Who pays the most for car insurance

If you own a Mercedes SL, Forbes says that you are paying more for car insurance than anyone else. To get a typical policy, $500 deductibles on collision and comprehensive coverage, $100,000 each for personal and property coverage and $25,000 each for medical and uninsured coverage, on this year's $135,400 Mercedes SL, you'll pay about $22,536 a year.

TOP TEN MOST EXPENSIVE AND LEAST EXPENSIVE STATES FOR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE, 2005 (1) Rank Most expensive states Average expenditure Rank Least expensive states Average expenditure 1 New Jersey $1,184 1 North Dakota $554 2 D.C. 1,182 2 Iowa 555 3 New York 1,122 3 South Dakota 565 4 Massachusetts 1,113 4 Idaho 583 5 Louisiana 1,076 5 Kansas 590 6 Florida 1,063 6 North Carolina 602 7 Rhode Island 1,059 7 Wisconsin 615 8 Delaware 1,028 8 Nebraska 621 9 Connecticut 991 9 Wyoming 639 10 Nevada 983 10 Maine 644 (1) Based on average automobile insurance expenditures. Source: © 2007 National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

TOP FIVE MOST EXPENSIVE AND LEAST EXPENSIVE CITIES FOR AUTOMOBILE INSURANCE, 2007 (1) Rank Most expensive cities Average annual auto premiums Rank Least expensive cities Average annual auto premiums 1 Detroit, MI $5,072 1 Eau Claire, WI $869 2 Philadelphia, PA 3,779 2 Norfolk, VA 954 3 Newark, NJ 3,381 3 Raleigh, NC 966 4 Los Angeles, CA 3,027 4 Bismarck, ND 989 5 Hempstead, NY 2,764 5 Burlington, VT 1,001 (1) As of June 2007. Assumes $100,000/$300,000/$50,000 liability limits, collision and comprehensive with $500 deductibles, and $100,000/$300,000 uninsured coverage. Source: Runzheimer International.

Lawyers’ fees accounted for $11 out of every $100 in premiums. Half of the fees went to plaintiffs’ attorneys and the remainder to defendants’ attorneys.

Theft accounted for about 25 percent of the dollars that go to pay comprehensive claims, or 2 percent of premiums earned for private passenger auto insurance.