N.J. still tops

New Jersey drivers still pay more for auto insurance than residents of any other state, but the gap is shrinking.

According to a study from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the average Garden State driver paid $1,184 to insure each car in 2005. That’s about $10 per year below what motorists paid two years earlier.

The Garden State edged out the District of Columbia by $2 dollars per vehicle.

Still, New Jersey’s rates are 43 percent higher than the national average of $829.