For teen drivers, one of the big things that help determine car insurance rates is where your car is garaged in Columbus. Areas with a lot of weather claims or more people tend to have higher rates, whereas areas with less people or fewer weather incidents benefit from lower prices.
The information below rates the most expensive areas in Ohio for 17 year olds in which to purchase auto insurance. Columbus is ranked #6 with the annual price of $1,199 for car insurance, which is around $100 per month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | $1,241 |
| 2 | Cleveland | $1,235 |
| 3 | Youngstown | $1,235 |
| 4 | Cincinnati | $1,210 |
| 5 | Cleveland Heights | $1,202 |
| 6 | Columbus | $1,199 |
| 7 | Euclid | $1,175 |
| 8 | Dayton | $1,142 |
| 9 | Akron | $1,123 |
| 10 | Hamilton | $1,113 |
| 11 | Springfield | $1,105 |
| 12 | Canton | $1,091 |
| 13 | Fairfield | $1,053 |
| 14 | Newark | $1,053 |
| 15 | Beavercreek | $1,047 |
| 16 | Lakewood | $1,041 |
| 17 | Kettering | $1,040 |
| 18 | Middletown | $1,035 |
| 19 | Mansfield | $1,032 |
| 20 | Parma | $1,027 |
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Rate information is comparative as the specific area where the vehicle is garaged can revise coverage prices substantially.
Figuring out which company quotes the cheapest car insurance rates for 17 year olds calls for a tad more effort than just comparing rates from one or two companies. Each insurer uses a slightly different approach for filing rates in each state, so we’ll take a look at the car insurance companies with the most affordable rates in Ohio.
It’s important to understand that Ohio car insurance rates are calculated based on many things which can substantially decrease or increase the price you have to pay for coverage. Simply having another birthday, getting married, or getting a speeding ticket can trigger changes in premium that can make some companies cheaper than before.
Best Insurance Companies for Teens
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $635 |
| 2 | Allied | $676 |
| 3 | Erie | $681 |
| 4 | Frankenmuth | $687 |
| 5 | USAA | $711 |
| 6 | Travelers | $712 |
| 7 | Cincinnati Insurance | $756 |
| 8 | Merchants Insurance Group | $771 |
| 9 | Motorists Mutual | $792 |
| 10 | Grange Mutual | $804 |
| 11 | General Casualty | $829 |
| 12 | Central Mutual | $848 |
| 13 | State Farm | $867 |
| 14 | Hastings Mutual | $884 |
| 15 | Westfield | $918 |
| 16 | Atlantic States | $931 |
| 17 | Western Reserve | $961 |
| 18 | Progressive | $982 |
| 19 | Auto-Owners | $988 |
| 20 | Farmers | $1,005 |
| Find Your Rate Go | ||
Utica National may offer some of the lowest car insurance rates in Columbus at around $635 annually. Allied, Erie, Frankenmuth, and USAA also rank well as some of the lowest-priced Columbus, OH car insurance companies.
As shown above, if you are a customer of Allied and switched to Utica National, you may realize a yearly savings of in the vicinity of $41. Insureds with Erie could save as much as $46 a year, and Frankenmuth policyholders might lower prices by up to $52 a year.
To see how much you can save, click here to start your custom quote or quote rates from the companies below.
Remember that these estimates are averaged for all drivers and vehicles and are not factoring in a specific zip code for 17 year olds. So the company that can offer you the lowest price may not even be in the top 33 companies in the list above. That point stresses why you need to quote rates from many companies using your own specific driver information and vehicle.
Should you buy full coverage?
Finding cheaper car insurance is the goal of the majority of drivers, and a good way to pay less for insurance for 17 year olds is to only buy liability coverage. The chart below compares auto insurance rates with liability coverage only compared to full coverage. The data assumes no violations or accidents, $500 deductibles, single marital status, and no discounts are applied to the premium.
If we average the cost for ages 20 through 70, comp and collision coverage costs an additional $1,077 per year over having just liability coverage. Many drivers will wonder when is the right time to remove full coverage. There isn’t a written rule of when to eliminate full coverage on your policy, but there is a general convention. If the annual cost of your full coverage insurance is more than 10% of replacement cost minus your deductible, the it may be a good time to stop paying for full coverage.
There are a few cases where dropping physical damage coverage is not a good plan. If you have an outstanding loan on your vehicle, you have to maintain full coverage as part of the loan requirements. Also, if your finances do not allow you to purchase a different vehicle if your current one is damaged, you should not drop full coverage.
Car insurance company ratings
Picking a good quality insurance provider can be a challenge considering how many companies are available to choose from in Columbus. The ranking information shown next may help you choose which companies you want to consider comparing price quotes from.
The ratings below only include large nationwide companies, so companies that may only write in Ohio will not be included in the list. To check prices from many more Ohio auto insurance companies, just click here.
Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Providers Overall in Columbus
- USAA
- 21st Century
- GEICO
- Nationwide
- AAA Insurance
- Liberty Mutual
- Safeco Insurance
- State Farm
- Travelers
- American Family
Top 10 Large Auto Insurance Providers in Columbus Ranked by Claims Service
- Progressive
- Travelers
- Liberty Mutual
- Nationwide
- USAA
- GEICO
- AAA Insurance
- Safeco Insurance
- Esurance
- The General
The chart below shows how choosing a deductible can change insurance costs when researching cheap insurance for 17 year olds. The premiums assume a single female driver, full physical damage coverage, and no discounts are applied.
The data above shows that a 30-year-old driver could reduce rates by $246 a year by increasing from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $372 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Even younger insureds, like the 20-year-old, could shave up to $548 each year by choosing larger deductibles on their policy. If you do make the decision to raise your deductibles, it is necessary to have enough in a savings account to satisfy the extra out-of-pocket expense. This is the primary disadvantage of choosing high deductibles.
Why are you paying too much for Columbus car insurance?
Ohio car insurance rates are impacted by many things which can substantially change the policy price. Improving your credit rating, buying a home, or getting a speeding ticket can trigger rate changes resulting in some rates now being cheaper than before.
Not only may things change on your end, but insurers file new Ohio car insurance rates as often as every quarter to adjust for unexpected claims or profits. Larger than normal claims may cause high rates, while lower claim levels can result in cheaper Columbus car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the graph below shows which company has the cheapest car insurance in Columbus, OH for a 30-year-old male driver with no violations or accidents, and good financial standing. If we compare prices based on his personal profile, Utica National might offer the cheapest car insurance rates in Columbus at $796 each year. This is $244 less than the average policy premium paid by Ohio drivers of $1,040. Allied, Erie, Frankenmuth, and USAA are the remainder of the cheapest Columbus, OH auto insurance companies.
Let’s now give the driver from the first example a chargeable claim, a lower credit rating, and a few traffic violations. Due to the fact that each insurance company has their own process to establish rates, analyzing rate quotes most likely will result in a slightly different list of companies as shown below.
Merchants Insurance Group now has the cheapest insurance rate in Columbus with Cincinnati Insurance, Motorists Mutual, Grange Mutual, and General Casualty now rounding out the top five. This shows why it is important to take the time to shop around when trying to get the best car insurance quotes for 17 year olds. Car insurance prices can be altered by many factors and can change substantially, so the cheapest option the last time you shopped your coverage around may now be quite expensive.