Shopping around for affordable car insurance is not most people’s favorite thing to do, and figuring out which companies have the most affordable insurance rates for retired military requires even more rate comparisons. Each insurer uses a slightly different approach to set policy rates, so let’s begin by taking a look at the lowest cost insurance companies in Ohio.
Cheapest Insurance Rates for Vets
| Rank | Company | Cost Per Year |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utica National | $654 |
| 2 | Erie | $681 |
| 3 | Allied | $690 |
| 4 | Frankenmuth | $708 |
| 5 | Travelers | $712 |
| 6 | USAA | $733 |
| 7 | Merchants Insurance Group | $748 |
| 8 | Cincinnati Insurance | $772 |
| 9 | Motorists Mutual | $800 |
| 10 | Grange Mutual | $812 |
| 11 | General Casualty | $813 |
| 12 | Central Mutual | $848 |
| 13 | State Farm | $885 |
| 14 | Hastings Mutual | $893 |
| 15 | Westfield | $918 |
| 16 | Atlantic States | $931 |
| 17 | Western Reserve | $932 |
| 18 | Auto-Owners | $968 |
| 19 | Progressive | $991 |
| 20 | Nationwide | $998 |
| Compare Rates Now Go | ||
Utica National quotes some of the cheapest car insurance rates in Cleveland at around $654 per year. This is $386 less than the average premium paid by Ohio drivers of $1,040. Erie, Allied, Frankenmuth, and Travelers would also be considered some of the most economical Cleveland, OH insurance companies.
As shown in the rates above, if you are currently insured with Allied and switched to Utica National, you could see annual savings of about $36. Policyholders with Frankenmuth could save as much as $54 a year, and Travelers customers might reduce rates by $58 a year.
To find the cheapest coverage for you, click here to get quotes or quote rates from the companies below.
It’s important to note that these prices are averaged for all ages of drivers and types of vehicles and do not take into consideration an exact location for retired military. So the auto insurance company that fits your situation best may not even be in the top 33 companies in the list above. That helps illustrate why you need to quote rates from as many companies as possible using your own driver information and specific vehicle type.
For veterans, one of the big things that are looked at to determine the annual cost of car insurance is where your residence is in Cleveland. Areas with more people or more claims will most likely have higher rates, whereas less populated areas have the luxury of lower rates.
The information below sorts the most expensive places in Ohio for retired military to buy auto insurance in. Cleveland is ranked #1 with an annual premium of $1,272 for coverage, which is around $106 monthly.
| Rank | City | Annual Premium |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cleveland | $1,272 |
| 2 | Youngstown | $1,247 |
| 3 | Toledo | $1,241 |
| 4 | Columbus | $1,211 |
| 5 | Cleveland Heights | $1,202 |
| 6 | Cincinnati | $1,174 |
| 7 | Euclid | $1,164 |
| 8 | Akron | $1,123 |
| 9 | Hamilton | $1,113 |
| 10 | Dayton | $1,108 |
| 11 | Canton | $1,102 |
| 12 | Fairfield | $1,085 |
| 13 | Springfield | $1,061 |
| 14 | Beavercreek | $1,058 |
| 15 | Middletown | $1,055 |
| 16 | Newark | $1,053 |
| 17 | Lakewood | $1,031 |
| 18 | Strongsville | $1,031 |
| 19 | Parma | $1,027 |
| 20 | Kettering | $1,020 |
| 21 | Lorain | $1,015 |
| 22 | Mansfield | $1,002 |
| 23 | Cuyahoga Falls | $997 |
| 24 | Elyria | $995 |
| 25 | Mentor | $978 |
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Information shown are approximated as vehicle location can alter coverage prices significantly.
Get discount Cleveland car insurance
Insurance providers that sell policies for retired military may have discounts that can reduce rates by as much as 35% if you are eligible to receive them. Companies and some of the discounts can be read below.
- State Farm may have discounts that include anti-theft, accident-free, good driver, multiple policy, multiple autos, Drive Safe & Save, and driver’s education.
- GEICO offers discounts including defensive driver, anti-lock brakes, driver training, multi-policy, good student, membership and employees, and federal employee.
- Allstate includes discounts for senior citizen, 55 and retired, early signing, auto/life discount, anti-theft, and anti-lock brakes.
- SAFECO offers discounts for multi-car, safe driver, teen safe driver, teen safety rewards, homeowner, and accident prevention training.
- Farm Bureau may include discounts for youthful driver, multi-policy, safe driver, good student, 55 and retired, and multi-vehicle.
- Progressive may offer discounts for multi-policy, online signing, continuous coverage, homeowner, and online quote discount.
- AAA offers premium reductions for pay-in-full, anti-theft, multi-car, AAA membership discount, and good student.
The illustration below shows the comparison of auto insurance costs with and without discounts. The premium estimates are based on a male driver, no violations or accidents, Ohio state minimum liability limits, full physical damage coverage, and $1,000 deductibles. The first bar for each age group shows insurance cost with no discounts. The second bar shows the rates with accident-free, anti-theft, multiple vehicle, safe-driver, vehicle safety, and homeowner discounts applied. With discounts applied, theaverage yearly reduction on insurance for retired military is 28% or $361.
Finding a highly-rated insurance company can be difficult considering how many companies sell insurance in Ohio. The ranking data in the lists below could help you choose which companies you want to consider when trying find the best insurance for retired military.
These ratings are only made up of the companies with a significant amount of written premium nationwide, so companies that only write business in Ohio or surrounding areas will not be included in these rankings. To compare price quotes from these top insurers and more, click here.
Top 10 Major Car Insurance Companies Overall in Cleveland
- USAA
- 21st Century
- GEICO
- Nationwide
- AAA Insurance
- Liberty Mutual
- Safeco Insurance
- State Farm
- Travelers
- American Family
Top 10 Major Car Insurance Companies in Cleveland Ranked by Claims Service
- Progressive
- Travelers
- Liberty Mutual
- Nationwide
- USAA
- GEICO
- AAA Insurance
- Safeco Insurance
- Esurance
- The General
Full coverage rates compared to liability-only
Finding the cheapest insurance is the goal of the majority of people, and an easy way to pay less for insurance for retired military is to not pay for full coverage. The illustration below visualizes the comparison of car insurance rates with and without physical damage coverage, medical payments, and uninsured/under-insured motorist coverage. The data is based on a clean driving record, no at-fault accidents, $1,000 deductibles, drivers are single, and no discounts are taken into consideration.
If we average the cost for all age groups, physical damage insurance costs an extra $961 per year over and above liability only. That is a large expense which might make you wonder if buying full coverage is a waste of money. There is no specific rule for excluding full coverage on your policy, but there is a general guideline. If the annual cost of coverage is more than about 10% of the replacement cost minus the deductible, then you might want to think about dropping full coverage.
For example, let’s pretend your vehicle’s replacement cost is $7,500 and you have $1,000 policy deductibles. If your vehicle is totaled, the most you would receive is $6,500 after paying the physical damage deductible. If it’s costing you more than $650 a year for your policy with full coverage, then you may want to consider only buying liability coverage.
There are some circumstances where dropping physical damage coverage is not financially feasible. If you haven’t satisfied your loan, you have to maintain full coverage in order to prevent your loan from defaulting. Also, if your savings is not enough to buy a different vehicle if your current one is in an accident, you should not buy liability only.
The benefit of shopping around
Ohio insurance rates are impacted by many things that can increase the cost of coverage. Improving your credit rating, getting divorced, or getting into an accident can trigger price changes resulting in some companies being cheaper than before. In addition, insurers change premium rates as needed in order to maintain liquidity for claims. Higher than normal claims can cause price increases, while lower claim levels can cause more affordable Cleveland car insurance rates.
To illustrate this example, the data below shows which company has the cheapest car insurance in Cleveland, OH for a 35-year-old female driver with a good driving record, no prior claims, and solid credit. Based on her current rating profile, Utica National might quote the best car insurance rates in Cleveland at $817 annually. This is $223 less than the average rate paid by Ohio drivers of $1,040. Erie, Allied, Frankenmuth, and Travelers also make the list of the most affordable Cleveland, OH auto insurance companies.
In the next rate comparison, we’ll give the driver from the first rate comparison an accident claim, a lower credit rating, and a few blemishes on her driving record. Since each insurance company has a proprietary formula for setting prices, comparing rates may now present a different ranking of the cheapest car insurance companies in Cleveland as shown below.
Merchants Insurance Group now has the best insurance rate in Cleveland, OH with Cincinnati Insurance, General Casualty, Motorists Mutual, and Grange Mutual completing the list. This example illustrates why Cleveland drivers need to spend some time comparing rates to get the cheapest insurance rates for retired military.
Auto insurance prices are influenced by many things and can change substantially, so the most economical company when you last compared rates may now be wasting a lot of money.