Locating cost effective car insurance is tough enough, and deciding which companies offer the cheapest car insurance rates for inexperienced drivers involves even more shopping around.
Each auto insurance company has a different process for determining rates, so let’s begin by taking a look at the car insurance companies with the overall best prices in Arizona. It’s important to understand that Mesa, AZ car insurance rates are based on many factors which can substantially change the price of coverage. This price variation is why consumers need to perform a complete rate comparison when trying to find the best car insurance quotes for inexperienced drivers. Auto insurance prices consist of many factors and change frequently, so the lowest-price company the last time you shopped around may now be quite expensive.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance for Newbies
The Hartford may offer some of the best car insurance rates in Mesa at around $836 a year. Auto-Owners, Safeco, Travelers, and USAA are also some of the cheaper Mesa, AZ auto insurance companies.
In the above rates, if you are currently insured with Auto-Owners and switched to The Hartford, you could earn a yearly savings of upwards of $88. Policyholders with Safeco may save as much as $96 a year, and Travelers insureds might lower prices by $250 a year.
If you would like to find cheaper car insurance rates, click here to start a quote or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
Be aware that those rates are averages across all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a vehicle location for inexperienced drivers. So the insurer that fits you best may not even be in the top 28 companies shown above. That emphasizes why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own specific driver and vehicle information.
For new drivers, one of the largest components that determine car insurance rates is where you keep your car. Regions with larger populations or more claims tend to have higher rates, whereas areas with less congestion benefit from lower prices.
The information below ranks the highest-priced places in Arizona for inexperienced drivers to purchase auto insurance in. Mesa is ranked at #11 with an annual cost of $1,113 for the average policyholder, which is around $93 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix | $1,255 |
| 2 | Avondale | $1,222 |
| 3 | Glendale | $1,178 |
| 4 | San Tan Valley | $1,161 |
| 5 | Gilbert | $1,142 |
| 6 | Peoria | $1,137 |
| 7 | Scottsdale | $1,129 |
| 8 | Buckeye | $1,122 |
| 9 | Tempe | $1,118 |
| 10 | Maricopa | $1,118 |
| 11 | Mesa | $1,113 |
| 12 | Chandler | $1,093 |
| 13 | Goodyear | $1,087 |
| 14 | Surprise | $1,080 |
| 15 | Casa Grande | $1,079 |
| 16 | Tucson | $1,061 |
| 17 | Oro Valley | $1,051 |
| 18 | Casas Adobes | $1,050 |
| 19 | Catalina Foothills | $1,040 |
| 20 | Yuma | $992 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | ||
Price information shown is approximated as the specific Mesa residence address can increase or decrease auto insurance rates considerably.
Cost of full coverage in Mesa
Finding cheaper car insurance is probably important to most people, and one easy way to buy cheaper insurance for inexperienced drivers is to buy liability only. The chart below compares car insurance rates with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The data assumes no claims or violations, $100 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
If we average all the age groups together, full coverage costs an additional $1,722 per year over and above liability only. That may make you wonder if physical damage coverage is worth the money. There is no exact formula of when to phase out physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the yearly cost of comp and collision coverage is about 10% or more of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it’s probably a good time to buy liability coverage only.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s book value is $10,000 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, you would only receive $9,000 after paying your policy deductible. If you are paying more than $900 annually for your policy with full coverage, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.
There are some cases where eliminating full coverage is not recommended. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you have to keep full coverage in order to satisfy the requirements of the loan. Also, if you don’t have enough money to buy a different vehicle in the even your car is totaled, you should keep full coverage on your policy.
Irresponsible driving raises your rates
One of the best ways to enjoy affordable car insurance rates in Arizona for new drivers is to drive cautiously and avoid at-fault accidents and violations. The illustration below demonstrates how speeding tickets and fender-benders impact insurance premiums for different age groups of insureds. The prices are based on a single female driver, comp and collision included, $250 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
In the previous example, the average cost of auto insurance in Arizona per year with no accidents or violations is $1,654. Get one speeding ticket and the average cost rises to $1,872, an increase of $219 each year. Now include one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of car insurance for inexperienced drivers increases to an average of $2,489. That’s an increase of $836, or $70 per month, just for not driving responsibly!
Discount Mesa car insurance rates
Insurance companies that offer cheap quotes for inexperienced drivers may additionally offer special discounts that may potentially lower prices by as much as 40% or more if you are eligible. Popular car insurance companies and some of the discounts are detailed below.
- Progressive may offer discounts for online quote discount, homeowner, online signing, multi-vehicle, good student, multi-policy, and continuous coverage.
- SAFECO has savings for teen safety rewards, bundle discounts, safe driver, anti-theft, and accident prevention training.
- American Family offers premium reductions for good driver, good student, bundled insurance, air bags, multi-vehicle, and TimeAway discount.
- MetLife offers discounts including accident-free, multi-policy, claim-free, good driver, good student, and defensive driver.
- GEICO policyholders can earn discounts including air bags, good student, federal employee, seat belt use, and military active duty.
- The Hartford includes discounts for good student, defensive driver, bundle, vehicle fuel type, driver training, anti-theft, and air bag.
The chart below shows the difference between insurance rates with and without discounts applied to the premium. The information is based on a male driver, no claims or driving citations, Arizona state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The lower bar shows the rates with claim-free, accident-free, marriage, safe-driver, defensive driving course, and passive restraint discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, theamount saved on car insurance for inexperienced drivers is 28% or $587.
Why it’s important to shop around
Arizona car insurance rates are based on many factors that can increase the cost of having a policy. Simply having another birthday, moving to a different location, or having a fender bender may prompt premium changes that can make some companies more affordable than others. Additionally, car insurance companies change the rates they charge in Arizona without warning as an adjustment for underwriting gains or losses. Heavy losses may result in higher prices, while less frequent claims can cause more affordable Mesa car insurance rates.
To help illustrate this point, the chart below analyzes the cheapest car insurance in Mesa, AZ for a 35-year-old female driver with no violations or accidents, and a good credit history. When quoting prices based on her current rating profile, The Hartford might offer the cheapest car insurance rates in Mesa at $1,101 a year. This is $327 less than the average price paid by Arizona drivers of $1,428. Auto-Owners, Safeco, Travelers, and USAA are the rest of the most affordable Mesa, AZ auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver in the first chart an at-fault accident, a lower credit rating, and a few traffic violations. Since every car insurance company has their own unique process to establish rates, comparing prices most likely will result in a new list of affordable Mesa car insurance companies as shown below.
GEICO now has the cheapest auto insurance in Mesa with CSAA, Allied, Ameriprise Group, and Safeco now being in the top five. This example proves why drivers need to compare many different companies to get affordable insurance rates for inexperienced drivers.
Prices can be altered by many risk factors and can decrease or increase without notice, so the cheapest option when you bought your policy may now be one of the higher cost companies.