It’s an obvious conclusion that insurance companies don’t want their policyholders to compare prices. Consumers who shop around for the cheapest price are highly likely to buy a different policy because there is a good probability of finding a policy with better rates. A study showed that consumers who compared rates once a year saved approximately $865 annually compared to policyholders who never shopped around for better prices.
If finding the most affordable car insurance in Long Beach is your ultimate goal, then having an understanding of how to get free comparison quotes and analyze insurance coverage can make it simple to find affordable coverage.
If you want to find the absolute lowest rates, then the best way to get more affordable auto insurance rates is to start doing an annual price comparison from different companies who sell insurance in Long Beach.
- Spend some time learning about how car insurance works and the measures you can take to keep rates in check. Many rating criteria that result in higher rates like distracted driving and an unfavorable credit rating can be eliminated by making lifestyle changes or driving safer. Continue reading for more information to find cheap rates and get bigger discounts that may have been overlooked.
- Get rate quotes from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Exclusive agents and direct companies can provide rates from a single company like GEICO and Allstate, while independent agencies can quote rates from multiple insurance companies.
- Compare the new rates to the price on your current policy to see if a cheaper rate is available in Long Beach. If you find a lower rate quote and buy the policy, make sure the effective date of the new policy is the same as the expiration date of the old one.
One bit of advice is to try to use the same amount of coverage on every quote request and and to compare every insurance company. Doing this ensures a level playing field and maximum price selection.
When shopping for cheaper Long Beach auto insurance quotes, there are a couple of ways of comparing rates from all the different companies. The easiest way by far to find the lowest rates involves getting comparison quotes online.
When comparison shopping, having more price comparisons helps improve the odds of finding the best offered rates.
The companies shown below have been selected to offer comparison quotes in California. To find the best cheap auto insurance in California, we recommend you get rates from several of them to get the cheapest price.
Best reasons to buy insurance in California
Even though Long Beach Eos insurance rates can get expensive, insuring your vehicle is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.
- Almost all states have mandatory liability insurance requirements which means the state requires a specific level of liability in order to license the vehicle. In California these limits are 15/30/5 which means you must have $15,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $30,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $5,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you took out a loan on your Volkswagen Eos, it’s guaranteed your bank will have a requirement that you buy insurance to guarantee payment of the loan. If you cancel or allow the policy to lapse, the lender may insure your Volkswagen at a significantly higher premium and force you to pay a much higher amount than you were paying before.
- Insurance protects both your assets and your vehicle. It will also cover medical expenses incurred in an accident. Liability insurance also pays for attorney fees and expenses if you are sued as the result of an accident. If damage is caused by hail or an accident, your policy will pay to restore your vehicle to like-new condition.
The benefits of buying enough insurance more than offset the price you pay, particularly for liability claims. But the average driver in California is overpaying more than $850 per year so it’s very important to do a rate comparison at every renewal to help ensure money is not being wasted.
Insurance coverage analysis
The coverage table shown below highlights a range of insurance coverage prices for Volkswagen Eos models. Having a good grasp of how insurance prices are formulated can be useful when making smart choices when comparing insurance rates.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EOS Komfort Turbo 2-Dr Convertible | $370 | $792 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,792 | $149 |
| EOS Luxury Turbo 2-Dr Convertible | $370 | $792 | $464 | $28 | $138 | $1,792 | $149 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Above prices assume married female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $100 deductibles, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, safe-driver, homeowner, and claim-free. Premium costs do not factor in specific zip code location which can modify rates substantially.
Should you raise deductibles?
One of the most common car insurance questions is which comprehensive and collision deductibles to buy. The data tables below can help show the costs and benefits of buying low and high policy deductibles. The first table uses a $250 comprehensive and collision deductible and the second set of prices uses a $1,000 deductible.
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EOS Komfort Turbo 2-Dr Convertible | $386 | $678 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,689 | $141 |
| EOS Luxury Turbo 2-Dr Convertible | $386 | $678 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,689 | $141 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
| Model | Comp | Collision | Liability | Medical | UM/UIM | Annual Premium | Monthly Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EOS Komfort Turbo 2-Dr Convertible | $238 | $426 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,264 | $105 |
| EOS Luxury Turbo 2-Dr Convertible | $238 | $426 | $442 | $26 | $132 | $1,264 | $105 |
| Get Your Own Custom Quote Go | |||||||
Data variables include married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, and California minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, safe-driver, claim-free, and multi-vehicle. Estimates do not factor in specific Long Beach garaging location which can change price quotes considerably.
Using the premium rates above, we can conclude that using a $250 deductible will cost you roughly $36 more each month or $432 a year than selecting the higher $1,000 deductible. Since you would pay $750 more to file a claim with a $1,000 deductible as compared to a $250 deductible, if you usually have at a minimum 21 months between claims, you would most likely save money if you opt for a higher deductible. The numbers below show the way you can do this calculation yourself.
| Average monthly premium for $250 deductibles: | $141 |
| Average monthly premium for $1,000 deductibles (subtract): | – $105 |
| Monthly savings from raising deductible: | $36 |
| Difference between deductibles ($1,000 – $250): | $750 |
| Divide difference by monthly savings: | $750 / $36 |
| Number of months required between physical damage coverage claims in order to save money by choosing the higher deductible | 21 months |
The chart below highlights how deductible choice and can increase or decrease Volkswagen Eos insurance costs for each different age category. The rates are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no additional discounts are factored in.
Cost difference between full coverage and liability
The example below visualizes the comparison of Volkswagen Eos car insurance rates with full physical damage coverage and with liability coverage only. The rate quotes are based on no claims, a clean driving record, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no policy discounts are applied.
When to stop buying physical damage coverage
There is no specific rule for excluding full coverage, but there is a general convention. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
For example, let’s say your Volkswagen Eos replacement value is $7,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would get paid by your company is $6,000 after you pay the deductible. If premium cost is more than $600 annually to have full coverage, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
There are some scenarios where eliminating full coverage is not in your best interest. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should not opt for liability only.
Lower rates by qualifying for discounts
Some insurance providers don’t necessarily list all discounts in an easy-to-find place, so we break down some of the more common and also the more inconspicuous ways to save on car insurance.
- Good Student Discount – This discount can get you a discount of up to 25%. Many companies even apply the discount to college students well after school through age 25.
- Accident Forgiveness – This one isn’t a discount, but companies like Progressive and Allstate allow you one accident without getting socked with a rate hike so long as you are claim-free for a certain period of time.
- Service Members Pay Less – Being deployed with a military unit could be rewarded with lower rates.
- Discounts for New Vehicles – Putting insurance coverage on a new Eos can get you a discount compared to insuring an older model.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of 20% or more.
- Drive Safe and Save – Insureds without accidents can get discounts for up to 45% lower rates than their less cautious counterparts.
A little disclaimer on discounts, most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. The majority will only reduce the cost of specific coverages such as collision or personal injury protection. So even though you would think having all the discounts means you get insurance for free, it doesn’t quite work that way.
The diagram below compares Volkswagen Eos insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. The premium estimates are based on a male driver, no claims or driving citations, California state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with safe-driver, marriage, homeowner, multi-policy, claim-free, and multi-car discounts applied.
To locate companies with the best Volkswagen Eos insurance discounts in Long Beach in Long Beach, click this link.
Insurance agents can give valuable advice
A small number of people prefer to sit down and talk to an agent and that is recommended in a lot of cases A nice benefit of price shopping on the web is that you can find lower rates and still have a local agent. Buying from and supporting neighborhood insurance agencies is especially important in Long Beach.
To help locate an agent, after submitting this simple form, the quote information is sent to agents in your area who will return price quotes for your auto insurance coverage. There is no need to search for an agent because prices are sent directly to your email. It’s the lowest rates and an insurance agent to talk to. If you have a need to get a price quote from one company in particular, you just need to navigate to their website and complete a quote there.
Exclusive or Independent: There is a difference
If you are wanting to purchase auto insurance from a local Long Beach insurance agent, it helps to know the two different types of agents and how they function. Agents are classified as either exclusive agents or independent agents.
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agents do not have single company limitations and that gives them the ability to insure with a variety of different insurance companies and help determine which has the cheapest rates. If they find a cheaper price, an independent agent can move your coverage and you can keep the same agent. If you are comparing auto insurance prices, we highly recommend that you include rate quotes from a few independent agents for maximum quote selection. Most have the option of insuring with mutual insurance companies which can be an advantage.
Shown below is a list of independent insurance agents in Long Beach who may provide competitive price quotes.
- Long Beach Insurance Services
2316 E 7th St – Long Beach, CA 90804 – (562) 439-0244 – View Map - Lanterman Insurance Agency, Inc.
5318 E 2nd St #643 – Long Beach, CA 90803 – (562) 743-1607 – View Map - Kelly Williams Insurance Agency, Inc.
4400 Pacific Coast Hwy – Long Beach, CA 90804 – (562) 498-8661 – View Map
Exclusive Insurance Agents
These agents have only one company to place business with such as American Family, State Farm, and Allstate. These agents are not able to shop your coverage around so it’s a take it or leave it situation. Exclusive agents are highly trained on their products and sales techniques which aids in selling service over price. Consumers often use the same agent mostly because of the brand legacy rather than having the cheapest rates.
Listed below are Long Beach exclusive insurance agents that are able to give price quote information.
- Joe Lopez Jr – State Farm Insurance Agent
5199 Pacific Coast Hwy Ste 616 – Long Beach, CA 90804 – (562) 597-5547 – View Map - State Farm Insurance: Damian Useda
929 E Wardlow Rd – Long Beach, CA 90807 – (562) 426-8565 – View Map - Vinny Bommaiah – State Farm Insurance Agent
6272 Pacific Coast Hwy Ste C – Long Beach, CA 90803 – (562) 439-8544 – View Map
Finding a good auto insurance agent is decision based upon more than just a low price. These are some valid questions you should ask.
- Which family members are covered?
- Does the agent help file claims?
- If your car is totaled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Does their agency support local causes in Long Beach?
- Which insurance companies are they affiliated with?
- Do the companies they represent have a solid financial rating?
- Does the company use OEM repair parts?
- Do they offer claims assistance after hours?
Best auto insurance company in California
Finding the highest-rated car insurance provider can be rather challenging considering how many different companies insure vehicles in California. The company rank data shown next may help you analyze which car insurance companies to look at comparing price quotes from.
Top 10 Long Beach Car Insurance Companies by A.M. Best Rank
- USAA – A++
- Travelers – A++
- State Farm – A++
- GEICO – A++
- Esurance – A+
- Nationwide – A+
- Allstate – A+
- Mercury Insurance – A+
- Progressive – A+
- Titan Insurance – A+
Top 10 Long Beach Car Insurance Companies Ranked by Value
- USAA
- American Family
- The Hartford
- AAA of Southern California
- Titan Insurance
- The General
- AAA Insurance
- State Farm
- Mercury Insurance
- Nationwide
Don’t give up on cheap coverage
Consumers change insurance companies for a variety of reasons including not issuing a premium refund, denial of a claim, unfair underwriting practices or lack of trust in their agent. Whatever your reason, finding a new auto insurance company can be less work than you think.
When shopping online for auto insurance, never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. In many instances, someone dropped comprehensive coverage or liability limits and found out when filing a claim that it was a big error on their part. Your aim should be to buy the best coverage you can find at a price you can afford and still be able to protect your assets.
Budget-friendly auto insurance in Long Beach is attainable from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Long Beach, and you should be comparing both to have the best rate selection. There are still a few companies who may not provide internet price quotes and many times these regional insurance providers sell through independent insurance agents.
More detailed auto insurance information is located at these sites:
- Help Your Teen Be a Better Driver (State Farm)
- What Insurance is Cheapest for Teenage Males in Long Beach? (FAQ)
- Who Has Affordable Car Insurance Quotes for Young Drivers in Long Beach? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Long Beach Car Insurance for Homeowners? (FAQ)
- Safe Vehicles for Teens (iihs.org)
- All About Airbag Safety (State Farm)
- Where can I buy Insurance? (Insurance Information Institute)
- Should I Purchase an Umbrella Liability Policy? (Insurance Information Institute)