Deciphering which companies have the cheapest auto insurance rates for college students calls for more time in order to find a policy that fits your budget. Each company has their own process for establishing rates, so to begin we’ll rank the most affordable auto insurance companies in Cincinnati.
Best Cheap Insurance Rates for College Students
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $628 |
| 2 | Erie | $667 |
| 3 | Allied | $697 |
| 4 | Frankenmuth | $701 |
| 5 | USAA | $733 |
| 6 | Travelers | $733 |
| 7 | Merchants Insurance Group | $748 |
| 8 | Cincinnati Insurance | $756 |
| 9 | Grange Mutual | $804 |
| 10 | Motorists Mutual | $816 |
| 11 | General Casualty | $837 |
| 12 | Hastings Mutual | $858 |
| 13 | Central Mutual | $866 |
| 14 | State Farm | $894 |
| 15 | Westfield | $908 |
| 16 | Atlantic States | $913 |
| 17 | Auto-Owners | $958 |
| 18 | Western Reserve | $970 |
| 19 | Progressive | $982 |
| 20 | American Family | $1,010 |
| Quote Your Rates Go | ||
Utica National generally has some of the best car insurance rates in Cincinnati at around $628 each year. Erie, Allied, Frankenmuth, and USAA would also make the list of some of the lowest-priced Cincinnati, OH insurance companies.
As depicted above, if you are insured with Allied and switched to Utica National, you could realize a yearly price reduction of in the vicinity of $69. Customers with Frankenmuth may save as much as $73 a year, and USAA policyholders might realize rate reductions of up to $105 a year.
To see if you’re overpaying, click here to get a free quote or click through to the companies below.
Understand that those premiums are averaged for all types of insureds and vehicles and and are not calculated with a specific vehicle garaging location for college students. So the company that can offer you the best rate may not even be in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to get quotes using your own individual information.
For students in college, one of the big things that are looked at to determine the amount you pay for auto insurance is where your residence is. Areas with more people or more claims tend to have higher auto insurance costs, whereas areas with lower crime rates and fewer weather claims profit from lower rates.
The following table ranks the highest-priced places in Ohio for college students to buy an auto insurance policy in. Cincinnati ranks #5 with an annual premium of $1,222 for the average insured, which is approximately $102 per month.
| Rank | City | Average Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toledo | $1,267 |
| 2 | Columbus | $1,247 |
| 3 | Youngstown | $1,235 |
| 4 | Cleveland | $1,222 |
| 5 | Cincinnati | $1,222 |
| 6 | Cleveland Heights | $1,202 |
| 7 | Akron | $1,157 |
| 8 | Dayton | $1,154 |
| 9 | Euclid | $1,140 |
| 10 | Hamilton | $1,135 |
| 11 | Springfield | $1,105 |
| 12 | Canton | $1,091 |
| 13 | Middletown | $1,066 |
| 14 | Fairfield | $1,063 |
| 15 | Newark | $1,053 |
| 16 | Kettering | $1,051 |
| 17 | Beavercreek | $1,047 |
| 18 | Lakewood | $1,041 |
| 19 | Cuyahoga Falls | $1,027 |
| 20 | Mansfield | $1,022 |
| 21 | Lorain | $1,015 |
| 22 | Strongsville | $1,011 |
| 23 | Parma | $997 |
| 24 | Elyria | $995 |
| 25 | Mentor | $978 |
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Rate quotes are approximated as the specific zip code location can influence prices greatly.
The car, truck, or SUV driven is probably the largest consideration when comparison shopping for the most economical insurance for college students. Vehicles with lower acceleration and performance, an excellent safety record, or a track record of few liability claims will cost quite a bit less to insure than high performance models.
The next table estimates auto insurance prices for some of the most cost-effective automobiles to buy insurance for.
| Vehicle Make and Model | Estimated Cost for Full Coverage |
|---|---|
| Honda Accord LX 4-Dr Sedan | $2,613 |
| Honda CR-V EX-L 4WD | $2,653 |
| Ford Escape Limited 4WD | $2,821 |
| Toyota Prius | $2,860 |
| Ford F-150 XLT Regular Cab 4WD | $2,932 |
| Toyota Tacoma 2WD | $3,061 |
| Chevrolet Impala LT | $3,100 |
| Dodge Grand Caravan Hero | $3,109 |
| Toyota RAV4 2WD | $3,100 |
| Chevrolet Malibu Hybrid | $3,106 |
| Chevrolet Equinox LT AWD | $3,100 |
| Ford Explorer Limited 4WD | $3,140 |
| Ford Focus SES 4-Dr Sedan | $3,229 |
| Hyundai Elantra SE 4-Dr Sedan | $3,269 |
| Ford Edge Sport 2WD | $3,279 |
| Compare Cheap Rates Go | |
Prices above based on single female driver age 20, no speeding tickets, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, and Ohio minimum liability limits. Discounts applied include claim-free, and safe-driver. Information does not factor in specific location information which can change price quotes noticeably.
Looking at the data, you can figure that cars like the Honda Accord, Honda CR-V, Ford Escape, and Toyota Prius will be some of the most economical vehicles to insure for students in college. The price of auto insurance will tend to be more expensive anyway just due to the fact that there is more risk for college students, but in general those particular vehicles will probably have the best insurance prices compared to other vehicles.
The illustration below highlights how deductible choice can increase or decrease insurance costs when quoting cheap insurance for college students. The costs are based on a single female driver, comp and collision included, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
In the chart above, a 30-year-old driver could reduce rates by $206 a year by switching from a $100 deductible up to a $500 deductible, or save $312 by choosing a $1,000 deductible. Young drivers, such as the 20-year-old example, could potentially save up to $456 each year by selecting a higher deductible. When choosing a higher deductible, it is essential to have enough in a savings account to enable you to pay the extra out-of-pocket expense, which is the one shortcoming of high deductibles.
Get discounts on Cincinnati auto insurance rates
Insurers that sell policies for college students may also offer policy discounts that can reduce rates by 40% or more if you meet specific eligibility requirements. A few of the larger companies and some of the discounts are included below.
- GEICO has savings for military active duty, good student, anti-theft, membership and employees, federal employee, and driver training.
- Travelers offers premium reductions for student away at school, save driver, continuous insurance, multi-policy, home ownership, and hybrid/electric vehicle.
- Farm Bureau policyholders can earn discounts including renewal discount, multi-vehicle, 55 and retired, safe driver, driver training, multi-policy, and good student.
- Liberty Mutual offers discounts including exclusive group savings, new vehicle discount, newly married, new move discount, and new graduate.
- American Family may include discounts for early bird, mySafetyValet, Steer into Savings, good driver, multi-vehicle, accident-free, and defensive driver.
- Progressive includes discounts for multi-vehicle, online signing, online quote discount, continuous coverage, and homeowner.
The diagram below shows the comparison of insurance premiums with and without discounts applied to the premium. The premium estimates are based on a female driver, no driving violations, no at-fault accidents, Ohio state minimum liability limits, full coverage, and $250 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows premium with no discounts. The second shows the rates with paid-in-full, continuous coverage, anti-theft, passive restraint, good student, and vehicle safety discounts applied. When drivers take advantage of discounts, theaverage amount saved on auto insurance for college students is 21% or $238.
Full coverage versus liability only rates
Saving on auto insurance should be important to the majority of people, and one common way to reduce the cost of insurance for college students is to not pay for full coverage. The chart below shows the comparison of insurance costs with full physical damage coverage compared to only buying the minimum liability limits required in Ohio. The premium estimates are based on no tickets, no at-fault accidents, $250 deductibles, marital status is single, and no other discounts are factored in.
If all age groups are averaged, comprehensive and collision coverage on your policy costs an additional $1,601 per year more than insuring for liability only. That raises the question if paying for full coverage is worth it. There is no definitive guideline that is best for determining when to drop comp and collision coverage, but there is a broad guideline. If the yearly cost for physical damage coverage is 10% or more of replacement cost minus your deductible, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s assume your vehicle’s settlement value is $5,500 and you have $1,000 physical damage deductibles. If your vehicle is damaged in an accident, the most you would get paid by your company is $4,500 after paying your deductible. If you are paying over $450 annually to have full coverage, then you might want to consider buying only liability coverage.