What Car Insurance is Cheapest for High Risk Drivers in Pittsburgh?

The vehicle model on the policy is a large factor when quoting economical insurance for high risk drivers. Vehicles with economical engines, modern passenger safety features, or low incidents of liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than higher performance models.

The data below showcases coverage costs for the most affordable vehicles to insure in Pennsylvania.

Price data assumes single male driver age 50, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Pennsylvania minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Premium amounts do not factor in vehicle location which can alter rates noticeably.

Looking at the data, we can tell that cars like the Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, Toyota Prius, and Ford Escape are most likely to be some of the most affordable vehicles to insure for high risk drivers. The price for car insurance will be higher anyway because there is a higher risk for high risk drivers, but overall those models will most likely have the best rates possible.

Shopping around for reasonably-priced car insurance is not the easiest thing to do, and figuring out which company has the most affordable auto insurance rates for high risk drivers will involve even more shopping around. Each auto insurer has a proprietary formula for determining rates, so let’s take a look at the auto insurance companies with the most affordable rates in Pittsburgh, PA.

It’s important that readers know that Pennsylvania auto insurance rates are influenced by many factors that can increase the cost of your policy. Price variation is why Pittsburgh drivers need to perform an extensive rate comparison to get the cheapest insurance quotes for high risk drivers. Auto insurance prices can be determined by many things and change substantially, so the most economical company the last time you shopped around may now be quite expensive.

Best Insurance Companies for Risky Drivers

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General Casualty has some of the lowest car insurance rates in Pittsburgh at around $718 a year. This is $939 less than the average rate paid by Pennsylvania drivers of $1,657. USAA, Erie, Travelers, and Penn National also make the cut as some of the cheaper Pittsburgh, PA auto insurance companies.

In the above example, if you buy coverage from USAA and switched to General Casualty, you could see a yearly savings of upwards of $67. Drivers with Erie might save as much as $82 a year, and Travelers customers might cut rates by $85 a year.

Remember that these rates are averages for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not take into consideration a specific zip code for high risk drivers. So the insurer that is most affordable for your situation may not even be in the list above. That underscores the importance of why you need to get rate quotes from many companies using your own personalized driver profile and vehicle information.

For high risk drivers, one of the largest factors that are used to help calculate auto insurance rates is where you keep your vehicle in Pittsburgh. Areas with increased crime or more people will most likely have higher rates, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents have the benefit of cheaper car insurance.

The next table ranks the most expensive areas in Pennsylvania for high risk drivers to buy auto insurance in. Pittsburgh makes the list at #10 with a yearly cost of $1,085 for the average policyholder, which is around $90 each month.

Rate information is estimated as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can increase or decrease insurance rates greatly.

Selecting the right insurance company can be difficult considering how many companies provide coverage in Pennsylvania. The information shown below could help you analyze which car insurance providers you want to consider purchasing a policy from. These ratings only include insurance companies that insure vehicles in the majority of U.S. states, so companies that have a smaller presence are not included in the list.

Should you buy full coverage?

Saving on auto insurance is probably important to most drivers, and one of the best ways to save on the cost of insurance for high risk drivers is to not insure for full coverage. The chart below shows the comparison of auto insurance rates with full coverage and liability only. The rates are based on a clean driving record, no claims, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

If the expense is averaged for all age categories, physical damage insurance costs $1,869 per year over liability only. That raises the question when is the right time to remove full coverage. There is no definitive formula that is best for determining when to drop full coverage, but there is a general school of thought. If the annual cost of having full coverage is 10% or more of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.

Tickets and at-fault accidents raise rates

The easiest way to find cheap auto insurance prices in Pennsylvania for high risk drivers is to drive safe and avoid tickets and accidents. The chart below highlights how traffic violations and fender-benders increase auto insurance costs for each different age category. The costs are based on a married male driver, full coverage, $100 deductibles, and no discounts are factored in.

In the prior example, the average cost of car insurance in Pittsburgh per year with a clean driving record and no accidents is $1,800. Add in one speeding ticket and the average cost surges to $2,061, an increase of $261 each year. Now get two accidents along with the one speeding ticket and the yearly cost of auto insurance for high risk drivers increases to an average of $4,203. That’s an increase of $2,403, or $200 per month, just for not keeping your driving record clean!

Here’s why price comparisons are so important

Pittsburgh auto insurance rates are determined by lots of factors that control the policy premium. Turning one year older, buying a different vehicle, or getting a DUI may cause policy rate changes resulting in some companies being much cheaper than others.

And not only may your rating factors change, but companies modify pricing without warning in order to offset underwriting gains or losses. An unexpected high level of claims can cause a rate increase, while less frequent claims may result in cheaper Pittsburgh car insurance rates.

For example, the chart below shows which company has the cheapest car insurance in Pittsburgh, PA for a 35-year-old male driver with no accidents or violations, and a high credit rating. Based on his current risk factors, General Casualty offers the cheapest car insurance rates in Pittsburgh at $914 annually. This is $743 less than the average price paid by Pennsylvania drivers of $1,657. Travelers, Erie, Penn National, and USAA are the remaining best Pittsburgh, PA auto insurance companies.

Let’s now give the driver from above a chargeable accident, slightly worse credit, and a few traffic violations. Since each auto insurer has their own unique process for determining rates in each state, analyzing rates may result in a different ranking of the cheapest companies as shown below.

Atlantic States now has the cheapest rate in Pittsburgh with Amica, Travelers, Donegal Mutual, and USAA also being competitive. This example illustrates why it is critical to spend some time comparing rates to get the most affordable car insurance rates for high risk drivers. Auto insurance prices consist of many things and change frequently, so the cheapest company when you bought your policy may now be one of the higher cost companies.