ILLINOIS, CHICAGO DRIVERS Pay Ninth-Highest Auto Insurance Premiums In U.S.!
AVERAGE IL ANNUAL AUTO PREMIUM NEARLY $1,680! WHO TOPS THE LIST? LOUISIANA!
You own and drive a car in Chicago? Chances are, you're paying a high premium for your auto insurance!
According to research just completed by the Independent Insurance Agents of Illinois, as reported in the Chicago Tribune by Reporter Kiah Haslett, the average IL driver forks out $1,679.15 each year to keep insurance-legal (basic liability coverage is required of all IL Drivers - although most drivers also keep expensive collision and comprehensive vehicle coverage, many for multiple vehicles).
High insurance bills are something we Chicago Drivers have lived with - albeit reluctantly - for years.
As a novice driver in Chicago, about the time Richard Nixon was President (really, folks!), my coverage for my Royal Blue '68 Chevy Nova tipped the scales at nearly $1,500/year for basic coverage - but I was 16 at the time, and they say we Young Bucks are, statistically risky drivers! (Hey . . . how did they know!)
These days, full coverage on my 2008 Honda Accord sets me back about $1,200/year. My brother Randy, in Grayslake IL, far distant from Chicago, but still a Chicago Suburb, pays about $800 annually for a similar car, with a comparable driving record.
Why higher rates in Chicago? You may have guessed it - higher statistical incidences of accidents, of car theft. Higher dollar potential property damage with increased, often strangling, traffic, according to Dennis Garrett of the Independent Insurance Agents organization. And potentially higher liability payouts as well, with the heightened likelihood of a collision here.
Several states across the U.S. have higher average car insurance premiums than IL. Drivers in Louisiana, for example, pay an annual average of $2,510.87. The average yearly auto premium in Michigan - $2,098.29.
On the other end of the spectrum, with the lowest auto rates annually, were Vermont, at 968.58, and Maine, with an average premium each year of $902.85. These states have reduced populations, and fewer miles per driver. This keeps the average number of commuting miles per driver low, and collision statistics in check.
But here in Chicago - traffic seems to only get worse, and insurance costs likely to remain high!
DEAN MOSS & DEAN'S TEAM CHICAGO
