Find Cheaper San Diego, CA Car Insurance Rates in 2023

San Diego drivers can expect average car insurance prices to be $1,614 a year, or about $134 a month for full coverage. Policy discounts could get the rate as low as $927, and liability-only rates are estimated at $503 a year. State Farm, Farmers, and Allstate insure over 35% of the vehicles in San Diego, and USAA has the cheapest rates if drivers have a military affiliation.

The figure below shows the average rate and prices for individual policy coverage types.

Annual premium for full coverage: $1,724

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Rates are estimated based on a 40-year-old driver with a clean driving record and rated on an average passenger sedan like a Honda Accord, Toyota Camry, or Ford Focus.

Price Range by Policy Type

A policy with only liability insurance will be the most affordable, but it does not provide protection for damage to your vehicle from perils like theft, fire, or collision. California requires drivers to buy minimum liability insurance limits of 15/30/5, which means $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per occurrence, and $5,000 of property damage insurance. These are not high limits and can quickly be exhausted even in a minor accident, so consider buying higher limits for additional protection.

Drivers who have multiple violations on their driving record or have an adverse claim history may be forced to buy coverage from the non-standard or high-risk market. Rates for these policies are considerably higher than the average full coverage policy as shown below.

Full Coverage Policy Price Comparisons

The chart below shows how rates are affected by different scenarios. The cheapest discount price is what drivers can expect to pay if they are a preferred risk and qualify for the majority of discounts offered by their company.

The high deductible, average rate, and low deductible prices show how choosing different physical damage deductibles (comprehensive and collision) affect policy prices. High deductibles save drivers money because in the event of a claim, the policyholder pays more of the repair cost. With low deductibles, the insurance company pays more, which equates to high prices.

View Chart as Image

In this example, drivers could see savings of $669 a year by choosing $1,000 deductibles rather than the more expensive $100 deductibles. At that price point, as long as your average time between claims is 16 months or more, you will come out ahead financially by choosing the higher deductible.

Rates by Make and Model of Vehicle

San Diego has all types of vehicles, from sporty sun chasers cruising the coast to tough four-wheel drive jeeps and trucks traversing Otay Mountain. Whatever vehicle you drive, it’s going to have an effect on the rate you pay to insure it.

Exotic, expensive, or high-performance vehicles cost more to insure due to the higher cost to repair and a naturally higher actual cash value. Larger 3/4 and 1-ton trucks tend to be more expensive than average due to having a higher-than-average liability claim frequency.

The table below shows estimated auto insurance costs for a variety of popular vehicles in the San Diego area.

Top Ten Car Insurance Companies in San Diego

The companies listed below are ranked by market share, with average rates in the state of California. San Diego’s rates are really quite low compared to some other areas in California like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Car insurance prices in San Diego run right around the state average.

State Farm is the largest insurer in the state of California, with Farmers Insurance a close second. USAA has the best overall car insurance prices in San Diego, but drivers have to have a military affiliation in order to buy from them. With San Diego’s large naval presence, USAA would be a good option for many families.

California Car Insurance Companies

Rank	Company	Market Share	Average Rate
1	State Farm	14.45%	$1,716
2	Farmers Insurance	12.45%	$1,986
3	Allstate	8.74%	$1,528
4	Mercury General	8.27%	$1,518
5	Auto Club	8.11%	$2,526
6	Geico	7.81%	$1,544
7	CSAA	6.58%	$1,210
8	USAA	4.49%	$1,132
9	Progressive	4.17%	$1,527
10	Liberty Mutual	3.40%	$2,241
Get Your Rates Go

Source: National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) 2015 Market Share Report and The Zebra

Top Ten Ways to Save on San Diego Car Insurance

We covered a lot of rate information, but chances are you’re looking for ways to find cheaper auto insurance. The following are our top ten ways to save money when shopping for coverage in San Diego.

1. If your car is getting older and the cost for comprehensive and collision coverage is more than 10% of the actual cash value of the vehicle, you might consider dropping full coverage
2. Raising physical damage deductibles can save up to $700 a year. If you have adequate savings, consider this step to reduce rates.
3. Take a hard look at your policy coverages and eliminate the one’s you really don’t need. This might include things like an auto club membership, towing coverage, or rental reimbursement.
4. Make sure you’re earning all the discounts you’re entitled to. Some are more difficult to determine if you qualify, so ask your agent or company.
5. If you’re in the market for a new vehicle, check rate quotes with several agents or companies prior to purchasing. You may find that the difference in insurance prices may be the determining factor of which model you buy.
6. If you have a teen driver on your policy with full coverage, consider dropping comprehensive and collision and only insuring for liability.
7. If you normally have a clean driving record but you get a ticket, check into a driver’s safety course that could keep the ticket off your record.
8. Never allow coverage to lapse between policies. Companies want to see that you have maintained continuous coverage, and if you have a gap, chances are good you’ll pay a surcharge.
9. If you’re looking at switching companies, quote your policy well ahead of the renewal date and do it online. Many companies offer big discounts if you are prompt and do the work yourself.
10. The best way to lower your San Diego car insurance rates is to shop around. There are a lot of companies to choose from, and if you take a little time to compare rates, you could save some serious cash. Price quotes are always free and the more quotes you get, the more potential you have to save.