Car Insurance skyrocketing

[ruffdog]

I just got off the phone with my SF agent to pay my bill for the wife's car. Our rates have been going up about $10 every 6 mo for that car. The lady on the phone said we are way better than most people as her rate jumped $200 this last time.

 

[mjonesnh]

Man, I feel lucky after reading some of these post. I have a F150 and an Escape with high amount liability, collision with 1000 deductible, full comprehensive and 95 ram with liability only for 647.00 every 6 months through Farm Bureau

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

https://www.portugalresident.com/insurers-admit-electric-cars-have-greater-probability-of-accidents/

 

[CliffordK]

https://www.portugalresident.com/insurers-admit-electric-cars-have-greater-probability-of-accidents/

The cheaper the fuel, the more a person drives.

My mother gave my nephew an almost new Honda Insight about a little over a year ago, getting about 50 MPG, and he has put nearly 50,000 miles on it.

My guess is if he had a vintage pickup that got 6 MPG and had saddle 20 gallon tanks, he would be driving a heck of a lot less.

I have wondered about automatic everything in a vehicle. With a 3 speed manual one is much more in tune with driving and road conditions.

 

[JasperFrank]

We have State Farm for all our cars. It hasn't gone up appreciably. Yet.

If you got a ticket or had an accident they'll jack your rates up for years.

State Farm will just straight out cancel you if you make two back to back claims. Even if there was nothing claimed for 10 years. Meanwhile the wife has had many accidents, and damage to her full coverage car with Pimco and they pay out with no rate increase.
Its weird, cause i wanted to see if she could get on Progressive as a consolidated policy, and they said it would be prohibitive and more expensive, if you did that. Gotta love good USA based customer service.

 

[two_bit_score]

Everything is going up, but ask some certain folks and they will tell you the economy has never been better and you are definitely better off now than 4 years ago!

They lie.

 

[two_bit_score]

I could see where autobody shop costs are rising and we are feeling the trickle down effects.

One thing I think contributed more to increased repair costs is the insurance industry itself. If 'insurance is paying' everything costs more. The vehicle owner has no reason to use a less expensive equivalent part or repair technique if the cost is not his alone.

Good example is rental car coverage on auto policies. In Texas for years the standard limit on rental car coverage was $15 a day for a max of $600. You could actually rent a car then for $15 a day plus tax. Then as expenses increased and cars became more expensive the rental companies bought smaller cars they could make available for $15. Some people started wanting nicer, bigger cars to drive while theirs was in the shop for 'insurance repairs'. Insurance companies could sell higher limits on rental coverage and if you're paying for $30-$50 a day coverage you are not going to get a $20 car.

Also if you go to a body shop that does a lot of 'insurance work' everybody from the wash boy on up has an I-CAR certification of some kind and they bill 'insurance customers' accordingly. The insurance companies themselves demanded those 'certification standards' so shops would 'qualify' for their 'direct repair programs'.

 

[scootr]

Fox News financial news >
"Drivers paid an average of $1841 to insure a car in 2023, or 5% more than they did the previous year. That comes after a 15% jump between 2022 and 2023. Unfortunately, according to the report, 2024 is likely to bring more of the same. "

 

[azbinder]

Our annual Farm Bureau coverage on both property and auto is due next month.

Auto:
2001 Chev 1500PU, 2002 Ford Windstar, both with minimum coverage, and 2010 Ram 1500, full coverage, primary vehicle. Up $96 for the year.

Property:
2100 sq. ft., 2 story house, 2 150 sq. ft. out buildings, 1-1/2 acres. Up $523 for the year. Did have a $3K claim due to a tree coming down on the roof.

Still shopping.

 

[Jstpssng]

The cheaper the fuel, the more a person drives.

My mother gave my nephew an almost new Honda Insight about a little over a year ago, getting about 50 MPG, and he has put nearly 50,000 miles on it.

My guess is if he had a vintage pickup that got 6 MPG and had saddle 20 gallon tanks, he would be driving a heck of a lot less.

I have wondered about automatic everything in a vehicle. With a 3 speed manual one is much more in tune with driving and road conditions.

I dont know what your miles driven have to do with paying attention to the road, following applicable traffic laws, and knowing how to drive so that you dont get into accidents.
I drive about 50,000 miles/year, and have done so for the last 30 years. In that time I've had one accident, in 2010 when a tree fell across the road onto my company truck. Before that, in 1991 I rolled a friend's van when a deer stepped out in front of me.

 

[Tinhack]

I had a 71 Mustang in the early 70s. I was in the outside lane of a 4-lane divided road (not a highway) going into a sharp right turn. It was near downtown and the speed limit was 25. The guy ahead of me about three car lengths was in the left lane. Wet road conditions after heavy rain. The guy in the left lane slid into the divider and bounced back across both lanes. I couldn't stop and hit him in the left-rear corner. The cop gave me a ticket for following too close and said the accident was my fault. I told the cop the other driver was traveling backwards in my lane at the time I hit him. Didn't matter to him--I hit the other guy in the rear.

Oh, to have a dashcam back then. It probably didn't help I was 22 and looked like 10-year-old with a mustache.

 

[CliffordK]

I dont know what your miles driven have to do with paying attention to the road, following applicable traffic laws, and knowing how to drive so that you dont get into accidents.

The more time on the road, the greater the overall risk. Although there is also an element of experience. But there are also many other factors such as following distances, speed, and how "rushed" a driver is.

If one picks out a Prius, Insight, or similar and says it is accident prone, then the question is why. I've driven both and find them comfortable to drive. I like the paddle regen on the Insight and think it is excellent for driving in inclement weather.

I do wonder about the growth of electronic screens in the vehicles, although that is hitting across the market.

 

[ultrarunner]

More woe on the Insurance front reported in the morning paper...

The lesser coverage and high premiums plus split policies are one more reason to bail in California.

Lots of longtime claim free policy holders facing huge increases...

Napa... 2021 8k... 2024 30k

Pacifica Condos 2021 22k for 14m
Pacifica Condos 2024 270k for 2.5m

Placerville 2020 1.5k. 2024 15k

Everyone speaks is sustainability but retired and just those everyday working stiffs are finding insurance nightmares...

 

[Jstpssng]

The more time on the road, the greater the overall risk

This must be why I've driven well over two millon miles without an at fault accident. (It's probably been twice that in my life)This reminds me of a conversation I had at the dinner table in a logging camp; the guy sitting across from me said that statistically speaking, people have an accident every 3 years. Then he said "I've had 3 this year."
I looked at the guy sitting next to me and said "it looks like he's already taken care of yours and mine."

 

[Lineman North Florida]

Auto insurance is crazy here in Florida but it's no wonder when you see the commercials or billboards where the ambulance chasers advertise the huge settlements (250k-$2mil)they get for small accidents.

I got a small dent in my rear bumper and the dealer got $4k from my insurer. The insurer recommended the dealer btw. I also had tiny dent in my front quarter from a grocery cart and the dealer wanted $1k. I instead paid a dentless repair guy $200.

Yeah better call Dan Newlin, those commercials make me sick. A number of year's ago a semi ran a red light and hit me but by the grace of God I survived, I will never forget the company that owned the semi asking me to sign a waiver to release them from any responsibility which I refused to do, but I didn't hire an attorney and sue them either, I didn't have any real ongoing problems so I was happy with just that.

 

[DerMann]

Wow - California basically became unlivable for the average Joe. So much for paradise west.

A colleague from Milwaukee moved to Sacramento for a job promotion. After he'd been there a while, he said he'd never return. Hah!

Vehicles are becoming uninsurable due to all the tech they've stuffed into these things. Sure, they've reduce the crash rate, I'm sure, but if you do crash one they cost too much to fix with all the sensors a technoglitz in them today.

 

[ultrarunner]

It's hard to recruit professionals to California even with higher pay...

 

[jyoutz]

Wow - California basically became unlivable for the average Joe. So much for paradise west.

A colleague from Milwaukee moved to Sacramento for a job promotion. After he'd been there a while, he said he'd never return. Hah!

Vehicles are becoming uninsurable due to all the tech they've stuffed into these things. Sure, they've reduce the crash rate, I'm sure, but if you do crash one they cost too much to fix with all the sensors a technoglitz in them today.

I think that automotive property damage repairs would be a very minor portion of insurance claim costs. The real costs are medical claims.

 

[Cycledude]

I dont know what your miles driven have to do with paying attention to the road, following applicable traffic laws, and knowing how to drive so that you dont get into accidents.
I drive about 50,000 miles/year, and have done so for the last 30 years. In that time I've had one accident, in 2010 when a tree fell across the road onto my company truck. Before that, in 1991 I rolled a friend's van when a deer stepped out in front of me.

You rolled your friends van because of a lousy deer ? How did that happen ?

 

[Jstpssng]

You rolled your friends van because of a lousy deer ? How did that happen ?

I stepped on the brakes and it went sideways. I countersteered and it went the other way, RR tire caught the edge of the pavement and sucked me into the ditch.
It was an old GMC one ton with drum brakes all around which didn't brake straight. The door would randomly open, and no seat belts.
His employees thanked me for wrecking it.