Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Idaho Has Lowest Six-Month Median Rate at $436; Louisiana Highest at $1,111

SACRAMENTO, CA--(Marketwire - March 1, 2011) - InsWeb Corporation (NASDAQ: INSW) today released its 2011 State Median Car Insurance Rate Report. The report ranks all 50 states and Washington D.C. according to median household car insurance rate for a six-month policy.

To determine the rates, InsWeb uses a proprietary system that tracks the filed rates of the largest insurance carriers in each state as well as actual profiles of InsWeb customers.

The ten states with the lowest median rates are:

2011
Ranking

State
Six-month Median Rate
2010
Ranking
1
Idaho
$436
1
2
Maine
$452
8
3
Vermont
$462
5
4
North Dakota
$490
16
5
North Carolina
$495
2
6
Minnesota
$515
17
7
Virginia
$521
13
8
Utah
$531
12
9
Ohio
$540
9
10
Wisconsin
$546
14

The ten states with the highest median rates are:

2011
Ranking

State
Six-month Median Rate
2010
Ranking
51
Louisiana
$1,111
51
50
Maryland
$942
46
49
Rhode Island
$911
48
48
Nevada
$876
47
47
Arizona
$842
44
46
Washington D.C.
$823
39
45
New York
$819
50
44
Connecticut
$814
49
43
California
$809
43
42
Georgia
$799
38

InsWeb also reported the current national median car insurance rate as well as the national median rates for specific demographic groups:

Demographic
Group
(National)

2011 Median Rate
2010 Median Rate
Year-over-year Change
All Drivers
$675
$715
-5.6%
Men
$697
$735
-5.2%
Women
$647
$695
-6.9%
Age Group: 19 and younger
$1,435
$1,356
+5.8%
Age Group: 20 to 24
$925
$982
-5.8%
Age Group: 25 to 29
$700
$747
-6.3%
Age Group: 30 to 39
$658
$710
-7.3%
Age Group: 40 to 49
$646
$690
-6.4%
Age Group: 50 to 59
$599
$620
-3.4%
Age Group: 60 to 74
$611
$590
+3.6%
Age Group: 75 and older
$661
$633
+4.4%

"Our State Median Rate Report gives readers a good sense of where drivers are paying the most for car insurance," said Brad Cooper, Senior Vice President of Operations at InsWeb. "But it's important to remember that just because a state has a high median rate does not necessarily mean that car insurance in that state is expensive for all residents. Factors such as vehicle make and model influence rates significantly. So in states where residents tend to drive more expensive vehicles, it's not uncommon to see higher insurance rates."

"InsWeb's Car Insurance Affordability Index, which we'll release again soon, takes a closer look at this phenomenon," he added.

To see the complete list of state median rate rankings and to learn more about how the rates are determined, please visit www.insweb.com/auto-insurance/state-rates.html.

To learn more about saving on car insurance and to compare car insurance quotes, visit InsWeb.com.

About InsWeb

InsWeb Corporation (NASDAQ: INSW) owns and operates a network of leading insurance marketplace and education websites. Founded in 1995 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, InsWeb's primary properties include InsWeb.com, MedHealthInsurance.com, LocalInsuranceAgents.com, and AgentInsider.com. InsWeb has invented multiple e-commerce and online insurance distribution technologies and owns the following patents: 6,898,597; 7,107,325; 7,389,246; 7,640,176 and 7,707,505.