O.C. Drivers Pay 3rd-Highest Rates : Insurance: Los Angeles-area motorists have state’s priciest premiums. In Santa Ana, 1 of 4 local ZIP codes surveyed, residents pay more than those in Yorba Linda, where income is higher.

Los Angeles County drivers continue to pay the highest auto insurance premiums in the state, and Orange County motorists rank third, according to a state survey of insurance rates released Wednesday by the Department of Insurance.

Los Angeles-area drivers pay more than twice as much as most Northern California residents for the same insurance, according to the survey of the 14 largest auto insurers that control 82% of the state market. Drivers in Orange County pay up to 80% more than those in Northern California.

Despite the wide disparity, premiums across California generally remained stable in the past year, though Insurance Commissioner Chuck Quackenbush still calls the rates “unacceptably high.”

As in previous years, residents of inner-city areas continued to pay the highest premiums in the Los Angeles and Orange County areas, regardless of driving record, the survey found.

In Orange County, for instance, the survey covered prices in four ZIP code areas and found that residents in central Santa Ana, where the median income was the lowest, paid the highest average rates at $791 for a 30-year-old driver with a good record.

In one of Yorba Linda’s more affluent areas, the wealthiest of the four ZIP codes surveyed, drivers paid one of the lowest rates, $686. The other two county areas in the survey were in Irvine and Westminster.

Quackenbush recently proposed rules that would base auto rates on a driver’s safety record, mileage and driving experience and less on a driver’s ZIP code, in accordance with Proposition 103.

Some of the lowest premiums were charged by Safeco Insurance Cos. and the State Farm Insurance Group. Some of the highest rates were charged by Unitrin/Financial Indemnity.

20th Century Insurance Co. and Allstate Insurance Group saw some of the greatest premium increases, in part to cover losses from the Northridge earthquake, Quackenbush said.

Throughout California, the average premium was $566 a year, $23 higher than in 1993. Drivers with one ticket and one accident paid an average premium of $1,129, down $63 from 1993, the survey found.

The survey found wide discrepancies in premiums within Los Angeles. A good driver in South-Central Los Angeles could be charged as much as $2,315 a year for insurance that would cost the same driver in Palos Verdes Estates as little as $359, the survey reported.

The Times conducted its own computer analysis of the survey’s raw data, breaking down the agency’s regional data into county-by-county statistics. Some of the findings:

* For a driver age 30 with a good driving record and liability coverage for a single vehicle driven 12,000 miles a year, Los Angeles County had the highest average premium in the state: $1,009 a year. In Orange County, the average premium was third highest in the state, at $729, just behind San Francisco County at $780 a year. The lowest average premium for the same driver was in San Luis Obispo County: $376.

* For that same driver, the lowest premium, averaged of all Los Angeles County municipalities surveyed, was $662 by Safeco Insurance Cos. The highest, $1,604, was by Unitrin/Financial Indemnity.

* In Orange County, the lowest rate was $491 from Mercury General Group. The highest rate for such a driver was $1,323 from Unitrin/Financial Indemnity.

* For a family with two middle-age drivers with one speeding ticket each, a 17-year-old son and full coverage on two vehicles, Los Angeles County again had the highest average premium, averaged of the 14 largest companies: $6,504 a year. Orange County drivers paid on average $4,830. San Luis Obispo County again had the lowest average rate: $2,964.

* WHO PAYS THE MOST?

Irvine rates are lowest among O.C. ZIP codes surveyed. D6

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Premium Payments a Matter of Location

Orange County residents pay more for auto insurance than most California residents, but not nearly as much as those in Los Angeles County. Average annual premiums based on hypothetical example of coverage:

Example: Male or female; age 30; no violations; 12,000 annual miles; liability coverage

Bodily injury: $15,000/$30,000*

Property damage: $5,000

Medical payments: $2,000

Uninsured motorist bodily injury: $15,000/$30,000*

Uninsured motorist property damage: $3,500

* $15,000 per person or $30,000 per accident

Irvine’s Advantage

Average premium cost in central Santa Ana is 17% higher than in Irvine and the lowest premium available is about 20% higher:

City (ZIP code): premium

Westminster (92683): $763

Irvine (92714): $674

Yorba Linda (92686): $686

Santa Ana (92704): $791

California Comparison

Los Angeles motorists pay an average of 38% more than those in Orange County and more than double the rate in Northern California counties and San Diego/Imperial counties:

Average premium

Los Angeles County: $1,009

San Francisco County: $780

Orange County: $729

San Bernardino/Riverside: $555

San Diego/Imperial: $473

Northern California: $407

Source: California Department of Insurance; Researched by JANICE L. JONES/Los Angeles Times