Average auto insurance premium and expenditure rates rose by less than 1% in 2010 from the previous two years, with Louisiana and Washington D.C. holding the top spots for the most expensive states to insure a car, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' latest figures.

The NAIC released its 254 page “Auto Insurance Data Base Report 2009/2010” this week, its latest report on the auto insurance market, which shows average premiums and expenditures rose close to $6 nationally to $907.38.

Insurance Information Institute President and Chief Economist Robert Hartwig says that the figures underscore a general pattern in auto-insurance pricing.

Hartwig says that, heading into 2013, premium and expenditures will likely continue to increase for a number of reasons, such as insured losses from severe weather damage throughout the country, and consumers replacing older cars they held onto during the economic downturn.

“We don't expect to see radical changes in the numbers, but we do expect to see a general upward drift in the numbers,” says Hartwig.

This article was originally posted at PropertyCasualty360.com, a sister site of Credit Union Times.