BOSTON -- Massachusetts drivers pay some of the highest auto insurance premiums in the country, and many blame the no-fault system.

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Janet Wu Reports On Insurance RESOURCES Read Study (PDF) Foundation For Taxpayer and Consumer Rights Mass. Div. of Insurance Survey:Satisfied With Mass. Car Insurance System? Talk About Mass. Car Insurance Rates

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported Tuesday with Gov. Mitt Romney pushing for change, no-fault opponents are pressing their case.

Since 1971, Massachusetts drivers involved in accidents are compensated by their insurance company, regardless of who caused the crash. Most other states opt for personal responsibility insurance, where insurers of at-fault drivers are forced to pay the innocent parties.

The no-fault auto insurance system encourages, and in a sense, rewards reckless driving -- at least that's what the author of a new report claims.

"No-fault is a cash cow for the insurance industry. It boosts their investments. It boosts their revenues, and they’ve tried to hang on to it in every state," said Harvey Rosenfield, of Foundation Taxpayer Rights.

Rosenfield was the author of Prop 103 in California, which abandoned the no-fault system in 1988. The state went from having the second-highest auto insurance bills to the 20th, today.

Rosenfield said that his study concludes that Massachusetts is paying $200 million more annually under the no-fault system, costing each driver about $50 more each year.

He claims, on average, the nine states still under the no-fault system pay 19 percent higher premiums.

"No-fault is a very expensive form of health care for auto accidents," he said.

That's because under no-fault, each driver's insurance company pays for the damages to its insurers' car. Under the so-called personal responsibility system, the company of the driver at fault pays all the bills. This leads to legal action as parties try to pin blame on each other.

Rosenfield claims three states that eliminated no-fault during the 1990s are now seeing significantly lower bills for the average driver. But on Beacon Hill, legislators now crafting a bill to redesign the system, aren't sure no-fault is to blame for the high costs.

"The notion of a no-fault is to keep people from suing," Sen. Andrea Nuciforo said. "It's to have insurance companies settle directly with motorists rather than have those motorists go to court. The debate here today is whether that system is more expensive or less expensive for motorists."

Gov. Mitt Romney is also reviewing the auto insurance system, but isn't ready to take a position on the no-fault system.

Meanwhile, a list of the top 10 states with the most expensive auto insurance bills shows only five have some form of the no-fault system, but seven of the 10 are in the densely populated Northeast.