Auto Insurance

High Price of Mandatory Auto Insurance for Lower Income Households

For most Americans, access to the best job for which one is qualified requires ownership of a car. As a result, car ownership among low- and moderate-income (LMI) households is high. According to a 2001 government survey, 65 percent of low-income households – those in the first income quintile – and 86 percent of moderate-income households – those in the second income quintile – own a car. Recent government data on household gas consumption confirms that large majorities of LMI households drive a car, with 72.7 percent and 89.5 percent of households in the first quintile and second income quintiles, respectively, spending money on gas.