Thursday, October 2, 2008

Car Accidents Happen Closer To Home Than You May Think

Where you live is an element that insurance companies use in the process of setting up your insurance rates. Auto insurance companies often look at how often car accidents and theft occur close to your home when determining your car insurance rates.

Progressive asked 11,000 of its auto insurance policyholders who reported accidents in 2001 how close to home they were when the accident happened. Fifty-two percent reported they were five miles or less from home, and an astounding 77 percent reported they were within 15 miles of home!

Typically, if you live in an accident-prone area, insurers will assume your risk is higher because most people do their driving near home.

Where Accidents Occur Most

Miles from home
Percentage of accidents
1 mile or less
23%
2 to 5 miles
29%
6 to 10 miles
17%
11 to 15 miles
8%
16 to 20 miles
6%
More than 20 miles
17%

In addition:

  • Accidents were more than twice as likely to occur one mile from home compared to 20 miles from home
  • One percent of reported accidents took place 50 miles or more from home
  • The region with the highest percentage of reported accidents occurring less than five miles from home was the Northeast, followed by the Midwest, West, Great Plains, Gulf, then Mid Atlantic

Where does my state fall?

Northeast Region:
Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont

Midwest Region:
Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota, and Ohio

Western Region:
Arizona, California, Oregon, and Washington

Great Plains Region:
Colorado, North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Utah

Gulf Region:
Alabama, Florida, and Mississippi

Mid-Atlantic Region:
Delaware, Washington, D.C., Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia, and West Virginia

If you think you’re paying too much for car insurance because you live in an accident-prone area, log on to Insurance.com’s auto insurance comparison application. Here, you will be able to evaluate multiple rates from best-in-class insurance providers – helping you find the cheapest auto insurance coverage for your area and state.

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