AUSTIN, Texas — If you’ve paid your car insurance premium lately, you may have noticed it’s costing more than ever before. That’s due to several factors from labor to weather and technology. Couple that with inflation, and drivers are feeling the pinch at more places than the pump.
Rich Johnson with the Insurance Council of Texas says the state is third in the country when it comes to dangerous and distracted drivers, second in drunk driving accidents, and fourth in the number of deadly crashes. Add in hail, hurricanes, and the fact that 14 percent of drivers are estimated to be uninsured, which makes Texas an expensive place to insure a vehicle.
In fact, Market Watch notes premiums are 14 percent above the national average.
“Over the pandemic, everybody was off the road,” Johnson said. “What happened was people started driving faster. We’re driving more distracted than ever, not just phones but displays in the vehicle.”
Adding to the frustration, is the fact that car insurance premiums have gotten more expensive since the pandemic, with an average rate change of about 25 percent just last year.
“I always like to explain insurance as a team sport,” Johnson said. “Insurance is spread out, you know, amongst an area, amongst a neighborhood, amongst a city.”
Johnson says this is because all the costs associated with vehicles have gone up: from the price to the materials due to supply chain issues and labor due to shortages. Then there’s the technology.
“Now you don’t just have a steel bumper,” Johnson said. “You have, you know, a high-tech bumper with five sensors and a rearview camera.”
The losses are bigger too, totaling more than $20 billion last year in Texas alone, which is a 13 percent increase over 2022.
“Which is causing accidents to be more frequent and actually more severe when it comes to repairing your vehicle but not only repairing also medical costs,” Johnson said.
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So what can you do to save money? Daniel Armbruster with AAA says it’s important to do your research and shop around, or find an agent to do that for you.
“Companies charge different rates, and the company that you’re with might raise your rates, while another company may not,” Armbruster said.
Companies also offer a variety of discounts, everything from getting good grades in school to taking defensive driving courses or setting up automatic billing payments – but you may not know if you don’t ask.
“The most important thing to do is understand how your insurance rate is determined and talk with your insurance agent if you have questions about your policy,” Armbruster said.
You can also opt for a higher deductible in the event something happens in exchange for lower payments, but Armbruster says to be careful.
“The last thing you want to do is get into a situation where you’re on the hook for repairs, and you don’t have enough insurance to cover what’s been done,” Armbruster said.
There are hundreds of insurance companies out there, and Johnson recommends taking advantage of the Texas Department of Insurance’s policy-comparison website.
