The average car insurance quote for North Dakota drivers during April 2010 was $2,010. In March, North Dakotans had received an average auto insurance rate of $1,385.
Nationally, the average car insurance quote for 46 participating states plus the District of Colombia was $1,812 in April. That amount represents a gain of less than a half percentage from the $1,805 average one month earlier.
Insurance.com’s RateWatch service is based on competitive quotes from 13 leading car insurance companies.
States with Highest Auto Insurance Rate Increases
Drivers in Nebraska had to endure the second-highest car insurance quote increases during April. The average auto insurance rate for Nebraskan quote requests was $1,707 – up 20.8% from $1,413 in March.
Below is a complete list of the top 10 increases in average annual car insurance premiums by state.
- North Dakota … $2,020 – up 45.9% from March 2010
- Nebraska … $1,707 – up 20.8%
- New Hampshire … $1,458 – up 7.9%
- Georgia … $1,653 – up 5.7%
- Florida … $2,192 – up 5.6%
- South Dakota ... $1,454 – up 3.7%
- North Carolina ... $1,559 – up 3.2%
- Vermont ... $1,228 – up 2.8%
- Colorado ... $1,571 – up 2.5%
- Oregon ... $1,539 – up 2.3%.
To give some perspective on the above data, North Dakota’s rate in April 2010 is 11.5% higher than the U.S. average. South Dakota drivers received quotes 19.8% cheaper than the national average car insurance cost of $1,812 for April.
States Enjoying Greatest Car Insurance Quote Savings
The April 2010 rate data generated good news for 29 states that experienced either declines in average premium quotes or no change at all.
Below are the states with the greatest savings in average annual quotes over March 2010.
- Utah … $1,633 – down 9.6% from March 2010
- Kansas … $1,445 – down 8.9%
- Wyoming … $1,367 – down 7.4%
- New Mexico … $1,676 – down 7.1%
- Rhode Island … $2,141 – down 5.7%
- Alabama ... $1,457 – down 5.3%
- Louisiana ... $2,245 – down 3.9%
- Maryland ... $2,130 – down 3.9%
- Ohio ... $1,124 – down 3.6%
- Nevada ... $1,937 – down 3.5%.
According to Insurance.com data, US national average premium was $1,836 for February 2010.
Comparing Quoted Averages for Individual Auto Insurance Needs
Because the car insurance industry is highly competitive, rates can fluctuate dramatically from one month to the next.
South Dakota is also the 48th smallest state, with an estimated population of 647,000. A smaller pool of quote requestors can also result in greater month-to-month differences.
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.
However, that does not mean that these statistics are as credible as those found in a rigorous actuarial study.
Perhaps the most important lesson learned from this article is that state and national averages are only a starting point for meaningful rate comparisons for individual drivers regardless of where they live.
That is, consumers in North Dakota should request as many different car insurance quotes as possible based on their own driving histories and needs. Drivers can then make informed decisions about where to buy their next auto insurance policies.
Careful, independent research replaces the need to move to South Dakota just because average auto insurance quotes from one set of data happened to be about 40% lower this past April.
Daniel Workman - A senior business and finance writer who also does French translations, notably international trade and insurance materials.
Comments