Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates in Jacksonville?

Jacksonville’s population is large; over 911,000 people live and work there. Commuting time for people 16 and older who work outside the home is 24.9 minutes. While that doesn’t sound like much, for someone who works five days a week, it turns into over four hours spent on the roads each week, and that’s just for work. And much of that time will be spent in heavy traffic. This affects insurance costs for the whole city.

Car thefts also have a major impact on someone’s insurance premium. Not just your car being stolen, but reported vehicle thefts in your area. In 2018, 4,021 vehicles were stolen in Jacksonville; the rate of car thefts was 262.01 per 100k locals, giving the city a rank of #113.

Within Jacksonville’s city limits, residents who own vehicles pay annual insurance premiums that are average for most drivers. The most expensive annual premium is around $2,589 and the least expensive is $1,749. If you can swing it, it will certainly be easier to afford your state-required insurance if you can find a premium closer to that lower number.

What are the Insurance Requirements in Jacksonville?

If you are making payments for your vehicle, your bank will likely require that you hold full coverage insurance on your car. If a tight budget means you can’t afford an expensive annual premium, then you should speak to several insurance companies and find out what their premiums for you would be. Insurance companies offer quotes that are specific to your location and situation, so you know exactly what you’ll be paying.

To get a quote, you’ll have to give the insurance agent specific information such as your address including your ZIP code, age, driving history, etc. They will probably also look you up in the Florida database to look for tickets and violations, such as leaving the scene of an accident or a DUI.

Several well-known insurance companies have a presence in the state. These include Geico, Progressive, and Allstate. For members of the military, their family members and veterans, USAA is also an insurance option. And, as in other states, vehicle owners are required to purchase a certain amount of vehicle insurance. In Florida, that minimum is $10,000 for personal injury protection and $10,000 for property damage liability. This is a lower requirement than for many other states that require up to $30,000 for injury to multiple persons on top of property damage and other coverage.

Most Expensive and Least Expensive Insurance Rates by Zip Code

Cheap Car Insurance in Jacksonville by Insurer

Some companies rely most heavily on your exact location to make decisions about your insurance premium, while others place a heavier weight on your credit or driving history. There are even options to use a sensor that tracks your driving habits in order to have the chance to lower your premium through good driving habits. Here are some examples of insurance premiums in Jacksonville.

Learn how to find cheap car insurance near you.

Low Cost Auto Insurance for Bad Credit in Jacksonville

Florida, as with most states in the US allows insurance companies and agents to change insurance premiums based on a customer’s credit history. This means that some insurance companies will charge you higher premiums if you have bad credit or a history of bad credit. This is because they see customers with bad credit as more of a risk. If this is your situation, the following four companies offer affordable insurance even for drivers with less than stellar credit scores.

Find out how your car insurance rates are impacted with bad credit.

Full Coverage Vs. Liability, Which is Best For You?

Liability Only Insurance Coverage

Liability insurance covers the possible cost of damage you cause to others while driving. This could mean the cost of medical care for those injured in an accident or repair costs of the damage you have caused to other vehicles.

With liability insurance, there are 3 key numbers: injury coverage per person, coverage for total injury per accident, and property damage coverage per accident. Each state has different requirements for car insurance minimums. In a policy that has coverage for 15/30/25 means $15,000 per injured person, with a maximum of $30,000 for all the people who are injured in an accident, and $25,000 in coverage for property damage.

What is Full Coverage?

While liability insurance covers other people and vehicles in an accident where you were the one considered at fault, full coverage insurance can also cover you and your vehicle as well. Full coverage includes two different types of coverage combined into one insurance plan; comprehensive insurance and collision.

Comprehensive coverage is for the damage of other vehicles that are outside of driving situations such as weather damage, fire, or theft.

Collision coverage is basically to pay for damage that you caused while driving such as an accident with another vehicle, hitting an object, or driving off the road.

The difference between collision and comprehensive is, if a tree were to fall on your car and damage it, comprehensive insurance would cover it, however, if you were driving and hit a tree causing damage to your car, then it would be covered by collision.

Top Factors and Differences Between the Types of Coverage

The difference between full and liability coverage is quite dramatic. With liability, insurers gamble that they will only have to pay for one car in an accident. With a comprehensive or full coverage policy, insurance companies know that they are taking on more liability exposure and so their rates reflect the increased risk. In the case of a comprehensive policy, they might even have to cover claims for damages that don’t arise from a traffic incident.

Average Annual Car Insurance Rates in Florida by City

Additional cities in Florida you can check out.

Ways to Lower Your Insurance Premiums

There are many car insurance discounts and ways to save on your policy in Jacksonville:

  • Don’t Speed

    If you are caught speeding, your license will accrue points. With each additional point, your insurance company considers you more of a liability and so will charge you more for insurance. Stick to local in-town limits and use your cruise control on the highway to avoid excessive speed.

  • Shop Around

    Different insurers charge different premiums for virtually the same policies. Since the essential service is often identical from company to company, you are sure to save money by comparing rates from multiple companies.

  • Avoid Accidents

    When you are at fault in an accident, law enforcement will add points to your license. Further, the other party is likely to file a claim against your policy. When insurers pay out on claims, they typically raise the premiums for those policy holders.

  • Bundled Insurance Packages

    If you have renter’s insurance or are a homeowner, you may be able to add your automobile to the policy. This also goes for other vehicles or even health insurance. Insurance companies love to bundle policies and offer incentives for customers to do so. You will only have one premium payment to make, which makes things easy, and you’ll save money, as well.

  • Insure Multiple Cars

    If you own multiple cars, your per-car rates are bound to be lower if you put them all on the same policy. You can also include a car owned by your spouse or domestic partner. You could also add your partner to health insurance or cover their recreational vehicles under your policy.

Using this guide to take full advantage of all driver discounts.

Here are Some of the Typical Factors that Affect Your Jacksonville FL Car Insurance Premiums

Your car insurance rates can change over time. One of the most reliable factors that will impact your premiums is your age. The older you are, the lower your insurance premiums should be. You may also find your rates vary depending on the car you drive. Sports cars or jeeps may incur higher premiums, while SUVs and sedans are cheaper to insure.

Rates are also impacted by your gender and age, though young women will have lower rates than their same-aged male friends. Actuarial tables show that young drivers are more prone to speeding, alcohol infractions, and accidents than older people, as are young males rather than females.

You can also reduce your regular premium payments by opting for a higher deductible on your collision and comprehensive coverage packages. You can also opt to pay your premium in a larger, single payment every six months rather than spreading the premium out over monthly payments.

Do you have a bad driving record and need cheap insurance? Check out this guide.

Helpful Jacksonville, Florida Vehicle Resources:

Live Traffic Accidents by City
https://www.flhsmv.gov/fhp/traffic/live_traffic_feed.html

DMV (Find Locations, Vehicle Registration, Titles and Insurance Info)
https://www.flhsmv.gov/locations/duval/

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