Every state in the United States of America has written its own set of rules and regulations. Every state wants its citizens to feel safe. There are rules specifically written to ensure protection of drivers and motorists on the highway. Auto insurance is one such safety measure. Many states have made it mandatory. Ohio is one such state that has made auto insurance mandatory.
Auto insurance policies are mandatory in the state. There is a minimum liability that each of such insurance policies must have. The minimum rate is decided according to the financial responsibility laws. These laws state that every driver must have proof to show he has enough finances to ensure payment for any damage he might cause with his vehicle in an accident. The minimum liability is twelve thousand five hundred dollars for bodily injury per person and twenty five thousand dollars for bodily injury in total. There is also a minimum of seven thousand five hundred dollars for property damage. Property damage covers any damage to cars, houses or building, fences and lamp posts etc.
There are many factors affecting insurance rates.
Age is one such factor. Statistics have shown that drivers below the age of twenty five are rash. Therefore, they are high risk and will be charged more premiums. Married people are supposed to be safer than unmarried people. Hence unmarried people will have higher rates of interests too. Drivers over the age of fifty years will have lower premiums because they are considered to be very safe drivers. Gender plays a factor too. Women are considered to be much safer drivers than men and their interest rates will be much lower.
The place you stay will matter a lot. If you stay in a place with a lot of traffic in the centre of a busy city, chances of you being in an accident will be very high. However, if you stay in a rural and sparsely populated area, you will be a much lower risk and will be charged very low premium. If you stay in an area with a high crime rate, your interest rates are bound to go up. Theft is a constant possibility in such areas and therefore your premiums will also be high. Keeping a clean past record helps a lot. Insurance companies monitor your driving record for the past five years. If you have a spot less driving record, it means you are a safe driver.
However, a bad record would mean you are high risk. Your premiums will naturally be affected by this. A clean record will get you great rates while a bad one will get you high interest rates. It would be better to drive a cheap car. An expensive imported car will have very high premiums. A cheap car manufactured locally will not cost as much as far as insurance is concerned. A fast, imported sports car has a higher chance of being stolen than a normal car. Hence it is costlier to invest such cars as well. Your credit score affects your rates too. God scores get you cheaper insurance.
