It’s hard to miss the catchy advertisements from insurers like Farmers, Nationwide, and Liberty Mutual that make promises of dirt cheap rates. So drivers should just choose any of them, right?
That is not the case, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknowns such as what liability limits you need, whether or not you are currently insured, your credit score, and if you have any driving citations, that all have an effect on the price. In this article, we will teach you about the best ways to save money and will hopefully give you a good start in finding the cheapest insurance.
Deciding which company has the most affordable car insurance rates for homeowners requires a tad more effort than just comparing a company or two. Each auto insurer has their own formula for filing rates in each state, so we need to take a look at the most competitive car insurance companies in Virginia Beach.
It’s important to understand that Virginia car insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can significantly increase or decrease the price of coverage. Improving your credit rating, increasing deductibles, or getting a driving violation may generate price changes that may make certain companies more affordable than before.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance for Homeowners
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Travelers | $653 |
| 2 | USAA | $688 |
| 3 | Penn National | $718 |
| 4 | Cincinnati Insurance | $763 |
| 5 | Auto-Owners | $765 |
| 6 | Utica National | $765 |
| 7 | Erie | $788 |
| 8 | Virginia Farm Bureau | $802 |
| 9 | The Hartford | $809 |
| 10 | Donegal Mutual | $878 |
| 11 | Nationwide | $953 |
| 12 | Allied | $982 |
| 13 | ALFA | $988 |
| 14 | GEICO | $1,006 |
| 15 | National Grange Mutual | $1,060 |
| 16 | Chubb | $1,134 |
| 17 | State Farm | $1,143 |
| 18 | Electric | $1,180 |
| 19 | Progressive | $1,209 |
| 20 | Amica | $1,267 |
| Find Your Rate Go | ||
Travelers offers some of the best car insurance rates in Virginia Beach at around $653 a year. This is $505 less than the average price paid by Virginia drivers of $1,158. USAA, Penn National, Cincinnati Insurance, and Auto-Owners also rank well as some of the cheapest Virginia Beach, VA insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you are a policyholder with Auto-Owners and switched to USAA, you could see a yearly savings of upwards of $77. Drivers with Utica National could save as much as $77 a year, and Erie policyholders might realize rate reductions of up to $100 a year.
It’s important to note that these premiums are averages for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not figured with a vehicle location for homeowners. So the company that has the cheapest rates for you may not even be in the top 30 companies shown above. That illustrates why you need to compare rates from multiple companies using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.
The vehicle to be insured is probably the largest consideration that determines if you can find the cheapest insurance for homeowners. Vehicles with lots of horsepower, a lack of advanced safety features, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost quite a bit more to insure than more economical and safe models. The table below presents insurance rates for a number of the most affordable vehicles to insure in Virginia.
| Vehicle | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $1,257 |
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $1,298 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Super Cab 4WD | $1,315 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $1,332 |
| Volkswagen Jetta S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,361 |
| Nissan Altima 2.5 S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,436 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,442 |
| Chevrolet Impala LS | $1,458 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LS Regular Cab 2WD | $1,482 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD LT Crew Cab 2WD | $1,487 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LS | $1,489 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD | $1,498 |
| Ford Edge SE AWD | $1,501 |
| Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,509 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab TRD Sport Package 4WD | $1,518 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SXT | $1,525 |
| GMC Sierra 2500HD SLT Extended Cab 4WD | $1,535 |
| Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD | $1,540 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $1,569 |
| Honda Odyssey EX-L W/Rear Entertainment | $1,571 |
| Toyota Camry SE | $1,581 |
| Toyota Corolla S | $1,571 |
| Hyundai Elantra Blue 4-Dr Sedan | $1,574 |
| Start a Quote Go | |
Data based on single male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, safe-driver, homeowner, claim-free, and multi-vehicle. Rates do not factor in the specific area where the vehicle is garaged which can increase or decrease premiums substantially.
Based on these rates, makes and models like the Honda Accord, Ford Escape, Ford F-150, Honda CR-V, and Volkswagen Jetta will be the less-costly vehicles to insure for people who own their homes.
One of the many considerations that are looked at to determine the annual cost of car insurance is where you keep your car. Cities with more crime and/or more people will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates have the gratification of cheaper auto insurance rates.
The table below lists the most expensive areas in Virginia for homeowners to purchase car insurance in. Virginia Beach shows up at #14 with an annual cost of $948 for the average insurance policy, which is around $79 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burke | $1,057 |
| 2 | Alexandria | $1,047 |
| 3 | Lake Ridge | $1,042 |
| 4 | Centreville | $1,037 |
| 5 | Richmond | $1,015 |
| 6 | Dale City | $1,008 |
| 7 | McLean | $995 |
| 8 | Arlington | $973 |
| 9 | Portsmouth | $963 |
| 10 | Reston | $963 |
| 11 | Norfolk | $960 |
| 12 | Newport News | $958 |
| 13 | Tuckahoe | $957 |
| 14 | Virginia Beach | $948 |
| 15 | Hampton | $934 |
| 16 | Danville | $922 |
| 17 | Charlottesville | $913 |
| 18 | Chesapeake | $908 |
| 19 | Ashburn | $902 |
| 20 | Suffolk | $901 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||
Rate quotes are approximated as the specific garaging location can lower or raise premium rates greatly.
The diagram below illustrates how your deductible choice can impact insurance prices when trying to find cheap insurance for homeowners. The costs are based on a single male driver, full coverage, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
In the chart above, a 50-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $286 a year by switching from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $430 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, such as the 20-year-old chart data, could potentially save as much as $956 annually by selecting a higher deductible. When insureds make the decision to increase the deductibles on their policy, it is a good idea to have plenty of savings on hand to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which deters some drivers from choosing higher deductibles.
Get discounts on Virginia Beach auto insurance rates
Insurers that provide coverage for homeowners may also offer special discounts that may potentially lower prices by as much as 40% or more if you meet certain criteria. Large car insurance companies and some of the discounts are included below.
- Farmers Insurance discounts include electronic funds transfer, mature driver, multi-car, alternative fuel, teen driver, switch companies, and early shopping.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for accident-free, Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, multiple policy, and multiple autos.
- Liberty Mutual offers discounts for multi-car, safety features, new move discount, newly retired, new graduate, and newly married.
- MetLife may have discounts that include defensive driver, accident-free, good driver, multi-policy, and claim-free.
- Progressive offers discounts including multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, good student, online signing, homeowner, and multi-policy.
The information below visualizes the comparison of insurance costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. The rates are based on a male driver, no accidents or driving violations, Virginia state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $100 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with multiple vehicle, safe-driver, passive restraint, defensive driving course, vehicle safety, and homeowner discounts applied. When these discounts are applied to the policy premium, theaverage amount saved on car insurance for homeowners is 28% or $408.
Virginia Beach car insurance companies
Buying coverage from the best auto insurance provider is hard considering how many different companies there are to choose from in Virginia Beach. The company ratings in the next section may help you pick which companies to look at to insure your vehicles.
These rankings are for large, nationwide insurance companies, so companies that may only write in Virginia are not included in the list. If you’d like to compare prices and find cheaper insurance for homeowners, follow this link.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Travelers | 93 | 98 | 99 | 88% | A++ | 95.1 |
| USAA | 83 | 99 | 100 | 91% | A++ | 94.1 |
| Mercury Insurance | 97 | 96 | 88 | 89% | A+ | 93.4 |
| AAA Insurance | 91 | 95 | 92 | 90% | A | 93.3 |
| Nationwide | 85 | 95 | 97 | 89% | A+ | 92.4 |
| Allstate | 77 | 100 | 97 | 88% | A+ | 90.7 |
| State Farm | 80 | 94 | 96 | 88% | A++ | 90.6 |
| The Hartford | 88 | 93 | 91 | 87% | A+ | 90.4 |
| Safeco Insurance | 91 | 95 | 85 | 88% | A | 90.2 |
| Progressive | 88 | 94 | 83 | 88% | A+ | 90.1 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
How to find economical insurance for homeowners
It is possible to find better rates, and here are some of the recommended penny-pinching ideas that can help you find lower-cost auto insurance.
- Drop full coverage on older vehicles
- Try to remain claim-free
- Avoid preventable accidents
- Higher physical damage deductibles lower rates
- Do not get tickets or violations
- Shop around and save
The last idea is highly important, as was stressed in the prior information. Auto insurance rates in Virginia Beach can be adjusted at any time, so don’t hesitate to buy from a new company if you find a better deal. Having a favorite company is fine, but it’s not a great idea if that faithfulness ends up costing you a lot of money every month. Take a few minutes and shop around to find cheaper car insurance for homeowners.