Really, the only way to get more affordable car insurance rates is to start comparing prices yearly from companies that insure vehicles in Columbus.
- Step 1: Take a few minutes and learn about what coverages are included in your policy and the modifications you can make to lower rates. Many factors that cause rate increases such as traffic citations and poor credit history can be rectified by improving your driving habits or financial responsibility. Later in this article we will cover more ideas to get cheaper coverage and get discounts that may be overlooked.
- Step 2: Compare prices from direct, independent, and exclusive agents. Direct and exclusive agents can only give prices from one company like GEICO or Allstate, while agents who are independent can give you price quotes for a wide range of insurance providers.
- Step 3: Compare the new rates to the premium of your current policy to see if switching to a new carrier will save money. If you can save some money and change companies, make sure there is no lapse between the expiration of your current policy and the new one.
An important bit of advice to remember is that you’ll want to compare the same coverage limits and deductibles on every quote and and to get rate quotes from as many car insurance companies as possible. This ensures a level playing field and the most accurate and complete price analysis.
Shocking but true, most insurance buyers in Ohio kept buying from the same company for more than four years, and approximately 38% of consumers have never taken the time to shop around. Consumers in the U.S. could save almost 46.5% each year just by comparing rates, but they just don’t understand the actual amount they would save if they switch to a new company.
Buying affordable car insurance in Columbus is actually quite simple. If you have a current car insurance policy, you will definitely be able to reduce the price you pay using this strategy. But Ohio consumers do need to understand how companies calculate their prices.
When comparison shopping, quoting more helps you find the best price. Some insurance companies are not set up to provide online Columbus Fiesta insurance quotes, so you need to compare price quotes from them, too.
The companies shown below provide free rate quotes in Ohio. If multiple companies are listed, we suggest you visit as many as you can in order to get a fair rate comparison.
These discounts can lower your auto insurance rates
The cost of insuring your cars can be expensive, but companies offer discounts that could drop your premiums quite a bit. A few discounts will automatically apply when you quote, but occasionally some discounts must be manually applied prior to receiving the credit. If you aren’t receiving every discount you qualify for, you are throwing money away.
- Driver’s Education for Students – Require your teen driver to complete a driver education course as it can save substantially.
- Passenger Safety Discount – Vehicles with factory air bags and/or automatic seat belt systems can receive discounts of up to 25% or more.
- One Accident Forgiven – Not a discount per se, but some companies like State Farm and Progressive will let one accident slide before your rates go up as long as you don’t have any claims for a specific time period.
- Seat Belt Discounts – Forcing all vehicle occupants to buckle their seat belts may be able to save a few bucks off the personal injury premium cost.
- E-sign Discounts – A few companies will give you a small discount for completing your application on the web.
You should keep in mind that most discount credits are not given to all coverage premiums. Most only apply to specific coverage prices like comp or med pay. So even though they make it sound like you can get free auto insurance, company stockholders wouldn’t be very happy.
Larger auto insurance companies and the discounts they provide are included below.
- Travelers offers discounts for multi-car, good student, driver training, save driver, student away at school, and continuous insurance.
- 21st Century has savings for driver training, defensive driver, 55 and older, good student, anti-lock brakes, and theft prevention.
- State Farm may have discounts that include driver’s education, accident-free, Steer Clear safe driver discount, safe vehicle, good student, and Drive Safe & Save.
- GEICO may include discounts for federal employee, defensive driver, daytime running lights, multi-vehicle, anti-theft, air bags, and driver training.
- SAFECO includes discounts for bundle discounts, teen safety rewards, anti-theft, anti-lock brakes, and safe driver.
- AAA offers premium reductions for good driver, education and occupation, multi-policy, multi-car, anti-theft, and AAA membership discount.
When quoting, ask each insurance company to give you their best rates. Some discounts may not be offered in your state. To see auto insurance companies that offer some of these discounts in Ohio, click this link.
What Impacts Ford Fiesta Insurance Costs?
Multiple criteria are used in the calculation when premium rates are determined. Some factors are common sense like your driving record, but some are not as apparent like your vehicle usage or your financial responsibility.
The items below are most of the major factors used by insurance companies to determine rates.
- Improve your credit history – Credit score will be a significant factor in determining what you pay. Therefore, if your credit could use some work, you could save money insuring your Ford Fiesta by improving your credit score. People with high credit ratings tend to be better risks to insure as compared to drivers with lower credit ratings.
- City traffic equals higher rates – Having an address in a small town can save you money when shopping for auto insurance. City drivers regularly have congested traffic and longer commute times. Fewer people means a lower chance of having an accident and lower theft and vandalism rates.
- Safer occupants lowers premiums – Vehicles with high crash test scores tend to have better insurance rates. Highly rated vehicles protect occupants better and fewer serious injuries means less money paid by your insurance company and thus lower rates.
- High coverage deductibles save money – Physical damage coverage, aka comp and collision, is used to repair damage to your vehicle. A few examples of covered claims could be a broken side mirror, collision with an animal, and damage from a fallen tree branch. Physical damage deductibles are the amount of money you are required to spend out-of-pocket before your car insurance pays a claim. The larger the amount the insured is willing to pay, the better rate you will receive.
- Vehicle features that lower car insurance rates – Purchasing a vehicle with advanced anti-theft systems can help bring down rates. Theft deterrent systems such as vehicle immobilizer systems, OnStar, and tracking devices like LoJack can thwart car theft and help bring rates down.
- Extra policy coverages are wasting money – There are quite a few additional coverages that can add up but may not be useful. Coverage for things like coverage for rental cars, high-cost glass coverage, and term life insurance may be wasting your money. These may sound like a good investment when talking to your agent, but if they’re wasting money remove them from your policy.
- Tickets mean higher costs – Drivers with clean records pay lower auto insurance prices than people who have multiple driving citations. Even a single citation can increase the cost of insurance by as much as twenty percent. Drivers unfortunate enough to have dangerous violations like reckless driving or DUI might be required by their state to file a proof of financial responsibility form (SR-22) with their state’s licensing department in order to continue driving.
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Ford Fiesta insurance claim data – Companies include the past claim history for a vehicle to calculate a price that will offset any claims. Models that tend to have a trend towards higher claim severity or frequency will be charged more to insure. The next table illustrates the historical insurance loss data for Ford Fiesta vehicles.
For each type of coverage, the loss probability for all vehicles, regardless of make or model, equals 100. Percentage values below 100 imply a favorable loss record, while values that are 100 or greater show a trend for more claims or an increased chance of larger losses than average.
Car Insurance Loss Data for Ford Fiesta Models Make and Model Collision Property Damage Comp Personal Injury Medical Payment Bodily Injury Ford Fiesta 96 91 73 115 123 113 BETTERAVERAGEWORSEData Source: iihs.org (Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) for 2013-2015 Model Years
Independent versus exclusive insurance agents
Many people would prefer to go talk to an agent and that is OK! One of the great benefits of comparing insurance prices online is the fact that drivers can get cheap rate quotes but also keep your business local.
To make it easy to find an agent, after completing this short form, the quote information is instantly submitted to insurance agents in Columbus that give free quotes for your coverage. You don’t have to contact an agency as quotes are delivered immediately to your email address. You can get cheaper auto insurance rates and work with a local agent. If for some reason you want to get a rate quote from a particular provider, just visit that company’s website and give them your coverage information.
Choosing an insurer should depend on more than just a cheap price quote. Ask your prospective agent these questions:
- Are there any discounts for paying up front?
- How long have they been in business?
- How much experience to they have in personal lines coverages?
- Do clients work directly with the agent or are most inquiries handled by a CSR?
- Is coverage determined by price?
- Can they help ensure a fair claim settlement?
When narrowing the list to find a good insurance agency, it’s important to understand the different types of agents and how they function. Auto insurance agents are considered either exclusive or independent agents depending on their company appointments.
Exclusive Agencies
Exclusive agencies can only provide one company’s prices and some examples include State Farm, Allstate and AAA. Exclusive agents are unable to place coverage with different providers so you need to shop around if the rates are high. Exclusive agencies are trained well in insurance sales and that enables them to sell even at higher rates. Some consumers prefer to use the same exclusive agent mainly due to the prominence of the brand and the convenience of having a single billing for all their coverages.
Listed below are Columbus exclusive agents who can help you get rate quotes.
- Bill Alsnauer – State Farm Insurance Agent
2500 W Dublin Granville Rd – Columbus, OH 43235 – (614) 764-2411 – View Map - Andrea Taylor – State Farm Insurance Agent
5540 N Hamilton Rd – Columbus, OH 43230 – (614) 855-9421 – View Map - Larry Noll – State Farm Insurance Agent
2648 Billingsley Rd – Columbus, OH 43235 – (614) 889-1156 – View Map
Independent Insurance Agents
Agents that elect to be independent are not restricted to one company and that enables them to quote your coverage with many different companies and find the cheapest rate. If prices rise, your agent can just switch to a different company and the insured can keep the same agent. If you need lower rates, we recommend you include at least one independent agent to get the most accurate price comparison. Many independent agencies also insure through small regional insurance companies that may have much lower rates than larger companies.
Below are Columbus independent insurance agencies that are able to give price quote information.
- Geswein Insurance Agency LLC
5214 Bethel Center Mall – Columbus, OH 43220 – (614) 538-2944 – View Map - Guy P Williams Insurance Agency
1335 Dublin Rd #110d – Columbus, OH 43215 – (614) 488-1101 – View Map - W.E. Davis Insurance Agency
29 Frederick St – Columbus, OH 43206 – (614) 443-0533 – View Map
If you receive answers to your satisfaction and an affordable coverage quote, it’s possible that you found a car insurance agent that can provide auto insurance coverage.
Do the work, save more money
Consumers switch companies for a number of reasons such as unfair underwriting practices, poor customer service, delays in responding to claim requests or even lack of trust in their agent. Regardless of your reason for switching companies, switching auto insurance companies is actually quite simple.
When shopping online for auto insurance, never sacrifice coverage to reduce premiums. There have been many situations where consumers will sacrifice physical damage coverage to discover at claim time that the few dollars in savings costed them thousands. Your strategy should be to get the best coverage possible for the lowest price, but do not skimp to save money.
Lower-priced auto insurance in Columbus is possible online in addition to local insurance agencies, so you should be comparing quotes from both to get a complete price analysis. A few companies do not offer the ability to get quotes online and most of the time these regional insurance providers sell through independent insurance agencies.
Additional learning opportunities
- Steps to Take After an Auto Accident (Insurance Information Institute)
- Who Has the Cheapest Auto Insurance Quotes for a Toyota Corolla in Columbus? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Columbus Auto Insurance for Veterans? (FAQ)
- Who Has the Cheapest Car Insurance Rates for Drivers Over Age 70 in Columbus? (FAQ)
- What is Covered by GAP Insurance? (Allstate)
- Rental Car Insurance Tips (Insurance Information Institute)
- Vehicle Insurance in the U.S. (Wikipedia)
- A Tree Fell on Your Car: Now What? (Allstate)