San Francisco Car Insurance Quotes & Rates (2026)

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For a 40-year-old driver with a clean record, San Francisco car insurance averages about $350 a month ($4,194 a year) for full coverage, based on the rates insurers had filed with state regulators as of Aug. 31, 2026. That’s 5% above the California average of $332 a month. GEICO has the lowest full-coverage average in San Francisco, at about $193 a month. Among the other insurers in our rate data, AAA Northern California (CSAA) is next, at about $285 a month.

San Francisco is the most expensive city we price in Northern California. Full coverage here costs about $61 a month more than in San Jose and about $37 a month more than in Vallejo.

The figures come from insurers’ own rate filings, modeled by Quadrant Information Services for one driver across 23 San Francisco ZIP codes. Use them to see what’s normal, then compare quotes for your own car and address.

_{Cost data comes from the auto rates insurers file with state regulators, priced across the 23 San Francisco ZIP codes we price, compiled by Quadrant Information Services and updated as new rates are filed.}

Rates last verified and updated: July 2026.

How Much Is Car Insurance in San Francisco, CA?

Full coverage in San Francisco averages $4,194 a year, or about $350 a month, for our benchmark driver. Dropping to 50/100/50 liability while keeping comprehensive and collision averages $3,958 a year ($330 a month).

• Full coverage (100/300/100, $500 deductibles): $4,194 a year ($350 a month)
• 50/100/50 with $500 deductibles: $3,958 a year ($330 a month)
• Minimum liability (15/30/5): $1,393 a year ($116 a month)
• California average: $3,979 a year ($332 a month) for full coverage
• ZIP code range: $3,840 (94158) to $4,943 (94124) for full coverage

Cheap Car Insurance in San Francisco: Companies Compared

• Cheapest for full coverage: GEICO, at about $193 a month ($2,321 a year).
• Next cheapest in our rate data: AAA Northern California (CSAA), at about $285 a month ($3,419 a year).
• Most expensive: Allstate, at about $487 a month, $3,518 a year more than GEICO for the same driver and car.

GEICO’s San Francisco average is 32% below AAA Northern California (CSAA), the next-cheapest insurer in our rate data. That’s a wide gap, and every major 2026 California rate study we checked also ranks GEICO cheapest for full coverage. Your own price will differ, so compare quotes for your car and address.

This table uses San Francisco ZIP codes only. See how we calculated these rates.

San Francisco Car Insurance Rates by ZIP Code

Across the 23 San Francisco ZIP codes we price, full coverage for our driver ranges from about $3,840 a year in 94158 to $4,943 in 94124, a gap of $1,103 a year, or about $92 a month. 94158 (Mission Bay) is the cheapest ZIP code in our San Francisco data, and 94124 (Bayview–Hunters Point) the most expensive.

Search the table for your ZIP code. The last column shows how far each ZIP code’s full-coverage average is above or below San Francisco’s average.

See What You’d Pay in San Francisco

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How Much More Does Better Coverage Cost in San Francisco?

Raising liability limits from 50/100/50 to 100/300/100 adds about $236 a year ($20 a month) in our San Francisco data, with the same $500 deductibles. Higher limits protect your savings if you cause a serious crash, and they cost far less than most drivers expect.

Why Car Insurance Costs More in San Francisco

Dense streets, tight parking and heavy traffic mean more fender benders and more claims per car. Repair costs are also high in the Bay Area, which pushes up the price of collision coverage.

Car break-ins are a well-known problem in the city. Comprehensive coverage pays for a broken window or other damage to your car, but it doesn’t cover belongings stolen from inside it. Those are usually covered by renters or homeowners insurance, subject to its deductible.

How San Francisco Car Insurance Compares With Nearby California Cities

Compare San Francisco with every California city we price. This table lists minimum-liability and full-coverage averages for 84 California cities from the same rate data as the rest of this page.

What Car Insurance Is Required in San Francisco?

California sets the rules for every driver in San Francisco. Since 2025, the minimum liability coverage for a standard auto policy is:

• $30,000 for injury or death of one person
• $60,000 for injury or death of more than one person in one crash
• $15,000 for damage to other people’s property

That’s 30/60/15 coverage, up from the 15/30/5 minimum that applied before 2025. You must carry proof of insurance in the car and show it after a crash or traffic stop. The limits are listed in the California Department of Insurance auto insurance guide and on the California DMV insurance requirements page.

Minimum limits are low next to the cost of a serious crash, which is why we price full coverage at 100/300/100 liability. If money is tight, the state’s California Low Cost Auto Insurance Program offers liability policies to income-eligible drivers with a good driving record and a car worth $25,000 or less.

San Francisco Vehicle and Driving Safety Laws

Seat Belt Law

Children under age 2 must ride facing the rear of a vehicle in an appropriate child passenger safety seat, according to the California Highway Patrol. Children weighing at least 40 pounds or standing at least 40 inches tall are exempt. Children under age 8 must be properly restrained in an appropriate child safety seat in the back seat of a vehicle.

Cellphone Laws

Motorists can’t hold a wireless telephone or electronic wireless communication device while driving a vehicle, the California Highway Patrol says; however, hands-free use is allowed. Instead of a device being held, it must be mounted in the 7-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield farthest removed from the driver or in a 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield nearest to the driver. Another option: Attach the device to the dashboard where it does not block the driver’s view of the road and does not hinder airbag deployment.

Helmet Laws

Anyone under age 18 must wear a helmet when riding a bicycle on a street, bikeway or public bike path or trail. Helmet use also is mandated for anyone under 18 who’s riding a scooter or skateboard, or using inline skates.

Impaired Driving Law

For drivers over age 21, the blood alcohol limit for DUI is 0.08 percent. A first-time DUI conviction can lead to a $1,000 fine, plus more than $2,600 in penalty assessments; a six-months jail sentence; a six-month license suspension; a 30-day vehicle impoundment; and installation of an interlock breath device in the driver’s vehicle.

Under California law, authorities have “zero tolerance” for anyone under 21 who’s been caught driving under the influence. The state Department of Motor Vehicles automatically suspends or revokes the driving privileges of a driver under 21 who was busted for DUI (alcohol or a combination of alcohol and drugs) who had a blood alcohol level of at least 0.01 percent or refused to take a blood alcohol screening or test.

How to Lower Your Car Insurance Rate in San Francisco

1. Keep your Good Driver discount. California law requires every insurer to give a Good Driver discount of at least 20%. You qualify if you’ve been licensed for three years and have no more than one violation point on your record. California also rates drivers first on their driving record, then on how many miles they drive each year and how many years they’ve been driving, so a clean record matters more here than almost anywhere else.
2. Park off the street if you can. A garage or secured lot lowers the risk of theft and damage, and it keeps small claims off your record.
3. Compare at every renewal. Prices for the same driver and car vary by thousands of dollars a year between insurers, and each company changes its rates on its own schedule.
4. Report your real mileage. Annual miles driven is one of California’s main rating factors, so a shorter commute or remote work can lower your price.
5. Insure your car and home together. A multi-policy discount is one of the easiest savings to get, so compare San Francisco home insurance rates too.

Compare San Francisco Car Insurance Quotes

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How We Calculated San Francisco Car Insurance Rates

Insurers must file their rates and rating rules with each state’s insurance regulator. Quadrant Information Services uses those filings to calculate what each insurer would charge a specific driver, and InsuranceQuotes analyzes those prices. This page uses rates in effect on Aug. 31, 2026.

• Sample: 115 full-coverage quotes from 5 insurers across 23 San Francisco ZIP codes.
• Driver: a single 40-year-old male or female driver, licensed 24 years, with no accidents or violations, driving a 2024 Toyota Camry LE they own, for personal use. California doesn’t let insurers use gender to set car insurance rates, so the price is the same for men and women.
• Coverage: full coverage is 100/300/100 liability with $500 comprehensive and collision deductibles. We also price 50/100/50 liability with the same deductibles, and minimum liability at 15/30/5 limits with no comprehensive or collision.
• Calculation: for each insurer we take its lowest eligible price in each ZIP code and average those prices across the ZIP codes. The overall average is the mean of every insurer-and-ZIP price. Monthly figures are annual premiums divided by 12 and rounded.
• Rankings: an insurer is ranked only where it has a price in at least half of the ZIP codes we sample. AAA Northern California (CSAA) and AAA Southern California (Auto Club) each sell in their own half of the state, so statewide they’re shown but not ranked. Prices within 3% of each other are called effectively tied.
• Other insurers: when the Quadrant rate data we analyze doesn’t include an insurer’s rate for this driver, its average is estimated from 2026 published rate studies and scaled to the same driver and coverage. Those insurers aren’t used for our cheapest-insurer rankings.
• What this isn’t: a quote. These are modeled prices for one driver profile, calculated from insurers’ rate filings. Your price depends on your ZIP code, vehicle, driving record, annual mileage and discounts.

Coverage requirements come from the California Department of Insurance. We refresh these figures when new rate data is released.

More San Francisco Car Insurance Breakdowns

Beyond ZIP code and insurer, the car you drive and your age move the price too. The tables in this section come from an additional InsuranceQuotes rate analysis with its own driver profile and assumptions, so compare the categories within each table to see where the biggest differences are.

Car Insurance Rates for Used Vehicles in California

What you drive matters as much as where you park it. For used vehicles in this breakdown, an SUV is the cheapest to insure with full coverage and a luxury coupe the most expensive, about 71% more. Differences in repair costs and claim rates drive most of that gap.

New Car Insurance Rates in California

A new car costs more to insure because comprehensive and collision have to cover a more valuable vehicle. Across the five vehicle types here, full coverage for a new model runs about 23% more on average than for the same type used. If you’re financing, your lender will require both coverages.

Car Insurance Costs by Age in California

Age is one of the biggest rating factors for young drivers. In this breakdown, a 17-year-old pays about 2.3 times what a 39-year-old pays for full coverage, and prices fall quickly through the early 20s as drivers build a clean record. California insurers must weigh your driving record, annual mileage and years of driving experience most heavily, which is why experience matters so much here.

San Francisco Car Insurance FAQ