Best Auto Insurance Rates in Seattle, Washington

Compare Auto Insurance in Seattle

Thursday, May 31 2018 By Larry Canonica

Home to Amazon, Microsoft, and Boeing, the Seattle, Washington area is famous for its high-tech companies. Now there is a high-tech way for Seattleites to shop for affordable car insurance.

Average Seattle Car Insurance Rates

How much is car insurance in Seattle, WA? A high vehicle theft rate, a high accident rate, and slick driving conditions are some of the many factors that make it so costly to insure a car in Seattle. Drivers pay much more for car insurance in Seattle than the rest of the country. The average cost of car insurance in Seattle is $1,453 a year for men and $1,639 for women.

The average cost of auto insurance in Washington is $884.24 per year. The national average cost is $889.01. Prices will vary depending on your driving record and the total number of claims filed in your zip code.

Seattle Average Annual Car Insurance Rates

Coverage	Men	Women
Liability	$933	$1,160
Collision	$445	$413
Comprehensive	$75	$65
Total Cost Per Year	$1,453	$1,639
Price Per Month	$121.08	$136.58
Methodology: We compared rates from three different insurance companies for single 30-year-old male and female drivers renting in Seattle owning a 2010 Honda Accord. Our rate profiles include currently insured males and females, with a clean driving record and drive less than 10,000 annual miles. Coverage includes Washington state liability minimum of $25,000/$50,000/$10,000. And 25/50/10 underinsured motorist coverage with $10,000 personal injury protection. Plus a $500 comprehensive and collision deductible.

The graph below shows the change in Washington's average auto insurance rates from 2011 to 2015, the most recent year the data is available. According to the III, Washington's car insurance rates increased from $806 in 2011 to $884 in 2015, a jump of $78, or 9.70 percent.

QuoteWizard helps consumers compare quotes from both national insurance companies and local independent agents. QuoteWizard can help you find cheap car insurance rates near Seattle, Washington and save up to 40% on your premium.

Last year, 9,869 people used QuoteWizard to get an auto insurance quotes comparison in Seattle, WA from multiple companies to find the cheapest rates.

Best Car Insurance Companies in Seattle

This is our list of the most common car insurance companies reported by QuoteWizard users living in Seattle, WA last year.

Of the 9,869 Seattleites that requested quotes last year, 2,373 were uninsured.

Other popular Seattle, Washington car insurance companies: American Family, Nationwide, USAA, Hartford, Pemco, Country Financial, MetLife, and Washington Farm Bureau.

Top 10 Vehicles in Seattle

These aref the most common car makes and models owned by Seattle drivers requesting quotes through QuoteWizard last year.

Legal Minimum Insurance Requirements

Seattle, Washington, drivers are required to maintain a minimum level of liability coverage known as the 25/50/10 rule. This means each policy must have at least:

• Individual Bodily Injury Liability (BIL): $25,000.
  The maximum amount your insurer pays for a person injured in a car accident.
• Total Bodily Injury Liability: $50,000.
  The total your insurance company pays for every person injured in a car accident.
• Property Damage Liability (PDL): $10,000.
  The most your insurance carrier pays for property damage caused by a car accident.

Recommended Coverage Levels

It's not a great idea to buy only legal minimum coverage. While it costs less, minimum coverage becomes more expensive if you file a claim. Why? Minimum coverage does not include comprehensive or collision coverage. Plus, it's easy to exceed minimum coverage levels after an accident.

Minimum coverage only pays for damages to other people, their car, and their property. Minimum coverage does not cover you, your injuries, or your property. If you have minimum coverage and you cause an accident, you're on the hook for your expenses.

Collision coverage pays for damages to your car after an accident. Comprehensive coverage pays for damages that don't involve another car. That includes natural disasters, falling tree branches, theft, and vandalism.

With that in mind, we recommend that Seattle drivers buy the following coverage:

• Individual Body Injury Liability: $100,000
• Total Bodily Injury Liability: $300,000
• Property Damage Liability: $100,000

If you can afford it, buy comprehensive and collision coverage. You should choose a reasonable deductible. Also consider uninsured/underinsured coverage. This covers damages caused by drivers who have little or no insurance. Finally, medical payment coverage and personal injury protection covers medical costs after an accident.

Seattle Drivers

Allstate’s Best Drivers Report ranks Seattle 181st out of 200 US cities for safe driving. Most US drivers go ten years without being involved in an accident. Nevertheless, drivers here are involved in crashes every 6.7 years. Of the 9,869 Seattle QuoteWizard users, 770 reported some type of incident on their driving record.

Driving Conditions

Driving conditions are factors that can affect your insurance rates.

Weather

Wet, slick roads due to near constant drizzle for half of the year can make driving treacherous. In addition, with Seattle's steep hills, good luck if it snows! Even a dusting of snow can bring traffic here to a standstill. Fortunately, it hardly ever snows and once summer arrives, the skies are blue and the streets are dry.

Road Conditions

The Washington State DOT reports that approximately 36% of Seattle's 1,574 lane miles of arterial streets are in need of repair. TRIP report that 42% of the major roads in Washington State are in poor condition. Another 28% are mediocre. The poor condition of city streets costs local drivers an extra $693 a year due to higher vehicle operating costs.

Traffic Congestion

Seattle has worse traffic than many, much larger cities. TomTom has ranked Seattle 4th for worst traffic congestion in the United States. An average commuter spends 39 extra minutes driving to or from work on roads that are usually slippery, and often poorly maintained. Both I-5 and I-90 are often gridlocked at the peak of rush hour, especially when the roads are wet.

Moving Violations

Moving violations like speeding tickets, accidents, running a red light, and drunk driving will give you a bad driving record and can flag you as a high-risk driver. This will lead to higher insurance rates.

Traffic Tickets

The Seattle Municipal Court website allows residents to pay traffic citations. It also tells drivers how to contest tickets and provides helpful traffic court information.

Seattle Police recorded 1,757 moving violations in January 2016 alone.

DUI Arrests

Seattle Police arrested 1,050 adults and seven juveniles for suspicion of DUI in 2016.

Seattle has good public transit and offers rideshare services such as Lyft and Uber, so there’s no reason to risk a DUI. Paying for a ride home will always cost much less than a DUI.

SR-22 DUI Insurance

A DUI conviction may require you to obtain an SR-22 form. Get a quote and compare rates from local agents and top companies that specialize in Seattle DUI insurance.

Traffic Fatalities

Seattle officials reported 14,508 traffic collisions in 2016. 4,604 of these accidents resulted in minor injuries. 167 of them resulted in at least one serious injury. 22 of the collisions resulted in fatalities.

With Seattle’s estimated population of 704,352, this a relatively safe city in terms of traffic fatalities.

Vehicle Theft Rates

Seattle Police recorded 4,140 vehicle thefts in 2016. This works out to a vehicle theft rate of 6.0 thefts per 1,000 residents. This is nearly three times the national rate of 2.20 stolen cars per 1,000 people.

The FBI recorded 30,647 stolen vehicles for the entire Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue-Everett Metropolitan Statistical Area in 2014. This works out to a rate of 434 stolen vehicles per 100,000 residents. That's more than double the 216.2 per 100,000 resident national average car theft rate.

Given how prolific vehicle theft is in the area, drivers should talk to their insurance agents or carriers about comprehensive insurance, which protects against vehicle theft.

Most Stolen Vehicles in Seattle

Below, you’ll find the three most stolen vehicles in the City of Seattle in 2014.

Source: Seattle Police Department - SeaStat Program

Rank	Make/Model
1	Honda Accord
2	Honda Civic
3	Subaru Legacy

Older vehicles are the favorite target of car thieves. SeaStat data shows that nearly three out of every four stolen vehicles were made before 2002.

Save With Car Insurance Discounts

Are you looking for cheap car insurance? Discounts are one of the best ways to lower your insurance rates. These are only a few of the auto insurance discounts available to Seattle drivers. Get a quote and find out whether you’re paying too much for your car insurance policy.

1. Active duty and retired members of the Military, National Guard, or Reserves are entitled to discounts for their service
2. Drivers 55 and older can qualify for the senior discount or the 55 and retired discount
3. Students that maintain at least a B grade point average can qualify for the good student discount
4. Get a new car with advanced safety like electronic stability control or anti-lock brakes
5. Live in a safe zip code with low crime rates. If you live in a zip code where people file lots of insurance claims, you might be paying higher premiums
6. Drive less. Living close to work or taking the bus once in a while could help you get the low mileage discount
7. Keep your driving record clean. Drivers without tickets and accidents can help you get the accident-free discount
8. Bundle your auto policy with your homeowners or renters insurance. Bundling your cars and insurance policies together can save you up to 15% off your premium
9. Are you married or getting married soon? Some insurers offer drivers a marriage discount
10. Shop around and compare affordable car insurance quotes in Seattle to discover all the discounts you qualify for

Car insurance agents near Seattle, WA:

Sources:

• Seattle Municipal Court - Payments and Penalties
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• United States Census Bureau - Seattle, WA
• Seattle Washington Crime Rates
• Study: Seattle drivers are bad — and getting worse
• Seattle, WA Transportation by the Numbers - TRIP

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