Car insurance rates are surging as Americans struggle to pay for basic necessities and ongoing debt.
The newest Consumer Price Index shows car insurance spiked 20 percent year over year. The surge in pricing occurred after years of gradual price inflation, with earlier reports finding the rates grew by 36 percent since 2020.
That’s at the same time debt is soaring for many Americans. While Americans hold around 1.75 trillion in student debt loans alone, they also have $1.05 trillion in credit card balances not paid off.
Could be related. Low credit scores can lead to higher insurance prices. But that doesn’t seem right because the actual risk shouldn’t have likely changed. Could be higher repair costs. Of course simple corporate greed could be to blame. Didn’t need to actually say that one did I?
My car insurance went up $1200 this year, which blows my mind. No reason given.
Two years ago I was paying 1300 a year now I’m paying 1700 for six months and I’ve literally had nothing change in my driving record.
Used car prices went up, new car prices went up, collision repair prices went up, and repair time increased significantly. We also saw a huge increase in accident severity and a growing trend toward more aggressive driving.
The article lists several factors:
This makes zero sense as insurance doesn’t cover vehicle maintenance/repairs.
I’m pretty sure you can get coverage for repairs
They fight tooth and nail not to pay for an accident. How the hell is anyone getting money for repairs?
I don’t understand how more costly repairs translate to higher insurance premiums. The insurance companies aren’t paying to replace your engine.
Also their $2500 average yearly premium is insane. I’m in my 30s with two cars and two drivers insured, including comprehensive and the highest coverage progressive offers, and a 100 mile round trip commute, and it’s only $1400 a year.
Your insurance might not be paying for your engine, but if you hit someone else, the liability policy will cover the car you hit engine
That goes along with more expensive cars. They’re referring to people who’ve kept their car longer than average and have expensive maintenance items. If someone crashes into a 15 year old car hard enough, they’re just going to total it out. For less severe collisions, they’ll restore the car to what it was before the crash, not what it was when new.
Kind of like jobs. If you stay with the same company for more than a couple years, you’re probably doing yourself a disservice.
What car do you have? Is it a Kia or Hyundai?
Chevy Volt and a Town & Country.
Damn, what the hell. I pay about 15% of that for comprehensive coverage here in Germany. I guess that evens it out with the cheap fuel that you guys have.
I live in a no-fault state, which I love, but our insurance rates here are among the highest in the nation.
No fault insurance just means my insurance pays me, not whomever I get into an accident with. I do business with a company I trust to take care of me, so I don’t have to care if I’m in an accident with someone with shit insurance.
Not everyone here is a fan due to high prices, but I like it. I’ve seen too many friends in other states get low-ball offers that they either had to accept or be without a car for weeks while they appeal.
Ironically, it wouldn’t matter because the only accidents I’ve been involved in were with deer (who are notorious for carrying no insurance) so I’ve never been in an accident where no fault actually helped me.
My experience living in a “no-fault” state was that someone rear-ended my wife who was stopped at a red light but insurance wouldn’t do jack because it was a “no-fault” accident. We paid higher for liability there than anywhere else we lived. Not a fan.
What is supposed to happen there is you get your car fixed by your insurance and if the other driver is liable your insurance collects your deductible from them to pay you back. I don’t believe they are allowed to just say they won’t fix it, but if the other driver isn’t determined to be at fault on the accident report, the deductible is yours to pay which often means small accidents aren’t worth the claim.
Geico gave me a reason, “The reason why we are increasing your rate is because there are more people in your area who drive without insurance”
I’m sorry, but how the fuck is that my problem? Also, isn’t that the whole fucking point of the full cover insurance I am required to pay while I’m making payments on the car?
Insurance always wins. If you have full coverage they have to pay when you get hit by them. They don’t want to pay.