The State's Own Car Insurance Price Survey, and How to Use It
Most "compare car insurance" pages online are lead forms. California also has a comparison the state runs itself, required by law, and it is surprisingly little known. Used properly it shortens your shortlist. Used as a price list it misleads.
Why the survey exists
Insurance Code 12959 requires the Insurance Commissioner to publish and distribute, every January, a comparison of insurance rates for the personal lines of most interest to consumers, prepared so that people can make informed comparisons of coverages and rates. Insurers that submit false rate information for it face civil penalties.
The Department's Compare Premiums page explains how it works: insurers licensed in California are asked for their annual premiums, and the results feed an interactive tool for private passenger auto and motorcycles. The tool prices a set of hypothetical drivers, and its own introduction describes a basic, liability-only scenario and a standard scenario with higher limits and more coverages.
What the Department says about its limits
- The results are not premium quotes.
- The companies surveyed represent over 90 percent of their markets, but some admitted insurers are not included.
- The figures do not factor in discounts or surcharges that apply to your situation.
- What any insurer actually charges you may differ from what the survey shows.
The survey next to a real quote
| The state's survey | A real quote | |
|---|---|---|
| Driver | A hypothetical profile close to yours | You, your record and your household |
| Coverage | Preset scenarios | The limits and deductibles you choose |
| Discounts and surcharges | Not included | Included |
| Companies | Those surveyed | Those that will write you, including some not surveyed |
| Can you buy it? | No | Yes, once accepted, verified and bound |
How to use it, step by step
- Pick the scenario closest to you. Answer the tool's questions honestly; a flattering profile gives a misleading shortlist.
- Note the companies, not the figures. Write down the names that appear competitive for that scenario.
- Use the names as a quoting list. Make sure your real quotes include several of them, alongside any companies the survey did not cover.
- Quote at matched coverage. Every real quote at the same limits, uninsured motorist decision and deductibles.
- Compare the real quotes, not the survey. The survey's job ends once you have actual offers.
Three ways people misread it
- Treating a survey figure as a price. It is a sample premium for a hypothetical driver, with no discounts or surcharges. Your quote can land well above or below it.
- Choosing the flattering scenario. Picking a profile with fewer miles or a cleaner record than yours produces a shortlist built for someone else.
- Reading absence as a verdict. A company missing from the survey, or sitting in the middle of it, may still be the best fit once your own details are rated.
What it is good for, and what it is not
It is good at showing that companies price the same profile very differently, which is the best argument there is for comparing at all. It is a reasonable way to spot a company you would not otherwise have thought to ask. It is not a forecast of your price, and it says nothing about claims service, payment plans or policy wording; for those, see the complaint record and the policy form.
If your situation is far from any hypothetical driver, with a recent ticket, a teenager or an unusual car, the survey's scenarios will fit poorly and real quotes matter even more. Send your details through our quote form and you will get actual offers you can set against whatever the survey suggested.
Where this comes from
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Does the state's survey show what I would pay?
No. The Department says the results are not premium quotes and do not include the discounts or surcharges that apply to you. Use it to choose which companies to quote.
Why is a company I was quoted not in the survey?
The surveyed companies cover over 90 percent of their markets, but not every admitted insurer is included. A missing company is not a warning sign.
Is the survey an official recommendation?
No. The tool's own introduction says it is not an official recommendation of any insurer by the Department; it is a comparison of sample premiums.
How often is it updated?
The law requires a rate comparison report every January, and the current auto tool is labelled with the 2026 survey.