Cheap Car Insurance in Ohio for 2024

Ohio can be one of the more affordable states to insure a vehicle. Drivers in rural areas pay much less on average though, so it’s important to shop for your specific area.

See our overall recommendations for Best Car Insurance

Who has the cheapest car insurance in Ohio?

• Hastings Mutual
• Geico
• Auto Owners
• American Family
• State Farm

We sampled information from a number of sources and developed a range of what cheap car insurance usually costs in Ohio. We based these samples on a driver with at least a decade of driving experience, a clean driving record, driving America’s most popular, non-exotic vehicles.

The important thing to remember is that insurance rates can vary widely, and prices can change almost daily. This range is only a GUIDE to give you a basic idea about the rates insurance companies charge today in Ohio.

DISCLAIMER: There are numerous other factors that are going to impact the cost of insurance on your car, crossover, or truck. We’ll provide info on some of those variables, but your best bet is to read our deep dive on Cheap Car Insurance for 2024 to get a better idea.

Pros and Cons Of Insuring in Ohio

Who has the best cheap car insurance in Ohio?

• Best Large Insurance Carrier - USAA/State Farm. We’re including two options here, because USAA may only be available to active or former members of the military. State Farm falls not far behind USAA for great rates.

• Cheapest Insurance with Bad Credit - Grange. Grange is more than $200 less expensive than its closest competitor in the bad credit space, GEICO.

• Cheapest Insurance with One Accident - Grange. Again, it’s the regional carrier coming in with the best pricing, landing at $782 per year.

• Cheapest Insurance for Higher Mileage - GEICO. The large national insurance carrier dominates the list of cheapest insurance in the state of Ohio.

How much does car insurance cost in Ohio?

In our larger story on car insurance, we found that a national average for auto insurance was $1,800. In Ohio, you could pay up to 20% less, depending on where you live. Our prior research also revealed that the overall average is about $1,400 for insurance in Ohio.

(*) The “adjusted average” is computed by eliminating the highest and lowest values and averaging the remaining values.

(**) You may need to have or have had an association with the military to qualify for USAA.

(***) Only average values were able to be located for Grange insurance

What causes rates to go up in Ohio?

Ohio has a variety of very low-cost insurance options, but the thing that drives rate increases across the board are accidents, DUIs, speeding tickets, and bad credit. Drivers also tend to pay significantly more for car insurance when they live in and around major metro areas like Cincinnati, Columbus, or Dayton. That said, accidents and bad behavior behind the wheel are more to blame for Ohioans’ rising insurance rates than anything else. Insurance premiums went up just over 20% for drivers with a speeding ticket, around 40% for passing a school bus, 72% for street racing, and as much as 84% for an at-fault accident.

The other big thing to keep in mind is that age plays a big part in vehicle insurance rates in Ohio. A 20-year-old driver with a clean record will pay almost twice as much for full coverage insurance than a similar driver would in their 30s. This isn’t surprising, but rates do appear to be higher for younger drivers in Ohio than in other states.

How do accidents affect rates in Ohio?

According to The Zebra, Ohioans’ rates can go up as much as 84% for an at-fault accident. That’s more than what drivers will pay for illegally passing a school bus.

Here are the best estimates we could find from various sources on how much one accident will raise your policy premium in Ohio:

This information is just an approximation. Many factors can change how much your insurance goes up after you have one accident. For example, if you’ve paid more in your annual insurance cost to be a part of an Accident Forgiveness program, your increase for one accident is 0%, but your overall cost of insurance is higher every year than if you hadn’t. Almost all of the insurers on our list above of cheap insurance providers, and many others, offer this option which was popularized by Allstate.

How do tickets affect rates in Ohio?

Drivers with a ticket on their record fare a bit better than those with accidents, but there’s still a penalty to be paid. Rates increased across the board for tickets, but the percentage is much less dramatic than we saw above.

How can you get car insurance discounts in Ohio?

The best thing you can do to keep your insurance costs down in Ohio is avoid speeding tickets and drive carefully to sidestep at-fault accidents. Living in or near one of the state’s numerous urban areas will also cost you more from a rate perspective. Drivers in metro areas pay as much as $400 more for their car insurance every year than people who live in rural parts of the state. If you don’t need to carry full coverage insurance on your vehicle, you may be able to save hundreds of dollars every year by choosing a minimum coverage option.

We also have an entire story on the tens of thousands of discount programs available, based on memberships, military service, and other associations. Some of the more common meaningful discounts relate to low mileage driving, bundling with your home owner’s policy, and carrying high deductibles. Students take note: Many insurers will offer good students a discount. Parents take note: If your kid is at college more than 100 miles away you may see big savings.

What’s the minimum coverage allowed in Ohio?

Getting stopped without insurance in Ohio is a big deal. If you get caught driving without insurance, you might have your license temporarily revoked, and you may have to pay a $100 fee to have it reinstated. Every driver is required to hold at least $25,000 in injury/death coverage for one person, $50,000 in injury/death coverage for two people, and at least $25,000 for property damage.