy with the low rates and the fact that they will insure high risk drivers but are unhappy with their response time and customer service.
- Allstate – There are not many complaints about the customer service end of things but the general consensus seems to be that you pay for this service.
- Coastal National Insurance – The few reviews that can easily be found on line about Coastal National Insurance show that their low rates do not make up for bad customer service.
- Infinity Insurance – Consumers reporting online about Infinity Insurance like the low rates and the friendly customer service people but are very unhappy with their claims department.
- United Service Automobile Association Insurance (USAA) – USAA specializes in serving military members and their families.
- Progressive – Most consumers are happy with Progressive with the exception that you have to have separate policies for each vehicle you own.
- GEICO – Another insurance company consumers seem quite happy with in both customer service and price. The biggest complaint is that you can’t make payments on line or over the phone with a credit card.
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Our easy to use tool at the top of the page will allow you to compare quotes from the top 10 California car insurance companies side by side. Get started finding California car insurance now!