Texting, Drunk driving and thieving causes high car insurance premiums
Posted by admin | Under Car Insurance News Monday Jun 22, 2009
In Nevada, drivers pay some of the highest car insurance premiums in the USA says a new analysis by Sun.
On average, drivers pay around $1,000 per year, per car. This is 23% higher then the national average. Nevada ranks 9th in the US, behind high cost states such as New York and New Jersey.
What makes it’s insurance premiums so high is simply the amount of accidents and car theft, and the severity of the incidents, i.e. the cost per incident.
Experts in Nevada say that they have more expensive incidents there. The reasons given for this phenomena are the 24 hour lifestyle that allows Nevadans to work and play all hours, which ultimately leads to tired driving. There is 24 hour access to alcohol and easy access to illicit drugs.
The Laws in Nevada still allow cell phones and texting while driving. Not wearing a seatbelt is still no primary offense. Police can only ticket a driver for not wearing a ticket once the driver has been stopped for another offence like speeding. The experts say that there aren’t enough police officers visible on intersections, which could caution people.
Alcohol is a factor in 36% of traffic fatalities in Nevada, compared with 26% nationally. Hospital care is more expensive which car insurers have to pay for. The level of uninsured drivers is also higher then the national average, which pushes up the premiums also.
Nevadans file generally more claims. 39.7% claim with injury lawyers in Nevada against the national average of 24.5%. Ads for personal accident lawyers are everywhere, experts say. More claims simply mean more overheads and more legal fees.
Las Vegas is also home to plenty of car thieves. The city’s criminals are leading the nation with more then 22,000 car thefts, or 1,265 per 100,000 residents in 2006, but the number dropped significantly in 2008 to 13,000 or 732 in 1000,000 residents.