Best Car Insurance in Ohio

No, you cannot insure a car with a salvage title in Ohio. Salvage vehicles are cars that have been declared a total loss, meaning they're too damaged to be worth repairing and cannot be driven legally. As a result, no legitimate car insurance company writes policies for them.

Although insurance companies in Ohio won't insure a car with a current salvage title, you can get coverage if you have the vehicle repaired and inspected by a state-certified mechanic. If it's declared safe to drive, the DMV will issue the car a rebuilt title. Several insurance companies, including Allstate and Geico, sell policies to vehicles with a rebuilt title.

Keep in mind that some insurers will only sell liability insurance for rebuilt cars, meaning that they won't pay for any physical damage to the vehicle. Even if you are able to get collision and comprehensive insurance, your policy may not cover the full value of the car if it's totaled again.

No, you do not need uninsured motorist property damage insurance in Ohio – it is optional. Drivers can choose to purchase at least $25,000 in uninsured motorist property damage (UMPD) coverage per accident, or they can go without the coverage.

Even though it's not required, UMPD is a good investment for drivers who want to avoid paying out of pocket to fix their car after an accident caused by an uninsured motorist. But UMPD is similar to collision insurance, which pays to fix your car after any accident you're in. So, if you already have collision coverage, you do not need UMPD.

To learn more, check out WalletHub's guide to uninsured motorist insurance.

Gap insurance in Ohio works the same way as gap insurance in the rest of the U.S., by paying the balance remaining on a car loan or lease contract after a liability, comprehensive, or collision policy pays out the actual cash value of a totaled vehicle. The state of Ohio doesn't require any driver to carry gap insurance. However, certain lenders in Ohio may require customers to carry gap insurance – short for guaranteed asset (or auto) protection insurance – if they get a car loan or lease.

Dozens of companies, including banks and dealerships, offer gap insurance in Ohio. While you should take your time deciding which one is right for you, you can also have confidence in the fact that gap insurance works the same way in Ohio as in the rest of the country.

Best Gap Insurance Companies in Ohio

• Esurance
• Nationwide
• Shelter Insurance
• The Hartford
• Progressive

It's worth noting that gap coverage is usually cheaper to purchase from an insurance company than a dealership. For more information, check out WalletHub's complete guide to gap insurance.

You can get car insurance discounts in Ohio based on how you drive, the car you own, and your relationship with your insurance company. In Ohio, car insurance companies are allowed to consider factors like employment, residential, and marital status when setting premiums. That means there are also discounts available for being married, owning a home, or being affiliated with certain employers or educational institutions.

Almost anyone can get a discount on car insurance in Ohio because most insurance companies make it easy to qualify for a variety of savings. Ohio insurers typically offer discounts that fall into one of three categories—policy discounts, driver discounts, and vehicle discounts.

Policy discounts typically reward customer behavior that is desirable to the insurance company. For example, most Ohio drivers can save by registering for paperless billing or getting both home and auto policies from the same company. Driver discounts are available to Ohio residents who are lower-risk to insure, like those with clean driving records. And vehicle discounts help drivers save if their car has certain safety features or anti-theft systems.

Car Insurance Discounts in Ohio

Remember, discounts vary among different insurance companies, so it's always best to contact the provider directly to determine which discounts you qualify for.

No, personal injury protection (PIP) is not required in Ohio. PIP is not even available in Ohio. Instead of PIP insurance, Ohio insurance companies offer medical payments insurance (sometimes called MedPay), which helps with hospital bills resulting from a car accident.

MedPay is similar to PIP insurance in that both handle your medical bills even if you cause a car accident. But MedPay covers less than personal injury protection, with no provisions for lost wages or assistance with home tasks that you can't manage due to injury.

Personal injury protection is a type of car insurance used in no-fault states, since it covers medical payments regardless of who caused an accident. Ohio is an at-fault state, which means at least one driver is found to be “at fault” after a collision. Due in part to the differences in car insurance laws, the average cost of insurance in Ohio – $824 – is relatively low compared to most PIP states and other non-PIP states.