FREQUENTLY
ASKED QUESTIONS
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 off, 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:
- For OCHO plus quotes, OCHO customers saw an average decrease in price from quote #2 to final quote (#3) of $144. This means that we are saving customers $144 on average due to OCHO’s unique process.
- For OCHO’s C&C quotes, OCHO customers only saw a $87 or 4% increase from quote #2 to final quote (#3).
An impressive half of OCHO's customers, a solid 50%, were successfully approved for and received a zero-dollar down payment.
What makes OCHO special is that no one loses! The remaining 50% of our customers made an average upfront payment of an affordable $62. This amount is $215 less than what they would have had to pay without using OCHO's services (including OCHOPay).
In total, OCHO has made the incredible achievement of helping 99% of its customers lower their initial insurance payment and reduce over $500,000 from the down payment required by insurance companies.
OCHO's mission is to make insurance more affordable and accessible for everyone, and this includes you.
To lower your insurance rates, start by addressing the 3 biggest reasons why you and others are likely paying more, namely: (a) you don’t have consistent prior insurance, meaning no lapses in coverage or reinstatements for any reason, (b) you don’t have a credit score or you have a low credit score, (c) you don’t have a valid driver’s license in the state where you live.
Tips to lower your insurance rates:
- Maintain consistent insurance coverage with no lapses for the last 12 months.
- Improve your credit score by getting your auto insurance with OCHO and paying on time.
- Hold a valid driver's license in the state you live in.
- Make all insurance payments on time to improve your credit score and future rates.
- If you don’t get OCHO insurance, get a secured credit card and make timely payments to build credit.
- Safe driving is essential to prevent accidents and tickets that raise rates.
To sum up, lower rates are possible if you make payments on time for a whole year and don't have any accidents or claims.
No, OCHO Plus is not the same as the state minimum coverage, or liability only.
We give you more coverage as our minimum, because state minimum liability insurance is not enough coverage to protect you.
If you have state-minimum car insurance and hit an uninsured driver, you may be liable for all the expenses not covered in your policy. This means you may be expected to pay out of your own pocket to cover the damage done to your vehicle and yourself.
This is a potential financial disaster that we want to help you avoid. OCHO recommends that you buy as much liability protection as your budget will comfortably allow.
State minimum insurance is really there to protect everyone else, not you and your family.
OCHO Plus combines liability with uninsured motorist and medical pay coverage to help provide more adequate coverage.
This means you are covered for :
- When you are at fault: medical and car damage expenses for the person you hit.
- When the other person is at fault and uninsured: medical and car damage for yourself.
- If you don’t have any health insurance the MedPay part of the package can help pay for medical expenses for you or your passengers, even if you’re at fault.
OCHO Plus + C&C: Includes three coverages – liability only, uninsured motorist, and comprehensive and collision.
Comprehensive insurance covers damage to your car caused by things other than accidents, like theft, vandalism, or natural disasters.
Collision insurance covers you in situations where you’re driving and your car is damaged by another vehicle or object, regardless of who's at fault.
Together, they provide broader protection for your vehicle, with comprehensive handling non-accident-related damage and collision handling accident-related damage. These insurance types can help you fix or replace your car in various situations, giving you more peace of mind on the road.
The choice between OCHO Plus and OCHO Plus + C&C depends on a few factors:
- Your financial circumstances
- The car's value
- If your car is leased or financed
You can choose OCHO Plus insurance if you own an older or less valuable vehicle that can be easily replaced if it’s stolen or totaled. Or if you really can’t afford the extra Comp & Collision.
If you have a car on lease or finance, you will be required to have the extra Comprehensive & Collision.
OCHO Plus + C&C will be better if your car is newer, more valuable, or if replacing it would pose a financial challenge. Often newer cars are more expensive to repair. It offers more peace of mind with its more thorough coverage.
We really recommend protecting you and your family with as much insurance as you can afford. If you just go for State Minimum Insure (which we don’t offer), and get into an accident with an uninsured driver, you may not be able to afford to replace your car, and it can be tough to get money from an uninsured driver. Many of our customers don’t have health insurance, so having MedPay is essential because it helps pay some emergency room costs.
In the end, pick the insurance that matches what you need and how much risk you're comfortable with.
Not yet, today everything is online or on the phone but we are excited to announce that later this year we're planning to establish OCHO affiliated offices. Keep an eye out for more details coming your way!
At OCHO, we contact you over SMS to send you essential information. For your ease and convenience, we'll soon be able to send your credit score via SMS, too!
To guarantee these crucial messages reach you, here's a simple guide for reliable SMS delivery for Android phones.
1. If you haven't received an SMS from us, please first check if the phone number you gave us is correct.
2. Android sometimes sends messages to the Spam folder. To prevent this from happening, you can check to make sure we aren't automatically blocked on your phone, so you can always receive our messages. Just follow the steps below.
Important: Some steps only work on Android 7.0 and up. Learn how to check your Android version.
We are a licensed company, you can see our licenses for each state in the following link https://www.ocho.co/licenses
Yes! For now it’s available for iOS devices and you can download it here. A heads up - not all the features are up and running just yet. If you're looking to apply for car insurance, simply follow this link here to breeze through the application process, we’ve made it as painless as possible for you!
You can chat with us on our webpage here, pick up the phone on 1-800-220-1416, or send an email to support@ocho.co. We are available from 8:30am to 9:00pm CST.
We are currently operating in Texas, Arizona, and Illinois. Exciting things are in motion as we're gearing up to spread our wings to New Mexico and California in the near future. Stay tuned!
We're all about making insurance easy to understand. Our goal is to give you lots of options, so we make sure to share as many quotes as we can with you, right here online! That way, your best insurance option is crystal clear. Checking them out is a breeze on our website. If you ever need a hand or have any questions popping up, don't hesitate to give us a ring. We're here to help, always!
Not at this moment, as of now, your insurance cards are available exclusively in digital format, accessible through our online platform. In the pipeline, we're working on a feature that will allow you to pick up physical cards at designated stores.
Must-have documents (You just need one): State ID, Driver’s License (Foreign or US), Passport (Foreign or US).
Documents you don’t need: Social Security Number, Credit Score, Driver’s License
Yes! However, having a driver's permit in the US can actually lead to lower rates for you. And if you happen to secure one in the same state where your license is issued, those rates can get even better. It's all about those practical advantages!
When you apply to OCHO, we will give you your credit score! Otherwise, you can check these websites for free: Experian, Transunion, Free Credit Score, Credit Karma
OCHO is here to make a positive mark. If you stick to timely payments with us, just remember to keep an eye on your other commitments too, for example, a mortgage payment, to stay on track. This is because your credit score takes into account your overall performance across various credit accounts. So, while we can't promise an automatic credit score boost as everyone's situation is unique, paying on time to OCHO over a period of twelve months, and looking after your other payments is definitely key to building a healthier credit score. Keep up the great work on those payments and stay mindful of your financial life!
Login to your account here where you can see all the details of your insurance.
You must insure all drivers who might use your car. Keep in mind that having more drivers on your policy can lead to increased insurance rates.