“Nothing is certain except death and taxes.” Benjamin Franklin might’ve included insurance rate hikes in his seminal proverb had such a thing existed in the 1700s (it was invented around 1900). Car insurance costs have been moving up all over America recently and the trend doesn’t seem to be stopping. Three states, in particular, could see rates increase by more than 50 percent by the end of the year, according to a report..
According to a new report from Insurify, full-coverage premiums nationwide have increased by 15 percent during the first half of the year, even if one’s driving record remained unchanged. The year-end projection is estimated at 22 percent—unless you live in California, Minnesota, and Missouri. These states could see rates balloon by 54, 61, and 55 percent, respectively.
The online insurance marketplace says the increases are due to a number of factors, including severe storms, wildfires, and car thefts. For example, the Midwest experienced a supercell last year that produced golf ball-sized hail, heavy rains, and tornadoes. In Minnesota, the hail reached baseball-sized proportions. As for California, well, it has a tendency to burn itself to the ground.
Natural disasters aside, the Golden State implemented a freeze on rate hikes during the COVID pandemic, as did many states. The delayed premium push resulted in increases of up to 45 percent in the last year. Additionally, the state increased its minimum car insurance requirements, a change goes into effect in 2025. With the increased cost burden, some insurers put limits on new policies, opted not to renew current ones, or plan to leave California altogether. Although I don’t feel bad for the insurance companies (who does?), the lack of competition ends up being a price that consumers pay.
CBS News reports that about 4 out of 10 drivers do not file insurance claims when involved in a crash or incident. Of course, cost is the underlying reason. Those who didn’t file said the damage was minimal, the deductible was higher than the repair cost, or they didn’t want their rates to increase. Of those who did file, roughly 25 percent regretted doing so.
For the report, Insurify examined more than 97 million rates and calculated the median cost for drivers between the ages of 20 and 70. Owners also needed to have clean driving records and an “average” or better credit score (the average credit score in America is 705 these days, according to Equifax). Full-coverage premiums are policies with bodily injury limits between state-minimum requirements and $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident; property damage coverage between $10,000 and $50,000; and comprehensive and collision coverage with deductibles of $1,000.
Was there any good news for anyone in the car insurance report? Washington may see a year-over-year decrease of 10 percent, but it was the only state projected with a price break.
