Average Insurance Costs

What does an average insurance rate mean to you, factors that influence insurance costs, and how rates vary depending on the company.

The average car insurance rate is $829, and the average home insurance rate is $764. Those are the national averages, but rates vary by as much as $500 depending the state you live in.

Car insurance rates are going to vary depending on type of car, location, type of coverage, driving experience, driving history, and much more. Home insurance rates are vary depending on the age of house, cost of home, location, claim history, and other factors.

The average insurance rates for a 25 year old is going to vary from a 35 year old that has much more driving experience. So it is going to be difficult to know what the average rate is going to be for you.

If you wanted to know your average rate, then you can get quotes from different companies and calculate the average rate. Although, most people are more concerned about just finding a good price for insurance.

More importantly, average insurance rates vary depending on the company. Insurance companies may have lower prices or higher prices for various reasons. Rates may be influenced by how much insurers are spending on business expenses, how much profit they expect, advertising expenses, risk factors, competitors rates, and many other reasons.

Average Home Insurance Rates by State

The national association of insurance commissioners (NAIC) released its homeowners insurance report, providing data for average costs by state and other information.

Although the cost of real estate differs in each state, it still gives you a good idea what an average rate would be in each state.

Also, insurance companies have a team of professionals that evaluate risk, so the costs may be a good indicator of what is the safest place to own a home.

The Texas Department of Insurance develops policy forms similar, but not identical to homeowners policies countrywide, and should not be directly compared with any other state. The average in Texas is $1,372.

States with higher rates
1) Louisiana $1,144
2) Florida $1,083
3) Dist. of Columbia $963
4) Mississippi $939
5) Oklahoma $996

States with lower rates
1) Idaho $457
2) Utah $477
3) Oregon $491
4) Delaware $498
5) Wisconsin $495

The national average for home insurance is $764. The average rates for renters insurance countrywide is $193, and does not vary much by state. The study is based on premiums in 2005.

Average Car Insurance Rates by State

The rates vary because of states laws, and how many people in the state live in small towns or cities. For example, North Dakota most people live in smaller towns, with less traffic. Keep in mind, if you live in a state with higher averages, and live in a smaller town, your rate will be lower.

The 5 States with lowest average rates: (North Dakota $554, Iowa $555, South Dakota $565, Idaho $583, Kansas $590)

The 5 States with highest average rates: (New Jersey $1,184, New York $1,122, Massachusetts $1,113, Louisiana $1,076, Florida $1,063)

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recently released this data of the auto insurance rates by states. The research statistics is based on averages in 2005 - for a full year. The national average is $829. Other states are listed in the report at NAIC, which is in pdf format, if you would like to see.

* Also, if you have full-coverage your rates will be higher than the average, since not everybody has (collision) full-coverage.