Did you know that the cost of your car insurance down payment can be as much as 50% of your total policy? That means that you pay 3 months upfront, and on top you have a broker fee that sometimes can be as high as $200. This is why, at OCHO®, you can apply to lower your down payment. On average, we lower your down by $200! And you may even qualify for $0 down! Plus with every on-time payment you make, you can build your credit score! Why not give it a try? Apply now.
With OCHO® you can apply for $0 down. See if you qualify!**
If you make your payments on time, you may see your rates decrease and save money. That’s why with OCHO®, we help you to make them on time by aligning your pay check schedule to your insurance payments.
Your credit score can have a big impact on how much you pay for your insurance (and many other things). Build your credit with every payment you make on time with OCHO®.
Credit scores are so important to our financial lives in America, yet so hard for many to fix, repair or build from scratch. We don’t think this is fair. The reality is that not everyone has the same opportunity to build a strong financial future. At OCHO®, we believe in giving everybody A FAIR START®. For the first time in the history of insurance, you can build your credit with every payment you make*. We call this “credit-building insurance”.
OCHO® can help you build your credit score with every payment*. A good credit score means:
OCHO® PAY is the smart way to pay for your insurance.
Smarter payments + better budgeting = more savings!
Auto insurance rates have risen in the past year for everyone, but if your rates are higher than expected, it is likely that you fall into these categories:
a) Low Credit Score: This is the main reason why people have more expensive insurance. 28% of OCHO customers either don’t have a credit score, or not enough data to generate one. For the remaining 72%, the average FICO score is 543. As a result of this, you will see higher rates.
b) Incomplete Insurance History: The majority of OCHO customers don’t have continuous coverage, especially in the last 12 months. This can be from missed payments.
c) A Foreign Driver’s License: 11% of our customers hold a foreign or out of state driver’s license. This increases your rate.
It’s important to us that you understand the reasons why your rates are higher than expected. The reasons listed above can all be fixed over time. We want to see that extra money in your pocket, rather than in the hands of the insurance company.
The main reason auto insurance rates are increasing is because the cost of repairing your car after an accident has risen significantly - due to inflation and global supply chain problems.
This means auto insurers now pay significantly more for covering the cost of your car damage, even if the amount of people having accidents stays the same. To offset these higher costs, they are raising your rates.
From January to August 2023, more than 30,000 people have applied and received quotes through OCHO, resulting in over 200,000 total quotes.
The average initial quote for someone looking for basic, "liability only” coverage increased by 43% from $746 in January 2023 to $1064 in August 2023.
The average initial quote for someone looking for “comprehensive and collision” (C&C) coverage, (which is required for someone with an auto loan or lease), increased by 54% from $1416 in January to $2178 in August.
Despite these increases, OCHO's job is to find you the best rates and, with OCHO Pay, to help you afford these higher rates by allowing you to spread your policy amount evenly into twelve smaller payments over six months.
If you’d like more information on this, we did a deep dive in our blog, you can check it out here.
We also highly recommend reading this article by The Washington Post for a deep dive into the rising costs of auto insurance in the US.
No. OCHO is not an insurance company that sets your car insurance rate. These rates are beyond our control; the prices you see are from the insurance companies we work with.
Instead, OCHO is an insurance agency or “broker” committed to finding you the lowest price and best option.
Here's the most exciting part: OCHO is the only company that offers to reduce your down payment, and we lower it for 100% of our customers. You won't be able to find a lower auto insurance down payment anywhere else.
Your first quote will never be accurate until insurance companies can verify your complete information. This includes details like your entire driving history, any extra cars or drivers you wish to add, your previous insurance coverage (including any gaps), and your credit score.
Completing the process to the final quote is essential to make sure it is accurate.
From January to August 2023, the final quote (3rd quote) at OCHO increased by $203 (22%), on average, from the preliminary quote for OCHO Plus coverage and by $365 (19%), on average, for OCHO Plus with comprehensive and collision (C&C) quotes.
This means if you use an insurance marketplace that isn’t OCHO, you will likely never pick the lowest priced option. This is because all prices go up, and you don’t know if the carrier that looked good on the first set of quotes is still the lowest priced carrier based on their final price.
First of all, OCHO is different.
The normal process for applying for car insurance is; you provide some details about yourself, your car, and your driving history, and you receive a first quote. Based on this first quote, you select the quote you like and you are redirected to that insurance company’s website or process to input more information.
Eventually, you receive one final price from that specific insurance company. If satisfied, you make a down payment and start your policy. However, if you don’t like the final price, you're back to square one with a different carrier, having to enter your information all over again.
It's frustrating, right? In this process, you are only comparing insurance companies based on their first quote, not their final prices.
At OCHO, you get to compare insurance company prices not once, but twice, and then select the best carrier for you and get a final price. This process ensures that you are seeing more accurate, near final prices from all carriers as opposed to just one.
And, if you still don’t like your final price, OCHO allows you to run another final price on a 2nd insurance company. You then get to select the best of both options. OCHO’s unique process has produced real savings for its customers. For example:
Did you have car insurance before, then miss a payment and it was canceled? And then you were uninsured for a while before you got insured again? This on and off behavior is called spotty prior insurance and DOES NOT help you get better car insurance rates. It's very important that you STAY INSURED and not lose insurance coverage for missing a payment. Having consistent prior insurance is an important variable in reducing your auto insurance rates. OCHO® helps you with this by allowing you to make smaller payments every two weeks matched to your paycheck cycle. The idea is to stay insured and never miss a payment. And if you absolutely have to miss one because you lose your job or have a family emergency, then make sure to reinstate your insurance, which means your policy is put back into effect. Please look carefully at your coverage details for information on your policy and reinstatement, because these details vary depending on the policy and the insurance carrier. Many carriers give you about 30 days after your policy is canceled to reinstate your policy. Usually, you have to catch up on all your payments to do so. It’s worth it because reinstating is generally like you were never canceled, and means that you stay insured. But it can come with a cost. Many carriers charge a fee to make a reinstatement and many brokers do as well. The best thing is to avoid a possible fee and to just keep paying so that you can stay insured.