From Detroit and Philly to Chattanooga and Roanoke, City Drivers Pay More or Less

Average annual insurance premiums vary from nearly $5,200 in Detroit, Michigan to under $760 in Roanoke, Virginia, according to the latest analysis by Runzheimer International, the Rochester, Wisconsin-based vehicle costing and management consulting firm.

At $5,162 per year for insurance coverage for a mid-size sedan driven within a 50-mile radius of the city, Detroit-areas drivers pay approximately $4,400 more a year than similar drivers in Roanoke, Virginia who pay only $758 for the same coverage. These rates are based on both male and female drivers over a minimum age with clean driving records and include comprehensive, collision, bodily injury, property damage, and uninsured motorist coverage.

Philadelphia and Newark also represent expensive locations for insurance coverage at $4,142 and $3,482, respectively. Los Angeles at $3,225 and New York City at $3,127, round out the Five Most Expensive Cities list

Other areas, in addition to Roanoke, are insurance bargains. The same driver, driving the same vehicle in Wapakoneta, Ohio pays only $871 for this all-inclusive coverage. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, vehicle owners pay $911; in Green Bay, Wisconsin, $948; and in Raleigh, North Carolina, $949.

The insurance assumptions in the study are as follows: $500 deductibles for comprehensive and for collision; $100/$300/$50 bodily injury/property damage ($2,000 medical and 100/300 uninsured motorist)