Car Insurance Eating Up The Family Budget

DETROIT (WWJ) - Michigan tops a dubious list this morning. The website CarInsuranceQuotes.com finds our state has the biggest car insurance burden in the U.S., eight percent of the family budget. Spokesman John Egan says a Michigan family spends more of its budget on car insurance than any other state.

"The percentage of annual household income that Michiganders pay is about eight percent towards car insurance, which is far and away the largest amount of any state or the District of Columbia," Egan said.

Egan adds that Michigan is the only state where personal injury protection includes UNLIMITED lifetime medical and rehab benefits for treatment of car accident injuries.

Meanwhile, rural areas don't have as many vehicles -- or crashes.

"North Carolina, for instance, you've got a lot of people who are dispersed -- the population is dispersed -- there aren't necessarily as many people living in big urban centers, therefore, you end up having fewer car accidents."

Louisiana had the second-highest insurance burden, followed by Kentucky, West Virginia, and Mississippi.

At the 'budget-friendly' end of the insurance list was Massachusetts, followed by North Carolina, Hawai'i, Alaska, and Oregon.