Who Has The Cheapest Car Insurance in San Jose, CA?
Who Has The Cheapest Car Insurance in San Jose, CA?
Compare Car Insurance Rates in San Jose
We looked at the top insurers in San Jose and found that Geico has the most affordable rates overall, with an average price of $405 per year for a minimum coverage insurance policy.
Geico also offered the best price for full coverage, at an average of $1,319 annually.
Every driver will pay a different amount for car insurance depending on where they live, what kind of car they drive and their driving history, so the best way to save on car insurance is to get quotes from several insurers.
Cheapest auto insurance in San Jose: Geico
San Jose drivers looking for the absolute lowest price on a minimum coverage policy should start with Geico. It had the most affordable policy for state-minimum coverage, at an average rate of just $405 per year. That's 34% cheaper than the average rate across all insurers.
AAA of Northern California and Progressive also had affordable prices for basic coverage: They both had prices under $500 for a minimum coverage policy.
AAA of Northern California, also called AAA NorCal or CSAA, is only available to residents of Northern California. The Auto Club of Southern California provides car insurance to its customers through a separate company.
Compare Car Insurance Rates in San Jose
Insurer | Annual Cost | |
|---|---|---|
| Geico | $405 |
| AAA NorCal | $453 |
| Progressive | $474 |
| Mercury | $549 |
| State Farm | $688 |
Keep in mind that while a minimum coverage policy is enough protection to get you on the road, it doesn't cover damage to your own vehicle, and minimum limits can easily be exhausted in a lawsuit. We recommend a more robust policy for almost all drivers who use their cars regularly.
Cheapest full coverage car insurance in San Jose: Geico
The cheapest full-coverage policy in San Jose is offered by Geico. At $1,319 per year, Geico was hundreds of dollars cheaper than its competitors.
The second-cheapest option, Mercury, was $1,563 — $244 more expensive.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,319 |
| 2 | Mercury | $1,563 |
| 3 | Progressive | $1,625 |
| 4 | AAA NorCal | $1,826 |
| 5 | Allstate | $1,937 |
| 6 | State Farm | $1,974 |
| 7 | Farmers | $2,229 |
In addition to the minimum coverage required by law, full coverage also includes the following:
- Collision coverage: Pays for damage to your vehicle as a result of a crash, whether it's with another car or a single-vehicle incident.
- Comprehensive coverage: Pays for damage to your car that's not caused by a collision, such as falling debris or animals chewing on wiring.
Cheap car insurance for drivers with prior incidents
Insurance companies try to predict how likely you are to make a claim in the future based on your past driving history. They've found that drivers who have a less-than-perfect driving history make claims more often, so you're likely to pay more for car insurance with a recent accident or ticket on your record.
Cheapest car insurance in San Jose after an accident: Mercury
Insurers don't directly raise rates after a crash in order to recoup their losses. But they have found that drivers who've been at fault in an accident are likely to make another claim in the future, so the result is the same: Your rates will likely increase.
If you've recently been found at fault in an accident, try getting insurance from Mercury. It offered our San Jose sample driver a policy for $2,345 per year, which is $1,200 cheaper than the average across every insurer.
Geico's average rate was on the affordable side too, at just $2,407 for a full coverage policy. The average price overall was $3,545 for a full coverage policy.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,345 |
| 2 | Geico | $2,407 |
| 3 | Progressive | $3,343 |
| 4 | AAA NorCal | $3,702 |
| 5 | Farmers | $3,915 |
| 6 | State Farm | $3,926 |
| 7 | Allstate | $5,180 |
Cheapest car insurance for people with a speeding ticket: Geico
In the eyes of insurers, being caught speeding is indicative of being more willing to take risks behind the wheel, so you're likely to see much higher rates after you get a ticket — rates increased by $867, on average.
We recommend Geico as the most affordable option in San Jose for insurance after a speeding ticket. It charged $2,059 per year for full coverage. Its average rate was 22% cheaper than the average cost we saw across all insurers citywide.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $2,059 |
| 2 | Mercury | $2,065 |
| 3 | AAA NorCal | $2,309 |
| 4 | Allstate | $2,825 |
| 5 | State Farm | $3,037 |
| 6 | Progressive | $3,118 |
| 7 | Farmers | $3,133 |
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with a DUI: Mercury
Driving while intoxicated is a severe offense, and insurers are very likely to sharply increase your insurance rates if you're convicted. On average, one DUI will raise your rates in San Jose to $4,962 annually — that's nearly a threefold increase compared to a driver with a clean driving record.
Fortunately, some insurers are less strict than others. Mercury Insurance offered our sample driver an annual rate of $2,581 per year for full coverage, which is 48% less expensive than the average cost in San Jose.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercury | $2,581 |
| 2 | Geico | $3,302 |
| 3 | Progressive | $3,879 |
| 4 | Farmers | $3,915 |
| 5 | AAA NorCal | $6,550 |
| 6 | State Farm | $6,950 |
| 7 | Allstate | $7,559 |
Cheapest car insurance for married drivers: Geico
Insurers have found that married people tend to file insurance claims less often, so they'll often give a discount after you've tied the knot.
In our research, Geico had the best quotes in San Jose for a married driver, bringing its average price for a full coverage policy down to $1,129 per year. That's a $190 discount off the price a single person would pay.
Married drivers can lower their rates even more by sharing a policy with their spouse or qualifying for a multicar discount.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,129 |
| 2 | Progressive | $1,280 |
| 3 | Mercury | $1,390 |
| 4 | Allstate | $1,746 |
| 5 | AAA NorCal | $1,826 |
| 6 | State Farm | $1,974 |
| 7 | Farmers | $2,044 |
Cheapest car insurance for young drivers: Geico
Younger drivers pay more for car insurance because they're less experienced on the road and aren't as risk-averse as older drivers. As a result, insurers charge teenagers a lot more.
For our sample 18-year-old driver, Geico had the best rates, at an average of $1,214 for a minimum coverage policy. That's 22% cheaper than the average across all the insurers we looked at in San Jose.
Rank | Company | Annual rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Geico | $1,214 |
| 2 | State Farm | $1,322 |
| 3 | Mercury | $1,345 |
| 4 | Progressive | $1,378 |
| 5 | AAA NorCal | $1,423 |
| 6 | Farmers | $2,014 |
| 7 | Allstate | $2,212 |
Average car insurance cost in San Jose, by ZIP code
One factor car insurers use to set car insurance rates is your ZIP code. You might find that you pay more for car insurance if you live in an area with high theft rates, for example.
In San Jose, the most expensive neighborhoods for car insurance can pay up to $407 more per year than the most affordable neighborhoods.
ZIP code | Minimum coverage annual cost | Full coverage annual cost |
|---|---|---|
| 95008 | $607 | $1,690 |
| 95014 | $578 | $1,635 |
| 95032 | $615 | $1,742 |
| 95101 | $610 | $1,795 |
| 95110 | $625 | $1,910 |
Auto theft statistics in San Jose
San Jose is one of the worst cities in California for car theft. More than 6,000 cars were stolen in the city in 2019, which is enough to make it the third-worst city for theft among the 10 largest cities in the state. Only Oakland and Bakersfield had higher rates of theft.
Theft per capita rank | City | Population | Motor vehicle theft | Car thefts in 2019 per 1,000 residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oakland | 434,036 | 5,041 | 11.6 |
| 2 | Bakersfield | 388,080 | 2,909 | 7.5 |
| 3 | San Jose | 1,040,008 | 6,126 | 5.9 |
| 4 | Sacramento | 513,934 | 2,717 | 5.3 |
| 5 | Long Beach | 467,974 | 2,358 | 5.0 |
Motor vehicle theft data was pulled from the FBI 2019 California crime report.
Methodology
We collected data from seven of the largest insurers in California. Our sample driver was a 30-year-old man who drove a 2015 Honda Civic EX. Unless otherwise stated, the driver received rates for a minimum coverage policy.
In instances where our sample driver was comparing rates for a full coverage policy, the following limitations were used:
Type | California minimum | Full coverage |
|---|---|---|
| Bodily injury (BI) liability | $15,000 per person/$30,000 per accident | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident |
| Property damage (PD) liability | $5,000 per accident | $50,000 per accident |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist BI | $50,000 per person/$100,000 per accident | |
| Uninsured/underinsured motorist PD | $50,000 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.
Our statewide analysis of California insurance rates included both AAA of Northern California and AAA of Southern California. However, AAA of Southern California doesn't offer insurance to San Jose residents, so we eliminated it from city averages and rankings.
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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.