Thinking of moving to another state and curious what insurance premiums might run you?
Insure.com has released its 2013 study that compared state-by-state annual insurance premiums based on insurance for a single, 40-year-old male who commutes 12 miles to work each day. Policy limits were set at $100,000 for injury liability for one person, $300,000 for all injuries, and $50,000 for property damage. The rates assumed the driver has a clean record and good credit and includes uninsured motorist coverage with a $500 deductible on collision and comprehensive coverage.
Kicking off the list is Arizona, with an average annual premium of $1,227. Nearly 6.5-million people live in the state, with its largest city being its capital, Phoenix. Public transportation is plentiful in the major metropolitan areas including Phoenix and Tucson while a light rail system known as the Valley Metro Light Rail connects Central Phoenix with the nearby cities of Mesa and Tempe.
Washington state has an average annual insurance premium of $1,226, good enough to net it the ninth spot on the top 10 list. Nearly 7 million reside in Washington state, though nearly 60 percent of the state’s residents live in the Seattle metropolitan area. Most well known for producing the country’s lumber supply, Washington is also home to the nation’s largest ferry system.
Indiana, with an average annual premium of $1,183 is the eighth cheapest state for car insurance in America. Over 6.5 million call it home, while automotive enthusiasts surely know it for the Indianapolis 500 and Brickyard 400 races. It has four major cities with over 100,000 residents each: Indianapolis, Evansville, Fort Wayne, and South Bend.
An annual insurance premium of $1,176 lands the Green Mountain State in seventh place. Vermont is the second least populous state in America with just slightly over 620,000 residents. The state is most well known for its production of maple syrup in America and its capital is Montpelier which is home to just under 8,000 people, making it the least populated state capital in the country.
Idaho has an average annual insurance premium of $1,133 according to Insure.com, good enough for sixth place on the top 10 cheapest states for car insurance in America. Close to 1.6-million residents live in Idaho with its largest city being Boise, which is also its capital. Of course, Idaho is most well known in America for its potatoes, often being referred to as the “Potato State.” It’s one of the few states in America without a major freeway linking its two largest metropolitan areas of Boise and Coeur d’Alene.
With barely over 1.3-million people living in New Hampshire, insurance rates are fairly cheap at an average annual premium of $1,112. It is also the fifth smallest state in America and has a well-maintained, well-signed network of highways. The state also features 11 public transit authorities that operate local and regional bus services around the state.
An average annual insurance premium of $1,106 nets Ohio the fourth place spot on this top 10 list. It is the seventh most populous state in America with over 11.5-million residents. Major cities include Akron and Canton, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And of course there its capital, Columbus which is home to The Ohio State University. For us automotive enthusiasts, Ohio is home to 228 miles of the Historic National Road, now known as U.S. Route 40.
An average annual premium of $1,085 is good enough to land North Carolina in the third place spot. With over 9.75-million residents, its largest city is Charlotte and the state is composed of 100 counties. North Carolina is also home to the second largest state highway in the country and the largest ferry system on the east coast. In 2011, the American State Litter Scorecard awarded North Carolina a highest ‘best’ rating for having some of American’s cleanest public spaces and highways.
Iowa comes in second place with an average annual insurance premium of $1,028. Mostly a rural state, the largest city in Iowa is Des Moines, with a population of about 200,000. With mostly small towns located throughout the state, residents joke that they’d probably know the person that they hit and generally aren’t quick to sue one another over car accidents in Iowa. The state in total has a population of slightly over 3 million.
Coming in as the cheapest state to get car insurance is Maine, with an average annual premium of just $934. Of course a major factor to Maine’s low insurance rates is it being so rural with very little city driving. Other factors that attribute to the cheap insurance premiums are the state’s tight restrictions on young drivers and its graduated licensing program. Maine is home to about 1.3-million residents.