You have seen the captivating ads from insurers like The General, Nationwide, and Farmers claiming huge savings. So drivers just need to choose the one with the flashiest ad, right?
It’s just not that simple, as there are a ton of unknowns such as whether you are female or male, your annual mileage driven, and how well you maintain your credit, that all help calculate your car insurance rates. The information below will cover the best ways to find cheap car insurance and will give you a good start in finding the cheapest car insurance.
For senior citizens, one of the more important considerations that determine insurance cost is where you keep your vehicle. Regions with more people or even just more weather-related claims tend to have more expensive car insurance rates, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates get the luxury of paying less.
The information below sorts the most expensive cities in Washington for seniors to buy car insurance in. Seattle is ranked #7 with an annual rate of $1,349 for the average insurance policy, which is approximately $112 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lakewood | $1,392 |
| 2 | Tacoma | $1,385 |
| 3 | Auburn | $1,380 |
| 4 | Federal Way | $1,379 |
| 5 | South Hill | $1,354 |
| 6 | Kent | $1,350 |
| 7 | Seattle | $1,349 |
| 8 | Renton | $1,348 |
| 9 | Shoreline | $1,326 |
| 10 | Everett | $1,276 |
| 11 | Redmond | $1,251 |
| 12 | Kirkland | $1,231 |
| 13 | Bellevue | $1,219 |
| 14 | Marysville | $1,208 |
| 15 | Sammamish | $1,184 |
| 16 | Vancouver | $1,157 |
| 17 | Olympia | $1,116 |
| 18 | Spokane Valley | $1,098 |
| 19 | Lacey | $1,078 |
| 20 | Spokane | $1,071 |
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Annual rates are estimated as zip code location can change prices considerably.
The make and model of vehicle that needs insurance is one of the largest factors that determines the availability of low-cost car insurance for seniors. Vehicles with high performance engines, a lack of advanced safety features, or a track record of large liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than safer models.
The table below estimates car insurance prices for a number of the most affordable automobiles to insure.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $1,238 |
| Honda CR-V LX 2WD | $1,243 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $1,345 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,373 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sahara 4WD 2-Dr | $1,389 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,441 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,449 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $1,441 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $1,469 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $1,479 |
| Toyota RAV4 4WD | $1,469 |
| Toyota Camry LE | $1,476 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4WD | $1,496 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $1,501 |
| Ford F-350 XL Super Cab 2WD | $1,526 |
| Toyota Corolla XLE | $1,546 |
| Ford Edge Sport AWD | $1,556 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Extended Cab 2WD | $1,570 |
| Volkswagen Jetta 2.0T 4-Dr Sedan | $1,573 |
| Nissan Altima Hybrid 4-Dr Sedan | $1,583 |
| GMC Sierra 2500HD SLE Crew Cab 4WD | $1,573 |
| Ford F-150 Lariat Crew Cab Harley 2WD | $1,583 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ 2WD | $1,573 |
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Data rating is based on married male driver age 60, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Washington minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, claim-free, safe-driver, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Price estimates do not factor in garaging location in Seattle, WA which can alter coverage prices substantially.
Looking at the data, you can presume that makes and models like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius, and Jeep Wrangler should be the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for senior citizens.
Price comparison of only insuring for liability
Finding the cheapest car insurance is the goal of most drivers, and one great way to buy cheap insurance for seniors is to buy only liability coverage. The chart below illustrates the difference between auto insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying liability only. The price estimates are based on no claims or driving citations, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
If we average all the age groups together, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs an additional $1,887 per year over having just liability coverage. That is a big expense that brings up the question if buying full coverage is a waste of money. There is no clear-cut formula of when to drop full coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
There are some conditions where removing full coverage is not a good plan. If you still have a lienholder on your title, you have to keep full coverage in order to keep the loan. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not buy liability only.
Seattle car insurance companies ranked
Picking the top company is difficult considering how many choices there are in Seattle. The company ratings in the lists below can help you pick which car insurance providers you want to consider when shopping your coverage around. These rankings are only made up of companies who write in the majority of U.S. states, so smaller companies are not factored into these rankings.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurance Companies in Seattle Ranked by Customer Satisfaction
- Titan Insurance – 95%
- USAA – 94%
- AAA Insurance – 91%
- Nationwide – 90%
- State Farm – 90%
- The Hartford – 89%
- GEICO – 89%
- Allstate – 88%
- 21st Century – 88%
- The General – 88%
Get discount Seattle car insurance
Insurance providers that offer coverage for seniors may have policy discounts that could potentially reduce rates by 25% or more if you are eligible to receive them. Popular car insurance companies and a selection of discounts include:
- AAA has savings for multi-car, pay-in-full, good driver, AAA membership discount, good student, and anti-theft.
- Progressive includes discounts for homeowner, multi-policy, online quote discount, good student, online signing, and multi-vehicle.
- State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including multiple autos, Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, Drive Safe & Save, and anti-theft.
- Esurance offers discounts including claim free, defensive driver, multi-car, homeowner, anti-theft, emergency road assistance, and DriveSense.
- Nationwide discounts include defensive driving, business or organization, family plan, anti-theft, multi-policy, accident-free, and easy pay.
The illustration below illustrates the difference between car insurance rates with and without discounts applied to the premium. The data assumes a female driver, no violations or accidents, Washington state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $1,000 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second shows the rates with marriage, multiple vehicle, claim-free, multiple policy, homeowner, and defensive driving course discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, theaverage amount saved on car insurance for seniors is 29% or $350.
Your low-price policy may be costing you money
Seattle car insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the price you have to pay. Improving your credit score, adding a teenager to your policy, or having an at-fault accident can produce rate changes that can cause some rates to be cheaper in comparison to the competition. In addition to those changes, companies change prices without warning to help ensure profitability. Higher than normal claims may cause higher rates, while a lower level of claims can produce lower-priced Seattle car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the chart below shows the companies that have the cheapest car insurance in Seattle, WA for a 30-year-old male driver with no accidents or violations, and solid credit. If we compare prices based on his current risk profile, Capital may offer the best car insurance rates in Seattle at $1,045 annually. This is $367 less than the average premium paid by Washington drivers of $1,412. Grange, Nationwide, PEMCO, and Travelers are also on the list of the cheapest Seattle, WA auto insurance companies.
Now we will give the driver from the above example a claim or two, slightly worse credit, and a speeding ticket. Due to the fact that every auto insurer has a proprietary formula for filing rates in each state, getting updated rate quotes could now result in a new list of the cheapest car insurance companies in Seattle as shown below.
USAA now has the lowest price in Seattle, WA with California Casualty, The Hartford, Allied, and Chubb completing the list. This example demonstrates why consumers need to take the time to do a thorough rate comparison to get the cheapest car insurance quotes for seniors. Insurance rates consist of many different factors and change dramatically, so the cheapest option the last time you shopped your coverage around may now be one of the higher cost companies.