Vallejo drivers often pay more for car insurance in Solano

April 09--Vallejo is the 50th most expensive (or least expensive, depending on your orientation) California city for auto insurance, but the most expensive in Solano County, a new study found.

Of the state's 100 largest cities, Vallejo ranked dead center for annual auto insurance rates, according to a recently released report by WalletHub. The report compared the premiums offered by seven of California's largest insurance providers to determine where and from whom the lowest rates are available.

"With over 22 million registered drivers and 15,000 miles of highway, no other state underscores America's love affair with cars more than California," the report notes. "All that driving produces plenty of accidents, too. According to the California Highway Patrol, there were 161,743 traffic collisions resulting in injury or fatality in 2011, equating to approximately one accident every 3 minutes and 15 seconds. These sobering numbers call attention to the need for car insurance."

Why Vallejo drivers pay more for their car insurance than drivers in, say, Vacaville, is mostly because of the cities' relative proximity to San Francisco, Vallejo Insurance Associates, LLC's Jeanne Kilenny-Turk said.

"Though Vallejo's in Solano County, the rates are Bay Area driven," the 27-year insurance veteran said. "We're more in line with the rates in the Bay Area and it's been like that for a long time. The rates do drop when you go up I-80, but they go up again as you get into the Sacramento metro area."

Insurance company officials "figure, the more you drive and the more drivers there are, the more risk there is and the more you pay," she said. "Also, I think when they first broke up Zip codes and started doing territorial rating in the industry, North County was considered more rural, though that's not true anymore, and I wouldn't be surprised if in the next few years, the companies don't change that, and raise the rates up there."

WalletHub's analysis reveals Vallejo drivers paid an average of $1,291.40 annually for insurance, about 1.89 percent higher than the statewide average. That compares to first-ranked Santa Maria, where the average premium is $997.61, some 21 percent less than average. Vacaville ranks 12th, with a $1,161 average annual premium, which is about 8 percent lower than average. Napa is 16th, with $1,175 and 7.26 percent less.

Fairfield is 28th, with an average $1,218.38 premium -- nearly 4 percent less than the statewide average. Glendale, in Southern California, is the most expensive, with about $1,825 average premium -- nearly 44 percent higher than the state average. In fact, all the most expensive cities for car insurance are in Southern California, according to the report.

In terms of counties, Solano is the 44th least expensive, with an average premium of about $1,228; about 3 percent less than the state average. San Luis Obispo is the least expensive, with an average $1,013 premium; 20 percent less than the average. Los Angeles County is the most expensive, with an average annual premium of $1,584 -- some 25 percent higher than average.

More report highlights include:

--Areas with highly concentrated minority populations tend to have the highest car insurance premiums.

--Despite great cultural debate over which gender may claim superior driving skills, men and women pay essentially the same amount for car insurance (men pay 0.8% less, on average).

--Engineers, scientists and teachers receive the biggest profession-based car insurance discounts.

Source: WalletHub.com. For the complete report, visit (http://wallethub.com/edu/california-car-insurance-report/2782/)

Contact staff writer Rachel Raskin-Zrihen at (707) 553-6824 or rzrihen@timesheraldonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at Rachelvth.

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