Safe Drivers Pay the Price for Reckless Neighbors, According to Allstate’s Most Dangerous Driving Cities

Safe drivers pay 84% more for car insurance in dangerous driving cities

Comparing Insurify rate data in Allstate’s safest and most dangerous cities shows how safe drivers pay the price for their reckless neighbors.

In the 10 most dangerous cities, full coverage averages $3,538 annually for policyholders with a clean driving record — 84% more than the $1,926 average premium in the 10 safest cities.

Sara Getman, a 25-year-old Insurify content editor, commutes to work in Boston, Allstate’s most dangerous city for drivers. The average Boston driver crashes every 3.07 years, according to Allstate, compared to the national average of 10.56 years.

“I’ve seen people driving on the wrong side of the road and on sidewalks multiple times. I’ve seen drivers texting on their phones and almost killing runners and cyclists,” said Getman, who pays more than $2,400 annually for full coverage, despite her clean driving record.

Seven of the 10 cities with the highest collision rates are in the Northeast, including Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia.

Population density, which is highest in the Northeast, also factors into crash risk and insurance pricing. Boston has about 14,000 residents per square mile, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Brownsville, Texas, Allstate’s safest city for drivers, has one-tenth Boston’s population density.

Outdated urban planning also affects insurance rates. Allstate’s most dangerous driving cities are mostly “older cities with roads that were laid out way before the modern vehicle,” noted Daniel Lucas, carrier relations manager at Insurify. “They are not driver-friendly or safe.”