For minors, one of the big considerations that are looked at to determine the price you pay for insurance is where you live in Santa Ana. Areas with more people or higher crime rates tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents can boast about having cheaper rates.
The next table lists the highest-priced areas in California for drivers under 21 to purchase car insurance in. Santa Ana makes the list at #16 with a yearly cost of $1,439 for the average insurance policy, which is around $120 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles | $2,146 |
| 2 | Glendale | $2,142 |
| 3 | San Francisco | $1,763 |
| 4 | Oakland | $1,755 |
| 5 | Sacramento | $1,652 |
| 6 | San Bernardino | $1,644 |
| 7 | Long Beach | $1,626 |
| 8 | Stockton | $1,603 |
| 9 | Santa Clarita | $1,580 |
| 10 | Fontana | $1,566 |
| 11 | Modesto | $1,547 |
| 12 | Riverside | $1,542 |
| 13 | Garden Grove | $1,508 |
| 14 | Moreno Valley | $1,506 |
| 15 | Fresno | $1,457 |
| 16 | Santa Ana | $1,439 |
| 17 | Anaheim | $1,430 |
| 18 | Huntington Beach | $1,402 |
| 19 | Bakersfield | $1,394 |
| 20 | San Jose | $1,381 |
| 21 | Irvine | $1,371 |
| 22 | Fremont | $1,361 |
| 23 | San Diego | $1,327 |
| 24 | Oxnard | $1,318 |
| 25 | Chula Vista | $1,298 |
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Rate quotes are comparative as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can raise or lower price quotes considerably.
The type of vehicle you are seeking coverage for is one of the primary factors that determines if you can find the best coverage for drivers under 21. Vehicles with reasonable performance levels, excellent safety ratings, or a positive history of liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than high performance models. The next table features coverage prices for some of the most cost-effective vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $2,359 |
| Ford Escape Limited 2WD | $2,396 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE Touring Station Wagon | $2,572 |
| Toyota Prius | $2,607 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $2,768 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $2,776 |
| Toyota RAV4 2WD | $2,805 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $2,811 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $2,805 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan | $2,810 |
| Ford F-150 Lariat Super Cab 2WD | $2,839 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $2,845 |
| Ford Explorer Limited 4WD | $2,839 |
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Cost estimates assume single male driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Estimates do not factor in garaging location in Santa Ana, CA which can affect premium rates substantially.
Based upon the table data, cars like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Hyundai Elantra are most likely to be the less-costly vehicles to insure for minors. The price of auto insurance will tend to be higher just due to the fact that there is more exposure for drivers under 21, but generally speaking those specific models will most likely have the best insurance prices available.
Choosing the right car insurance provider can be a challenge considering how many choices you have in Santa Ana. The company rank data in the lists below could help you analyze which car insurance providers you want to consider when comparing rate quotes. These rankings are only comprised of the largest companies in the United States, so smaller regional companies are not factored into this list.
Top 10 Large Car Insurance Companies in Santa Ana Ranked by Customer Service
- AAA of Southern California
- GEICO
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- Mercury Insurance
- The General
- Progressive
- Allstate
- AAA Insurance
- American Family
Top 10 Large Car Insurance Companies in Santa Ana Ranked by A.M. Best Rating
- USAA - A++
- Travelers - A++
- State Farm - A++
- GEICO - A++
- Esurance - A+
- Nationwide - A+
- Allstate - A+
- Mercury Insurance - A+
- Progressive - A+
- Titan Insurance - A+
The chart below highlights how deductible choice can influence insurance prices when quoting cheap insurance for drivers under 21. The premiums are based on a married female driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
In the chart above, a 40-year-old driver could pocket $300 a year by switching from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $456 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Youthful drivers, like the 20-year-old category, could reduce their rates up to $750 or even more by choosing larger deductibles on their policy.
If you do raise deductibles, it is necessary to have emergency funds available to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one shortcoming of high deductibles.
Discounts on Santa Ana insurance
Insurance providers that offer quotes for drivers under 21 could also offer price discounts that may potentially lower prices by 30% or more if you meet specific criteria. Larger auto insurance companies and some of the discounts are outlined below.
- American Family offers premium reductions for TimeAway discount, good student, mySafetyValet, air bags, defensive driver, and accident-free.
- Farm Bureau has savings for multi-policy, multi-vehicle, good student, safe driver, and 55 and retired.
- State Farm policyholders can earn discounts including Steer Clear safe driver discount, multiple policy, student away at school, anti-theft, good driver, and driver's education.
- Travelers has discounts for student away at school, multi-car, early quote, home ownership, continuous insurance, and hybrid/electric vehicle.
- The Hartford may include discounts for air bag, bundle, vehicle fuel type, driver training, anti-theft, defensive driver, and good student.
- GEICO offers discounts including multi-policy, five-year accident-free, air bags, anti-theft, and driver training.
- Progressive may have discounts that include homeowner, good student, online quote discount, multi-vehicle, multi-policy, and online signing.
The example below illustrates the difference between car insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. The information is based on a female driver, no claims or driving citations, California state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $250 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second shows the rates with anti-theft, continuous coverage, paperless filing, passive restraint, good student, and paid-in-full discounts applied. When discounts are factored in, the average amount saved each year on auto insurance for drivers under 21 is 21% or $627.
The importance of shopping around
California auto insurance rates are impacted by many things that will increase or decrease the policy premium. Simply having a birthday, adding a teenager to your policy, or getting caught speeding may generate price changes that can cause some rates to be more affordable than the competition.
Not only may things change on your end, but companies change the rates they charge in California every year in order to be able to pay unexpected claims. An unexpected high level of claims can cause high rates, while lower claims can result in more affordable Santa Ana car insurance rates.
To illustrate this point, the bar chart below compares the cheapest car insurance in Santa Ana, CA for a 30-year-old female driver with no accidents, a clean driving record, and solid credit. If we estimate prices based on her current risk factors, USAA may offer the cheapest car insurance rates in Santa Ana at $1,194 annually. This is $457 less than the average premium paid by California drivers of $1,651. Century National, Wawanesa, CSAA, and Nationwide are also on the list of the cheapest Santa Ana, CA auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver from the first set of rates a chargeable claim, a lower credit score, and a stop sign violation. Since each auto insurer has a different process for determining prices, comparing rates will most likely result in a substantially altered list of companies as shown below.
Grange now has the best insurance rate in Santa Ana with Allstate, GEICO, Progressive, and Mercury completing the list. This shows why it is crucial to perform a complete rate comparison when trying to get the cheapest insurance rates for drivers under 21.
Rates are made up of many factors and can change without notice, so the cheapest rate the last time you compared rates may now be quite expensive.