Car insurance rates surge as yearly premiums rise more than $240 on average, report finds
The latest government numbers show inflation is cooling slightly, but it's still high. Overall, consumer prices rose 6.4% in January from a year earlier, a small decline from December's number.
But when it comes to auto insurance, prices are still surging — up nearly 15%.
Juan Maroso lives in Miami, where drivers are spending the most on car insurance. He said the cost to insure his Tesla went up nearly 70%, from $2,400 for six months to $4,000.
A new report by Bankrate.com found nationwide premiums have risen more than $240 on average, topping $2,000 a year. Florida drivers saw the biggest jump, up nearly twice that amount to almost $3,200 a year.
"There's a lot of residents in Florida and the population is growing," said Cate Deventer, who authored the report. "Then we also see a lot of tourists, which then of course add to those busy roadways and that makes it even more likely that an accident is going to happen."
The high cost of car insurance comes as supply chain issues are starting to ease, but the spike in repair costs, labor and medical care are driving insurance rates up across the board.
Anakarina Callejas, an insurance agent at GreatFlorida, said one of the major driving forces for rising car premiums are claims tied up in court.
"Most claims that are going through to the carriers are coming in with an attorney," Callejas said. "So, maybe a claim that could have been closed off rather quickly is now tied up in court, with higher and higher and higher expenses."
Those expenses are ultimately passed down to consumers.
Callejas' office has been taking calls from customers to see if they can get their rates down.
"Sometimes they get lucky and we will be able to find something, and sometimes we don't," Callejas said.
She was able to find Maroso a policy $800 below the $4,000 he was quoted.
But Callejos said rates will likely continue to climb, and that costs will likely get worse before they get better.
Drivers can shop around and call their insurance agent to make sure they're taking advantage of all available discounts. Another option to help save is to consider a car that's cheap to insure. Driving safely also helps, as moving violations could raise rates even more.
