Dataset

The Statistical Abstract files are distributed by the US Census Department as Microsoft Excel files. These files have data mixed with notes and references, multiple tables per sheet, and, worst of all, the table headers are not easily matched to their rows and columns.

A few files had extraneous characters in the title. These were corrected to be consistent. A few files have a sheet of crufty gibberish in the first slot. The sheet order was shuffled but no data were changed.

The tables that were changed (this is table 1196):

0166 0257 0362 0429 0445 0446 0459 0461 0462 0464 0465 0466 0467
0469 0479 0480 0481 0482 0483 0484 0485 0486 0487 0559 0628 0629
1144 1227 1231

This dataset consists of a table of 59 rows and 15 columns.

In dollars. Average expenditure equals total premiums written divided by liability car-years. A car-year is equal to 365 days of insured coverage for a single vehicle. The average expenditures for automobile insurance in a state are affected by a number of factors, including the underlying rate structure, the coverages purchased, the deductibles and limits selected, the types of vehicles insured, and the distribution of driver characteristics. The NAIC does not rank state average expenditures and does not endorse any conclusions drawn from this data] FIPS=Federal Information Processing Standards

Footnotes

1. The 2004 premium data is preliminary. The California Department of Insurance
   performs a rigorous set of tests on the data each year to ensure accuracy. The tests
   are not completed until after the publication of this report.
2. The District of Columbia is entirely urban. As such, results are not directly
   comparable to states with large rural areas.
3. Data incorporates Safe Driver Plan credits and surcharges.
4. New Jersey is predominately urban. Results are not directly comparable to states
   with large rural areas. Historically, New Jersey has paid two to four times the
   national average in dividends to policyholders, and at times this has been as high
   as six times the national average, which reduces the average expenditure for
   New Jersey consumers.