What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Drivers with a Bad Driving Record in Albuquerque?

It’s hard to avoid all the catchy advertisements from insurers like Progressive, GEICO, and Liberty Mutual that make promises of dirt cheap rates. So you just need to choose any one of them, right?

It’s not that easy, however, as there are a whole bunch of unknown factors like how many years you have been driving, what deductibles you want to use, and the amount of liability insurance you need, that all factor into the price you pay. The content below covers the causes of high insurance rates and also should give you a good start to your coverage search.

Buying budget car insurance is not always easy, and finding out which company has the best insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record will take even more diligence. Every car insurance company has a different formula to determine rates, so let’s take a look at the insurance companies that tend to be cheaper in Albuquerque, NM.

It’s a good idea to know that New Mexico insurance rates are impacted by many factors that can increase the price you have to pay for coverage. This price variability is why consumers need to take the time to perform an extensive rate comparison to get the most budget-friendly car insurance rates for drivers with a bad driving record. Rates are determined by many different factors and can change substantially, so the best company when you bought your policy may now be one of the higher cost companies.

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USAA normally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Albuquerque at around $657 per year. This is $911 less than the average price paid by New Mexico drivers of $1,568. Allied, Safeco, Farm Bureau Mutual, and The Hartford would also be considered some of the lowest-priced Albuquerque, NM auto insurance companies.

As shown above, if you buy coverage from Farm Bureau Mutual and switched to USAA, you might realize yearly savings of roughly $521. Customers with The Hartford might save as much as $655 a year, and Farmers insureds might reduce prices by as much as $658 a year.

Be aware that those policy prices are averages for all drivers and vehicles in New Mexico and and are not figured with a specific zip code for drivers with a bad driving record. So the insurer that is best suited for you may not even be in the top 17 companies in the list above. That affirms the importance of why you need to get auto insurance quotes using your own driver and vehicle profiles.

The car, truck, or SUV requiring coverage is one of the largest factors when shopping around for the most economical insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. Vehicles with more horsepower, a lack of modern safety features, or a high likelihood of having liability claims will cost more to insure than safer models.

The next list features car insurance costs for the most economical automobiles to buy insurance for.

Data rating is based on single female driver age 40, two speeding tickets, two at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and New Mexico minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, homeowner, and multi-vehicle. Information does not factor in specific zip code location which can lower or raise rates significantly.

Looking at the rates, vehicles like the Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Hyundai Elantra are the cheaper vehicles to insure for bad drivers. Rates will tend to be more expensive just because there is more exposure for drivers with a bad driving record, but generally speaking those specific models will probably have the best rates possible.

The illustration below highlights how deductible selection can affect insurance rates when trying to find cheap insurance for drivers with a bad driving record. The data is based on a married male driver, comp and collision included, and no policy discounts are applied.

In the chart above, a 50-year-old driver could cut expenses by $312 a year by switching their comprehensive and collision coverages from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $472 by switching to a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, such as the 20-year-old chart data, have the ability to save up to $1,046 each year by choosing larger deductibles on their policy.

If you do decide to increase your deductibles, it is necessary to have additional funds squirreled away to be able to cover the extra out-of-pocket expense. That is the one drawback of using higher deductibles.

Insuring your vehicle with the right company can be a challenge considering how many companies provide coverage in Albuquerque. The company information in the lists below could help you decide which car insurance providers to look at when shopping your coverage around.

The ratings below are for companies that insure vehicles nationwide, so smaller companies are not included in the list. If you’d like to compare prices from these top-rated insurers and more, click here.

Top 10 Large Auto Insurers in Albuquerque Ranked by A.M. Best Rating

1. USAA – A++
2. Travelers – A++
3. GEICO – A++
4. State Farm – A++
5. The Hartford – A+
6. Esurance – A+
7. Nationwide – A+
8. Allstate – A+
9. Titan Insurance – A+
10. Progressive – A+

Top 10 Large Auto Insurers in Albuquerque Ranked by Customer Satisfaction

1. Titan Insurance – 95%
2. USAA – 94%
3. AAA Insurance – 91%
4. Nationwide – 90%
5. State Farm – 90%
6. The Hartford – 89%
7. GEICO – 89%
8. Allstate – 88%
9. 21st Century – 88%
10. The General – 88%

How much more does full coverage cost?

Finding cheaper insurance should be important to the majority of drivers, and one common way to lower the cost of insurance for drivers with a bad driving record is to only buy liability coverage. The information below illustrates the difference between insurance prices with and without full coverage. The premium estimates are based on no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.

If we average all the age groups together, comp and collision coverage costs $1,356 per year more than just buying liability only. Many drivers will wonder if you should buy full coverage at all. There isn’t a written rule to eliminate full coverage on your policy, but there is a guideline you can use. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is about 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.

For example, let’s say your vehicle’s settlement value is $7,000 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled in an accident, the most your company will settle for is $6,000 after paying the physical damage deductible. If it’s costing in excess of $600 a year for full coverage, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.

There are a few cases where dropping full coverage is not a good plan. If you haven’t paid off your loan, you have to carry full coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle if your current one is totaled, you should keep full coverage in place.