The Best Type of Car Insurance to Get if You Live in a High-Crime Area

Where you live plays a part in how much you pay for car insurance. Areas with higher crime rates tend to have the highest premiums, but you do have options to lower your rates.
Written by Cheryl Knight
Reviewed by Carrie Adkins
When configuring your car insurance premium, insurance companies take into account the rate of theft and vandalism in your ZIP code. Fortunately, as this article outlines, you do have a few options at your disposal when you're trying to lower car insurance premiums if you live in an area with a higher crime rate.

Crimes That Can Affect Your Car Insurance Premiums

Search sites such as
CityProtect
,
NeighborhoodScout
, and
SpotCrime
to determine the crime rate in an area you might move to. Some of the crimes that car insurance companies take into account when figuring out premiums for high-crime areas include:
Burglaries: Burglary can occur when someone breaks into your vehicle to steal items such as a car stereo, personal belongings, or any other items that your vehicle contains.
Fraud: Insurance fraud happens anytime a car owner makes a false claim on their insurance policy.
Theft: Areas with a lot of stolen vehicles tend to tout higher insurance premiums. This problem becomes even greater if you own a frequently stolen car such as a Honda, Toyota, or full-size pickup.
Vandalism: Acts of vandalism include damage to your vehicle, such as a hit-and-run, a broken window, or graffiti on your car.

Most and Least Expensive Areas to Live in

High-crime areas in the U.S. are usually locations with large populations. Other places that exhibit a high crime rate include areas where drug-related offenses have become a problem.
The following two charts from
Leavitt Group
show the most and least expensive areas in the U.S. for car insurance premiums due to high or low crime rates.
Rank
City
1
Detroit, Michigan
2
Brooklyn, New York
3
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
4
Providence, Rhode Island
5
New Orleans, Louisiana
6
Los Angeles, California
7
Woodbridge, Connecticut
8
Baltimore, Maryland
9
Miami, Florida
10
Royalton, Kentucky
Rank
City
1
Green Springs, Ohio
2
Arden, North Carolina
3
Saco, Maine
4
Christiansburg, Virginia
5
Boise, Idaho
6
Lake Havasu City, Arizona
7
West Lafayette, Indiana
8
Allouez, Wisconsin
9
Concord, New Hampshire
10
Normal, Illinois
Choose the right make and model: When buying a car, avoid those on the list of the most stolen vehicles in the U.S. The makes and models beloved by thieves include:
  1. Honda Civic
  2. Honda Accord
  3. Ford full-size pickup
  4. Chevrolet full-size pickup
  5. Toyota Camry
  6. Dodge full-size pickup
  7. Toyota Corolla
  8. Nissan Altima
  9. Dodge Caravan
  10. Chevrolet Impala
Compare options: When looking for car insurance, make sure to shop around at different companies to get a better deal. Getting a few
quotes
from a few different companies can help you save on your premiums, especially when it comes to comprehensive coverage, which represents the type of insurance that covers vandalism, vehicle break-ins, and vehicle thefts.
Living in an area with a high-crime rate can cost you when it comes to your car insurance premium. Luckily, you can take these steps to help reduce how much you pay.
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