Today, infographics on the internet broadly appear to have two main characteristics:

An easy, ready reference for people to promote a topic that is data intensive A medium for a general idea or series of facts that wishes to be pictorially represented

The automobiles and insurance infographic combines both the above characteristics. Moreover this is an area of perpetual interest to all current and potential car owners/buyers, hence making it a hot topic. Prominent auto portals in the US such as Carsdirect.com and Auto Trader too have sections on their site to help consumers get relevant information. However, sometimes the information can be overwhelming and although the buyer maybe a well informed one, he also searches for something extra.


We get such information in a neatly displayed and well-constructed manner over here. On first glance, a synopsis of the types of insurance coverage one can receive in the USA is explained in 4-5 lines with the support of a cartoon image. The pictorial elements exist more for visual appeal rather than adding much value to the textual content. Also, it is difficult for the global reader on the first scroll to conclude whether these insurance coverage packages apply to people in their respective countries. Upon viewing the second graphic (Cities with the highest full coverage insurance – contains a map of USA) and further, one can see a top 5-city snapshot of American cities that have the highest full coverage insurance. The stat is well portrayed visually, helping the reader to instantly understand heavy skew of insurance coverage in the USA towards cities on the east coast vs those in the west.

Regardless of what the economic scenario might be these days – most people still cannot resist bringing up the year 2008. This was a year that changed the worlds outlook towards money, consumerism and corporate powerhouses. In ‘The Top 5 Lies told to Insurance Companies’ piece, we find an interesting take on ‘premium leakage’, and the % breakup of revenue lost due to the “inability of insurers to keep track of changes in customer situations that affect prices”. Car insurance companies lost about 15.9 billion $ in 2008 – a staggering amount. One realizes how staggering this amount is due to the pie chart representation of the revenue losses and reasons associated with the same. It is hard hitting and effective in its weight of information.

The next two snapshots are little titbits of information on the car industry that a car enthusiast will enjoy reading. Using one of my favorite movies logos (Back to the Future) the infographic shows the shift in power of the top 3 car sellers in the USA from 1980 to 2009. Unlike the the content on types of insurance coverage’s on the first scroll, the images here are more effective than the textual content to gauge what the data is saying. However, in the More Cars in More Places piece that follows, once again its not crystal clear whether these are cars registered globally, in the USA or in a specific country. This is the only real part of the infographic that doesn’t serve much purpose informatively either to the car enthusiast or to a potential car buyer who wants to know more about car insurance.

Finally, we conclude with the much talked about and intriguing situation of gas prices per barrel through the years – starting from 1969 to 2010. This part combines visual aid and textual content very nicely, showing to the reader an easy on the eye and revealing trends of gas prices over the last 40 years. One can even see the mileage per dollar that resulted from a cost per mile rate that has been calculated and shown at the bottom. The colour of this section is orange, and symbolizes that although we may not be in a red situation as in 2008, globally we are still not stable yet.

All in all, a well constructed and displayed infographic for the car enthusiast. For the potential buyer who is looking for specific information and guides on what to do, this may not be the most comprehensive source. However, it is an easy read and useful stock of information to have, especially if you are a college student doing your dissertation on the automobile industry in the USA over the past 20 years.