Paying too much for car insurance? This is where you want to live in Florida

Miami Herald (FL)

Feb. 26-- Feb. 26--You might want to move to the Fort Myers-Naples area of Florida -- if you don't already live there -- if you want to pay the least for your car insurance in the state.

That's because drivers in the Southwest Florida market are paying $1,746 for an average annual premium between Jan. 1, 2018, and Sept. 30, 2018.

That's still more than the national average of $1,470, according to the latest survey by The Zebra, an insurance search engine group that compares car insurance rates across the U.S. But it's about $300 cheaper than the Florida average of $2,058.

South Florida rates

According to The Zebra's 2019 State of Auto Insurance Report, South Florida's tri-county metro area of Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach tops the state at an average figure of $2,687, more than 6 percent higher in the first nine months of 2018 compared to 2017.

Jupiter is where you want to be if you hope to pay less for your annual car insurance.

In four out of 10 Jupiter ZIP Code areas, the new auto insurance survey said the 33469 ZIP Code has the cheapest average annual premium in South Florida: $2,155. Palm Beach Gardens, Cabana Colony, Juno Beach, Belle Glade, South Bay and Pahokee were the other tri-county bargains.

Comparatively speaking.

So where are you paying the most?

Miami-Dade. Of course.

Brownsville's 33142 ZIP Code is the most expensive at $3,136, followed by Gladeview's 33147 at $3,129.

Then the next eight most expensive South Florida ZIP Codes are all Miami (six of them, with 33135 the most at $3,129) and two in Hialeah (33010 and 33013, which was No. 10 most expensive at $3,076.)

Florida averages

The survey folks pulled together a snapshot of Florida and found these average annual premiums in several metro areas:

-- As noted, Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach is $2,687.

-- Tampa-St. Pete: $2,256.

-- Orlando-Daytona Beach: $1,900.

-- Fort Myers-Naples: $1,746.

If this gets you down, be glad you don't live in Detroit because you are probably paying $5,464 -- the highest average in the country according to The Zebra.

U.S. highs and lows

But Winston-Salem, North Carolina, is the best bargain in the U.S. at just $846 as an annual average.

And, according to the folks at Zebra, which has tracked this kind of information since 2011, everyone is feeling the bite. "Car insurance rates are at an all-time high in the U.S., increasing by nearly 49 percent since 2011.

Types of cars

The 2019 State of Auto Insurance Report also found that the Audi R8 was the most expensive car to insure with a national average annual rate of $4,102. The least expensive was the Subaru Outback at $1,392.

Going green? Good for the environment, perhaps, but not so much for the green in your wallet. "Hybrid or electric vehicle models are among the most expensive to insure because of their cost to repair or replace," according to The Zebra.

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