Michigan residents face the steepest car insurance cost burden in the nation, according to new research released by CarInsuranceQuotes.com, a Bankrate company.

According to a release, the typical Michigan household pays 8 percent of its annual income for car insurance.

CarInsuranceQuotes.com divided the median cost for car insurance by the median household income in each state (plus the District of Columbia) and found that Michigan, Louisiana, Kentucky, West Virginia and Mississippi are the five most expensive states for car insurance by this measure.

The least expensive state is Massachusetts, where the typical household pays 1.43 percent of its annual income for car insurance. North Carolina, Hawaii, Alaska and Oregon round out the five most affordable states.

"The laws in each state vary widely," said John Egan of CarInsuranceQuotes.com. "For example, part of the reason why Michigan is so expensive is that it's the only state that guarantees unlimited personal injury protection. While you're probably not going to move to a new state just because of car insurance costs, the most important thing to remember is that regardless of where you live you can get a better deal than the Average Joe by shopping around."

CarInsuranceQuotes.com gathered median car insurance data and median household income data from all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

To determine median car insurance rates, CarInsuranceQuotes.com used a system developed by Quadrant Information Services that tracks the rates of car insurers in each state.

Report information:

carinsurancequotes.com/car_insurance-costs

((Comments on this story may be sent to newsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

Copyright:	(c) 2012 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved.
Wordcount:	249