You’ve seen the commercials from car insurance companies like State Farm and Farmers that guarantee big savings. So you should just select the one with the best jingle, right?
It’s just not that simple, as there are many unknowns such as the area where you live, the deductible level you need, if you are a man or woman, and the miles you drive each year, that all factor into the price you pay. This article delves into the different ways you can keep rates low and also should give you a jump start in finding the best auto insurance in Tampa.
Determining which companies quote the most affordable insurance rates for state employees may require more work than just quoting one company’s rates.
Each company has their own unique process for establishing rates, so we’ll take a look at the insurance companies with the overall cheapest rates in Tampa.
Cheap Insurance Rates in Florida
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | USAA | $977 |
| 2 | Electric | $1,694 |
| 3 | Amica | $1,712 |
| 4 | Progressive | $1,829 |
| 5 | Mercury | $1,933 |
| 6 | Travelers | $1,945 |
| 7 | Allied | $1,945 |
| 8 | Esurance | $2,040 |
| 9 | State Farm | $2,047 |
| 10 | Auto-Owners | $2,085 |
| 11 | GEICO | $2,086 |
| 12 | Allstate | $2,340 |
| 13 | 21st Century | $2,397 |
| 14 | Windhaven Insurance | $2,627 |
| 15 | MetLife | $2,988 |
| 16 | Safeco | $3,016 |
| 17 | Hanover | $3,024 |
| 18 | Liberty Mutual | $3,131 |
| 19 | United Automobile | $3,457 |
| 20 | Direct General | $4,022 |
| Find Cheaper Rates Go | ||
USAA generally has some of the lowest car insurance rates in Tampa at around $977 a year. Electric, Amica, Progressive, and Mercury would also make the list of some of the most economical Tampa, FL car insurance companies.
As illustrated above, if you are a policyholder with Mercury and switched to Electric, you might achieve yearly savings of around $239. Customers with Travelers may save as much as $251 a year, and Allied policyholders might lower prices by $251 a year.
To see how much you can save, click here to get quotes or visit any of the low-priced companies below.
Understand that those policy rates are averages across all types of insureds and vehicles and do not factor in an exact zip code location for state employees. So the auto insurance company that can offer the best rates for your situation may not even be in the top 21 companies in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to compare rates from multiple companies using your own driver data and vehicle information.
For state workers, one of the more important considerations that are looked at to determine car insurance rates is where you normally keep your vehicle in Tampa. Regions with more people or even just more weather-related claims tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with fewer weather claims and lower vehicle theft rates can boast about having cheaper rates.
The following table sorts the priciest cities in Florida for state employees to buy an auto insurance policy in. Tampa shows up at #8 with an annual cost of $2,558 for coverage, which is about $213 per month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hialeah | $3,630 |
| 2 | Miami Gardens | $3,277 |
| 3 | Miami | $3,177 |
| 4 | Miami Beach | $3,043 |
| 5 | Miramar | $2,683 |
| 6 | West Palm Beach | $2,625 |
| 7 | Coral Springs | $2,574 |
| 8 | Tampa | $2,558 |
| 9 | Davie | $2,548 |
| 10 | Pompano Beach | $2,543 |
| 11 | Hollywood | $2,526 |
| 12 | Fort Lauderdale | $2,475 |
| 13 | Pembroke Pines | $2,407 |
| 14 | Brandon | $2,392 |
| 15 | Clearwater | $2,260 |
| 16 | St. Petersburg | $2,219 |
| 17 | Spring Hill | $2,102 |
| 18 | Jacksonville | $2,040 |
| 19 | Orlando | $2,029 |
| 20 | Port St. Lucie | $1,994 |
| Find Cheaper Insurance Go | ||
Rate information is comparative as the vehicle garaging location can decrease or increase insurance rates noticeably.
Picking a highly-rated auto insurance company can be difficult considering how many choices drivers have in Tampa. The company rank data shown next may help you decide which car insurance providers to look at purchasing from.
The rankings below include the companies with a significant amount of written premium nationwide, so companies that only write business in Florida or surrounding areas are not included in these rankings. To compare price quotes and find the cheapest rates for state employees, click here.
Top 10 Major Auto Insurers in Tampa Ranked by Claims Service
- Travelers
- Nationwide
- Allstate
- State Farm
- Liberty Mutual
- GEICO
- American Family
- Esurance
- Titan Insurance
- AAA Insurance
Top 10 Major Auto Insurers in Tampa Ranked by Customer Service
- USAA
- Travelers
- Mercury Insurance
- AAA Insurance
- Nationwide
- Safeco Insurance
- Progressive
- State Farm
- The Hartford
- The General
Cost comparison with and without full coverage
Lowering the price of insurance is the goal of most people, and one of the quickest ways to lower the cost of insurance for state employees is to not buy comprehensive and collision coverage. The example below shows the difference between auto insurance costs with and without physical damage coverage. The prices are based on no claims or violations, $500 deductibles, marital status is single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
As an average, full coverage on your policy costs an additional $1,961 per year more than buying just liability insurance. That is a significant amount which raises the question if physical damage coverage is worth the money. There is no definitive rule that works best for making the decision to drop physical damage coverage, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the annual cost of coverage is about 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.
For example, let’s say your vehicle’s book value is $5,000 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is severely damaged, the most your company would pay you is $4,000 after the policy deductible has been paid. If you are paying in excess of $400 a year for physical damage coverage, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
There are some circumstances where removing full coverage is not advised. If you still have a lienholder on your title, you must maintain physical damage coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should not opt for liability only.
The illustration below highlights how deductible selection can increase or decrease insurance premiums when researching cheap insurance for state employees. The premiums assume a single female driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
A 50-year-old driver could lower their policy premium by $332 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $500 by selecting a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, such as the 20-year-old example, could shave $838 each year by choosing larger deductibles on their policy.
When insureds make the decision to increase the deductibles on their policy, it is important to have plenty of savings on hand to enable you to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main drawback of higher deductibles.