This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The ZIP codes where Utahns live can bring widely different car insurance rates for drivers with identical cars, driving records, coverage and personal characteristics, a new study says.
ValuePenguin.com asked numerous insurance companies for quotes for a 30-year-old Utah male with a Toyota Camry, a good credit score and a clean driving record. The only parameter that changed was the ZIP code where he lived as it looked at 32 communities.
It found rates ranged from a high of $1,244 a year in Kearns to a low of $1,029 in St. George — a difference of $215 a year. The average statewide was $1,148. In Utah, insurance companies are allowed to look at a range of factors as they set rates — including area of residence and accident rates there — along with such things as age, gender, marital status and personal driving records.
The study said, "The least expensive cities [for insurance rates] generally came from the state's border areas while the most expensive were suburbs of Salt Lake City."
The five most expensive areas, according to the study, are all in Salt Lake County. It is home to 37 percent of the state's population, and its most heavily traveled highways. Those highest-rate areas included Kearns at $1,244 a year; West Jordan, $1,211.93; Riverton, $1,211.74; Salt Lake City, $1,206; and Sandy, $1,204.
Four of the five areas with the lowest rates were outside of the busy, heavily populated Wasatch Front.
They were St. George, $1,029 a year; Logan, $1,078; Kanab, $1,090; Moab, $1,099; and Kaysville, $1,109.
Despite the differences, the study said, "the Beehive State has relatively inexpensive auto insurance statewide compared to other states."