Driven to save on insurance

Conditions, competition reduce Kansas premiums

Auto insurance premiums are cheaper in Kansas, on average, than in all but eight other states nationwide.

That’s thanks to good driving habits, fine roads, opportune weather and relatively law-abiding folks in the state, said Sandy Praeger, Kansas insurance commissioner.

Perhaps even more significant: A total of 164 companies are vying for customers state-wide, with more agencies to come.

“We’ve got a good, competitive market,” said Praeger, a former Lawrence mayor who still lives in town. “Some of the bigger companies have come in with rate decreases, and then the other companies feel the need to compete with that. :

“The best way to compete is through price.”

The ranking comes with this week’s release of the latest Auto Insurance Database Report compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC.

On average, Kansans pay $770 a year in premiums for liability, collision and comprehensive coverage on their vehicles, according to the report. On average, Iowa is the least-expensive at $686, while New Jersey is the most expensive at $1,386.

Gladys Lester, for her part, hasn’t noticed the financial benefits she and her fellow Kansans are said to be enjoying. The 72-year-old retired cafeteria cook has never had an accident, gets a discount through her membership in AARP and has “full coverage” on her 1999 Chrysler Town and Country van.

Turns out her relative good fortune is just that – relative – considering that she moved to Lawrence seven years ago from South Dakota, a state that ranks consistently lower on the report’s cost scale.

“I’m just glad I don’t live in New York or New Jersey,” she said, referring to states where the average premium costs rank No. 3 and No. 1 on the most-expensive list, respectively. “I wouldn’t care to live there.”

Kansas offers a good value for insurers, Praeger said, because it has less of what boosts costs and more of what drives savings.

Kansas has less crime and traffic congestion than many other states, said Praeger, who figures that Kansas has better roads, and therefore fewer accidents and – most important – fewer claims than other locales.

“The bottom line is you have lower premiums when you have lower claims,” said Praeger, who also serves as NAIC vice president.

Rising coverage costs

States with the lowest average premium costs for auto insurance policies that include liability, comprehensive and collision coverage, and percentage cost increase from five years ago, according to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners:
1. Iowa, $686, up 23 percent.
2. Wisconsin, $707, up 17 percent.
3. North Carolina, $717, up 7 percent.
4. Idaho, $719, up 18 percent.
5. North Dakota, $731, up 22 percent.
6. South Dakota, $748, up 21 percent.
7. Ohio, $763, up 18 percent.
8. Maine, $764, up 27 percent.
9. Kansas, $770, up 13 percent.
10. Indiana, $773, up 18 percent.
National average: $960, up 22 percent.
Check out portions of the latest Auto Insurance Database Report, compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. The report’s final chart includes state-by-state average costs for auto-insurance premiums: the first column showing the average for all policies, including those with liability-only coverage; the second is for full policies, which include liability, collision and comprehensive coverage. See the report >>