It’s impossible to miss the commercials from insurers like Nationwide, State Farm, and Liberty Mutual claiming enormous savings. So you should just choose any one of them, right?
It’s just not that easy, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknown factors such as your credit rating, the safety ratings of your vehicle, if you have a tendency to get into accidents, and what liability limits you need. We know insurance is not everyone’s favorite topic, but in this article we will cover the different ways you can keep rates low and will hopefully give you a good start to your coverage search.
The vehicle you are trying to insure is probably the largest consideration that determines whether or not you can buy the most affordable car insurance for homeowners. Vehicles with lots of horsepower, poor safety ratings, or a history of substantial liability claims will cost substantially more to insure than more modest models. The table below illustrates car insurance rates for the most economical automobiles to buy coverage for.
| Make, Model, and Trim Level | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda CR-V EX 2WD | $1,364 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan SE | $1,528 |
| Ford Escape XLS 4WD | $1,557 |
| Honda Odyssey EX | $1,581 |
| Ford Edge SE AWD | $1,588 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE 4-Dr Sedan | $1,695 |
| Toyota Prius | $1,724 |
| GMC Sierra SLE Crew Cab 4WD | $1,727 |
| Ford Fusion S 4-Dr Sedan | $1,846 |
| Toyota RAV4 2WD | $1,852 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Regular Cab 4WD | $1,870 |
| Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab SLT 2WD | $1,872 |
| Ford Explorer Limited 4WD | $1,880 |
| Toyota Corolla XLE | $1,941 |
| Nissan Altima 3.5 SR 4-Dr Sedan | $1,976 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $1,986 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 4WD | $1,976 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $1,984 |
| Kia Optima LX | $1,978 |
| Honda Civic EX 2-Dr Coupe | $2,005 |
| Toyota Tacoma Double Cab 4WD | $2,015 |
| Ford Fusion Hybrid 4-Dr Sedan | $2,037 |
| Ford Focus SES 2-Dr Coupe | $2,074 |
| Start Your Quote Go | |
Data rating is based on single female driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Oregon minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-vehicle, multi-policy, safe-driver, claim-free, and homeowner. Price information does not factor in Portland, OR location which can alter prices significantly.
Looking at the numbers, you can assume that cars like the Honda CR-V, Dodge Grand Caravan, Ford Escape, Honda Odyssey, and Ford Edge should be a few of the cheapest vehicles to insure for people who own their homes.
Finding reliable, reasonably-priced auto insurance is confusing at best, and figuring out which insurers offer the cheapest car insurance rates for homeowners may require additional perseverance. Each insurance company uses a different method to determine premium rates, so let’s rank the car insurance companies with the overall best prices in Portland.
It’s important that readers know that Oregon car insurance rates are impacted by many things which can substantially decrease or increase your annual premium. Simply getting older, buying a higher-value vehicle, or getting a driving violation may prompt premium changes that can make some companies more expensive than before.
Find the Best Cheap Insurance for Homeowners
Grange may offer some of the best car insurance rates in Portland at around $715 each year. Country, Oregon Mutual, Travelers, and USAA also rank well as some of the more affordable Portland, OR insurance companies.
As shown above, if you have coverage with Travelers and switched to Grange, you might see annual savings of in the vicinity of $209. Insureds with USAA might save as much as $235 a year, and State Farm policyholders might reduce prices by as much as $356 a year.
Remember that these rates are averages for all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with an exact zip code location for homeowners. So the insurer that fits your age and vehicle best may not even be in the top 22 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to compare as many prices as possible using your own specific driver information and vehicle.
For people who own their homes, one of the big factors that determine the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where you keep your vehicle. Areas with more people or even just a higher incidence of claims will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims benefit from lower coverage costs.
The table below lists the highest-priced places in Oregon for homeowners to buy auto insurance in. Portland is ranked at #2 with a yearly premium of $1,544 for the average insurance policy, which is approximately $129 monthly.
| Rank | City | Premium Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gresham | $1,606 |
| 2 | Portland | $1,544 |
| 3 | Lake Oswego | $1,420 |
| 4 | Beaverton | $1,412 |
| 5 | Oregon City | $1,402 |
| 6 | Woodburn | $1,400 |
| 7 | Hillsboro | $1,380 |
| 8 | Tigard | $1,376 |
| 9 | Keizer | $1,365 |
| 10 | Forest Grove | $1,360 |
| 11 | Aloha | $1,349 |
| 12 | Tualatin | $1,338 |
| 13 | Newberg | $1,323 |
| 14 | West Linn | $1,322 |
| 15 | Salem | $1,320 |
| 16 | McMinnville | $1,299 |
| 17 | Redmond | $1,247 |
| 18 | Bend | $1,236 |
| 19 | Albany | $1,188 |
| 20 | Springfield | $1,170 |
| 21 | Roseburg | $1,161 |
| 22 | Eugene | $1,157 |
| 23 | Grants Pass | $1,145 |
| 24 | Corvallis | $1,143 |
| 25 | Medford | $1,123 |
| Find the Best Rates Go | ||
Price information shown is estimated as the specific zip code location can increase or decrease premiums significantly.
Illustration showing the impact of accidents and violations
The obvious way to receive affordable car insurance rates in Oregon for people who own their homes is to be a good driver and avoid accidents and violations. The chart below illustrates how violations and fender-benders influence car insurance costs for different age groups of insureds. The prices are based on a single female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
The chart shows that the average cost of a car insurance policy per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,739. Get written up for two speeding tickets and the average cost jumps to $2,338, an increase of $600 each year. Now add two accidents along with the two speeding tickets and the annual cost of car insurance for homeowners increases to an average of $4,462. That’s an increase of $2,723, or $227 per month, just for not paying attention while driving!
Should you buy full coverage?
Finding the cheapest car insurance is important to most drivers, and one of the best ways to buy cheaper insurance for homeowners is to buy only liability coverage. The illustration below illustrates the difference between car insurance costs with and without full coverage. The rates are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
As an average, physical damage insurance costs $2,042 per year more than carrying just liability coverage. Many people question if you should buy full coverage at all. There is no definitive rule for dropping physical damage coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can consider. If the yearly cost of full coverage is 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then it might be time to buy liability only.
Discounts on Portland insurance
Insurance companies that provide coverage for homeowners may additionally offer price discounts that could potentially reduce rates by as much as 30% if you meet specific criteria. Popular car insurance companies and a summarized list of policyholder discounts are shown below.
- American Family policyholders can earn discounts including good driver, bundled insurance, early bird, good student, and air bags.
- Nationwide offers discounts including defensive driving, good student, business or organization, anti-theft, accident-free, multi-policy, and Farm Bureau membership.
- MetLife may include discounts for good student, defensive driver, multi-policy, good driver, claim-free, accident-free
- 21st Century includes discounts for automatic seat belts, anti-lock brakes, defensive driver, homeowners, theft prevention, early bird, and student driver.
- Farmers Insurance has savings for youthful driver, good student, bundle discounts, distant student, homeowner, and business and professional.
- Allstate discounts include anti-lock brakes, utility vehicle, good payer, farm vehicle, and premier discount.
The diagram below illustrates the difference between auto insurance costs with and without some available policy discounts. The prices are based on a male driver, no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, Oregon state minimum liability limits, comprehensive and collision coverage, and $1,000 deductibles.
The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with homeowner, defensive driving course, safe-driver, multiple vehicle, claim-free, and multiple policy discounts applied. When taking advantage of discounts, theaverage amount saved on car insurance for homeowners is 28% or $373.
Low rates today, overpriced tomorrow
Portland, OR car insurance rates are based on many factors which can substantially decrease or increase the policy premium. Simply having a birthday, moving to a new city, or getting caught speeding can trigger rate changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than competitors.
Not only may your risk profile change, but auto insurance companies modify rates multiple times each year in order to protect their financial rating. Larger than normal claims may result in additional premium costs, while lower claims may produce cheaper Portland car insurance rates.
As an example, the bar chart below compares the cheapest car insurance in Portland, OR for a 35-year-old female driver with no violations or accidents, and a good credit rating. If we estimate prices based on her personal risk profile, Grange might offer the lowest car insurance rates in Portland at $919 each year. This is $559 less than the average policy premium paid by Oregon drivers of $1,478. Country, Oregon Mutual, Travelers, and USAA also make the list of the cheapest Portland, OR auto insurance companies.
The chart below compares rates after we give the driver from the first rate comparison an accident claim, slightly worse credit, and a traffic ticket or two. Due to the fact that every auto insurer has a unique approach for establishing rates, getting updated rate quotes will most likely result in a different set of the cheapest car insurance companies in Portland as shown below.
Amica now has the lowest price in Portland with GEICO, Mutual Enumclaw, Country, and Allied now being in the top five. This example proves why it is so important to shop around to find cheap auto insurance quotes for homeowners. Insurance rates are determined by many factors and can change substantially, so the cheapest rate the last time you checked may now cost much more than other companies.