America’s car-making capital is also the capital of something else — high auto insurance rates.
According to a September 14 USA Today article, drivers in Detroit pay 165% more than the national average rate of car insurance, a Bankrate Insurance report recently discovered.
The second-highest car insurance rates in the country can be found in New York City — but drivers in the Big Apple still pay a fraction of what Motor City motorists pay, as New York auto insurance rates are only around 36% more than the national average. Miami came in third, where residents pay 34% more than the average American driver.
Meanwhile, the lowest car insurance rates can be found in Charlotte, N.C., Cleveland and Pittsburgh, USA Todayreports.
“Factors that would be taken into consideration would be the average median age in that area as well as traffic density and population. These factors can influence rates from either increasing or decreasing,” says Doug Johnson, President, Johnson and Fletcher Insurance
Detroit, in particular, suffers from both high population density — one of the main factors that drive up car insurance costs, as more drivers equates to more accidents — and from the fact that Michigan is the only state that requires unlimited personal injury protection to be covered by car insurance, according to USA Today.
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners found in 2011 that the average annual price of a car insurance policy was $797 — the most recent data available, Forbes reports. If one can assume that average has risen to $1,000 per year, it’s safe to say that Detroit’s drivers are putting a huge chunk of their incomes towards staying on the road.