The vehicle you are buying coverage for is probably the most important factor that determines whether or not you can buy cheap insurance for police officers. Vehicles with lots of speed or power, poor passenger safety features, or a track record of large liability claims will cost quite a bit more to insure than more modest models.
The table below estimates coverage rates for a handful of the most cost-effective vehicles to buy insurance for.
| Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon | $4,069 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $4,160 |
| Ford Escape XLT 2WD | $4,456 |
| Ford Explorer XLT 4WD | $4,556 |
| Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD | $4,820 |
| Toyota RAV4 Sport 2WD | $4,829 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $4,820 |
| Jeep Wrangler Sport Islander Package 4WD 2-Dr | $4,883 |
| Toyota Prius | $4,956 |
| Ford Edge Sport AWD | $5,079 |
| Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan | $5,165 |
| Kia Optima LX | $5,170 |
| Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4-Dr Sedan | $5,170 |
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Data based on single male driver age 40, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Pennsylvania minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include multi-policy, claim-free, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and safe-driver. Information does not factor in your specific Philadelphia, PA location which can affect coverage prices greatly.
Based upon these rates, you can assume that cars like the Hyundai Elantra, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, Ford Explorer, and Jeep Grand Cherokee are most likely going to be some of the most economical vehicles to insure for law enforcement personnel.
Shopping around for budget insurance is confusing at best, and deciding which companies have the cheapest car insurance rates for police officers takes more quotes for comparison.
Every insurance company has their own process to set their prices, so let’s begin by examining the most competitive car insurance companies in Pennsylvania. It’s important to understand that Philadelphia, PA car insurance rates are influenced by many factors that can increase the cost of your policy. Price variation is why it is critical to take the time to shop around to find cheap auto insurance quotes for police officers. Rates are made up of many risk factors and can change substantially, so the best price two years ago may now be quite expensive.
Find the Best Cheap Insurance for Law Enforcement
General Casualty generally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Philadelphia at around $748 a year. Travelers, Erie, USAA, and Penn National are also some of the cheaper Philadelphia, PA auto insurance companies.
As the example above demonstrates, if you are insured with USAA and switched to Travelers, you might see a yearly savings of upwards of $30. Policyholders with Penn National could save as much as $53 a year, and Amica insureds might realize rate reductions of up to $205 a year.
Be aware that those policy rates are averages for all insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with an exact location for police officers. So the car insurance company that fits your situation best may not even be in the top 30 companies in the list above. That points out the importance of why you need to get rate quotes using your own individual information.
For law enforcement personnel, one of the big considerations that are used to help calculate the amount you pay each year for auto insurance is where you normally keep your vehicle. More densely populated places likely pay more, whereas areas with lower vehicle theft rates and fewer weather claims have the luxury of cheap car insurance rates.
The next table ranks the most expensive cities in Pennsylvania for police officers to purchase a policy in. Philadelphia is ranked at #1 with an annual rate of $2,037 for the average policyholder, which is approximately $170 each month.
| Rank | City | Annual Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Philadelphia | $2,037 |
| 2 | Drexel Hill | $1,534 |
| 3 | Chester | $1,435 |
| 4 | Levittown | $1,407 |
| 5 | Norristown | $1,268 |
| 6 | Erie | $1,115 |
| 7 | Allentown | $1,108 |
| 8 | Easton | $1,102 |
| 9 | Reading | $1,099 |
| 10 | Pittsburgh | $1,095 |
| 11 | Municipality of Monr | $1,091 |
| 12 | Bethlehem | $1,087 |
| 13 | Scranton | $1,081 |
| 14 | Wilkes-Barre | $1,079 |
| 15 | Plum | $1,079 |
| 16 | Hazleton | $1,078 |
| 17 | New Castle | $1,057 |
| 18 | Harrisburg | $1,025 |
| 19 | Altoona | $1,012 |
| 20 | Bethel Park | $989 |
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Rate information is estimated as specific Philadelphia garaging address can lower or raise price quotes significantly.
The chart below highlights how deductible selection can impact insurance prices when quoting cheap insurance for police officers. The premiums assume a single female driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are factored in.
The data above shows that a 50-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $354 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $532 by changing to a $1,000 deductible. Younger drivers, such as the 20-year-old chart data, could drop their prices as much as $908 or even more just by choosing higher deductibles when buying full coverage.
If you make the decision to raise deductibles, it’s a good idea to have plenty of discretionary funds to satisfy the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the main inconvenience of larger deductibles.
Discounts on Philadelphia insurance rates
Insurance providers that provide coverage for police officers may also offer discounts that can lower rates by as much as 35% if you meet specific eligibility requirements. A list of car insurance companies and the discounts they provide are:
- GEICO has discounts for multi-policy, emergency military deployment, anti-lock brakes, five-year accident-free, and good student.
- Travelers may include discounts for home ownership, payment discounts, new car, save driver, multi-car, multi-policy, and continuous insurance.
- Farm Bureau may have discounts that include multi-policy, renewal discount, safe driver, good student, driver training, multi-vehicle, and youthful driver.
- Liberty Mutual offers discounts for good student, teen driver discount, newly retired, multi-policy, and new vehicle discount.
- American Family policyholders can earn discounts including mySafetyValet, bundled insurance, TimeAway discount, defensive driver, Steer into Savings, and air bags.
- Progressive includes discounts for homeowner, good student, multi-vehicle, continuous coverage, and online signing.
The information below visualizes the comparison of premium costs with and without discounts being applied to the rates. The data assumes a female driver, no claims or driving citations, Pennsylvania state minimum liability limits, comp and collision included, and $500 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second shows the rates with homeowner, multiple policy, passive restraint, defensive driving course, anti-theft, and marriage discounts applied. In this example, theaverage yearly reduction on car insurance for police officers is 28% or $411.
Impact of careless driving on car insurance rates
One of the best ways to find the cheapest car insurance premiums for law enforcement personnel is to drive safely and avoid traffic citations and accidents. The chart below shows how speeding tickets and at-fault accidents increase car insurance rates for different ages of insureds. The rate quotes are based on a married male driver, comp and collision included, $250 deductibles, and no other discounts are factored in.
In the prior example, the average cost of auto insurance in Philadelphia per year with no accidents and a clean driving record is $2,007. Add in one speeding ticket and the average cost hikes up to $2,304, an increase of $297 each year. Now get one accident along with the one speeding ticket and the annual cost of car insurance for police officers goes up to an average of $3,143. That’s an increase of $1,136, or $95 per month, just for not paying attention while driving!
Your low-price policy may be costing you money
Pennsylvania car insurance rates are impacted by many things that will increase or decrease the cost of your policy. Turning one year older, buying a new vehicle, or getting a ticket for careless driving can trigger price changes that may make certain companies cheaper than before.
In addition to those changes, insurance companies change the rates they charge in Pennsylvania as often as every three months to adjust for gains or losses. A period of increased losses may cause increased policy costs, while a profitable period may result in lower-cost Philadelphia car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the graph below compares the cheapest car insurance in Philadelphia, PA for a 35-year-old female driver with no prior accidents, a clean driving record, and great credit. If we compare prices based on her current risk factors, General Casualty may have the best car insurance rates in Philadelphia at $1,700 per year. This is $43 more than the average policy premium paid by Pennsylvania drivers of $1,657. USAA, Erie, Penn National, and Travelers round out the rest of the most affordable Philadelphia, PA auto insurance companies.
In this next rate comparison, we will give the driver in the first example a claim surcharge, bad credit, and a traffic citation. Because each company uses a different method for setting rates, analyzing rate quotes could now result in a slightly different list of companies as shown below.
Amica now has the cheapest auto insurance in Philadelphia, PA with Atlantic States, USAA, Erie, and Penn National now being in the top five. This example illustrates why consumers need to take the time to shop around with many companies when trying to get the cheapest auto insurance rates for police officers. Prices are impacted by many different factors and change dramatically, so the cheapest company six months ago may now cost much more than other companies.