Best Car Insurance in San Diego, California 2024

GEICO insures more drivers in California (13 percent of all drivers) than any other car insurance company. It earns the top of our list for its cheap local rates, long list of discounts, and several coverage options to customize your policy.

Cheapest Rate for Most Drivers

With an average annual rate of $1,198, GEICO is the cheapest provider in San Diego, along with USAA. Here’s how GEICO compares to other major providers in the city:

Breakdown Mechanical Coverage

Mechanical breakdown coverage is similar to an extended warranty, offering additional coverage for unexpected car repairs and mechanical breakdowns. GEICO is one of the few providers to offer this coverage, and you can sign up for it if your vehicle is fewer than 15 months old and has fewer than 15,000 miles on it.

Discounts for Federal Workers

Federal employees can benefit from a 12 percent Eagle discount, and military workers get 15 percent off their car insurance with GEICO.

Mercury is only available in 11 states and is California’s seventh-largest car insurance company. In San Diego alone, there are over 25 Mercury agents. The company boasts great rates for California drivers with DUIs, speeding tickets, and auto/home bundles.

Best for Teens

Teens pay some of the highest rates for auto insurance, on average, because they tend to get into more accidents and file more claims than other age groups. Mercury offers the cheapest rates in San Diego to teens and parents of teens, helping keep costs down for you and your family.

Great Bundling Discount

Teens and parents of teens can save more when they bundle their auto and home insurance policies. Here are all the different ways you can bundle with Mercury:

• Auto + home insurance
• Auto + renters insurance
• Home + umbrella insurance
• Home + business owners protection

Other Ways to Save

Here are a few other discounts Mercury offers to bring the hefty premium price down on your policy or your teen’s policy:

• Anti-theft device discount
• Automatic billing discount
• Paperless/e-signature discount
• Paid-in-full discount
• Multicar discount
• Multipolicy discount (up to 14.5 percent)
• Good student discount
• Good driver discount
• MercuryGO safe-driving app usage discount (up to 40 percent discount at renewal)
• RealDrive pay-per-mile insurance discount (up to 20 percent)

USAA is the best car insurance for military members, veterans, and military dependents. San Diego has one of the biggest Navy bases in the country, so USAA is a great option for the more than 100,000 military members and military families who live in the city.³ Note that like GEICO, USAA doesn’t work with local agents to sell policies; instead, you can purchase a policy through their website or by phone.

Low-Mileage Discount

If you drive fewer than 12,000 miles a year, you can earn a USAA low-mileage discount. AutoInsurance.com industry analyst Sarah Hamaker saves 8 percent, or $256 annually, on her household’s policy with the low-mileage discount.

Additionally, if you’re storing your vehicle long-term, due to deployment or any other reason, you could get up to 60 percent off your auto policy.

International Coverage

If you and your family are deployed overseas, you can keep your USAA coverage to select countries, territories, and regions. Here’s a list of overseas locations where USAA sells insurance:

• Azores
• Belgium
• Cuba
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Guam
• Italy
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Puerto Rico
• South Korea
• Spain
• U.S. Virgin Islands
• United Kingdom

Excellent Customer Service Ratings

USAA has the highest J.D. Power customer service rating in California (747 out of 1,000). J.D. Power’s studies are based on the following metrics (in order of importance):

• Customers’ level of trust in providers
• Coverage prices
• Human interactions
• Ease of doing business
• Coverage offerings and products
• Problem resolution
• Digital services

Allstate is the third-largest provider in California and our top pick for safe drivers in San Diego. If you can take advantage of Allstate’s safe driver program and safety-focused discounts, you’ll have access to quality coverage at an affordable rate.

Safe Driving Bonus Program

Allstate’s usage-based insurance program Drivewise is not available in California. But with the company’s Safe Driving Bonus® program, you earn safe driver points for every six months of accident-free driving. By signing up for the program, you can accrue safe driver points over time, and Allstate will automatically send those points to your account as credit.

Other Ways to Save

You can benefit from Allstate’s other saving opportunities, which include the following discounts:

• Safe driver discount
• Good student discount
• Multipolicy discount
• Paperless discount
• Pay-in-full discount
• Automatic withdrawal discount
• New car discount
• Vehicle equipment safety discount

Strong Digital Offerings

Allstate offers a nice balance between digital and in-person experiences. Like GEICO, it has a seamless online quote tool and digital interface for policy management. And, like Mercury, Allstate has a number of local agents in San Diego who can help you shop for and manage your policy.

Allstate scored above average on J.D. Power’s Digital Experience Study in both shopping and service, indicating that its digital tools are easy to use both when purchasing and managing your policy.⁵

Best for existing AAA members, AAA offers competitive insurance rates and several coverage add-ons to give you more protection on the road. Its prices are also reasonable for drivers with a speeding ticket and an accident in San Diego. Plus, AAA holds the highest J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction score in California after USAA, nearly 50 points above the state average.

Excellent Coverage Add-Ons

On top of minimum liability and full coverage (comprehensive and collision), AAA offers a number of coverage add-ons, including RV roadside assistance, California gap insurance, and more.

Excellent Membership Perks

AAA operates similarly to USAA in that you must be a member to purchase auto insurance. AAA offers three membership levels and price points: Classic ($52.50 annually), Plus ($87.50 annually), and Premier ($116.50 annually). Typically, the longer you have been a member, the greater the discount you’ll earn on an auto policy.

Each membership level offers some level of perks and benefits for the following:

• 24-hour roadside assistance
• AAA discounts and rewards
• Car buying services
• Mobile battery services
• Auto repair discounts
• Free Hertz Gold membership
• And more

Seamless App Experience

AAA has one mobile app for all of its services, allowing you to manage your insurance policy, file claims, browse discounts, request roadside assistance, and more.

It also offers several other useful features, such as a gas station locator and travel booking services, that you won’t find with some providers.

It has a 4.6 rating out of 5 stars for iOS and 4.5 out of 5 stars for Android, which are some of the highest ratings for an insurance provider on Google Play.