Louisiana has the most expensive car insurance rates in the nation, followed by Oklahoma and Michigan, according to data from the National Underwriter’s survey of premiums for 2012 models.
Those states were also in the top three in 2011 and 2010.
Car insurance rates are cheapest in Maine, followed by Iowa and Wisconsin.
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State Rankings of 2012 Auto Insurance Premiums
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| Rank | State | Avg. annual premium |
| 1 | Louisiana | $2,536 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | $2,047 |
| 3 | Michigan | $2,013 |
| 4 | West Virginia | $2,002 |
| 5 | Washington, D.C. | $1,866 |
| 6 | Montana | $1,856 |
| 7 | Rhode Island | $1,830 |
| 8 | Wyoming | $1,732 |
| 9 | California | $1,709 |
| 10 | Georgia | $1,694 |
| 11 | Connecticut | $1,665 |
| 12 | Texas | $1,661 |
| 13 | Florida | $1,654 |
| 14 | Delaware | $1,652 |
| 15 | New Jersey | $1,608 |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | $1,598 |
| 17 | Hawaii | $1,594 |
| 18 | Kentucky | $1,572 |
| 19 | Mississippi | $1,502 |
| 20 | Missouri | $1,455 |
| National average | $1,438 | |
| 21 | Alaska | $1,431 |
| 22 | North Dakota | $1,426 |
| 23 | New York | $1,413 |
| 24 | Kansas | $1,410 |
| 25 | Massachusetts | $1,378 |
| 26 | Maryland | $1,372 |
| 27 | Alabama | $1,345 |
| 28 | Arkansas | $1,334 |
| 29 | Colorado | $1,322 |
| 30 | Utah | $1,315 |
| 31 | Washington | $1,305 |
| 32 | South Dakota | $1,303 |
| 33 | Indiana | $1,301 |
| 34 | Virginia | $1,297 |
| 35 | New Mexico | $1,274 |
| 36 | Minnesota | $1,264 |
| 37 | Nebraska | $1,244 |
| 38 | Oregon | $1,241 |
| 39 | Tennessee | $1,228 |
| 40 | Nevada | $1,223 |
| 41 | Illinois | $1,192 |
| 42 | Arizona | $1,176 |
| 43 | New Hampshire | $1,133 |
| 44 | South Carolina | $1,108 |
| 45 | Ohio | $1,099 |
| 46 | Vermont | $1,063 |
| 47 | North Carolina | $1,022 |
| 48 | Idaho | $1,011 |
| 49 | Wisconsin | $987 |
| 50 | Iowa | $985 |
| 51 | Maine | $889 |
High rates usually cannot be pinned on a single cause. Rather, a variety of unfortunate circumstances combined to make insurance bills more painful in some states:
- Costly storm seasons in 2011 impacted rates in many states.
- Once again, uninsured drivers caused high premiums for others because they didn’t pay their share for accidents they caused. In most cases, drivers hit by uninsured motorists have to rely on their own coverage to fix their cars or pay for medical treatment. For example, an estimated 24 percent of drivers are uninsured in both Oklahoma and Florida, according to the Insurance Research Council. Maine and Massachusetts, on the other hand, have the lowest shares of uninsured drivers — just 4.5 percent.
- Agents in Michigan and Louisiana say a tough economy has made it hard for many drivers in their states to afford insurance. “I have people in my office on a weekly basis who say they just can’t do it,” says Jason Verlinde, vice president of Verlinde Insurance Agency in Richmond, Mich., and a board member of the Michigan Association of Professional Insurance Agents.
- Please contact us with any questions.