Virginia's car insurance rates are typically lower than those in Pennsylvania. For example, the CPI (CarInsurance.com Premium Index) shows these annual premium averages for Pennsylvania:
| 2007 |
$1,761 |
| 2008 |
$1,686 |
| 2009 to date |
$1,962 |
These annual premium averages for Virginia:
| 2007 |
$1,267 |
| 2008 |
$1,314 |
| 2009 to date |
$1,475 |
The area of each state that you are getting insurance on for each state also makes a difference in the car insurance rates. For example in 2007 Philadelphia, PA was listed on a study done by Runzheimer International as the second most expensive city to get car insurance with an average insurance premium of $3779.
That same year Norfolk, VA was listed as the number 2 cheapest city for insurance with an average rate of $954. In this study they assumed $100,000/$300,000/$50,000 liability limits, collision and comprehensive with $500 deductibles, and $100,000/$300,000 uninsured coverage, so more than the actual limits required in each state.
Studies done more recently continue to show that PA has higher premiums than Virginia on average. One likely reason is the type of insurance each state requires.
The Pennsylvania Insurance Department notes that the minimum required insurance coverage needed to own and operate a vehicle in Pennsylvania is:
Medical Benefits — This pays medical bills for you and others covered on your policy regardless of fault. The minimum limit is $5,000 of coverage. Higher limits are available.
Plus basic liability coverage often referred to as 15/30/5 coverage. This includes:
Bodily Injury Liability — If you injure someone in a car accident, this coverage pays their medical and rehabilitation expenses and any damages for which you are found liable. You must buy coverage of at least $15,000/$30,000. The $15,000 pays for injuries to one person while the $30,000 represents the total available for one accident.
Property Damage Liability — If you damage someone’s property in an accident and you are at fault, this coverage pays for it. You must buy at least $5,000 of coverage. Some companies offer a single limit of $35,000 which meets the bodily injury liability and property damage liability minimum requirements.
In PA you can choose to have full or limited tort coverage. Limited tort coverage offers you a savings on your premiums. You are still able to recover all out-of-pocket medical and other expenses; however, you are not able to recover certain damages - such as payments for pain and suffering - unless the injuries meet one of the exceptions to limited tort as defined by PA law. With full tort coverage selection, you retain unrestricted rights to bring suit against the negligent party.
Virginia's insurance requirements are very simple in comparison. In VA the minimum auto insurance is Liability coverages of 25/50/20. This stands for bodily injury/death of one person $25,000, bodily injury/death of two or more persons $50,000 and property damage $20,000.
While if even on average Virginia's auto insurance rates are lower than those in Pennsylvania it really depends upon rating factors of insurance carriers in each state whether you would get lower rates in one state or the other. For example if you were to live a more congested of Virginia your rates may be higher than if you lived in a fairly traffic free area of Pennsylvania since your location and the risk of being in an accident are taken into account as rating factors usually.
You can review state average rates and see how each state compares to the national average auto insurance rates. Also, learn more about the CPI - CarInsurance.com Premium Index.
If you want to compare PA and VA auto insurance rates you can use our quick and easy car insurance estimator to do so.
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