You’ve seen the commercials from car insurance companies like Allstate and Nationwide claiming dirt cheap rates. So drivers should just pick the company with the best ad, right?
It’s not that easy, however, as there are a whole slew of unknown factors like if you currently have coverage, if you want full coverage, the amount of liability coverage you want, and if you have any tickets or accidents, that all have an effect on the price of a policy. This article will detail the best ways to avoid high prices and will hopefully give you a good start to your coverage search.
Finding out which company has the lowest-priced car insurance rates for low credit scores may require more time in order to find the most economical policy. Each insurance company uses a different method for setting rates, so we’ll go over the car insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Virginia.
We do need to point out that Virginia car insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that will increase or decrease the cost of a policy. Simply having another birthday, getting married, or getting a speeding ticket can produce rate changes that may make certain companies much cheaper than others.
Lowest Insurance Price Quotes in Virginia
Travelers normally has some of the best car insurance rates in Virginia Beach at around $653 annually. USAA, Cincinnati Insurance, Penn National, and Auto-Owners are also some of the cheaper Virginia Beach, VA auto insurance companies.
In the rate table above, if you are a policyholder with Penn National and switched to USAA, you could earn savings of in the neighborhood of $53. Customers with Auto-Owners could save as much as $63 a year, and Utica National insureds might lower prices by $70 a year.
If you want to find out if you’re overpaying, click here or quote rates from the companies below.
Understand that those premium estimates are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific zip code for low credit scores. So the car insurance company that can offer the best rates for your situation may not even be in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to compare rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver data and vehicle information.
For bad credit, one of the largest components that are looked at to help calculate auto insurance rates is your zip code in Virginia Beach. Regions with larger populations or more claims tend to pay slightly more, whereas less populated areas have the luxury of lower rates.
The following table sorts the most expensive places in Virginia for low credit scores to buy an auto insurance policy in. Virginia Beach is ranked at #16 costing $920 for coverage, which is around $77 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burke | $1,037 |
| 2 | Alexandria | $1,036 |
| 3 | McLean | $1,025 |
| 4 | Arlington | $1,013 |
| 5 | Lake Ridge | $1,012 |
| 6 | Dale City | $1,008 |
| 7 | Centreville | $1,007 |
| 8 | Norfolk | $990 |
| 9 | Richmond | $975 |
| 10 | Reston | $954 |
| 11 | Suffolk | $937 |
| 12 | Chesapeake | $935 |
| 13 | Hampton | $934 |
| 14 | Portsmouth | $934 |
| 15 | Tuckahoe | $929 |
| 16 | Virginia Beach | $920 |
| 17 | Newport News | $920 |
| 18 | Ashburn | $920 |
| 19 | Charlottesville | $913 |
| 20 | Danville | $912 |
| Find Cheaper Insurance Go | ||
Table data uses approximated as the specific zip code location can impact auto insurance rates considerably.
The car, truck, or SUV needing coverage is a large consideration when comparison shopping for affordable auto insurance for low credit scores. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, a lack of safety features, or a track record of large liability claims will cost quite a bit more to insure than safer models.
The data below showcases auto insurance costs for some of the cheaper vehicles to insure.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Toyota Prius | $1,234 |
| Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $1,275 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $1,294 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $1,318 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Crew | $1,345 |
| Honda CR-V EX 4WD | $1,402 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD LT Crew Cab 4WD | $1,412 |
| Toyota Corolla XRS | $1,422 |
| Chevrolet Malibu LTZ | $1,412 |
| Ford Fusion Sport 4-Dr Sedan | $1,422 |
| Ford Explorer XLT 4WD | $1,431 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Regular Cab 4WD | $1,437 |
| Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab Hybrid 2WD | $1,481 |
| Ford Edge SEL 2WD | $1,489 |
| Ford Focus SE 2-Dr Coupe | $1,484 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | |
Prices based on single female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include safe-driver, homeowner, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, and claim-free. Table data does not factor in specific zip code location which can increase or decrease insurance rates greatly.
Based upon the table data, we can assume that vehicles like the Toyota Prius, Ford Escape, and Honda Odyssey are likely to be some of the more affordable vehicles to insure for bad credit.
Illustration showing the impact of accidents and violations
The best way to find the most affordable car insurance premiums in Virginia Beach for bad credit is to be a safe driver and avoid accidents and keep your driving record clean. The diagram below illustrates how violations and at-fault fender-benders can raise insurance costs for different categories of driver ages. The rate quotes are based on a married female driver, full coverage, $500 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.
The data charted above shows the average cost of car insurance in Virginia Beach per year with no violations or accidents is $941. Add in two speeding tickets and the average cost increases to $1,329, an increase of $388 each year. Now add in two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the yearly cost of car insurance for low credit scores jumps again to an average of $2,847. That’s an increase of $1,906, or $159 per month, just for not driving safely!
The diagram below shows how choosing a deductible can affect insurance rates when searching for cheap insurance for low credit scores. The premium estimates are based on a single male driver, full coverage, and no policy discounts are applied.
The data above shows that a 50-year-old driver could lower rates by $212 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $320 by using a $1,000 deductible. Even younger drivers, such as the 20-year-old example, could roll back prices up to $694 or more just by choosing larger deductibles.
If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it is essential to have plenty of discretionary funds to allow you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.
Why you are probably overpaying for car insurance
Virginia Beach, VA car insurance rates are impacted by many factors which can substantially decrease or increase the price of coverage. Improving your credit score, increasing deductibles, or getting a speeding ticket can produce rate changes resulting in some rates now being more affordable than others. Not only may your risk profile change, but car insurance companies modify pricing every year as an adjustment for underwriting gains or losses. Higher than normal claims can result in higher rates, while lower claims may result in lower-cost Virginia Beach car insurance rates.
The graph below demonstrates which company has the cheapest car insurance in Virginia Beach, VA for a 45-year-old male driver with no prior claims, no tickets, and a high credit rating. If we estimate rates based on his personal risk profile, Travelers quotes the cheapest car insurance rates in Virginia Beach at $782 a year. This is $376 less than the average premium paid by Virginia drivers of $1,158. USAA, Penn National, Cincinnati Insurance, and Utica National are the remaining most affordable Virginia Beach, VA auto insurance companies.
Now we will give the driver from the first example a claim surcharge, a lower credit rating, and a stop sign violation. Since each auto insurer has a proprietary formula to set premium rates, analyzing rate quotes could now result in a substantially altered list of affordable companies as shown below.
Erie now has the best price on car insurance in Virginia Beach with The Hartford, Virginia Farm Bureau, Donegal Mutual, and Nationwide also being competitive. This shows why consumers need to take the time to perform a complete rate comparison when trying to find the best car insurance rates for low credit scores. Car insurance prices are influenced by many things and can increase or decrease at any time, so the cheapest company six months ago may now be priced much higher than other options.