Auto insurance premiums are getting more costly, going up between 3.4 percent and 7.4 percent each year. According to CarData, the following five states are the most expensive for car insurance.
Florida
Florida has high car insurance rates due to being in a hurricane zone and having a large number of uninsured drivers. It is also has a no-fault law that requires drivers to carry a minimum of $10,000 personal injury protection (PIP) on their policies. Because of the no-fault issue, the state has the second-highest rate of auto insurance fraud in the country, which drives up costs. The average policy runs $4,050.
Louisiana
The state of Louisiana is an insurance challenge due to poorly maintained roads, large claim settlements and natural disasters, namely tornadoes and hurricanes. The rate of collisions is also seven percent higher than the national average. All of these factors add up to high rates for major insurers, and even a lower-cost alternative is twice as expensive in Louisiana when compared to other states. Drivers can expect to pay $3,350 in this southern state.
Michigan
Twenty-one percent of the drivers in Michigan are uninsured. This, along with mandatory property protection and unlimited PIP benefits, makes Michigan the most expensive state for auto insurance. The highest premiums in the state occur in Detroit and its suburbs where the average policy runs over $4,300.
New Jersey
New Jersey has a large population and a high rate of accidents. The PIP requirement is $250,000 due to medical fraud. This has made the cost of car insurance go up for everyone in the state, and made New Jersey one of the top-five most expensive places to carry insurance with an average policy rate of $3,474.
New York
Like Florida, New York has a no-fault insurance law. This does not mean that neither driver is at fault in an accident, only that the injured party would have to use their own insurance to pay medical costs and other expenses. Once the PIP limit is reached, the at-fault driver’s insurance would then pay out. New York has an extreme population density, which contributes to an excessive accident rate. A typical policy costs about $3,174.
When it comes to auto insurance, where a driver lives does matter. While all drivers are required to be insured regardless of state, it pays to shop around to find the best rate.