Car insurance premium increases in 2023

[Pointby2]

Our insurance went up again this year. This time because we were getting older. Sigh.
Still only $49.98 a month per car though since we drive limited miles.



It's actually gone down since 2017 and we're in SoCal. We are with Mercury.

[rk911]

Quote:

Originally Posted by explanade My annual premium is up 25.7%, SF. Bay Area. I Googled, there are several stories about 8.4% increase on average across the nation. Ridiculous, I haven't submitted a claim in over 2 decades, no points on my record either. And I think I have it set to low mileage on the vehicle but I probably didn't even put 2000 miles on it the past year.

We have 4-vehicles. in total our most recent State Farm premiums were up 13%. Our motorhome policy was actually down .5% but our antique '46 Willys Jeep was up a whopping 30% (no claims). Our two primary cars ('03 Wrangler, '10 Liberty) were up around 11%.

[Retire2023]

Our auto premium is set to increase by more than 35% next month! No claims or points. We did turn 62 this spring. Would just that cause the rates to go up that much?

[rk911]

our SF insurance on our 2010 Jeep Liberty went up $48 or 11% for the next 6-mos. we've been with SF for the last 53-yrs. We're happy.

[F.I.R.E User]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pointby2 Our insurance went up again this year. This time because we were getting older. Sigh. Still only $49.98 a month per car though since we drive limited miles. It's actually gone down since 2017 and we're in SoCal. We are with Mercury.

Which company? Is this just liability?

[retired1]

My home insurance is up while car insurance is also slightly up than last year. If you think of it, with everything going up (including minimum wages), companies have to raise prices to pay higher price of goods and in insurance industry, it's higher wages (I assume) which in turn means higher cost of doing business and stick the bill to us consumers

[Buckeye]

Quote:

Originally Posted by FloridaJim57 Just read an article on how much car insurance has gone up here in Florida.

Tell me about it!

USAA has a third party verifying low mileage. They sent an estimate that mileage for my husband's car went from 2,000 annual miles to 4,400. I sent them proof (mileage on maintenance records over time) that the annual mileage is actually 1,970! $2000 a year for $2,000 miles. Completely crazy.

[Stormy Kromer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by retired1 My home insurance is up while car insurance is also slightly up than last year. If you think of it, with everything going up (including minimum wages), companies have to raise prices to pay higher price of goods and in insurance industry, it's higher wages (I assume) which in turn means higher cost of doing business and stick the bill to us consumers

I help a friend do his books in a small Auto Body Shop now that I'm FIRED. Last year on January First paint went up 20% across the board.

Parts costs increase each month, plus many suppliers are adding a "fuel surcharge" per each delivery.

Plus, you can't find good help for at least 20% more than pre-pandemic.

That is only on the Physical Damage side of the premium. The lions share of auto insurance premium goes to pay for Medical Expenses whether it is Bodily Injury Liability, Medical Payments or Uninsured/Underinsured Motorist coverages. We all know how those expenses have increased.

Auto Insurance is very competitive and companies really do try hard to keep their costs down (try working with one to repair a car and you'll find out). There is plenty of competition out there, just watch TV for an hour. If you don't like your premium keep looking.

Your insurance company is constantly looking for new clients, you should be looking also.

[fishfactory]

You mentioned you were in the bay area. Would the increase in car break-ins be a factor for rates to increase in that area ?

[dklaus]

My Geico rates jumped 59% in Phoenix: no change in insurance coverage, no reason
Contacted Arizona Department of Insurance - they did nothing

Here is my best guess for some the reasons:
1. car values are up , so claims are higher
2. more accidents due to distracted driving (cell phones)
3. ambulance chasing lawyers - higher risks of litigation with higher awards

[Car-Guy]

I just bought a new higher dollar (68k) pickup and actually got a $150 refund from what I replaced on my policy

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishfactory You mentioned you were in the bay area. Would the increase in car break-ins be a factor for rates to increase in that area ?

Possibly. Lot of shopping malls have signs saying not to leave valuables in car.

But I think theft of catalytic converters are suppose to be a problem, though more in San Francisco and other big cities than in the suburbs.

[lauradrops]

We were surprised to see we actually went down $51 per year. Not huge, but better than up! This is LI, NY with Geico.

[karen1972]

Mine went up, but I'm not shocked. I mean the price of an oil change skyrocketing shocked me more.

I have to believe they are paying out more and more for these cars to be fixed. There are so many more sensors and other things that can and do get damaged and each fix seems to be going up and up in price.

[Badger]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karen1972 Mine went up, but I'm not shocked. I mean the price of an oil change skyrocketing shocked me more. I have to believe they are paying out more and more for these cars to be fixed. There are so many more sensors and other things that can and do get damaged and each fix seems to be going up and up in price.

I used to do all my oil changes but getting too old and it is difficult to get on the ground. When I checked to see if it would be possible to change the oil in our 2019 and 2020 Santa Fe I found it was considerably more difficult since I had to first remove a large cover that protects the underside of the engine on what in the past would have been to only remove a drain bolt and oil filter that were easily accessible.
I guess that getting access to work on the top of the engine has become more difficult and they are now focusing on the bottom access. Soon you will have to dismantle the entire front end of the car to do simple maintenance.

Cheers!

[aaronc879]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buckeye Tell me about it! USAA has a third party verifying low mileage. They sent an estimate that mileage for my husband's car went from 2,000 annual miles to 4,400. I sent them proof (mileage on maintenance records over time) that the annual mileage is actually 1,970! $2000 a year for $2,000 miles. Completely crazy.

Is it a high-end vehicle? I pay less than a third of that on a vehicle worth $20K. Unless you are driving something like a BMW where replacement parts are crazy expensive I would get a couple estimates from the competition.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by karen1972 Mine went up, but I'm not shocked. I mean the price of an oil change skyrocketing shocked me more. I have to believe they are paying out more and more for these cars to be fixed. There are so many more sensors and other things that can and do get damaged and each fix seems to be going up and up in price.

Even for an old crapbox car, the price to repair is going up. Labor is the killer.

Simple jobs like struts, brakes and alternator replacements are getting hit with high labor charges. It isn't gouging, it is the new market. Living wage and all...

[Koolau]

Keep in mind that anything to do with cars has increased in cost even more than the roughly 9% inflation. So, not to take the side of the evil insurance companies, but something's got to give.

[F.I.R.E User]

Make sure you use their app for monitoring driving behavior. The better you drive the more discount at next renewal.

I pay $93.94 a month with renters insurance. This is also a business policy so I get 65.5 cents per mile deduction.

[JoeWras]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Koolau Keep in mind that anything to do with cars has increased in cost even more than the roughly 9% inflation. So, not to take the side of the evil insurance companies, but something's got to give.

Yes. Looking at CPI, auto maint and repair is up 13% year over year, and insurance is 16% year over year. Insurance is currently in "catch up" mode, seeing large rises in the last few months.

In my so-called "personal-cpi", automobile stuff is more significant than the collective 3.5% those two items factor into the overall CPI. So this hurts.

Anyone who has had any repairs done lately know the story. We can't all have new cars. If anything, this rise in repair is very regressive, hitting the people who can afford it the least hardest.

One last thing about this: insurers are declaring cars "total losses" more frequently these days. This is a long term trend, spanning over decades. It seemed to really get rolling when every car had a specific headlight assembly. Now, small collisions take out all kinds of sensors which are difficult to replace and expensive as repair parts. Set off an airbag? Then it is likely game over for the vehicle.