Insights on insurance

How’s this for an amazing statistic – do you know that Ohio residents have among the lowest annual average auto insurance premium in the entire nation? According to a study by insure.com and Quadrant Information Services, only two states (Maine and Vermont) have a lower average premium. Ohio’s average for 2010 is $1,000 per year. The highest states include Louisiana ($2,511), Michigan ($2,098) and Oklahoma ($1,869). Other low-cost states include New Hampshire, Wisconsin and Iowa.

Reasons include the extremely competitive marketplace in Ohio, the ‘home’ state for a number of automobile insurance carriers, including Progressive, Nationwide, Grange, American Financial, Cincinnati, Ohio Casualty and Motorists Mutual, along with reductions in the frequency and severity of accidents with bodily injury. Vehicles manufactured today are considerably safer as well. Also, automobile thefts have declined in recent years. A number of years ago, several states enacted no-fault auto insurance laws that were designed to reduce insurance costs by reducing costly litigation and promoting quicker claim settlements. The State of Ohio resisted this legislation. As a result, we are reaping the benefits of significantly below-average costs for this very important component of our overall financial security.