detroit auto insurance costs > $10,000 a year. On average.

[GoCougs]

The person "at fault" is deemed so and their premium rate is increased accordingly.  As claims are settled by insurance companies, they are the ones bearing the cost of the claim; therefore, higher or lower settlements have no impact on 'human behaviour'.

The human behavior I was referring to was no-fault states' rampant fraud and sob stories that lead to more/higher claims and thus higher premiums vs. "fault" states. The adversarial component - primarily the other person's insurance company, lack of robust LE investigation, and the tort court system - is a huge check against such behavior (and thus lower premiums in "fault" states).

[MexicoCityM3]

I don't believe this statistic can be true. We have far more dangerous areas and insurance doesn't even get clos to that on average.

[veeman]

I don't believe this statistic can be true. We have far more dangerous areas and insurance doesn't even get clos to that on average.

Yes but you are comparing apples to oranges.

My guess is that in Mexico very few auto accident cases end up in court, there are very long delays (years) for a liability case to end up in court, and that successful judgements rarely involve hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

The actual cost of autobody repair or car replacement is but one factor of many factors determining auto insurance premiums in the US.  Also, the monetary dollar/peso value of the average car in Mexico is less than that of the US.  As an extreme example, if you drove a Camcord and all the other cars in your district were Rolls Royces, your insurance costs would be higher than if all the other cars in your district were Yugos.     

[MexicoCityM3]

Yes but you are comparing apples to oranges.

My guess is that in Mexico very few auto accident cases end up in court, there are very long delays (years) for a liability case to end up in court, and that successful judgements rarely involve hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.

The actual cost of autobody repair or car replacement is but one factor of many factors determining auto insurance premiums in the US.  Also, the monetary dollar/peso value of the average car in Mexico is less than that of the US.  As an extreme example, if you drove a Camcord and all the other cars in your district were Rolls Royces, your insurance costs would be higher than if all the other cars in your district were Yugos.     

You make good points. Still, I find 10K per year to be ludicrously high. I pay less than 2K/year to insure my M3 here with full coverage. And the repair costs on it are crazy high. My ex's '03 Liberty costs about $600 to insure per year also with full coverage. Maybe I live in insurance paradise? Wouldn't have guessed it.

[Soup DeVille]

Less than 2 grand for an M3 would be a good price anywhere in the states.

[r0tor]

If it was really a problem of no fault state laws - the entire state should have astronomically high rates.

My guess, the cities insurance rates are based on astronomically high rates of insurance fraud so its population can continue to not work and pay their drug dealer.

[SJ_GTI]

Less than 2 grand for an M3 would be a good price anywhere in the states.

The insurance on my S4 is only about a grand a year (and I have well above minimum coverage). I would think an M3 would be about the same.

When I had the "mystery fender bender" last year didn't have any issues getting the car fixed on the insurance companies dime (except deductible) so it seems like decent coverage.