South Carolina's average auto insurance cost of $617 yearly ranked 34th highest, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners study.

While the average expenditure increased $5 from 2000, the state's ranking improved from the 31st listing.

The national average was $718 in 2001, according to the association, which has performed the annual state-by-state comparisons for years.

New Jersey had the highest average spending on car insurance at $1,028, and North Dakotans spent the least, $498 yearly

Georgians paid $703 and ranked 22nd; North Carolinians paid $565, ranking 43rd.

South Carolina's standings in the 2001 figures reflect the state's 1999 overhaul of its auto insurance system, Allison Dean Wright, executive director of the South Carolina Insurance News Service, said Wednesday after she released the association's figures.

"It's the change in the law, the increased competition, people shopping around and, hopefully, people are driving more carefully," she said.

The rankings don't reflect rate increases since 2001, South Carolina Insurance Department Director Ernst Csiszar said.

South Carolina rates have risen along with national trends in higher medical and auto repair costs, he said.

Uninsured drivers also continue to be a burden on the system, Csiszar said.

Cracking down on insurance scofflaws has been more of a priority since the Legislature made the state Division of Motor Vehicles a standalone agency this summer, Csiszar said.

"We've made a lot more progress in the last two months than in the last two years," Csiszar said.

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