Who Has Cheap Insurance for a Nissan Altima in Virginia?

Our editors have a joke that when writing about auto insurance, the words “cheap” or “affordable” should not appear as a descriptor for car insurance rates. Notwithstanding, cheap car insurance for a Nissan Altima is pretty hard to find. Don’t let that discourage you, because we can show you some ways you can still get auto insurance that most people can afford.

Your ability to find the cheapest coverage for a Nissan Altima in Virginia is contingent on a lot of things like annual vehicle mileage, the condition of your credit, and any past driving violations you may have had. Virginia drivers on average pay around $650 each year to insure their Altima, but that rate is an approximation based upon a 50-year-old married male driver that has comprehensive and collision coverage and $500 policy deductibles.

It’s highly likely you aren’t exactly 50 years old or even a male, you might be single instead of married, or maybe you prefer liability limits higher than required by Virginia state law. Each driver’s needs are different, and that demonstrates why the best method for finding cheap auto insurance rates for your Nissan is to get into the habit of shopping around regularly.

Compare Nissan Altima Insurance Rates

Your vehicle’s trim level tends to have a direct impact on the insurance rate, so the rate you will pay to insure a Altima 2.5 4-Dr Sedan will be $142 less than the insurance cost for the fancier Altima 3.5 SR 2-Dr Coupe version, as shown in the chart below.

Data rating is based on married male driver age 50, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $500 deductibles, and Virginia minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include homeowner, safe-driver, claim-free, multi-policy, and multi-vehicle. Rates do not factor in specific zip code location which can influence rates noticeably.

Picking a highly-rated auto insurance provider can be a challenge considering how many companies are available to choose from in Virginia. The company ratings shown next can help you choose which insurers you want to consider buying from. These ratings are only comprised of companies that insure vehicles across America, so companies that focus mainly on Virginia business are not taken into consideration for this list.

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Providers in Virginia Ranked by Customer Satisfaction

1. USAA – 91%
2. AAA Insurance – 90%
3. Esurance – 90%
4. Mercury Insurance – 89%
5. Nationwide – 89%
6. Travelers – 88%
7. Progressive – 88%
8. Safeco Insurance – 88%
9. State Farm – 88%
10. Allstate – 88%

Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Providers in Virginia Ranked by Customer Service

1. USAA
2. Travelers
3. Mercury Insurance
4. AAA Insurance
5. Nationwide
6. Safeco Insurance
7. Progressive
8. State Farm
9. The Hartford
10. The General

Top Companies for Nissan Altima Insurance in Virginia

The diagram below illustrates how choosing a deductible can influence insurance rates when trying to find cheap insurance for a Nissan Altima. The data is based on a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are factored in.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawDfdqcibChart);function drawDfdqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘$100 Deductible’,’$250 Deductible’,’$500 Deductible’,’$1,000 Deductible’],[‘Age 20’, 2815,2585,2329,2089],[‘Age 30’, 1947,1779,1587,1405],[‘Age 40’, 1807,1657,1483,1319],[‘Age 50’, 1583,1449,1299,1155],[‘Age 60’, 1527,1399,1253,1113],[‘Age 70’, 1781,1633,1473,1319]]);var options = {title: ‘Impact of Deductible Levels on Nissan Altima Insurance Rates in Virginia’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 700,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’,’height’: ‘80%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’,textStyle: {fontSize: 12}},bar: {groupWidth: ‘80%’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#75a8d8′,’#98bee2′,’#bad4ec’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Insurance Cost for a Nissan Altima’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);formatter.format(data,3);formatter.format(data,4);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibdfd’));chart.draw(data, options);}

The data above shows that a 30-year-old driver could pocket $324 a year by changing their physical damage coverage from a $100 deductible to a $500 deductible, or save $488 by using a $1,000 deductible. Youthful drivers, such as the 20-year-old example, could potentially save up to $726 or more by selecting a higher deductible. If you do raise deductibles, it’s a good idea to have additional funds in a savings account to be able to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the primary disadvantage of high deductibles.

Should you buy full coverage?

Finding cheap insurance for a Nissan Altima in Virginia is important to the majority of people, and one common way to find cheaper insurance is to buy only liability coverage. The example below illustrates the difference between auto insurance costs with and without physical damage coverage. The price estimates are based on no accidents or driving violations, $250 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are applied to the premium.

google.charts.setOnLoadCallback(drawFclqcibChart);function drawFclqcibChart() {var data = google.visualization.arrayToDataTable([[‘Age of Insured’, ‘Full Coverage with $250 Deductibles’, ‘Liability Only’],[‘Age 20’, 3157,1037],[‘Age 30’, 1643,571],[‘Age 40’, 1621,529],[‘Age 50’, 1477,497],[‘Age 60’, 1427,487],[‘Age 70’, 1739,651]]);var options = {title: ‘Full Versus Liability Only Rates’,titleTextStyle: {color: ‘#333’,fontSize: 17,bold: true},width: ‘100%’,height: 500,’chartArea’: {left:100,top:50,’width’: ‘100%’, ‘height’: ‘70%’},legend: {position: ‘bottom’},colors: [‘#6791b9′,’#98bee2’],hAxis: {title: ‘Annual Insurance Cost for a Nissan Altima in Virginia’,minValue: 0,format: ‘$###,###’},vAxis: {title: ‘Age of Insured’}};var formatter = new google.visualization.NumberFormat({fractionDigits: 0,prefix: ‘$’});formatter.format(data,1);formatter.format(data,2);var chart = new google.visualization.BarChart(document.getElementById(‘qcibfcl’));chart.draw(data, options);}

Averaged for all age groups, full coverage on your policy costs $1,844 per year more than just insuring for liability. That brings up the question if paying for full coverage is worth it. There is no specific rule to exclude comp and collision coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is more than 10% of any settlement you would receive from your insurance company, then it may be the right time to buy liability only.

There are a few cases where only buying liability is not advised. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to keep full coverage as part of the loan conditions. Also, if you can’t afford to buy a different vehicle in case of an accident, you should not consider dropping full coverage.

Who has the cheapest Nissan Altima insurance quotes?

You have a lot of ways to find cheaper auto insurance in Virginia, but the most prevalent ways are from a captive (or exclusive) agency like Liberty Mutual or State Farm, an independent agent, or direct online or over the phone from a company like Geico or Progressive. They all have the same end result, but they are slightly different in how they function.

Independent agencies write business for many companies and can get rate quotes from each one. These types of agents are able to provide multiple price quotes, which can help you get more bang for your buck. If they find a cheaper price, your policy can be easily switched to a new company and you can keep the same agent.

Exclusive agents are usually just provide rates from just one company, for example a Liberty Mutual or State Farm agent. Exclusive agents generally are unable to quote rates from more than one company, so if their pricing is high, there is no alternative.

Buying direct means you forego an independent or exclusive agent and instead shop direct online or over the phone from a company like Geico or Progressive. This option may be a decent choice drivers who do not have a complex risk profile and have a good understanding of what auto insurance covers.

So which one of the three ways works best to find cheap insurance for a Nissan Altima in Virginia? We’d like to say buying direct results in the cheapest rates because there are no middleman commissions, but that generally is not the case. It could also be said an independent agency results in the best rates since they have more companies to choose from, but that assumption is not true either. And occasionally, exclusive agents may have prices that cannot be beaten by either independent or direct companies.

Due to the fact that auto insurance rates vary so much, the best way to get the cheapest rates is to get rate quotes and compare. Be sure to get price quotes from all three to get a good idea who is cheapest. For a list of companies with online discounts, click here to view.