Locating low-cost car insurance is not always easy, and determining which companies have the cheapest insurance rates for welfare recipients will involve additional perseverance. Every auto insurer has a proprietary method for filing rates in each state, so we’ll take a look at the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in Arizona.
It’s important that you understand Mesa insurance rates are impacted by many things which can substantially decrease or increase the price of your policy. This price variation is why it is critical to perform an extensive rate comparison when trying to find cheap car insurance quotes for welfare recipients. Car insurance prices are impacted by many different factors and change substantially, so the cheapest company three years ago may now be quite expensive.
Find the Cheapest Auto Insurance in Arizona
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hartford | $836 |
| 2 | Safeco | $896 |
| 3 | Auto-Owners | $897 |
| 4 | Progressive | $1,118 |
| 5 | Travelers | $1,119 |
| 6 | USAA | $1,124 |
| 7 | Ameriprise Group | $1,172 |
| 8 | GEICO | $1,177 |
| 9 | CSAA | $1,225 |
| 10 | Allied | $1,245 |
| 11 | Farm Bureau Mutual | $1,285 |
| 12 | Unitrin | $1,303 |
| 13 | Safe Auto | $1,323 |
| 14 | State Farm | $1,377 |
| 15 | Farmers | $1,378 |
| 16 | Amica | $1,473 |
| 17 | Titan | $1,476 |
| 18 | American Family | $1,478 |
| 19 | California Casualty | $1,522 |
| 20 | MetLife | $1,567 |
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The Hartford quotes some of the best car insurance rates in Mesa at around $836 per year. Safeco, Auto-Owners, Progressive, and Travelers would also make the list of some of the more affordable Mesa, AZ car insurance companies.
As shown in the table above, if you are currently insured with Auto-Owners and switched to The Hartford, you could see annual savings of in the neighborhood of $61. Insureds with Progressive could save as much as $282 a year, and Travelers customers might cut rates by $283 a year.
Understand that those premiums are averages across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not take into consideration an exact vehicle garaging location for welfare recipients. So the insurer that has the cheapest price for you may not even be in the list above. That illustrates why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
For drivers on welfare, one of the largest considerations that are used to help calculate car insurance rates is where you live in Mesa. Areas with increased crime or more people are more likely to pay higher prices, whereas areas with less crime or weather claims have the benefit of cheaper auto insurance prices.
The table below ranks the most expensive areas in Arizona for welfare recipients to buy auto insurance in. Mesa shows up at #10 with an annual cost of $1,125 for the average insurance policy, which is about $94 per month.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Phoenix | $1,231 |
| 2 | Glendale | $1,190 |
| 3 | San Tan Valley | $1,185 |
| 4 | Avondale | $1,174 |
| 5 | Scottsdale | $1,163 |
| 6 | Tempe | $1,152 |
| 7 | Buckeye | $1,144 |
| 8 | Goodyear | $1,131 |
| 9 | Chandler | $1,126 |
| 10 | Mesa | $1,125 |
| 11 | Gilbert | $1,120 |
| 12 | Maricopa | $1,118 |
| 13 | Peoria | $1,104 |
| 14 | Casa Grande | $1,089 |
| 15 | Catalina Foothills | $1,082 |
| 16 | Casas Adobes | $1,082 |
| 17 | Tucson | $1,061 |
| 18 | Surprise | $1,048 |
| 19 | Oro Valley | $1,020 |
| 20 | Yuma | $992 |
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Rates are estimated as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can lower or raise premiums substantially.
The type of vehicle requiring insurance is one of the main factors when shopping for the best cheap car insurance for welfare recipients. Vehicles with limited top-end speed, good safety features, or a track record of few liability claims will cost much less to insure than adrenaline junky models.
The next table outlines auto insurance costs for the most budget-friendly vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle Insured | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Ford Escape XLS 2WD | $1,373 |
| Honda CR-V LX 4WD | $1,503 |
| Honda Odyssey LX | $1,508 |
| Ford Edge SEL 2WD | $1,595 |
| Toyota RAV4 Limited 4WD | $1,627 |
| Ford F-150 Lariat Crew Cab 4WD | $1,656 |
| Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer AWD | $1,664 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,672 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $1,682 |
| Toyota Corolla S | $1,714 |
| Toyota Camry XLE | $1,724 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LTZ 2WD | $1,743 |
| Chevrolet Silverado LT Crew Cab 4WD | $1,750 |
| Jeep Wrangler Rubicon 4WD 2-Dr | $1,748 |
| Dodge Ram Crew Cab TRX 2WD | $1,772 |
| Chevrolet Silverado 3500HD LT Crew Cab 2WD | $1,775 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $1,780 |
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Cost estimates assume single male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Arizona minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, homeowner, claim-free, and safe-driver. Rates do not factor in vehicle location which can impact premium rates noticeably.
Based upon these rates, cars like the Ford Escape, Honda CR-V, Honda Odyssey, and Ford Edge are most likely to be some of the most budget-friendly vehicles to insure for drivers on welfare.
Full coverage versus liability-only
Paying less for insurance is the goal of the majority of people, and one of the quickest ways to find cheap insurance for welfare recipients is to only buy liability insurance. The example below compares insurance prices with and without physical damage coverage. The data is based on a clean driving record, no claims, $100 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are factored in.
If we average the cost for ages 20 through 70, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs an additional $2,305 per year over liability only. Lot’s of drivers question if physical damage coverage is worth the money. There is no clear-cut formula that works best for making the decision to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a general guideline you can use. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might consider buying liability only.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s replacement cost is $7,500 and you have $1,000 full coverage deductibles. If your vehicle is destroyed, the most your company will settle for is $6,500 after you pay the deductible. If it’s costing you more than $650 a year for full coverage, then it could be time to drop full coverage.
There are a few cases where eliminating full coverage is not advised. If you still owe a portion of the original 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 not eliminate full coverage.
Ratings for Mesa insurance companies
Insuring your vehicle with the right insurer can be difficult considering how many different companies insure vehicles in Mesa. The information shown below can help you choose which companies you want to consider comparing rates from.
These ratings are only made up of the companies with a significant amount of written premium nationwide, so companies that focus mainly on Arizona business are not taken into consideration for these rankings. To get rate quotes from these companies and more, simply click here.
| Company | Value | Customer Service | Claims | Customer Satisfaction | A.M Best Rating | Overall Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USAA | 98 | 100 | 100 | 94% | A++ | 98.6 |
| American Family | 98 | 89 | 100 | 86% | A | 95.4 |
| State Farm | 88 | 93 | 96 | 90% | A++ | 92.4 |
| The Hartford | 94 | 92 | 90 | 89% | A+ | 91.7 |
| AAA Insurance | 88 | 89 | 95 | 91% | A | 91.2 |
| GEICO | 84 | 93 | 93 | 89% | A++ | 90.3 |
| The General | 89 | 91 | 89 | 88% | A- | 90 |
| Titan Insurance | 90 | 87 | 91 | 95% | A+ | 89.6 |
| Progressive | 84 | 91 | 93 | 87% | A+ | 89.5 |
| Mercury Insurance | 88 | 91 | 90 | 85% | A+ | 89.4 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||||||
Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies
Types of discounts on Mesa auto insurance rates
Insurance companies that offer coverage for welfare recipients could also offer special discounts that can lower rates by 40% or more if you are eligible. A few of the larger companies and some of the discounts are:
- Mercury Insurance includes discounts for professional/association, ease of repair, location of vehicle, good driver, type of vehicle, and multi-policy.
- Farmers Insurance may include discounts for distant student, alternative fuel, bundle discounts, teen driver, and multi-car.
- Farm Bureau has savings for multi-policy, driver training, renewal discount, 55 and retired, multi-vehicle, safe driver, and good student.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for Steer Clear safe driver discount, accident-free, good driver, defensive driving training, safe vehicle, and driver’s education.
- Allstate discounts include EZ pay plan discount, resident student, new car, teenSMART discount, FullPay discount, and multi-policy.
- GEICO may offer discounts for emergency military deployment, daytime running lights, air bags, defensive driver, and multi-policy.
The illustration below shows the difference between auto insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The costs are based on a male driver, no accidents or driving violations, Arizona state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $250 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows the price with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with vehicle safety, accident-free, defensive driving course, marriage, safe-driver, and claim-free discounts applied. With discounts applied, the average amount saved each year on insurance for welfare recipients is 28% or $436.
Your low-price policy may be costing you money
Mesa insurance rates are impacted by many things that will increase or decrease the cost of a policy. Simply improving your credit, getting married, or getting a speeding ticket can trigger price changes that can make some companies more affordable than the competition. Not only may your risk profile change, but companies change premium rates without warning to ensure their profitability. Heavier than normal losses may result in higher rates, while better underwriting may cause lower-priced Mesa car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the data below shows the cheapest car insurance in Mesa, AZ for a 40-year-old female driver with no prior claims, no tickets, and excellent credit. When quoting prices based on her current situation, The Hartford may have the most affordable car insurance rates in Mesa at $1,104 a year. This is $324 less than the average price paid by Arizona drivers of $1,428. Auto-Owners, Safeco, USAA, and Travelers are also included in the cheapest Mesa, AZ auto insurance companies.
The next chart shows rates after we give the driver from the first example an accident claim, less-than-perfect credit, and a few blemishes on her driving record. Because every insurance company has their own formula for determining rates in each state, analyzing rates could result in a new list of companies as shown below.
GEICO now has the best auto insurance rate in Mesa with CSAA, Allied, Ameriprise Group, and Farm Bureau Mutual also having competitive pricing. This example shows why drivers need to compare rates when trying to find cheap car insurance rates for welfare recipients. Car insurance prices can be determined by many different factors and change dramatically, so the best option the last time you checked may now be one of the more expensive options.