Car Insurance Rates: See Where California Ranks

CALIFORNIA – Car insurance payments can become a burden for drivers in California, especially during the economic downturn that has resulted from the coronavirus pandemic.

A recent study from WalletHub shows how much the pandemic has affected people’s car insurance decisions and how California compares to others on the average cost.

California ranks 38th in the nation for cheapest car insurance, according to WalletHub. The personal finance website determined this by comparing more than 1 million quotes and using 40 different driver profiles and metrics spanning 10 categories. The average yearly premium in California is $844, the researchers found.

The cheapest car insurance can be found in Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa, Vermont and North Dakota, while Michigan on average has the most expensive. The Wolverine State was followed by New York, New Jersey, Louisiana and Delaware on the list as having the most costly insurance, according to the study.

Geico, USAA, Erie, Auto Owners and State Farm were ranked as the cheapest car insurance companies across the board, as WalletHub used data from top car insurance companies that operate in 10 or more states. It averaged each insurer’s state rank across all the states the company operates in, according to the methodology.

The study, released Feb. 9, takes into account some drastic shifts that have occurred during the first 10 months of the pandemic. Since last March, the study found that 61 million Americans have reduced their car insurance coverage and 55 million are having second thoughts on owning a car due to the pandemic.

WalletHub based its study on a number of categories, including gender, age, marital status and credit level.