Services
Insurance
Loans
Repairs
Advice
About

Is car insurance more expensive in California?

I’ve decided to pick up from Scranton, Kansas, and head to the Left Coast for a new start—Midwestern winters be damned! I hear things out West can be kinda pricey though, including car insurance. Is it true that car insurance is more expensive in California?

avatar
Jason Tushinski · Updated on
Reviewed by Shannon Martin, Licensed Insurance Agent.
Well, yes—car insurance is more expensive in
California
, with full coverage costing an average of $2,190 per year compared to the national average of roughly $2,000.
So, why is car insurance more expensive in California than in the rest of the country?
  • In case you hadn’t noticed, there are a lot of people in California (close to 40 million at last count). This means lots of cars on the road, leading to a higher risk of accidents. Insurers have to pay out more to settle claims, and they raise their rates to compensate for this.
  • California is also home to rising healthcare costs. With the bulk of insurers’ payouts covering policyholders’ medical care, they raise their rates to keep up with the increasing costs of healthcare delivery.
  • Per CarMD, California has some of the highest auto repair costs in the country. Insurance companies hike rates to keep pace with the growing numbers of claims, many of them for vehicle damage due to accidents.
  • The Golden State is no stranger to natural disasters, which wreak havoc on car insurance rates. Earthquakes, wildfires, floods, and droughts can all damage vehicles, so insurance carriers raise rates to keep up with nature’s unpredictability and its potential impact on policyholders’ vehicles.
Still planning on moving to California, or does a Midwestern winter suddenly feel more tolerable? Wherever you end up, protect your vehicle and score the lowest rate possible with a robust and affordable
car insurance
policy by using
Jerry
. Sign-up takes under a minute, and the average Jerry user saves more than $800 per year on car insurance!
View full answer 
WHY YOU CAN TRUST JERRY
Jerry partners with more than 50 insurance companies, but our content is independently researched, written, and fact-checked by our team of editors and agents. We aren’t paid for reviews or other content.

Join 4M+ members in lowering their car insurance

Easiest way to compare and buy car insurance

√
No long forms
√
No spam or unwanted phone calls
√
Quotes from top insurance companies
Find insurance savings