Did you know that insurance professionals are sometimes avid football fans too? As the NFL playoffs have drawn down to the final four teams, we have been watching closely.
However, even more than football, we pay attention to creating affordable and effective insurance strategies for folks like you, and informing where we can on our expertise. This is very important to us and we are always happy to speak with you about your insurance options and questions.
In today’s blog we’re doing something unique (and maybe a little silly). We’ve combined our insurance passion with our excitement for the game we love in order to predict a potential Super Bowl LIV victor, and more importantly, teach a few important lessons about auto insurance along the way.
We’ve determined a winner based on which team’s home city has the most affordable *average auto insurance rates.
First things first
Before we get started, we need to acknowledge that price isn’t everything.
Our philosophy on any type of insurance is quite firm. The best insurance option is one that puts coverage first – but is fairly priced and properly serviced. After all, the whole point of having insurance is…well…being insured.
However, we’re insurance customers too, and we don’t like paying higher rates any more than you do. A low price is much appreciated when it doesn’t sacrifice great coverage.
Now let’s cover some backstory on the final four teams and their cities.
The Tennessee Titans
The last time the Tennessee Titans made it this far into the NFL playoffs they got all the way to the Super Bowl, only to suffer heartbreak when they were defeated by the St. Louis Rams in a dramatic final play.
The Titans reside in Nashville, TN - The Music City.
1The average auto insurance premium in Tennessee is 10% lower than the national average – which is music to the ears of anyone living in Nashville, since the Nashville city average is only $34 more.
The Titans will seek redemption for their last Super Bowl appearance as they attempt to defeat the Chiefs and play in the final game of the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs aren’t from Kansas…but they do play home games in Kansas City.
That’s because the city rests on a state border. Parts of Kansas City are in Kansas, while others (including the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium) lie in Missouri, and they are technically speaking, two separate cities.
2,3 In fact, drivers in Kansas City, Missouri happily pay an average of $105 less than their Kansas-based counterparts on auto insurance premiums.
The folks of Kansas City, MO would likely be even happier if they were to get a rematch of Super Bowl I against the Green Bay Packers in the championship.
The Green Bay Packers
Green Bay has the most experienced starting quarterback between the four remaining teams and this fact alone could have an actual influence on who wins the Super Bowl.
Insurance companies take experience very seriously too.
4Teens are four times more likely to be involved in an auto accident than older drivers. Because of this, insurance companies have little choice but to charge greater rates on policies that include young drivers.
It’s all about risk. As drivers become more experienced behind the wheel, insurance companies usually find ways to offer lower rates.
5In Green Bay, young people can save on average a whopping $3,126 when they reach their 20s and have more experience under their belts.
The San Francisco 49ers
In similar fashion to Green Bay, young drivers in San Francisco pay much less in car insurance premiums as they reach into their 20s - 6an average of 61% less to be exact.
And in similar fashion to Tennessee, the 49ers lost in their last Super Bowl appearance. However, should they win this year, they’ll join the ranks of the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers with the most Super Bowl victories in NFL history.
San Francisco is quite a large city. Like many large cities, rates can vary depending on where in the city you live.
6Theft, criminal activity, percentage of uninsured motorists, and other risks change depending on the neighborhood you live in. As with younger drivers, insurance companies take bigger chances by insuring those in more claim-prone areas. Folks living in higher risk neighborhoods may find their friends just a neighborhood over are paying a little less.
How does location affect auto premiums?
Before we determine a winner, let’s talk a little more about how location actually affects an auto insurance premium.
As you may have gathered, an individual’s driving record isn’t the only thing that affects their rates. 7The location in which you live actually can have an effect your rates. Remember that population density, higher risk of an accident with an uninsured motorist, the frequency of weather-related claims, various state regulations, and other factors must be kept in consideration by your insurance company.
7In larger cities, traffic is often more hectic and there are higher numbers of uninsured drivers on the road. Claim frequency is more likely and policy holders in big cities are at a greater risk of getting into a collision with a driver who is not insured. These facts can cause big city auto insurance rates to swell.
In addition, the type of coverage you have has significant impact on your premium. While you have some choices when it comes to coverages on your auto policy, a minimum amount of liability coverage is generally required (and varies from state to state).
State Minimums
Some states only require bare minimum liability coverage, and in fact, at Sidle Insurance we would argue that if you can afford better coverage, state minimums are inadvisable regardless of the state.
Keep in mind that should you actually need to use your insurance, there’s a chance you may not be covered enough or at all if you’ve opted only for state minimum liability coverage.
Here’s a little more on how minimum limits work.
8Minimum auto liability coverage limits are typically written out as three numbers (in the thousands) with the numbers representing the individual bodily injury limit, the total bodily injury limit, and the property damage limit, respectively.
Let’s look at a real-life example of how these limits work using the New York state minimum liability limits, which are 25/50/10.
A policy with these state minimum limits would cover up to $25,000 worth of bodily injury with a limit of $50,000 total for everyone’s injuries (assuming the policyholder is the liable party). In addition, damage to other’s vehicles or property would be covered by the policy with that last number – meaning a limit of $10,000.
So how do our four teams stack up when it comes to some of these other factors? We’ve compared their states’ minimum liability limits and number of uninsured motorists below.
Tennessee
9Tennessee requires a minimum liability of 25/50/15, but also allows insureds to meet state requirements with a combined single limit policy instead. Tennessee however does not require coverage for uninsured motorists, leaving some drivers at risk if they don’t have the coverage. In addition, Tennessee has the 5th highest number of uninsured motorists among the 50 states, which is both a significant risk for drivers and a foreboding fact for the Titans’ Super Bowl hopes in this blog post.
Missouri
9Missouri demands its drivers have at least 25/50/25 when it comes to their liability coverage. The state also requires policyholders have coverage to account for uninsured motorists and has an uninsured motorist percentage of 14%, which is notably better than Tennessee’s 20%.
Wisconsin
9Wisconsin has a minimum liability limit of 25/50/10 for bodily injury and property damage and requires uninsured motorist coverage and Medpay - coverage for medical payments regardless of who caused the accident.
10While Medpay is at times a valuable coverage to have, Personal Injury Protection is a similar but more comprehensive coverage that also includes benefits for lost wages and services, as the result of a covered accident. PIP rather than Medpay, is required in our home state of New York. 9We’re also happy to say that New York comes in 50th place with the smallest uninsured motorist percentage in the nation.
9While Wisconsin lands 15th on the most uninsured motorists list, their percentage is only .3% worse than Missouri’s.
California
9California’s liability requirements are rather lax and they have the 12th highest number of uninsured motorists in the nation. The state only requires 15/30/5 limits.
Such an alarmingly low amount of coverage generally makes for a cheaper policy, but if everyone is driving around with those limits, everyone’s risk goes up collectively. The them of the day of course is that greater risk often entitles a higher rate.
We hope that no matter where you acquire insurance that you have limits much higher than the California state minimum. In fact, we refuse to sell policies even close to that low in liability coverage, as many serious accidents easily exceed those limits.
So how did the teams place?
4th – San Francisco, California (The 49ers)
6City Average - $2,102
6State Average - $1,748
Unfortunately, homegrown 49ers fans will find that their city average is too high to compete against the rest of the field.
San Francisco’s history of natural disasters may have quite an impact on this.
A need for comprehensive and collision coverages for new or expensive vehicles could also have an impact. 11,12,13The state of California has the 6th highest median income, leads the country in car sales, and has the most registered vehicles on the road. With a large amount of traffic and many Californians affording new high-end vehicles - expensive claims to reimburse vehicle damage can be more common and drive up auto insurance premiums.
3rd – Kansas City, Missouri (The Chiefs)
2City Average - $1,582
2State Average (MO) - $1,389
Based solely on auto insurance, it appears the Chiefs will fall short this year, but the citizens of Kansas City, MO would be happy to know their average auto insurance premium isn’t too far off from the national average.
2nd – Nashville, Tennessee (The Titans)
1City Average - $1,446
1State Average - $1,412
The home of the Titans turns out to be a decent city to live in when it comes to average car insurance premiums, but a lesson many will take from this blog post is that the larger and busier the city, often the greater the insurance risk – putting Nashville out of the race against Green Bay.
The city puts up a good fight, but as far as our “prediction” goes, the Tennessee Titans will not be winning Super Bowl LIV.
1st – Green Bay, Wisconsin (The Packers)
5City Average - $903
5State Average - $1,040
The state of Wisconsin has relatively low average auto premiums, likely in part to a smaller population and fewer high-risk-associated areas. 5Green Bay’s car insurance premiums are 13% lower than the Wisconsin state average, with drivers in their 50s paying an average of just $796.
If you live in an area where auto insurance averages tend to be a little higher, keep in mind that averages are just that…averages.
Ultimately, rates vary by the individual – their driving history, experience, vehicle(s), choices of coverage, and so on. We are under the philosophy that every policy should be built differently.
The best option in our opinion is a fairly priced policy that sufficiently protects you against risks and accounts for all of your individual policy needs.
The staff at Sidle Insurance has the experience to build the insurance strategy that is right for you, and we encourage you to reach out if you’d like us to service your insurance needs.
*Based on recent studies conducted by The Zebra
Sources:
1https://www.thezebra.com/nashville-tn-car-insurance/
2https://www.thezebra.com/kansas-city-mo-car-insurance/
3https://www.thezebra.com/kansas-city-ks-car-insurance/
4https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/who-was-injured/teen/teen-driving-statistics.html
5https://www.thezebra.com/green-bay-wi-car-insurance/
6https://www.thezebra.com/san-francisco-ca-car-insurance/
7https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2019/02/19/where-youll-pay-the-most-and-least-for-car-insurance/#4ba53d8a3a31
8https://sayinsurance.com/blog/auto-insurance-coverage-limits-explained
9https://www.iii.org/fact-statistic/facts-statistics-uninsured-motorists
10https://www.insure.com/car-insurance/pip-medpay-coverage.html
11http://worldpopulationreview.com/states/median-household-income-by-state/
12https://www.statista.com/statistics/634072/us-car-sales-by-key-state/
13https://www.statista.com/statistics/196010/total-number-of-registered-automobiles-in-the-us-by-state/