The average car insurance policy costs $164 per month in Berkeley. Are you paying too much?
The typical Berkeley driver pays $1,968 per year for auto insurance. That's more expensive than the average in California ($1,868) and more expensive than the national average of $1,548. Our guide to car insurance in Berkeley includes average premiums based on age, credit score, driving history, and marital status. Read on for more information.
| Berkeley Average (annual) | California Average | United States Average |
| $1,968 | $1,868 | $1,548 |
One of the best ways to save on auto insurance is to compare rates from multiple companies and to choose the insurer that best fits your coverage needs. In Berkeley, GEICO offers the cheapest premiums for the typical insurance buyer. We've gathered the best cheap car insurance companies in Berkeley below. You should only use this list as a starting point: it's important to compare quotes specific to your unique driving profile.
| Insurance Company | Average Yearly Rate |
| GEICO | $1,156 |
| Mercury | $1,520 |
| AAA | $1,659 |
| Alliance | $1,978 |
| State Farm | $2,009 |
Check out our guide to learn how to find the best cheap car insurance.
The age group that pays the least for car insurance in Berkeley are drivers in their 60s ($1,764 per year). Rates for Berkeley drivers in their 50s are also relatively affordable, at just $1,769 per year.
Young drivers aged 16 to 19 pay the most for car insurance in Berkeley. One of the most effective ways to get cheaper car insurance rates as a driver in Berkeley is to celebrate your 20th birthday. The gap in cost between the car insurance premiums paid by teenage drivers and drivers in their 20s in Berkeley is $4,496. That's the biggest gap in premiums between any pair of age brackets.
| Age | Average Yearly Rate |
| Teens | $7,441 |
| 20s | $2,945 |
| 30s | $1,915 |
| 40s | $1,854 |
| 50s | $1,769 |
| 60s | $1,764 |
| 70s | $2,058 |
Learn more about the impact of age on auto insurance rates.
In some cases, a driver's marital status and gender may affect their car insurance rates. Married drivers in Berkeley pay $78 less than single drivers for car insurance. Married drivers pay less for car insurance than do single drivers in many locations.
Gender is another factor that can impact auto insurance costs. In Berkeley, female drivers pay more for auto insurance than do male drivers: $4 per year, to be precise.
| Marital Status/Gender | Average Yearly Rate |
| Female | $1,972 |
| Male | $1,968 |
| Single | $1,890 |
| Married | $1,890 |
| Divorced | $1,968 |
| Widowed | $1,917 |
Learn more about the impact gender and marital status have on insurance rates.
Maintaining a clean driving record is an effective way to minimize your auto insurance costs. Speeding citations, reckless driving charges, DUIs and DWIs, and at-fault accidents all tend to bring about rate increases.
Two of the most expensive driving violations from an insurance perspective are reckless driving and DUI. In Berkeley, a reckless driving citation results in an average insurance rate increase of $3,274 per year, compared to the citywide average. For comparison's sake, a DUI offense results in a $3,146 increase and a speeding ticket triggers an $803 rate hike.
| Violation/Incident | Average Annual Rate |
| DUI/DWI | $5,114 |
| Reckless Driving | $5,242 |
| At-fault Accident (damages less than $1,000) | $1,978 |
| At-fault Accident (damages greater than $2,000) | $3,467 |
| Speeding Ticket (16-20 mph over speed limit) | $2,771 |
Learn more about how citations could raise your auto insurance rates.
