Alameda Car Insurance

Alameda, California is home to the Alameda Naval Air Museum and the former Alameda Naval Air Base as well as being the birthplace of both the snow cone and the Popsicle.

The city of Alameda boasts a total 52 insurance companies who provide a wide selection of car insurance products to satisfy every car insurance need of any licensed driver residing in this island city between San Francisco and Oakland.

California law mandates that all licensed drivers carry minimum bodily injury liability insurance of at least $15,000 per person with a total of $30,000 in coverage per accident for injuries sustained by others and $5,000 in property damage liability insurance for physical damage done to other property including other vehicles.

This coverage helps pay for injuries or damage to others when you are responsible. It does not pay for injuries or damage to you or the people in your family. These car insurance policies that satisfy minimum coverage requirements are known as basic liability-only policies.

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Since January 1, 1997, California motorists have been required to provide proof of insurance at the time of registration or whenever stopped by a peace officer while operating a motor vehicle.

Every licensed driver in California is also required by law to carry uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage. For low income licensed drivers, basic liability car insurance, uninsured and under-insured motorist coverage is available at an even lower cost.

Low income licensed drivers with good driving records who are also at least 19 years of age should contact California's Low Cost Auto Insurance Program for details.

Policies with higher liability limits, collision and comprehensive coverage, medical payments and rental car reimbursement coverage are referred to as standard coverage policies. Standard coverage policies are also available at affordable prices which increase in price with higher coverage maximums, types of automobiles and deductible amounts selected by the insured.

Car insurance rates are not standardized like car insurance coverage and vary dramatically between insurance companies. Without research, a licensed driver could pay thousands of dollars more than necessary for the same coverage.

Reviewing car insurance prices regularly will expose new opportunities to save money on car insurance.

Driver Classifications

For insurance purposes, licensed drivers are first classified by gender and marital status. Single male, single female and married couples are first in the classification process for insurance pricing. Following gender and marital status is driving experience.

Driving experience is sorted into five categories:

1. Newly licensed driver with two years or less driving experience.
2. Three to five years of driving experience.
3. Six to eight years of driving experience.
4. Nine to fifteen years of driving experience.
5. 16 to 40 years of driving experience.

Most licensed drivers enjoy reduced car insurance premiums as their driving experience increases without traffic violations or accidents. Not all insurance companies adjust premiums on the same schedule and not all insurance companies raise premiums when there is an accident or a traffic ticket.

Once gender, marital status and age are identified, insurance categories are sorted by miles driven per year. The lowest range is 7,600 to 10,000 miles per year followed by 12,600 to 15,000 per year. Driving records are then taken into consideration in three year increments.

1. No violations or accidents for three years.
2. 1 traffic ticket in three year period.
3. 1 at-fault accident in three year period.
4. 1 traffic ticket and 1 at-fault accident in three year period.

In order to obtain car insurance for drivers that exceed the annual mileage standards, accident frequency or number of traffic violations, the standard premiums on the state chart no longer apply and individual quotes must be obtained directly from the insurance provider. It is still very good practice to know standard coverage prices to have a better understanding of the values and prices of insurance policies that are not standard.

Inexperienced drivers under the age of 18 cannot purchase car insurance independently. An underage driver can only obtain car insurance when added to the insurance policy of another driver(s).

Insurance Premium Prices for Alameda

• A male driver with less than 3 years of driving experience, no traffic violations and no at-fault accidents can get a basic liability policy from USAA for $651 per year and the same coverage from California Casualty at $819. A female with the same driving experience residing in Alameda can get this coverage for $671 per year from USAA and $798 from California Casualty. This policy for the same male driver is priced at $2,914 per year by Transguard Occidental and it is $2,382 per year for the same aged female.
• A married couple residing in Alameda, California who drives less than 16,000 miles each per year with no accidents or violations will pay $2,070 to Anchor General or $2,769 per year to AAA for the same standard coverage. This same couple with one traffic violation each will find that Anchor General has increased the annual premium to $2,551 and AAA raised it to $4,045 per year.
• A married couple with a son or daughter who is licensed to drive will pay $3,546 per year to USAA or $4,983 to State Farm as long as there are no traffic violations or accidents. One company charges $16,700 per year for this family in the same circumstance.
• Once a married couple becomes a senior citizen married couple and annual miles driven fall to 7000 miles per year, AAA drops the standard coverage price to $1,257 per year and USAA charges this pair $1,062 for the same standard coverage.

Alameda is no different than any other city with many car insurance consumers. Most providers offer payment plans allowing consumers to pay annual or 6 month premiums on a monthly basis. Some providers offer more competitive rates for less experienced drivers and others offer larger accident-free discounts.

It pays to shop and compare regularly to get the benefits of improved driver classification and insurance company price policy changes.

Use the FREE search tool to start your comparison shopping for auto insurance.