Lowest rates auto insurance

The Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) reports that average premiums for auto and home insurance in the state rose in 2015 but not by much.

The average rate changes in 2015 for Ohio’s top 10 homeowners and private passenger auto insurance groups increased by their smallest amounts in years, according to the ODI. Homeowners insurance experienced a 1.5 percent adjustment, the lowest change since 2007. Auto insurance had its slightest rise in four years at 2.3 percent.

The Ohio Insurance Institute (OII) reports that auto and home premiums in the state still remain well below the U.S. average.

The Buckeye State’s average homeowners insurance premium expenditure ranks ninth lowest, based on the Insurance Information Institute’s (III) analysis of 2013 data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) released in February 2016.

Ohio’s average auto insurance premium expenditure is 12th lowest in the country, according to III’s auto insurance expenditures report based on 2013 NAIC data released in January 2016, according to OII.

The insurance department says Ohioans paid an average of $763 for homeowners insurance and $659 for auto insurance compared to the national average, according to the most recent NAIC data. Ohio’s combined average premiums are $515 below the national averages.

The department noted that individual insurance consumers may have experienced rate changes that differ from the average.

The top 10 insurance groups represent approximately 75 percent of the market in Ohio.

The OII projects that the most recent premium increases amount to about $12 on homeowners insurance and $16 on auto insurance premiums in 2015 from 2014. U.S. average premium adjustments are estimated at $37 for homeowners insurance and $29 for auto insurance for the same period.