Auto Insurance Rates Decline

Drivers in California are poised to gain rate reductions from two major insurers, Safeco Corp. and 21st Century Insurance Co.

Safeco, the state's eighth-largest homeowners insurance carrier, plans to chop by 20 percent its rates to insure houses, state insurance officials revealed Wednesday. The average yearly reduction for Safeco's 189,000 homeowners insurance customers in California would be $190, according to the Department of Insurance.

21st Century, the fifth-largest auto insurer in California, with 740,000 auto policyholders, plans to reduce auto insurance rates by 5 percent statewide -- and by 12 percent in Los Angeles. A statewide average savings was not immediately available for 21st Century, although Los Angeles drivers would save an average of $219 a year.