San Diego, CA Car Insurance

Compared to their surrounding area, how do rates in San Diego stack up? What about against the rest of California? What rates can residents of San Diego expect to pay for their car insurance? Find the average cost breakdowns and determining factors in the charts and writeups below:

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How much is car insurance in San Diego?

As you can see in the chart above, it is around $7 a month cheaper to insure your vehicle in San Diego than it is in the rest of California.

Drivers relocating from out of state may enjoy some cost savings in San Diego. You can expect to pay about $32 less for your policy in San Diego than in the rest of U.S.

While these are the average costs to insure your vehicle in San Diego, keep in mind that you could end up paying a different amount. Insurance companies take an array of factors into consideration when determining how much to charge you for your car insurance. Age, gender, vehicle make and model, driving record, and in some cases, your credit score, are all taken into consideration when calculating the final dollar amount you'll be asked to pay each month.

Don't worry, we've done the work for you and broken down the average rates for San Diego to help you understand what your monthly premium might be. And if you think you might be overpaying for insurance, simply enter your ZIP below to learn more about rates in your area!

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Average Car Insurance Rates by Age

It's pretty safe to assume that the older you are, the more experience you have as a driver. That experience can lead to some serious savings when it comes to auto insurance premiums. In this case, 18-24-year-olds pay $27 more than someone who is at retirement age.

You can expect to see your monthly premium drop about once a decade or so. Once you hit retirement, however, you may see your rates begin to go back up in San Diego.

Average Car Insurance Rates by Gender

Female drivers pay, on average, slightly less than their male counterparts. Male and female drivers in San Diego, however, both pay around $49 a month to insure their car.

Average Auto Insurance Rates by Driving Record

Your driving record can have a tremendous impact on your car insurance rates. A clean driving record will get you a lower rate than one with even just a single accident or infraction. In San Diego, drivers with one accident on their record will experience rates around $60 a month. Similarly, if you have one ticket on your record, you will be looking at an average rate of around $62.

Regardless of where you live, accidents, tickets, and other driving infractions can drive your monthly bill way up. Remember, the safer you are as a driver, the cheaper your car insurance will be.

Average Insurance Rates by Vehicle

As you can see in the first table above, the cheapest vehicles to insure in San Diego are typically SUVs, trucks, and vans, which run about $47 per month.

Car owners, meanwhile, pay on average $50 per month for insurance coverage.

The age of your vehicle has an impact on the cost of your policy as well. Generally, the most expensive vehicles to insure are going to be newer ones. However, once your car is about 5 years old, you might start to see your rates slide back down slightly. The most expensive vehicles to insure in San Diego are vehicles less than or equal to one-year-old and eleven-to-fourteen years old.

In addition to vehicle type, you can also expect to see slightly different rates based on the age of your vehicle. Newer vehicles are generally going to be the most expensive to insure. However, your rates may start to decrease if your car is more than 5 years old. The most expensive vehicles to insure in San Diego, for example, are vehicles less than one year old.

Average Car Insurance Rates by Relationship Status

Overall, those who have settled down into marriage will pay slightly less for insurance coverage. This can usually be attributed to their policies having multiple vehicles, a factor many companies extend special discounts for.

According to the table above, the difference in rates based on relationship status in San Diego can be as much as $7 a month, so it's worth taking into consideration.

Average Car Insurance Rates by Housing Situation

One other element taken into consideration is your living accommodations. Homeowners in San Diego can expect to pay around $4 a month less than those who rent. But those who live at home with their parents can expect to pay significantly more.

Bundling your home or rental insurance and auto insurance policies can oftentimes reduce your car insurance premiums, depending on your insurance company.

Car Insurance Companies in San Diego, CA

Recent trends in car insurance for San Diego drivers

Car insurance rates are frequently changing, so it's in your best interest to understand which way your area is trending before choosing when and where to shop.

The cost of car insurance coverage in San Diego had been decreasing from 2017-2019, before leveling out in 2020. Policy premiums finished down in 2022, at $46 a month

How does San Diego compare to neighboring areas?

Why are car insurance rates in San Diego different from other areas?

Car insurance companies take in many factors when figuring out how much individual insurance policies will cost. While we mentioned the factors that affect your personal policy, others are based around your home address. These include things like:

• Rate of crime
• Number of drivers in the area
• Community laws
• Off-street parking access
• General road safety (how many accidents each locality has)

You can't change these factors yourself, but they're something to take into consideration when shopping for a new policy or looking to move into an area. With the knowledge that different towns and cities will all have different rates, guides like these can be a good way to get a lay of the land of your particular neighborhood.

How can I find the cheapest car insurance in San Diego?

Familiarizing yourself with patterns in the average costs of drivers like you will give you a leg up in conversations with insurance companies. Ultimately, the only way to know exactly what your rate will be is by requesting a quote from those car insurance companies.

Good news! Compare.com will handle the heavy lifting for you. Just put in your ZIP Code below, respond to a few questions, and you'll be comparing the cheapest quotes from a bulk of the car insurance companies offering policies in San Diego.

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San Diego Insurance FAQs

What factors affect car insurance quotes in San Diego?

The factors that car insurance companies take into account when calculating your monthly cost include things you can't control like your age and gender, but also factors like your vehicle's year, make and model, plus your address, credit score, marital status, and driving record.

Why is the cost of car insurance in San Diego different from other neighboring cities?

Auto insurance companies consider regional factors, such as local laws, crime rates, and parking situations into account when calculating the monthly rate for coverage. Since these can all vary from city to city the rates you may see can differ from neighboring areas.

Which car insurance company will offer me the cheapest rate in San Diego?

There isn't one company that can guarantee the cheapest rate to everybody, since the rates they charge for coverage are calculated based off of factors that can vary from person to person, such as vehicle make and model, driving record, and number of drivers on the policy. By using sites like Compare.com to compare multiple quotes simultaneously, you can rest assured that you're getting the best price available.

Do I need to change my insurance if I move to San Diego?

Whenever you relocate or experience another major life event, such as finding a new job or getting married, you should consider revisiting your current insurance policy. Using services like Compare.com to compare quotes from multiple companies at once is a great way to make sure you're getting the cheapest rate for your new location.

Do I need to wait for my policy to expire to switch to a different car insurance company?

No. You can switch companies at any time, regardless of how long is left on your current policy. So, if you've recently moved to San Diego or it's been a while since you last compared car insurance rates, you may want to take 10 minutes and see if Compare.com can save you money.