NU Online News Service, Dec. 2, 3:32 p.m. EST
Average U.S. automobile premium rates dropped by close to 3 percent in 2007 from the previous year with drivers in Washington, D.C. paying the most for their insurance, state regulators reported.
The findings by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners in Kansas City, Mo., were contained in NAIC's 247-page "2006/2007 Auto Insurance Database Report."
Its study provides the average cost associated with personal automobile insurance nationwide by individual states, the NAIC said.
Washington, D.C. was listed in the report with the highest average insurance costs in 2007 at $1,139.82. It was followed by New Jersey at $1,103.53. The numbers, the NAIC said, assume that all insured vehicles carry liability coverage but do not necessarily carry collision or comprehensive or both.
Both jurisdictions saw a drop in their costs from the previous year, according to the report.
Washington, D.C. drivers' costs dropped 2 percent, or $23.78, while New Jersey drivers' costs fell 4 percent, or $48.08.
Nationwide, auto insurance costs dropped $21.24, from $816.22 in 2006 to $794.98 in 2007.
The least expensive state was North Dakota, where insurance costs averaged $511.79, a drop of a more than 3 percent, or $18.34.
North Dakota was followed by Iowa at $517.62; South Dakota at $533.65; Nebraska at $554.04; and Idaho at $564.
Of the most expensive, Louisiana came in at $1,095.97; New York at $1047.24; and Florida at $1042.74. Costs in Rhode Island and Delaware were also over $1000.
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