TOP 25 CITIES FOR HIGHEST AUTO INSURANCE RATES

Original Story: USAToday.com

Detroit isn't just the car manufacturing capital of the U.S. — it's also tops when it come to high car-insurance costs.

The Motor City and its metropolitan area lay claim to the dubious distinction of having the most expensive auto insurance in the nation, according to an analysis by finance-info provider Bankrate Insurance.

Detroit-area drivers on average pay 165% more than the national average for car insurance, followed by New York, where motorists pay 36% more, and Miami, 34% more. The least expensive premiums, the website stated, are enjoyed by Charlotte, N.C., where area residents pay 43% less than the national average; Cleveland, 31% less; and Pittsburgh, 24% less. If you're involved in a Detroit car accident, your insurance rates may increase.

Why so high in Detroit?

"Michigan is the only state where car insurance includes unlimited personal injury protection," says Laura Adams, senior analyst for insuranceQuotes.com, in a statement. "Also, Detroit has a very high %age of uninsured motorists — as high as 50% by some estimates. That unfortunately raises rates for those who do have car insurance." Insurance rates may increase if you're involved in a Warren car accident.

While New York ranks No. 2 among the most expensive car-insurance cities, the nation's next-largest cities, Los Angeles and Chicago, check in at Nos. 4 and 21, respectively. L.A. motorists pay 25% more than the national average, while Windy City-area drivers pay 16% less. Dead-center on the list at Nos. 12, 13 and 14 are Boston, Dallas and Portland, Ore., where residents pay 2% more, 1% more and 1% less. States with metro areas appearing most frequently on the list include California (five times), Pennsylvania (four times) and Florida (three times).

Researchers say population density is naturally a major contributor to insurance rates: more people, more cars, more potential for crashes. Other factors include theft rates, state regulations and %age of uninsured motorists. If you're involved in an Ann Arbor car accident, your insurance premium may increase.

Does your area rank among places with the nation's costliest insurance? Below are the top 25 metropolitan areas in order of most- to least-expensive, followed by the percentage paid compared with the national average:

1. Detroit-Warren-Ann Arbor, Mich., 165%

2. New York-Newark, N.Y.- N.J.-Conn.-Pa., 36%

3. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Port St. Lucie, Fla., 34%

4. Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif., 25%

5. Atlanta-Athens-Clarke County-Sandy Springs, Ga., 17%

6. Sacramento-Roseville, Calif., 16%

7. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, Calif., 10%

8. Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, Pa.-N.J.-Del.-Md., 10%

9. Houston-The Woodlands, Texas, 10%

10. Tampa-St. Peterseburg-Clearwater, Fla., 9%

11. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif., 2%

12. Boston-Worcester-Providence, Ma.-R.I.-N.H.-Conn., 2%

13. Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas-Okla., 1%

14. Portland-Vancouver-Salem, Ore., -1%

15. Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.-Wis., -5%

16. District of Columbia-Baltimore-Arlington, Md.-Va.-W.V.-Pa., -6%

17. Seattle-Tacoma, Wash., -10 %

18. Orlando-Deltona-Daytona Beach, Fla., -10%

19. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz., -10%

20. Denver-Aurora, Colo., -12 %

21. Chicago-Naperville, Ill.-Ind.-Wis., -16%

22. St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill., -18%

23. Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton, Pa.-Ohio-W.V., -24%

24. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio, -31%

25. Charlotte-Concord, N.C.-S.C., -43%

Patterson under fire for arguing against MI no-fault insurance change

Story first appeared on The Detroit Free Press -

The state has fired back at Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, who made a very public plea this week to tread carefully before making big changes to the state’s no-fault insurance law.

Gov. Rick Snyder has made no-fault reform one of his top priorities for the year, saying that Michigan has the 10th highest auto insurance costs in the nation. And Kevin Clinton, Commissioner of the Office of Financial and Insurance Regulation replied to Patterson’s open letter with one of his own.

“I was very disappointed to read Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson’s recent statement regarding the Governor’s proposal,” the letter said. “In spite of his assertion, there is no effort to ‘dismantle’ no fault. To the contrary, our effort is to save no fault for the long-term.”

Patterson, who suffered critical injuries in a two-car crash on Aug. 10 that also paralyzed his driver, James Cram, said drastic changes to no-fault and the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association would hurt Michigan’s economy and hospitals, shift health care costs to Medicaid and harm critically injured car crash victims.

The MCCA reimburses insurers for costs of more than $500,000 for the care and treatment of those seriously injured in automobile accidents.

Patterson said an independent financial analysis of the law and consequences of changing it should be done before any changes are made.

But Clinton said in his letter that Michigan’s economy is suffering because of skyrocketing insurance rates.

“How long can we ask our citizens who buy state-mandated coverage to foot the bill,” he said.

The insurance industry also noted this week that Patterson should wait to complain about no-fault reform until a bill is actually introduced.

Reform was discussed last year, but never received a vote in the full state House or Senate. Legislators have said they plan to reintroduce a bill this year.

“We believe that L. Brooks Patterson has been an outstanding public official and a visionary county executive, but his vision on this issue is a little cloudy,” the Michigan Insurance Coalition, a trade association of insurance companies in the state, said in a press release today. “Michigan’s No-Fault system is a runaway train that needs reform now before it plunges off the fiscal cliff forever.”