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Most and Least Expensive States for Car Insurance


michigan
Michigan has the highest insurance rates.

Michigan Most Expensive By Far; North Carolina Cheapest

SAN FRANCISCO -- April 27, 2015: Michigan has the nation's most expensive car insurance and North Carolina has the cheapest, according to a new insuranceQuotes.com report. Michigan drivers pay more than double the national average (+136%), while North Carolina drivers pay 41% less than the national average.

"Michigan is the only state where car insurance includes unlimited lifetime personal injury protection, so that's a major reason why car insurance is so expensive in Michigan," according to Laura Adams, insuranceQuotes.com's senior analyst. "Another reason is that Michigan has an unusually high number of uninsured drivers, which drives up rates for people who do have car insurance."

Uninsured motorists are particularly prevalent in Detroit – some estimates place the uninsured population there as high as 50% – which helps explain why Wayne County (where Detroit is located) is the most expensive county within the most expensive state. Car insurance costs 45% more in Wayne County than the statewide average.

Rhode Island is the second-most expensive state, but at 45% more than the national average, it's a distant second. New York, Delaware and Louisiana comprise the rest of the top five.

North Carolina owes its least-expensive standing to strict state regulations and a popular high-risk pool which serves as an insurer of last resort. Idaho has the second-cheapest car insurance, followed by Ohio, Maine, Wisconsin and Tennessee.

Click here for more information, including an interactive map of all 50 states:

Insurance Rates by States

insuranceQuotes.com commissioned Quadrant Information Services to measure average car insurance premiums using data from the largest carriers (representing 60-70% of market share) in each state.

Assumptions included: driver is employed, drives a 2012 sedan, has a bachelor's degree, a clean driving record, an excellent credit score and no lapse in coverage with the following limits: $100,000 (bodily injury per person) / $300,000 (bodily injury per accident) / $100,000 (property damage per accident), $10,000 (personal injury protection or medical payments) and a $500 deductible for comprehensive and collision.