Average Car Insurance Rate Savings by State
Auto Premium Rates in Wyoming and Arizona Lower by Over 15%
Nov 10, 2009
The annual auto insurance rate quoted to drivers in the U.S. averaged $1,804 in October 2009, down 5.6% from the $1,908 national average premium for January 2009.
According to RateWatch, October had the steepest declines in auto insurance quoted premium prices so far in 2009 with U.S. national car insurance premiums dropping a hefty 2.8% in just one month.
The RateWatch source data used to calculate the statistics in this article is based on the lowest average car insurance premiums from the million-plus auto insurance quotes that Insurance.com provides to consumers for rate comparison purposes each year.
While RateWatch tracks car insurance quotes from more than a dozen of America’s leading auto insurance companies that do business in 46 states, car insurance rates from Alaska, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New York as well as the District of Columbia were not available for analysis.
States with Greatest Car Insurance Savings
The following 20 states have received the highest percentage savings in average car insurance rates quoted in October when compared with January 2009 premium quotes. Of these states, Wyoming and Arizona placed first and second with the greatest savings in dollar amounts.
As of October 2009, drivers in Vermont and New Hampshire were eligible for the lowest average annual car insurance rates.
- Wyoming … US$1,505 annual premium (down $314 or -17.3% from January 2009)
- Arizona … $1,538 (down $273 or -15.1%)
- New Hampshire … $1,341 (down $222 or -14.2%)
- Colorado … $1,478 (down $207 or -12.3%)
- Nevada … $1,946 (down $236 or -10.8%)
- Utah … $1,639 (down $186 or -10.2%)
- Pennsylvania … $2,071 (down $220 or -9.6%)
- Arkansas … $1,781 (down $186 or -9.5%)
- Rhode Island … $2,249 (down $220 or -8.9%)
- Washington … $1,726 (down $168 or -8.9%)
- Virginia … $1,535 (down $149 or -8.8%)
- Tennessee … $1,437 (down $139 or -8.8%)
- Vermont … $1,306 (down $119 or -8.4%)
- Louisiana … $2,423 (down $208 or -7.9%)
- Oregon … $1,511 (down $129 or -7.9%)
- New Mexico … $1,731 (down $146 or -7.8%)
- Missouri … $1,523 (down $114 or -7%)
- North Carolina … $1,567 (down $116 or -6.9%)
- Oklahoma … $1,716 (down $125 or -6.8%)
- Illinois … $1,438 (down $102 or -6.8%).
Other States with Lower Auto Insurance Quotes
The 18 states below also experienced average annual auto insurance rate savings greater than 1.2% since January 2009. Among these, drivers in Ohio, Idaho and Maine received the cheapest car insurance quotes in October.
- Kansas … US$1,629 annual premium (down $108 or -7.2% from January 2009)
- Alabama … $1,542 (down $99 or -6%)
- California … $1,729 (down $110 or -6%)
- Montana … $1,559 (down $99 or -6%)
- Michigan … $1,998 (down $120 or -5.7%)
- Ohio … $1,251 (down $74 or -5.6%)
- Texas … $1,869 (down $107 or -5.4%)
- New England … $1,562 (down $88 or -5.3%)
- Mississippi … $1,900 (down $93 or -4.7%)
- North Dakota … $1,581 (down $71 or -4.3%)
- Delaware … $2,391 (down $100 or -4%)
- South Dakota … $1,467 (down $53 or -3.5%)
- Indiana … $1,476 (down $46 or -3%)
- Georgia … $1,632 (down $42 or -2.5%)
- Idaho … $1,328 (down $32 or -2.4%)
- Connecticut … $2,042 (down $49 or -2.3%)
- Maine … $1,331 (down $27 or -2%)
- South Carolina … $1,581 (down $20 or -1.2%).
States with Smaller Car Insurance Savings or Rate Increases
The following 4 states had modest percentage savings in average annual car insurance premium quotes during October.
- Iowa … US$1,276 annual premium (down $12 or -0.9% from January 2009)
- Minnesota … $1,646 (down $15 or -0.9%)
- West Virginia … $2,076 (down $17 or -0.8%)
- Wisconsin … $1,330 (down $10 or -0.7%).
Drivers in the remaining 4 jurisdictions received car insurance quotes that were more expensive than those in January 2009. All of those states already had an average annual premium well above the U.S. national average of $1,804 in October 2009.
- New Jersey … US$2,749 annual premium (up $242 or +9.7% from January 2009)
- Maryland … $2,328 (up $135 or +6.2%)
- Kentucky … $2,102 (up $103 or +5.2%)
- Florida … $2,074 (up $12 or +0.6%).
So why have car insurance premiums dropped in all but 4 of the American states in this study?
With higher unemployment rates, fewer drivers are on the road battling rush hour traffic. This leads to fewer traffic accidents. With lower claims expenses, insurance companies can lower premiums.
Consumers are also highly motivated to search for car insurance savings. With the availability of online car insurance rate comparison sites like Insurance.com, insurance companies are pressured into offering auto insurance policies at the lowest possible premium cost.
Sources
This analysis provides independent calculations and insights based on source data publicly available on Insurance.com, a leading third-party website committed to consumer education.
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