Minnesota Among Safest Driving States For Your Wallet

A recent study conducted by WalletHub found that Minnesota is one of the safer state’s to drive in, in terms of keeping money in your pocket in the event of a crash.

For their study, researchers analyzed three factors: State requirements for liability coverage, related types of required insurance (like medical payment coverage and personal injury protection) and the estimated number of uninsured drivers on the road. They developed a point system, which you can read about in more detail here, that awards points based on the amount of required coverage, if additional coverage is required, and for low uninsured driver percentage. After tallying all the data, researchers compiled a list that ranked the all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

The Top 10

The top 10 states that keep the most money in a driver’s wallet in the event of a crash are:

1. Maine

2. North Dakota

3. New York

T-4. Maryland

T-4. New Hampshire

6. Utah

T-7. Massachusetts

T-7. Oregon

9. South Carolina

T-10. Alaska

T-10. Kansas

T-10. Minnesota

Minnesota actually has more minimum bodily injury coverage per person and per accident than many of the states ranked higher on the list, but it as a relativity high percentage of uninsured motorists. WalletHub projects that about 10.8 percent of Minnesota drivers are uninsured. Of the top 10, only Maryland and Alaska have a higher percentage of uninsured drivers, at 12.2 and 13.2 percent respectively.

The Bottom 10

Conversely, if you get into an accident with the wrong person in one of the bottom 10 states, it may take a significant chunk out of your wallet. The worst driving states for your wallet are:

T-42. Nevada

T-42. Washington

T-44. Alabama

T-44. Michigan

46. Tennessee

T-47. California

T-47. Mississippi

49. New Mexico

50. Oklahoma

51. Florida

Aside from rarely requiring additional medical or personal injury insurance, these states all boast high numbers of uninsured drivers. Six of these states have uninsured driver rates that top 20 percent, and Oklahoma takes the cake for the state with the most uninsured drivers, at 25.9 percent.

Related source: WalletHub

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