Maryland Drivers' Insurance Costs Least Likely to Climb

If you get in a car accident and make an insurance claim, your rate will likely go up. But this will lessen the sting: In Maryland the rate increase following a claim is the smallest in the nation, says the Baltimore Business Journal.

On average, U.S. drivers see their insurance rates go up 38.2 percent after making a claim, according to InsuranceQuotes.com. The post-claim hike in Maryland is 20.5 percent, says the Business Journal.

Virginia drivers, meantime, see rates go up an average of 32 percent after one claim, the story said. In Washington, D.C., the post-claim rate hike averages 25 percent.

The hardest-hit drivers are in Massachusetts, followed by California and New Jersey. 

D.C. drivers still pay the most for auto insurance, with annual premiums averaging $1,134, the Business Journal says. Maryland drivers pay an average $948 a year for auto insurance. In Virginia, the average is just $674 annually.