LANSING, MI - Michiganders who don't have fancy job titles, college degrees and a home they own pay more for car insurance, according to a study released recently by the Coalition to Protect Auto No-Fault.

The study looked at auto insurance costs in eight Michigan cities: Detroit, Flint, Grand Rapids, Howell, Iron Mountain, Ludington, Owosso and Warren.

It used a standard 30-year-old female when comparing policies. This standardized subject owned a 2007 Ford Fusion S, drove 10,001 miles per year, was currently insured by a major insurer, had health insurance that provided coordinated Personal Injury Protection coverage and had no accidents or tickets.

But researchers varied the customer's educational attainment, homeownership status and job title and got different prices based on those answers.

In a statewide average, when the subject was a lawyer who owned a home and had a JD, she was quoted $2,021 per year for a basic insurance policy. When she was an investment banker with an MBA who owned a home, she was quoted $2,029. When she was a factory foreman with a bachelor's degree who rented, she was quoted $2,122 per year. As a factory worker with a high school degree who rented, she was quoted $2,194. An unemployed person with no diploma who rented her home was quoted $2,322 per year.

A factory worker in Detroit, Flint or Warren would pay an average of $265 more for auto insurance than an investment banker for the same policy. In more rural areas, like Howell and Owosso, factory workers would pay $119 more than investment bankers.

The CPAN study included six companies representing more than half of Michigan's auto insurance market: AAA, Allstate, Esurance, Liberty Mutual, Progressive and State Farm. Two of those companies, Allstate and State Farm, did not take into account educational attainment or job title.

Doug Heller, who authored the CPAN report, cited that as proof the factors were unnecessary.

"We found that some companies are more aggressive on surcharging based on socioeconomic status," Heller said.

But the Insurance Alliance of Michigan said the study was flawed. Spokeswoman Lori Conarton said insurers were allowed under state law to use rating factors that are actuarially sound and predictive of risk.

"There are many rating factors that go into developing rates. They are using a fake person so they are not accessing all of the rating factors and discounts available to a real person. If the system cannot verify the person, it will automatically go to a higher rate," Conarton said.

"We truly believe the study is flawed and especially the fact that it ignores the real cost drivers of Michigan auto insurance: the unlimited, lifetime medical mandate, fraud and no medical cost controls."

Which gets to the central conflict between CPAN and insurers. The two groups have been at loggerheads for years as the legislature has considered ways to change and cheapen Michigan's auto insurance, which according to Insure.com is the most expensive in the nation.

While insurance companies point to Michigan's unlimited, lifetime medical care for car crash victims as driving up costs, CPAN has sought to protect the care and blamed things like insurance redlining and a lack of transparency for high costs.

New lawmakers are looking to address Michigan's high cost of auto insurance this term, as is House Speaker Tom Leonard, R-DeWitt.