Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance in Los Angeles?
Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance in Los Angeles?
Progressive has the cheapest car insurance in Los Angeles, with a minimum-coverage policy that costs only $637 per year on average.
Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in Los Angeles
The average cost of minimum-coverage car insurance in Los Angeles is $919 per year, or $77 per month.
If you're looking for more protection for your car, Mercury has the cheapest full coverage rates, at $2,077 per yar on average. Geico has a case as the best cheap option overall, with the second-cheapest rates for both full and minimum coverage by a slim margin and some of the best customer service ratings inCalifornia.
We compared rates for a sample Los Angeles driver at multiple insurance companies and found you could be paying nearly double the cheapest available rates. This is why it’s essential for drivers to shop around for quotes.
Cheapest minimum coverage car insurance in Los Angeles
The most affordable minimum liability insurance in Los Angeles is offered by Progressive, at an average cost of $637 per year. Two affordable alternatives include Geico, which is an average of $28 more expensive than Progressive, and Mercury, which costs $136 more on average than Progressive.
Not only is Geico only $28 per year more expensive than Progressive, but it is also close to the cheapest option for full coverage. It is also one of the highest-rated companies in the state when it comes to customer service.
A minimum coverage policy is the cheapest insurance available, as it has the lowest amount of coverage required to legally drive.
Find Cheap Auto Insurance Quotes in Los Angeles
Minimum coverage requirements are regulated on a state-by-state basis. California’s minimum coverage requirements include bodily injury (BI) and property damage (PD) liability.
- Bodily injury liability: Pays for injuries that other drivers sustain in an accident where you are at fault.
- Property damage liability: Covers the financial costs of damage you cause to another person’s property.
Rank | Company | Average annual rate | Average monthly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Progressive | $637 | $53 |
| 2 | Geico | $665 | $55 |
| 3 | Mercury | $773 | $64 |
| 4 | AAA SoCal | $810 | $68 |
| 5 | State Farm | $1,072 | $89 |
| 6 | Allstate | $1,222 | $102 |
| 7 | Farmers | $1,251 | $104 |
Los Angeles cheapest full coverage policy
Mercury, Geico and Progressive offer the cheapest full coverage policies in Los Angeles. Their annual premium rates are, on average, less than $2,100 per year.
Rank | Company | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,077 |
| 2 | Geico | $2,088 |
| 3 | Progressive | $2,255 |
| 4 | AAA SoCal | $2,387 |
| 5 | State Farm | $2,863 |
| 6 | Allstate | $3,078 |
| 7 | Farmers | $3,195 |
Full coverage includes more protection and as a result, is more expensive than minimum liability insurance.
A full coverage policy includes the minimum coverage requirements as well as comprehensive and collision coverage coverage.
- Comprehensive coverage: Covers damage caused by "acts of God," or events out of your control, including natural disasters, theft, vandalism, shattered windows, an impact with animals, falling objects and fires.
- Collision coverage: Covers damage caused by driving into another vehicle or object, including crashing into another car (or another car crashing into your car while it's parked), driving into a ditch and your car flipping over.
Cheapest coverage for young drivers in LA
Farmers and AAA of Southern California have the most affordable full coverage policies for young drivers. Their average insurance premiums are $5,056 and $5,105, respectively.
AAA of Southern California, also called AAA SoCal or The Auto Club of Southern California, is only available to residents of Southern California.
Rank | Company | Average annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Farmers | $5,056 |
| 2 | AAA SoCal | $5,105 |
| 3 | Geico | $5,348 |
| 4 | State Farm | $6,170 |
| 5 | Allstate | $6,956 |
| 6 | Mercury | $7,164 |
| 7 | Progressive | $7,401 |
Drivers who are young and inexperienced are more likely to be involved in an accident. As a result, insurance companies will quote you at a higher rate than the 30-year-old counterpart.
Outside of comparing quotes from multiple insurers, you can also save money by doing the following:
- Ask insurers about discounts. Insurance companies typically have discounts for being a safe driver, being a good student or installing safety features in your car. You may already be eligible for some of these discounts and could save hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
- Consider a combined or multicar insurance plan. If your older family members already have an auto insurer, ask if you can sign onto their policy. Pairing with someone considered low-risk, like a parent, will increase the cost of their policy, but it will be cheaper than having two separate policies. Some insurance companies even offer discounts for adding cars to your policy.
Cheapest coverage for drivers with an accident history
The two insurers that increase prices for full coverage the least following an accident are Mercury and AAA of Southern California. Mercury increases its rates by an average of $1,059 per year, while AAA increases prices $1,448 per year.
Allstate, the insurer that raises the average price of its drivers’ premiums the most following an accident, more than doubles the premium costs. Your premium increase after an accident depends on the company you are insured with.
Being in an at-fault accident damages both your car and your insurance rates. Having an accident history can increase your quotes by staggering amounts, as it indicates you are a high-risk driver.
Rank | Company | Rates before accident | Rates after accident | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,077 | $3,136 | $1,059 |
| 3 | AAA SoCal | $2,387 | $3,835 | $1,448 |
| 2 | Geico | $2,088 | $3,827 | $1,739 |
| 5 | Farmers | $3,195 | $5,619 | $2,424 |
| 4 | Progressive | $2,255 | $4,700 | $2,445 |
| 6 | State Farm | $2,863 | $5,700 | $2,837 |
| 7 | Allstate | $3,078 | $8,362 | $5,284 |
You can take a few actions to mitigate an accident’s impact. One route is to look for discounts. Taking defensive driving or safe driving courses could qualify you for a discount with your insurer.
A proactive measure to explore is asking about your insurer’s accident forgiveness policy. Qualifications vary by company, but it will prevent your insurer from raising rates after an accident.
Car insurance companies with the best customer service
AAA has the best overall insurance customer service in California, based on a ValuePenguin analysis. The company has a high rating from both J.D. Power and ValuePenguin's editors.
The cheapest policy isn’t always the best. When contacting insurance agents and comparing rates, drivers need to consider price and customer service. Insurance companies with the best customer service typically have low wait times, quick responses, convenient call times and empathetic agents.
Company |
Editor's rating
|
JD Power
|
AM Best
|
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA SoCal | 830 | A | |
| AAA NorCal | 807 | A | |
| Geico | 828 | A++ | |
| State Farm | 818 | A++ | |
| Farmers | 811 | A | |
| Progressive | 819 | A+ | |
| Mercury | 816 | A | |
| Allstate | 803 | A+ |
Average cost of car insurance by Los Angeles neighborhood
Los Angeles residents and insurance companies know that not every area of the city is the same. Population density, crime rates and accident frequency vary by neighborhood, resulting in higher average premium costs in some areas of Los Angeles.
For instance, if you live in San Pedro, one of the cheapest areas of the city, you’ll be paying an average of $688 annually for minimum liability car insurance. However, if you live in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood, one of the most expensive areas of Los Angeles, auto insurance will cost $1,101 on average — a more than $400 difference.
ZIP code | Neighborhood | Average annual car insurance rate |
|---|---|---|
| 90003 | Southeast Los Angeles | $849 |
| 90004 | Koreatown/Wilshire/Mid-Wilshire | $1,076 |
| 90005 | Koreatown/Wilshire/Mid-Wilshire | $1,045 |
| 90006 | Pico-Union/Koreatown/Mid-Wilshire | $999 |
| 90007 | Los Angeles | $968 |
Auto theft statistics in Los Angeles
Los Angeles ranks sixth among California's 15 largest cities in terms of fewest car thefts per 10,000 residents. That rate was 39 cars stolen per 10,000 in 2019.
Irvine, a city of 292,673 in Orange County, had the fewest car thefts, with 5.6 cars stolen per 10,000 residents. Los Angeles overall had 15,642 auto thefts.
Rank | City | Population | Car thefts | Thefts per 10,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Irvine | 292,673 | 163 | 5.6 |
| 2 | Fremont | 240,887 | 568 | 23.6 |
| 3 | Chula Vista | 275,230 | 827 | 30.0 |
| 4 | Anaheim | 353,915 | 1,231 | 34.8 |
| 5 | San Diego | 1,441,737 | 5,172 | 35.9 |
Motor vehicle theft data was pulled from the FBI 2019 California crime report.
Minimum required auto insurance in California
Auto insurance requirements are regulated on a state level. In California, drivers are required to obtain bodily injury liability and property damage liability in order to legally drive.
Insurance coverage | Minimum requirements |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury (BI) | $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident |
| Property damage (PD) | $5,000 per accident |
Minimum liability coverage is the cheapest and lowest amount of coverage you can purchase, but it may not be the best for your needs. If you get into an expensive accident where you don’t have sufficient insurance coverage, you can find yourself paying thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket expenses.
We recommend that drivers who meet at least several of these three criteria obtain more coverage than the minimum:
- Your car is new or less than 8 to12 years old.
- Your car is worth more than $5,000 to $10,000.
- You don't have enough saved to replace your car if it's destroyed or stolen
Methodology
Auto insurance quote data was pulled from seven of the state's largest insurers. Our sample driver was a 30-year-old man who owns a 2015 Honda Civic EX and has an average credit score. Unless explicitly stated, he was comparing rates for full coverage auto insurance. When he obtained rates for a full coverage policy, the following limits were in place:
Coverage type | Study limits |
|---|---|
| Bodily injury liability | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Property damage liability | $25,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist BI | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Comprehensive and collision | $500 deductible |
ValuePenguin's analysis used insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services. These rates were publicly sourced from insurer filings and should be used for comparative purposes only — your own quotes may be different.
Editorial Note: The content of this article is based on the author’s opinions and recommendations alone. It has not been previewed, commissioned or otherwise endorsed by any of our network partners.