When pricing car insurance in Cleveland, OH, selecting the best Cleveland auto insurance agent for your needs is not as easy as just randomly choosing from the yellow pages. Consumers need an excellent agent, and also want to find cheaper car insurance prices.
Insurance companies such as State Farm, Progressive and Geico promote their brand names with catchy ads and it is challenging if not impossible to not get sucked in by the cute commercials and take the time to shop coverage around.
Which insurance is the “right” coverage?
When it comes to buying coverage for your personal vehicles, there is no “best” method to buy coverage. Every situation is different.
For example, these questions may help highlight whether you would benefit from an agent’s advice.
- Can I afford low physical damage deductibles?
- Should I buy additional glass protection?
- Are my tools covered if they get stolen from my vehicle?
- Is rental equipment covered for theft or damage?
- Do I need PIP coverage since I have good health insurance?
- Do I have coverage when using my vehicle for my home business?
- What is the difference between comprehensive and collision coverage?
- What discounts do I qualify for?
- Does my insurance cover a custom paint job?
If you’re not sure about those questions then you might want to talk to an insurance agent.
Working with a local agent
Educated insurance agents can answer important questions and give you someone to call. One of the great benefits of price shopping on the web is you may find the best rates but also keep your business local.
To find an agent, once you fill out this simple form, your information is instantly submitted to insurance agents in Cleveland who will return price quotes for your business. You won’t need to drive around since price quotes are sent to your email. Now that’s easy! Get lower rates and an insurance agent to talk to.
Deciding on an auto insurance agent needs to be determined by more than just the premium amount. Agents should be asked these questions:
- How much can you save by raising your physical damage deductibles?
- Do they have adequate Errors and Ommissions coverage? This protects you if they make a mistake.
- Are they properly licensed to sell insurance in Ohio?
- Are claims handled at the agent’s location?
- If your car is totalled, how to they determine the replacement cost?
- Does the company allow you to choose your own collision repair facility?
- Do the coverages you’re quoting properly cover your vehicle?
Two types of insurance agents
When looking for local Cleveland agents, there are a couple of different types of agents that you can select. Cleveland agents can either be independent or captive.
Captive Insurance Agents
These agents have only one company to place business with and examples are AAA, Allstate and State Farm. They generally cannot compare other company’s rates so they have to upsell other benefits. Captive agents are usually quite knowledgeable in insurance sales which can be an advantage. Consumers often purchase coverage from captives mostly because of the prominence of the brand and the convenience of having all coverages with one company.
Shown below is a list of captive agencies in Cleveland who can help you get price quote information.
- Allstate Insurance Co – 9545 Columbia Rd – Cleveland, OH 44138 – (440) 235-8500
- American Family Insurance – 194 E Wallings Rd – Cleveland, OH 44147 – (440) 526-6018
- Farmers Insurance Group – 9696 Columbia Rd – Cleveland, OH 44138 – (440) 843-7799
- State Farm Insurance – 32915 Aurora Rd # 130 – Cleveland, OH 44139 – (440) 248-2891
- Liberty Mutual Insurance – 14425 Pearl Rd – Cleveland, OH 44136 – (440) 572-2922
Independent Agencies or Brokers
Independent agencies are not employed by any specific company so they can insure your vehicles with multiple insurance companies and potentially find a lower price. To transfer your coverage to a different company, the business is moved internally and you won’t have to switch agencies.
When comparison shopping, it’s a good idea to include price quotes from at a minimum one independent agency to ensure the widest selection of prices. They often place coverage with smaller companies which can save you money.
The following is a short list of independent agencies in Cleveland that can give you price quote information.
- Insurance Agency Compass – 4879 Turney Rd – Cleveland, OH 44125 – (216) 429-9351
- Thomas R Rusnov Insurance – 20545 Center Ridge Rd # 408 – Cleveland, OH 44116 – (440) 356-6116
- Agency One Insurance Group – 4401 Rockside Rd # 200 – Cleveland, OH 44131 – (216) 447-9100
- Jack Stanton Agency – 21360 Center Ridge Rd – Cleveland, OH 44116 – (440) 333-4750
- Tim Noe Insurance – 12221 Madison Ave – Cleveland, OH 44107 – (216) 221-5694
For a complete listing of car insurance agents in Cleveland, please click here.
After receiving positive feedback to these questions in addition to an acceptable price estimate, you have narrowed it down to an auto insurance agent that is a good match to properly insure your vehicles.
What if I want to compare online rates?
Auto insurance agents are perfect for certain consumers, but Ohio drivers can also buy direct over the internet. Some specific companies like State Farm and Allstate who have local agents in Cleveland also allow you to get quotes and purchase online, and that is helpful if you prefer not to work with an agent.
If you’re uneasy about not getting proper coverage when buying car insurance direct, that should not be a issue. Insurance companies have customer service departments to help you decide which coverages are appropriate. Most companies also provide anytime access to help and a customer research section to help you make a buying decision.
Will buying online save you money? The answer is complex due to the large number of individual components that impact your rate calculation. It’s logical to say that buying car insurance online cuts out the agent as a middleman. For most companies selling online, however, marketing their products costs a lot of money and that impacts the rates consumers pay.
More tips and info about car insurance is located at the Ohio Department of Insurance website. Consumers can find out industry alerts, find out which companies have the most complaints, file complaints about a company, and learn about insurance regulations.
Other informative sites include this page for car insurance prices in Ohio and see this list of insurance agents in Cleveland.
Better coverage you can count on
Low-cost car insurance can be bought from both online companies as well as from independent agents in Cleveland, and you should compare price quotes from both in order to have the best price selection to choose from. Some companies don’t offer you the ability to get quotes online and many times these smaller companies only sell through independent insurance agents.
As you restructure your insurance plan, it’s very important that you do not skimp on coverage in order to save money. In too many instances, someone dropped liability coverage limits and learned later they didn’t have enough coverage. Your aim should be to purchase a proper amount of coverage at an affordable rate while not skimping on critical coverages.
