It’s a known fact that auto insurance companies want to keep you from shopping around. People who shop around once a year are likely to switch companies because they stand a good chance of finding coverage at a more affordable price. Remarkably, a study showed that people who compared prices once a year saved an average of $860 a year compared to policyholders who don’t make a habit of comparing rates.
If finding low prices for Honda CR-Z insurance in Columbus is your intention, then learning a little about the best way to compare insurance rates can help make the process easier.
To save the most money, the best way to get low-cost car insurance rates is to regularly compare prices from insurers who provide auto insurance in Columbus. You can compare prices by completing these steps.
- Read and learn about how insurance works and the measures you can control to drop your rates. Many risk factors that cause rate increases such as traffic tickets, fender benders, and an unacceptable credit rating can be rectified by paying attention to minor details.
- Get rate quotes from independent agents, exclusive agents, and direct companies. Exclusive and direct companies can only give rate quotes from one company like Progressive or Farmers Insurance, while independent agencies can give you price quotes for many different companies. Begin your rate comparison
- Compare the new quotes to the premium of your current policy to see if a cheaper price is available. If you find a better price and switch companies, make sure there is no coverage gap between policies.
An important note is that you use the same amount of coverage on every quote and and to analyze as many auto insurance providers as possible. Doing this enables an apples-to-apples comparison and the most accurate and complete price analysis.
This article’s goal is to teach you how to effectively get price quotes and some tricks to saving. If you have a policy now, you should be able to get lower rates using the tips covered below. Drivers just need to understand the most time-saving way to compare insurance rates using one simple form.
The best way we recommend to compare insurance rates from multiple companies is to know most insurance companies pay for the opportunity to give free rates quotes. To begin a comparison, all you need to do is provide a little information such as how your vehicles are used, whether you have decent credit, if the vehicle is leased, and your education level. The data gets transmitted to many highly-rated insurers and they return quotes instantly to find the best rate.
To get price quotes for your Honda CR-Z now, click here then complete the form.
The car insurance companies shown below provide price comparisons in Columbus, OH. If multiple companies are shown, it’s highly recommended you click on several of them to get a more complete price comparison.
You may qualify for discounts for Honda CR-Z insurance in Columbus
Some providers do not advertise all their discounts very clearly, so the following list contains some of the best known and the harder-to-find credits that may apply to you.
- Braking Control Discount – Cars equipped with ABS or steering control are safer to drive and qualify for as much as a 10% discount.
- Low Mileage Discounts – Low annual miles can qualify you for lower premium rates due to less chance of an accident.
- Anti-theft Discount – Cars with anti-theft systems can help prevent theft so companies will give you a small discount.
- Driver’s Ed – Make teen driver coverage more affordable by requiring them to enroll in driver’s education as it can save substantially.
- Own a Home – Being a homeowner may trigger a policy discount on car insurance because of the fact that having a home shows financial diligence.
- Discounts for Federal Employees – Federal government employees may reduce rates when you quote Columbus auto insurance depending on your company.
You can save money using discounts, but some of the credits will not apply to the entire policy premium. Most only cut the cost of specific coverages such as liability, collision or medical payments. Despite the fact that it seems like all those discounts means the company will pay you, car insurance companies aren’t that generous.
Large car insurance companies and some of the discounts are:
- 21st Century includes discounts for 55 and older, early bird, teen driver, defensive driver, and anti-lock brakes.
- State Farm offers premium reductions for anti-theft, Steer Clear safe driver discount, driver’s education, passive restraint, and good driver.
- AAA may offer discounts for multi-policy, anti-theft, good student, good driver, pay-in-full, AAA membership discount, and education and occupation.
- Liberty Mutual offers discounts including safety features, good student, new graduate, new vehicle discount, and newly married.
- Progressive has savings for continuous coverage, multi-policy, multi-vehicle, online quote discount, good student, and homeowner.
Before buying, ask every prospective company how you can save money. Some discounts listed above may not apply to policyholders everywhere. To see a list of insurers that provide some of the discounts listed above in Ohio, click here to view.
Auto insurance is available from agents near you
Some consumers would prefer to have an agent’s advice and that is recommended in a lot of cases Good agents can help you build your policy and help submit paperwork. The biggest benefit of comparing rate quotes online is the fact that drivers can get cheap auto insurance rates but still work with a licensed agent. And providing support for local agencies is important especially in Columbus.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this short form, your insurance coverage information is transmitted to insurance agents in Columbus that give free quotes for your coverage. You won’t need to search for any insurance agencies since price quotes are sent to you directly. If you want to get a rate quote from a particular provider, don’t hesitate to search and find their rate quote page and submit a quote form there.
If you are searching for a reputable agency, you need to know there are two different agency structures that differ in how they can insure your vehicles. Auto insurance agents in Columbus may be either independent agents or exclusive agents. Both can write auto insurance policies, but it’s important to point out the difference in how they write coverage since it can affect buying decisions.
Independent Insurance Agents
Independent agencies are not locked into one company and that gives them the ability to insure through many different auto insurance companies and potentially find a lower price. If premiums increase, your agent can just switch to a different company and you can keep the same agent.
When comparing rates, we recommend you get several quotes from a couple of independent agencies for maximum quote selection. Most also have access to lesser-known insurance companies which can save you money.
The following is a list of independent agents in Columbus who may provide cheap rate quotes.
- Augustine Insurance Agency
3851 N High St – Columbus, OH 43214 – (614) 267-1973 – View Map - Central Ohio Insurance Services, Inc
1205 Hill Rd N – Pickerington, OH 43147 – (614) 861-3100 – View Map - Cornerstone Insurance Services
1505 Stonecreek Drive S, Suite 103 – Pickerington, OH 43147 – (614) 524-4248 – View Map
Exclusive Auto Insurance Agencies
Exclusive agencies normally can only provide a single company’s rates and some examples include AAA, State Farm, Farmers Insurance, and Allstate. Exclusive agents cannot compare other company’s rates so always compare other rates. They are usually well trained on their company’s products which helps offset the inability to provide other markets. A lot of people buy from the same agent for years partially due to the brand legacy rather than low rates.
The following is a list of exclusive insurance agencies in Columbus that are able to give comparison quotes.
- Wendy Sams – State Farm Insurance Agent
9039 Antares Ave, Ste D-1A – Columbus, OH 43240 – (614) 985-6123 – View Map - Gianna R Cone – State Farm Insurance Agent
1495 Morse Rd #100 – Columbus, OH 43229 – (614) 267-7865 – View Map - Ray Cook – State Farm Insurance Agent
7846 Olentangy River Rd – Columbus, OH 43235 – (614) 846-2886 – View Map
Finding the right car insurance agent is decision based upon more than just the price. Any agent in Columbus should be forthright in answering these questions:
- Can you contact them at any time?
- Does their agency support local causes in Columbus?
- How experienced are they in personal risk management?
- Do they have 24-hour customer assistance?
- Do they have advanced training designations such as CPCU, AAI, AIC, or CIC?
- Do you have coverage for a rental car if your vehicle is in the repair shop?
After getting reasonable responses to any questions you have as well as an affordable premium quote, you’ve probably found an insurance agency that meets your needs to properly service your auto insurance policy.
Insurance can be complex
When buying the right insurance coverage for your personal vehicles, there really is no cookie cutter policy. Everyone’s needs are different so your insurance should reflect that
For instance, these questions may help highlight if your insurance needs would benefit from professional advice.
- Will I be non-renewed for getting a DUI or other conviction?
- Do I need rental car coverage?
- What can I do if my company denied a claim?
- Is a blown tire covered by insurance?
- Does low annual mileage earn a discount?
- What is the premium to book value ratio for dropping full coverage?
- Why are teen drivers so expensive to add on to my policy?
- What is PIP insurance?
- Does my policy cover my teen driver if they drive my company car?
- Does coverage follow the driver or the vehicle?
If you’re not sure about those questions but a few of them apply, you may need to chat with a licensed insurance agent. If you don’t have a local agent, simply complete this short form or you can go here for a list of companies in your area. It’s fast, doesn’t cost anything and you can get the answers you need.
The Honda CR-Z Insurance Premium Equation
One of the most helpful ways to save on auto insurance is to to have a grasp of the factors that are used to determine your premiums. If you have some idea of what positively or negatively impacts your premiums, this allows you to make educated decisions that may result in lower rates. Multiple criteria are used when you get a price on insurance. Some factors are common sense like a motor vehicle report, but others are less apparent like where you live or your commute time.
The following are some of the items used by companies to determine premiums.
- Teenagers are high risk – Young drivers in Ohio are proven to be inattentive and easily distracted with other occupants in the car and because of this, their auto insurance rates are much higher. Adding a young driver to your policy can be very expensive. Older, more experienced drivers are shown to be more cautious, tend to file fewer claims, and receive fewer citations.
- Low credit rating equals high costs – Having a bad credit rating can be a huge factor in determining what you pay. If your credit history could use some work, you may save money insuring your Honda CR-Z if you improve your credit rating. People with very high credit ratings tend to file fewer claims and have better driving records as compared to drivers with bad credit.
- Higher premiums for specific jobs – Did you know that where you work can have an impact on rates? Jobs such as doctors, social workers, and stock brokers have higher average rates in part from intense work-related stress and extremely grueling work hours. On the flip side, professions such as scientists, athletes and homemakers generally pay rates lower than average.
- Women tend to cost less – Over the last 30 years, statistics show females are less aggressive when driving. However, this does not mean women are better drivers. Males and females are in fender benders in similar percentages, but males tend to have higher claims. They also receive more major tickets such as driving while intoxicated (DWI) or driving recklessly.
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Insurance loss probability for a Honda CR-Z – Insurance companies factor in insurance loss information to calculate a price that will offset losses. Models that tend to have higher number or severity of losses will be charged more to insure.
The table below demonstrates the historical insurance loss data for Honda CR-Z vehicles. For each coverage category, the loss probability for all vehicles averaged together is equal to 100. Numbers under 100 suggest a better than average loss history, while numbers above 100 indicate frequent claims or statistically larger claims.
Auto Insurance Loss Data for Honda CR-Z Models Make and Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Honda CR-Z Hybrid 106 87 83 98 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEEmpty fields indicate not enough data collected
Data Source: iihs.org (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) for 2013-2015 Model Years
Why you need Honda CR-Z insurance in Ohio
Despite the high insurance cost for a Honda CR-Z in Columbus, insurance is most likely required but also gives you several important benefits.
- Just about all states have compulsory liability insurance requirements which means the state requires specific limits of liability protection in order to be legal. In Ohio these limits are 25/50/25 which means you must have $25,000 of bodily injury coverage per person, $50,000 of bodily injury coverage per accident, and $25,000 of property damage coverage.
- If you have a loan on your vehicle, more than likely the lender will have a requirement that you have physical damage coverage to ensure they get paid if you total the vehicle. If you default on your policy, the bank will be required to insure your Honda at a much higher premium rate and require you to reimburse them for the much more expensive policy.
- Insurance protects not only your Honda CR-Z but also your assets. It will also cover medical bills incurred in an accident. Liability coverage, the one required by state law, also covers all legal expenses up to the policy limit if you are sued as the result of your driving. If you receive damage to your vehicle caused by a storm or accident, collision and comprehensive coverages will pay to repair the damage minus the deductible amount.
The benefits of buying insurance outweigh the cost, particularly for liability claims. As of last year, the average driver in Ohio is wasting up to $865 each year so shop around each time the policy renews to ensure rates are competitive.
Cheaper car insurance rates are out there
You just learned a lot of information how to reduce Honda CR-Z insurance auto insurance rates online in Columbus. The most important thing to understand is the more you quote Columbus auto insurance, the better likelihood of getting low cost Columbus auto insurance quotes. You may even discover the best price on car insurance is with some of the smallest insurance companies. Some small companies may have significantly lower premium rates on certain market segments compared to the large companies like State Farm, GEICO and Nationwide.
Cost effective Honda CR-Z insurance is available from both online companies and with local Columbus insurance agents, and you need to price shop both to get a complete price analysis. Some insurance companies may not offer the ability to get quotes online and usually these small insurance companies prefer to sell through local independent agents.
When you buy Columbus auto insurance online, it’s very important that you do not sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There are many occasions where someone sacrificed physical damage coverage and learned later that the small savings ended up costing them much more. Your aim should be to buy a smart amount of coverage at the lowest possible cost.
Other articles
- Hybrid vehicles cost insurers more (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- What Auto Insurance is Cheapest for Homeowners in Columbus? (FAQ)
- Your Car has been Stolen: Now What? (Allstate)
- Safe Vehicles for Teens (iihs.org)
- Teen Driver Statistics (Insurance Information Institute)