Who Has Affordable Auto Insurance for Low Income Drivers in Portland?

Wouldn’t it be easy if we could tell you instantly the best company that has the cheapest rate quotes for low income drivers? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple as there are a whole slew of unknown factors like the level of liability coverage you want, if you have ever let your policy lapse, the area you live in, and the vehicle you are insuring, that all go into determining the rate you pay. We know insurance is not everyone’s favorite topic, but in this article we will cover the best ways to avoid overpriced car insurance and will hopefully give you some help in finding cheaper rates.

The type of vehicle needing coverage is a significant factor that determines if you can find low-cost insurance for low income drivers. Vehicles with average performance, a great safety record, or a track record of few liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than fast, unsafe models.

The table below shows coverage costs for the most cost-effective vehicles to insure.

Cheapest Vehicles to Insure in Portland, OR
Insured Vehicle Estimated Cost for Full Coverage
Hyundai Elantra GLS Touring Station Wagon $1,244
Ford Escape XLT 2WD $1,356
Jeep Wrangler Sport Islander Package 4WD 2-Dr $1,362
Ford F-150 XL Regular Cab 2WD $1,400
Honda CR-V EX-L 2WD $1,427
Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo 2WD $1,468
Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD $1,474
Volkswagen Jetta S 2.5 Station Wagon $1,473
Dodge Grand Caravan SXT $1,498
Toyota Prius $1,509
Honda Civic LX-S 4-Dr Sedan $1,517
Toyota Tacoma 4WD $1,519
Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 2WD $1,525
Toyota Corolla S $1,547
Ford Edge Sport AWD $1,557
Honda Odyssey EX-L $1,547
Hyundai Sonata GLS 4-Dr Sedan $1,577
Chevrolet Malibu LS $1,601
Toyota RAV4 4WD $1,611
GMC Sierra 3500HD SLE Crew Cab 2WD $1,607
Ford Focus SE 4-Dr Sedan $1,614
Toyota Camry LE $1,645
Chevrolet Impala LTZ $1,686
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Premium data assumes married male driver age 30, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Oregon minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, safe-driver, homeowner, multi-vehicle, and multi-policy. Information does not factor in your specific Portland, OR location which can increase or decrease coverage rates greatly.

By looking at the data, you can expect models like the Hyundai Elantra, Ford Escape, Jeep Wrangler, and Ford F-150 are some of the less-costly vehicles to insure for poor drivers.

Shopping around for reasonably-priced insurance is not the easiest thing to accomplish, and figuring out which companies have the most affordable insurance rates for low income drivers may require a bit more work.

Each auto insurer has their own guidelines to set policy rates, so we need to take a look at the insurance companies that tend to have lower prices in Portland, OR. It’s important to understand that Portland, OR insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the cost of your policy. Taking a driver safety course, moving to a different location, or getting a few speeding tickets can trigger rate changes that can make some companies cheaper than competitors.

Best Car Insurance Prices in Oregon

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Oregon car insurance ranked by cost per year
Rank Company Cost Per Year
1 Grange $694
2 Oregon Mutual $828
3 Country $856
4 Travelers $942
5 USAA $950
6 State Farm $1,071
7 Amica $1,125
8 GEICO $1,179
9 Mutual Enumclaw $1,188
10 California Casualty $1,194
11 Allied $1,215
12 Progressive $1,272
13 21st Century $1,324
14 MetLife $1,327
15 American Family $1,431
16 Encompass $1,606
17 Allstate $1,722
18 Farmers $1,935
19 Safeco $2,172
20 Liberty Mutual $2,533
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Grange normally has some of the most affordable car insurance rates in Portland at around $694 a year. This is $784 less than the average price paid by Oregon drivers of $1,478. Oregon Mutual, Country, Travelers, and USAA also rank well as some of the best Portland, OR car insurance companies.

In the rate table above, if you currently have coverage with Country and switched to Grange, you might see an annual savings of approximately $162. Customers with Travelers may save as much as $248 a year, and USAA insureds might reduce rates by $256 a year.

To compare your rates to other Oregon insurance companies, click here to begin a quote or visit any of the low-priced companies below.

Remember that these estimates are averaged across all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not take into consideration a specific vehicle garaging location for low income drivers. So the insurer that can offer you the best rate may not even be in the top 22 companies in the list above. That’s why you need to compare prices as often as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.

The example below highlights how deductible selection can affect insurance prices when researching cheap insurance for low income drivers. The premiums are based on a married female driver, comprehensive and collision coverage, and no discounts are factored in.

A 40-year-old driver could lower their car insurance rates by $304 a year by switching the physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $460 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, such as the 20-year-old chart data, could shave $754 or more by using a higher deductible. If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it will be important to have enough spare savings to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one inconvenience of using high deductibles.

Buying coverage from the right car insurance company is difficult considering how many choices there are in Oregon. The company rank data in the next section may help you pick which car insurance companies to look at when comparing rates.

The ratings below only include companies with a national presence, so companies that may only write in Oregon are not taken into consideration for these rankings. To view rates from these top-rated insurers and more, click this link.

Portland, OR Insurance Company Rankings
Company Value Customer Service Claims Customer Satisfaction A.M Best Rating Overall Score
USAA 98 100 100 94% A++ 98.6
American Family 98 89 100 86% A 95.4
State Farm 88 93 96 90% A++ 92.4
The Hartford 94 92 90 89% A+ 91.7
AAA Insurance 88 89 95 91% A 91.2
GEICO 84 93 93 89% A++ 90.3
The General 89 91 89 88% A- 90
Progressive 84 91 93 87% A+ 89.5
Allstate 85 90 92 88% A+ 89.3
Nationwide 87 88 84 90% A+ 88.7
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Data Source: Insure.com Best Car Insurance Companies

Cost of full coverage

Finding the cheapest insurance should be important to the majority of drivers, and one great way to find cheaper insurance for low income drivers is to only pay for liability coverage. The information below compares car insurance costs with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The rates are based on no claims or violations, $500 deductibles, drivers are not married, and no policy discounts are applied.

On average, full coverage on your policy costs $2,011 per year more than just buying liability only. That raises the question if physical damage coverage is worth the money. There is no clear-cut rule of when to exclude physical damage coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is more than around 10% of the settlement you would receive from your company, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.