Key Initiatives
At the direction of our members, the Ohio Insurance Institute advocates for issues beyond traditional insurance concerns, demonstrating bold leadership and innovation to advance broader policy goals that strengthen the industry and ultimately benefit Ohio’s insurance consumers.
Ohio’s insurance industry has a long history of advocating for legislation that makes roadways safer. The Ohio Insurance Institute and its member companies led efforts that ultimately resulted in lawmakers strengthening the state’s distracted driving laws in 2023.
Now, Ohio law makes distracted driving a primary traffic offense and drivers can be immediately pulled over for violating the law.
In the first year since local peace officers and the Ohio State Highway Patrol (OSHP) began enforcing these bolstered distracted driving laws, significant strides were made in saving lives and reducing the number of crashes.
According to the OSHP’s preliminary data released in October 2024, there were approximately 1,112 fewer distracted driving crashes in Ohio from October 5, 2023, to October 4, 2024, compared to the 12 months prior. Fatal crashes attributed to distracted driving dropped 19.4%.
Overall, there were nearly 15,400 fewer motor vehicle crashes compared to the 12 months prior. The total number of traffic fatalities also dropped with 138 fewer people killed.
For more information about Ohio’s distracted driving laws, please visit the Ohio Department of Transportation’s website at https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/phonesdown.
In Governor DeWine’s 2024 State of the State Address, he called on the Ohio General Assembly to take legislative action to make seat belt violations a primary offense for law enforcement.
For many, the argument against seat belt enforcement is that when someone chooses to not wear a seat belt, only that person is impacted. However, a deeper look at the data shows that is not the case.
Currently, less than 20% of Ohioans do not wear their seat belts on a regular basis, but, according to Ohio Department of Public Safety data, more than 60% of traffic fatalities involved someone not wearing a seat belt. And we know that crashes involving fatalities and serious injuries are the most costly, both personally and financially.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), since 1975, trillions of dollars in unnecessary societal harm has been incurred due to seat belt nonuse nationwide. These costs include lost quality of life, medical care, lost productivity, and other injury-related costs.
This begs the question: who is footing the bill?
According to the NHTSA, 54% of crash costs are paid by private insurers, 14% is paid by other sources, and 9% is paid by public revenue. This leaves 23% paid by crash victims, meaning those not directly involved in crashes pay 77% of the total cost, primarily through insurance premiums, taxes, and traffic congestion related costs. These costs are driven higher by the approximately 20% of Ohioans who choose not to wear a seatbelt and are involved in the majority of the most serious and costly crashes.
Put another way, every Ohioan – including those who wear their seat belt – pays for those who don’t.
The Ohio Insurance Institute is committed to advancing this argument in favor of primary enforcement and advocating for legislative action.
Ohio’s insurance sector has long been recognized for its proactive leadership in workforce
development, and through the Insuring Ohio Futures (IOF) initiative, the Ohio Insurance Institute is proud to be at the forefront of these efforts.
This commitment to addressing workforce challenges is more important than ever as Ohio’s
insurance industry faces an anticipated need for nearly 108,000 new workers over the next
decade.
IOF is an industry-driven, workforce-focused partnership dedicated to building a robust and diverse talent pool of Ohioans ready to pursue careers in insurance. Its mission focuses on three key goals: introducing insurance as an appealing career choice, increasing participation in Ohio’s top risk management and insurance programs, and elevating the industry’s image. IOF drives this mission through targeted strategies, key partnerships, and initiatives that aim to keep Ohio’s insurance sector competitive, thriving, and at the forefront of workforce leadership.
In 2024, IOF launched a new and improved website focused on the following overarching message:
Insurance is the ideal industry to begin a career, offering a wide variety of job opportunities for people with nearly every skill set and the benefits that job seekers expect. With more than 275 insurance companies across both rural and urban communities, Ohio is an amazing place to start an insurance career. Insurance is everywhere — including your future.
Visit OhioInsuranceCareers.org to learn more.