The cost of the average car insurance policy last month was 20.3% higher than a year before, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s the highest one-year increase in insurance costs since 1976, according to Bloomberg. The average 6-month policy started in December cost Americans $780.28.
Auto insurance showed a higher increase than any other element of the Consumer Price Index – the government’s primary measure of inflation. The index showed overall inflation of 3.4% over the same period. Car insurance rates differ wildly by state, as state laws control liability in accidents. Read: These are the cars that cost the most and least to insureSoaring repair costs Soaring repair costs are the single largest factor driving insurance inflation. A New York Times analysis in July found that theaverage cost to repair a car after an accident has soared 36% in just five years. Today’s increasingly high-tech cars often have expensive sensors in vulnerable places. The radar and lidar sensors that govern a smart cruise control system, for instance, need to sit on the exterior of a car to work properly. That leaves them susceptible to damage in even low-speed accidents. Even a simple windshield replacement can now be a $1,000-plus repair thanks to embedded sensors and built-in lenses for traffic-scanning cameras. Also see: The 9 things that are most likely to affect your auto insurance ratesClimate-driven disasters also a factor A Washington Post analysis in September found that climate-related weather events also play a role. Hurricane-prone Florida is the ultimate example. At least one prominent insurer — Farmers Insurance — recently elected to abandon the state entirely. Also see: Lawmakers probe insurance cr …
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Auto insurance showed a higher increase than any other element of the Consumer Price Index – the government’s primary measure of inflation. The index showed overall inflation of 3.4% over the same period. Car insurance rates differ wildly by state, as state laws control liability in accidents. Read: These are the cars that cost the most and least to insureSoaring repair costs Soaring repair costs are the single largest factor driving insurance inflation. A New York Times analysis in July found that theaverage cost to repair a car after an accident has soared 36% in just five years. Today’s increasingly high-tech cars often have expensive sensors in vulnerable places. The radar and lidar sensors that govern a smart cruise control system, for instance, need to sit on the exterior of a car to work properly. That leaves them susceptible to damage in even low-speed accidents. Even a simple windshield replacement can now be a $1,000-plus repair thanks to embedded sensors and built-in lenses for traffic-scanning cameras. Also see: The 9 things that are most likely to affect your auto insurance ratesClimate-driven disasters also a factor A Washington Post analysis in September found that climate-related weather events also play a role. Hurricane-prone Florida is the ultimate example. At least one prominent insurer — Farmers Insurance — recently elected to abandon the state entirely. Also see: Lawmakers probe insurance cr …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]