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A new study has found that no-fault auto insurance is not as beneficial as it may seem. According to the study conducted by RAND Corp., a nonprofit research organization, instead of lowering costs as it's intended, no-fault insurance actually increases costs due to medical claims that are rising.

What is No-Fault Insurance?

No-fault auto insurance is a type of auto insurance that allows both parties in a collision to avoid being declared at fault. Instead, both parties are considered equally liable for the accident. The idea is to save claims costs by restricting lawsuits against other drivers.

This type of insurance has three components:

• A restriction on the right to sue other drivers for being at fault for an accident
• The inability to receive payment for pain and suffering or other non-economic damages
• Mandatory insurance so that those involved in the accident can recover economic losses - including medical costs - from their own insurance company

To date, slightly more than a dozen states offer this type of insurance.

Details from the Study

According to the study, while injury costs under with no-fault insurance were 12 percent higher than standard insurance in 1987, by 2004, the injury costs were 73 percent more under these plans. As a result, the intention of insurance has been lost in the increasing costs associated with injury care.

Specifically, those who seek medical assistance under the no-fault policies tend to get more specialized treatment since they can, which ultimately costs more. So now, those who were anticipating lower premium costs with this type of auto insurance are seeing increases because the claims costs are so high.

Do you have no-fault insurance? Do you pay more in premium costs?

Insurance.com recently released the results of its study that looked at the most dangerous drivers on the road, listed by profession.

According to thedangerous driverssurvey, some of the drivers on the list may be just as responsible for setting the law as breaking it.

Data from the Survey

There were some surprises found on Insurance.com's survey. Some of the driversmayhave angryauto insurance companies if they knew they were the most reckless drivers on the road. For instance, attorneys topped the list at No. 1 with 44 percent of claimingprior caraccidents when receiving a car insurance comparison quote. On the other end of the spectrum were homemakers who claimed 24 percent and athletes who claimed 17 percent.

To get a better idea of where you might fall in the equation, here are the top 10 most dangerous drivers by profession:

• Attorney/Judge
• Financial professionals
• Government worker
• Bartender or waiter
• Business professionals
• Dog groomer
• Marketing/Advertising professionals
• Barber/Stylist
• Coach
• Nurse

Why Are Some More Prone to Accidents Than Others?

According to the dangerous drivers survey, some professions are more prone to distractions due to multi-tasking (talking on the phone, driving fast) and thus are in greater danger of car accidents. Distracted driving has been amajor focal point in state and national legislature and is something lawmakers arecracking down on.

In the meantime, hopefully those who have been found guilty of distracted driving will use this list as a wakeup call and decide that it's time to govern oneself on the road before auto insurance companies and higher rates do the job.

Was your profession found on the list? Would you consider yourself to be a dangerous driver?

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