Here is a table listing the major companies which offer automobile insurance for California residents.





There are vastly different premiums required for the same person, depending upon the insurance company. For instance, Geico claimed to offer cheap auto insurance, so I filled out an application. The quote I received was OVER TWICE what I had been paying, and currently pay. You must compare auto insurance quotes, when seeking cheap auto insurance.

Vaughn's Summaries

Economics Summaries

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478 - 768

30

230

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Note

21st Century Insurance Company (AIG)

Woodland Hills, CA

Merged with
AIG auto insurance

-

AAA -
American Automobile Association

Refuse to say -
no "About"

???

Must enter ZIP

Allstate

Northbrook, IL

1997

#1 in negative comments

California State Automobile Association

San Francisco, CA

???

1996

Must enter ZIP

-

Eastwood Insurance

Anaheim Hills, CA

-

Nor. Cal.

Esurance
(White Mountains Insurance Group)

San Francisco, CA
(Bermuda)

-

-

Farmer's Insurance Group
(Zurich Financial Services)

Los Angeles, CA

1997

Must enter ZIP

Geico (Berkshire Hathaway)

Chevy Chase, MD

1997

High premiums due to TV ads

Mercury General Corp.

-

Uses many names

-

California Automobile Insurance Company

?

-

No website

-

Mercury Insurance Company

Los Angeles, CA (PDF)

-

-

Mercury Casualty Company

Los Angeles, CA

-

No website

-

Nationwide Auto Insurance

Columbus, OH (contact)

1997

"A few days"

Progressive Auto Insurance

Mayfield Village, OH

High premiums due to TV ads

Safeco Insurance

Seattle, WA

2007

-

State Farm Auto Insurance

Bloomington, IL

1996

Must enter ZIP

The General Auto Insurance
(General Automobile Insurance Services)

Nashville, TN

-

Many TV ads

Allstate seems to be the worst, regarding negative comments on the web.
Progressive and State Farm also have many negative comments.
It is impossible to avoid Geico and Progressive TV ads - guess who pays for them? The customer, that's who - through expensive premiums.

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218 - 768

130

100

40

40

125

60

Form Info Required

Note

Person
ZIP
Name
email
Address
Location
Age
Sex
Status
1st License
Accident within last 5 years?
Moving violation last 3 years?
Own Home?

Car
Year/ Make
Model
Miles/ Year
Paid for?

-
95120
Joe Blow
spam@noway.com
123 Home Ave.
San Jose, CA
32
Male
Single . . . . . . . . . .
1993
No . . . . . . . . . . . .
No
No . . . . . . . . . . . .

-
2000 Toyota
Camry Solera
12,000
Yes

-
Low income neighborhoods pay much more
-
Expect to be spammed senseless
Expensive neighborhoods pay much less
-
Young drivers pay much more - more accidents
Male drivers pay much more - more wild
Single drivers pay much more
Experienced drivers pay far less
Accident drivers pay more, esp. if young
Drivers with traffic tickets pay more
Homeowners pay much less - more responsible
-
-
SUV drivers pay more than compact drivers
Models with high accident rates pay more
High mileage drivers pay more
"Paid for" results in paying less

In almost EVERY case, you must give ALL your personal information FIRST, or you cannot proceed. This is unfortunate, because at any point, if you don't like the subsequent questions (some are too personal), and decide to stop, they ALREADY have your personal information, so that they can spam you senseless with emails and phone calls.

That's why I don't do this, except with a throwaway email address, and false information. I refuse to become their relentlessly targeted pigeon, before I have reviewed all my other alternatives. I prefer the "soft" sell.

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Disclaimer:
Many web pages claim a "List of California Auto Insurance Companies", yet not a single one actually has a list.
That's why I made this summary page - an actual list of the top California Auto Insurance Companies.
The above data was summarized from each company website listed above.
The author is not perfect, and errors can occur.
This California auto insurance company comparison chart is meant as a guide only.
Be sure and get several quotes, before buying auto insurance. There are many bogus marketing claims.

My personal thought: An innovative company might want to supply a "Quick Estimate Quote", which DOES NOT REQUIRE an email address. They would get A LOT MORE inquiries if they did this. Many, many folks are tired of email spam. If the quote is in the ball park, an interested driver could then, and only then, supply the personal information for a formal quote. If they lowball the initial quote, everyone will know about it soon enough, and develop a "bad taste" in their mouth about the company. BOTH PARTIES could benefit from such an arrangement. (It will never happen though, due to the "hook 'em and bombard 'em" mentality of the marketers). Personal privacy on the web and freedom from spam have become huge issues.