What state has the highest auto insurance expenditures and premiums? A person can spend days contacting the state insurance departments to find such an answer; or you can click onto the Internet and come up with results with just a few stops on the information superhighway.

By going to http://www.insure.com, you can locate a detailed table for each state along with the phone numbers of state insurance departments and recent changes in state insurance policies.

One recent change in automotive insurance is occurring in the state with the highest insurance expenditures, New Jersey. New Jersey tips the scales at an annual average of $1,099.07 per driver. On May 20, Gov. Christie Whitman and state legislators signed into law a reform of New Jersey's auto insurance system. The plan includes a number of measures, including an average rate cut of 15 percent across the state.

Other measures included in the reform legislation include: a mandatory average 15 percent rate cut for most drivers; new, cheaper, "basic policies" with pared-down coverage; lower optional PIP limits ($15,000 to $250,000); tighter restrictions on pain and suffering lawsuits; new protocols for medical treatment claims; a revamped arbitration system for disputes over unpaid medical bills; the creation of an insurance ombudsman's office; the creation of an insurance fraud prosecutor; consumer groups allowed to intervene in rate-hike filings; and January 2000 removal of urban rate caps, but the insurance commissioner can now deny excessive rate hikes.

So which state has the lowest auto insurance expenditures and premiums? Folks in South Dakota spend an average of $448.33 on auto insurance.

Stat Corner is written by Denise Caspersen, ASA's research management specialist. She can be reached at (800) 272-7467, ext. 236.

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