DETROIT, MI - What happens when you combine potholes, a high crime rate and a state no-fault car insurance system? The perfect storm for car insurance premiums, which are more than double in the Motor City compared with anywhere else in the country, according to yet another study.

The latest ranking comes from Nerdwallet, a website dedicated to giving consumers information on credit cards, CD rates, savings, checking accounts, scholarships, healthcare and airlines.

Detroit ranked first in the country for car insurance cost with an average annual premium of $10,723.22. The next highest city on the list was New Orleans, at $4,309.61. Grand Rapids was third at $4,042.

To compile the average rates, Nerdwallet used a hypothetical 26-year-old male driver with no history of accidents, who would insure a 2012 Toyota Camry with extended coverage. Nerdwallet’s analysts calculated averages for 125 cities.

John Kuo, one of Nerdwallet's analysts, told MLive that Detroit's auto insurance rates came in more than 10 times higher than cities with the least expensive rates.



"We knew going in that Michigan would probably be represented in the list, but we were really surprised by the disparity between the most expensive car insurance rates and least rates," Kuo said of Detroit's average premium.

Louisiana also has a no-fault insurance policy, which like Michigan, means that if two people are in an auto accident insurance providers are obligated to pay regardless of who's at fault for the car wreck. Michigan has no cap on what insurers could be required to pay for medical damages.

Last year, Michigan lawmakers began an attempt to change Michigan's no-fault auto insurance system but failed to pass any legislation. One bill, backed by Gov. Rick Snyder, sought to cap Michigan's unlimited personal injury protection coverage at $1 million. The legislation would have also created an authority to combat insurance fraud.

But Michigan insurance consumers are also hit with insurers underwriting weather woes in the state, where in the dead of winter potholes break out like pimples on a teenager. Detroit's premiums are then pushed even higher because of its crime rate and congestion, Kuo said.

Car insurance in Detroit was the highest in the nation in 2011, according to a study by Runzheimer International.

Here is the full top ten from Nerdwallet:

1. Detroit, Michigan

Average annual premium: $10,723.22

2. New Orleans, Louisiana

Average annual premium: $4,309. 61

3. Grand Rapids, Michigan

Average annual premium: $4,042.42

4. Newark, New Jersey

Average annual premium: $3,525.43

5. Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Average annual premium: $3,363.73

6. Hialeah, Florida

Average annual premium: $3,271.86

7. Jersey City, New Jersey

Average annual premium: $3,266.63

8. Louisville, Kentucky

Average annual premium: $3,255.99

9. Miami, Florida

Average annual premium: $3,168.75

10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Average annual premium: $2,930.53

David Muller is the business reporter for MLive Media Group in Detroit. Email him at dmuller@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.