For veterans, one of the big components that aid in calculating insurance cost is where you choose to live in Seattle. Areas with more people or more claims are more likely to pay higher prices, whereas areas with lower crime rates and fewer weather claims benefit from lower prices.
The information below shows the highest-priced areas in Washington for retired military to purchase a policy in. Seattle shows up at #8 with an annual premium of $1,349 for the average insurance policy, which is about $112 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tacoma | $1,427 |
| 2 | Renton | $1,403 |
| 3 | Lakewood | $1,392 |
| 4 | Auburn | $1,380 |
| 5 | Federal Way | $1,379 |
| 6 | Shoreline | $1,366 |
| 7 | Kent | $1,350 |
| 8 | Seattle | $1,349 |
| 9 | South Hill | $1,314 |
| 10 | Everett | $1,288 |
| 11 | Marysville | $1,245 |
| 12 | Sammamish | $1,232 |
| 13 | Bellevue | $1,219 |
| 14 | Redmond | $1,214 |
| 15 | Kirkland | $1,207 |
| 16 | Vancouver | $1,146 |
| 17 | Lacey | $1,122 |
| 18 | Spokane Valley | $1,098 |
| 19 | Spokane | $1,093 |
| 20 | Olympia | $1,072 |
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Price information shown is approximated as the specific geographic location can raise or lower coverage rates substantially.
The type of vehicle you are trying to insure is one of the main factors when shopping for economical insurance for retired military. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, advanced safety features, or a track record of few liability claims will cost much less to insure than fast, unsafe models. The next list ranks auto insurance costs for some of the most affordable vehicles to insure in Washington.
| Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLT 4WD | $1,503 |
| Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,610 |
| Ford F-150 XL Regular Cab 2WD | $1,657 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD | $1,703 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $1,741 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $1,774 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Crew | $1,783 |
| Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $1,801 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,837 |
| Kia Optima LX | $1,867 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T Station Wagon | $1,894 |
| Toyota RAV4 Limited 2WD | $1,905 |
| Ford Focus SE 2-Dr Coupe | $1,960 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $1,963 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $1,971 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S 2-Dr Coupe | $1,993 |
| Toyota Tacoma X-Runner 2WD | $2,009 |
| Ford Edge Sport AWD | $2,019 |
| Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sport 2WD 4-Dr | $2,012 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $2,036 |
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Prices above based on single male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, multi-vehicle, homeowner, and safe-driver. Estimates do not factor in Seattle, WA location which can lower or raise auto insurance rates greatly.
Looking at the data, we can presume that cars like the Ford Escape, Honda Accord, Ford F-150, and Honda CR-V are most likely going to be the more affordable vehicles to insure for veterans.
Finding low-cost insurance is not the easiest thing to accomplish, and deciding which insurers offer the cheapest insurance rates for retired military takes even more rate comparisons. Each auto insurer has their own guidelines for determining rates in each state, so we need to take a look at the insurance companies with the most affordable rates in Seattle.
It’s important that readers know that Washington insurance rates are influenced by many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price of coverage. Simply getting older, having a claim, or having an at-fault accident can cause premium changes resulting in some companies being cheaper in comparison to the competition.
Find Cheaper Auto Insurance for Vets
Capital offers some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Seattle at around $754 annually. Grange, PEMCO, Nationwide, and Travelers also make the cut as some of the more affordable Seattle, WA insurance companies.
As shown above, if you currently have coverage with Nationwide and switched to Grange, you may see a yearly savings of in the vicinity of $134. Policyholders with Travelers may save as much as $191 a year, and Mutual Enumclaw insureds might reduce prices by as much as $207 a year.
Understand that those premium estimates are averaged for all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with an exact zip code location for retired military. So the company that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the top 25 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own individual information.
The chart below highlights how deductible selection can influence insurance costs when trying to find cheap insurance for retired military. The premiums are based on a married female driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The data above shows that a 30-year-old driver could lower rates by $316 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $476 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, such as the Age 20 example, could potentially save as much as $672 or even more just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage. When using a larger deductible, it will be required to have emergency funds available to be able to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main drawback of higher deductibles.
How to get discounts on Seattle car insurance rates
Insurance companies that offer coverage for retired military may also provide discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 40% or more if you meet specific eligibility requirements. Larger insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are shown below.
- State Farm may offer discounts for multiple policy, student away at school, Drive Safe & Save, passive restraint, defensive driving training, and safe vehicle.
- American Family offers discounts for air bags, multi-vehicle, good driver, TimeAway discount, bundled insurance, early bird, and accident-free.
- AAA includes discounts for good student, multi-policy, education and occupation, anti-theft, multi-car, and good driver.
- GEICO offers discounts including membership and employees, anti-lock brakes, daytime running lights, multi-vehicle, emergency military deployment, and anti-theft.
- Mercury Insurance offers premium reductions for ease of repair, anti-theft, accident-free, multi-car, and professional/association.
- Farmers Insurance has savings for early shopping, alternative fuel, teen driver, multi-car, pay in full, and mature driver.
- Progressive has discounts for homeowner, online quote discount, good student, multi-policy, online signing, and continuous coverage.
The chart below illustrates the comparison of annual premium costs with and without discounts applied to the policy premium. The premiums assume a female driver, no claims, a clean driving record, Washington state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows the average annual price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with accident-free, safe-driver, vehicle safety, anti-theft, claim-free, and multiple policy discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, theaverage amount saved on insurance for retired military is 28% or $330.
Insurance rate increases from tickets or accidents
The common sense way to maintain the best insurance prices for veterans is to drive cautiously and avoid accidents and traffic citations. The illustration below highlights how speeding tickets and at-fault accidents increase premium costs for different categories of driver ages. The premium estimates are based on a single male driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no policy discounts are applied.
In the previous example, the average cost of car insurance per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $2,266. Factor in two speeding tickets and the average cost surges to $3,009, an increase of $743 each year. Then throw in two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the 12-month cost of insurance for retired military jumps again to an average of $5,671. That’s an increase of $3,405, or $284 per month, just for not keeping your driving record clean!