Those living in Louisiana have had their share of hardships in recent years, with the most recent being tabbed as suffering with the most-expensive auto insurance premiums in the nation. According to a just-released study conducted for Insure.com, Louisiana residents were found to pay an annual average of $2,536 to insure their cars. That’s more than twice as much as a typical driver will pay in states like Maine, Iowa or Wisconsin.
The 10 states the study determined as having the highest annual auto insurance rates are:
Louisiana: $2,536
Oklahoma: $2,047
Michigan: $2,013
West Virginia: $2,002
Washington, D.C.: $1,866
Montana: $1,856
Rhode Island: $1,830
Wyoming: $1,732
California: $1,709
Georgia: $1,694
While car insurance costs are largely based on a motorist’s driving record and personal profile, annual miles driven and what he or she drives, car insurance rates in general will vary from one state to another for a variety of socio-political reasons. According to Amy Danise, editorial director of Insure.com, these include a state’s insurance regulations, the level of competition among carriers and severe weather that produced above-average claims during the previous year. Rates are also costlier in states that have a higher than average percentage of uninsured and underinsured motorists – largely because of economic/affordability reasons – who cause crashes for which they aren’t covered and can’t pay.
“Many of these problems are outside the control of drivers,” says Danise. “But even if you live in an expensive state, you can hold down your insurance costs by keeping your driving record as clean as possible and selecting a car that is cheap to insure.”
Largely accredited to relatively low traffic density, active competition among carriers, low crime rates and a lack of recent natural disasters, residents of Maine were found to enjoy the cheapest auto insurance rates in the country at an annual average of $889. According to Insure.com’s ZIP code data, Falmouth, Maine (04105), located just north of Portland, boasts the lowest premiums in the state.
Here’s the 10 states in which residents tend to pay the lowest rates for car insurance:
Maine: $889
Iowa: $985
Wisconsin: $987
Idaho: $1,011
North Carolina: $1,022
Vermont: $1,063
Ohio: $1,099
South Carolina: $1,108
New Hampshire: $1,133
Arizona: $1,176
The study was conducted by Quadrant Information Services and was based on auto insurance rates for more than 900 vehicles from six large carriers (Allstate, Farmers, GEICO, Nationwide, Progressive and State Farm) in 10 ZIP codes per state, based on a hypothetical single, 40-year-old male with a good driving record, short commute and typical coverage limits and deductibles.
