These are the cities where drivers file the most insurance claims — is yours one of them?

You can do everything right behind the wheel and still watch your car insurance rate climb, all because of where you live. Insurers price your premium partly on how often drivers in your zip code file claims, so a spotless record doesn’t fully protect you if you live in a high-claim area. Some zip codes simply see more collisions, theft, and weather damage than others, and your rate reflects that risk. 

Thankfully, location is only one factor, and steps like comparing quotes, keeping a clean record, and claiming every discount you qualify for can keep your premium down no matter where you live.

Why does your zip code affect your car insurance premium?

Your zip code affects your premium because insurers price your risk by location, and some areas see far more claims than others. Car insurers set rates based on how likely they are to pay out a claim, so where you live, how often local drivers crash, and rates of theft and vandalism in your area all push your premium up or down.

How much location matters shows up clearly in collision frequency. The Allstate America’s Best Drivers Report found that the average driver in the United States will experience an auto collision every 10.56 years, based on property and collision claims data from drivers in the country’s 200 most populous cities. But the gap between cities is wide.

Which cities have the most and fewest car collisions?

Among major U.S. cities, drivers in Boston crash most often, going just 3.07 years between collisions on average, while drivers in Brownsville, Texas go the longest at 14.24 years. Boston has the highest collision frequency on the list, where drivers are 224% more likely to crash than the average driver nationwide, according to Allstate, and dense, high-traffic areas are what drive that risk. The wider a city’s gap from the national average of 10.56 years, the more your location pulls your premium up or down.

 “Essentially, the more people in an area and the more the traffic, the higher the rate,” says Dominic Catanzaro, an agent with Wallace & Turner, an independent insurance agency with offices in Springfield and Urbana, Ohio.

Here are the average years between collisions in selected U.S. cities.

How do insurers use your zip code to set rates?

Insurers apply a location-based multiplier to your premium that reflects how likely claims are in your specific zip code. Eric Poe, CEO of CURE Auto Insurance, says Detroit zip codes might carry a 2.5 multiplier, while nearby Birmingham, Michigan, which sees relatively few claims, sits at 0.7. That difference alone can more than triple the same driver’s rate across a short distance.

Collisions are only one piece of it. Insurers also analyze your zip code for the risk of:

• Crime such as theft and vandalism
• Weather damage
• Medical costs, in states with no-fault insurance
• Repair costs
• Fraud
• Litigation

Your rate isn’t set by your own neighborhood alone, though. Claims across your state filter into what everyone pays through the insurer’s base rate, which is built from its overall cost of doing business. When a company pays out heavily in one area, that cost gets spread across its customers.

“The base rate floor is spread out among everyone in the state,” Poe explains.

The cities with the highest collision frequency

Boston has the highest collision frequency of any major U.S. city, with drivers there 244% more likely to crash than the national average and going just 3.07 years between collisions. Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and two more Massachusetts cities round out the top five, according to Allstate’s America’s Best Drivers Report.

The pattern is about density, not bad driving. Living in Boston doesn’t make you a worse driver, but it does give you far more opportunities to get into an accident than you’d have in a much smaller city like Brownsville, Texas, which had the lowest collision frequency in Allstate’s study. Large urban areas mean heavier traffic, and congestion raises the odds of hitting another car or being hit, while claims for theft and vandalism also tend to be higher where more people live.

So which cities have the highest collision frequency? Here are the 10 riskiest cities based on Allstate’s America’s Best Drivers Report.

How does weather affect your car insurance rates?

Collisions aren’t the only thing that can cause car insurance rates to rise. Weather can also lead to claims for damage related to hail, water and high winds, among other things.

For instance, Nationwide says 20% of the vehicles it insures that are damaged by hail are a total loss. Those that can be repaired cost between $3,000 and $13,000. Hail is so costly that the insurer rolled out a program last year to text customers when inclement weather was expected in their area.

The type of weather most likely to generate a claim depends on where you live, with each region facing its own dominant threats.

• Midwest: Hail, tornadoes, thunderstorms and winter storms
• Coastal: Tropical storms, hurricanes and flooding
• West: Wildfire
• Mountain: Hail and winter storms

As with collisions, insurers consider where they are paying out the most for weather-related claims and adjust their premiums to account for that risk.

Does your zip code or your driving record matter more?

Your driving record matters more than your zip code, because while where you live affects your premium, your own claim history and insurance score carry far more weight, which is why two drivers in the same city can pay very different rates.

Location does still move the needle. Nationally, there are 3.58 accidents per 1,000 drivers, according to LendingTree’s analysis of the 50 largest U.S. cities, and Portland, Oregon, leads the country at 7.46, which LendingTree ties partly to the speed of traffic there. 

Living somewhere with frequent accidents gives you more chances to be in one, so insurers factor that risk into your rate. But an area’s accident rate isn’t the same as your personal history behind the wheel, and the two pull on your premium with different force.

“Zip code does have a factor, but the main factors are your claim frequency and insurance score,” says Dominic Catanzaro.

Your insurance score is a number, usually based on your credit history, that estimates your likelihood of filing a claim. Together with how often you’ve actually filed, it outweighs your location, so a clean record and a strong insurance score can keep your rate down even in a high-accident city like Portland.

How living in a claim-prone city affects your car insurance rate

Living in a city with frequent collisions often means higher premiums, but not always. Collision claims are just one of the costs insurers price in, so some high-accident zip codes are actually cheaper than areas with far fewer crashes. What fills the gap is everything else insurers pay out for:

• Medical and injury claims, especially in no-fault states
• Theft and vandalism
• Litigation and lawsuit costs
• Repair costs

What drivers in high-claim cities can do to lower costs

Drivers in high-claim areas can take steps to lower their car insurance premiums.

“You always have the option to shop your insurance,” Catanzaro says.

Compare quotes annually to make sure you are getting the best deal in your area. An independent agent can make this process easy, but you may also want to do your own research. Most agents work with only a limited number of insurers.

Beyond that, look for the following ways to save:

• Increase your deductibles to lower premiums, but only if you have enough in the bank to cover the cost should you have to file a claim
• Look for discounts for bundling policies or signing up for telematics, which are programs that track driving behavior
• Maintain a clean driving record and ask about accident forgiveness if you are involved in a collision

Are smaller cities safer for drivers?

Smaller and mid-sized cities do tend to be safer for drivers, and that usually translates to lower car insurance rates. Most of the safest cities in Allstate’s study are moderately sized, where lighter traffic means fewer chances for a collision:

• Brownsville, TX
• Boise, ID
• Fort Collins, CO
• Carey, NC
• Laredo, TX

Where this realistically helps is the zip code you choose within a metro area you’re already moving to. If you live near a large city or need to for work, settling a little outside the city center can shave money off your premium.

“The suburbs are going to be a little better,” Catanzaro says.

Can you lower your rate even if you live in a high-risk area?

Car accidents are more common in some cities and that can raise your auto insurance rates even if you’ve never make a claim. Insurers consider the possibility of a collision or other claim when calculating your premiums, and they use data from your area in making that determination.

While you may not be able to change where you live or how that impacts your premiums, you can shop smart, maintain a clean driving record and take advantage of car insurance discounts to keep your rates low.

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