Posted on 01/30/2024 6:35:48 AM PST by dennisw
My car insurance just went up 32%. Did I have an accident or get a few tickets? Nope. Since 2020, car insurance rates in the U.S. have risen by a whopping 37%. The main reason? High-tech vehicles — aka anything remotely new — cost way more to repair. And you don’t need to have a high-tech car to feel the pinch. It’s hitting everyone.
Driving up costs Our cars are packed with dozens of sensors and endless lines of computer code. Combine that with the rising cost of replacement parts and repairs, and voila, soaring auto insurance rates.
Look at these numbers from Bloomberg. They say that EVs are part of what’s driving costs. For a gas car, the average repair bill is around $4,437. The average for an electric vehicle is $6,618.
No wonder the average collision insurance claim jumped by 64% between 2018 and 2022. In 2023, auto insurance rates jumped another 20%, the biggest increase since 1976. Don’t even get me started on how much new and used cars cost right now.
Let’s look under the hood In 2018, Toyota redesigned its uber-popular Camry. The number of parts in the front bumper alone increased from 18 to 43 — most are related to advanced driver-assist features.
The upgrades also mean a front-end collision repair is 43% more expensive. It’s not just driver-assist jacking up costs.
Lots of new cars have LED headlights, which cost around five times more than halogen lights to replace. New cars contain more aluminum. Compared to steel, aluminum is lighter and provides better gas mileage and more protection in a crash — but harder and more expensive to fix. EVs take 20 days, on average, to repair. That’s 40% longer than traditional vehicles and $500 more expensive for labor. Smart ways to save I make it my business to find the best ways to save. Then, I pass them along to you. Let’s do this.
Review your current plan and make adjustments to your coverage. Raising the deductible could result in a significant decrease in your premium. Keep in mind you’ll pay more out of pocket if you get into an accident. Ask for discounts. You might get one if your car has an anti-theft system installed, you’re a safe (accident-free) driver, or you’ve completed defensive driving courses. Talk to your agent. Consider switching to usage-based insurance. If you don’t drive that much or have a relatively short commute, you could pay much less than you would under a traditional plan. Bundle with other insurance plans from the same provider. Carrying home, auto, life and even pet insurance under one company means better rates. The million-dollar question “Should I install one of those trackers to get a discount?” You know, just toss it in your car to save. Yeah, it tracks everything. My podcast co-host Andrew made a good point: His phone is already tracking him anyway. Fair enough.
For me, the discount isn’t worth it. Review your plan, talk to your agent and see how much you’ll really save by letting them know everywhere you go — and every time you hit the gas or slam on the brakes.
🍝 Why does pasta always have to pay so much for car insurance? It can’t drive a car without making it al dente.
Insurance companies underwrite risks in retrospect. They take a moving average of their loss experiences and adjust the future rates based on what happened in the recent past.
Wait until they start replacing those $20,000 batteries on a fender bender that used to be a $2000 body shop repair and we will see some serious rate increases.
Absolutely. you can buy a rebuilt crate engine for a 22RE Toyota pickup from the 90’s for $2500. It will cost $2500 to diagnose an engine failure on a 2024 Toyota.
If you can find a gas station by then.
I imagine the normal people who run auto insurance companies aren’t really comfortable writing insurance policies for cars that drive themselves. That makes them twice as dangerous as “assault rifles” that take it upon themselves to shoot up public skrewals.
I’m to the point I’m ready to only drive $10k cars, not have insurance and pay the fine if caught. It’s cheaper and a million illegals are doing that in Florida so why not me?
I’ll bet another huge influence is uninsured motorists. You’re already paying big for that. With all the illegals and ferals, a huge number drive uninsured.
Several years ago, I sent a letter to my former state Senator with a legislative proposal. Eliminate uninsured motorist coverage and put uninsured drivers in jail. First offense-Five years. Jail a half dozen people and the rest will get insurance.
Oh, but I have to drive to work. Too bad. Get insurance.
I called it the “I don’t care about your personal problems auto insurance reform act.”
He wrote back and told me that it had zero chance because the majority of legislators don’t care.
I’ve been told by agents from two different insurance companies that the rate increases are due to illegal aliens. They are driving without insurance and causing a disproportionate number of accidents.
Insured drivers are paying for the loses regardless of their vehicle or driving history.
“put uninsured drivers in jail. First offense-Five years. Jail a half dozen people and the rest will get insurance.”
This is a good idea—not because the uninsured will get insurance (they are normally scofflaws and will take their chances) but if the uninsured are in jail they are not out on the roads.
Just lost my windshield to a rock thrown up on the 110 freeway in Los Angeles - fortunately, it didn’t go through the windshield but the entire outer core cracked.
Dealer wanted $3,500 for a replacement, my insurance has a $1,000 deductible.
Called around and managed to find a shop that will replace the windshield for $800.
I’m sure that it has absolutely nothing to do with the literal MILLIONS of illegals that are driving around our country....all without insurance of course.
Right, if high insurance costs are a problem, cars last a long time if maintained and get cheaper to insure with age.
Get a different company. My 2009 Frontier is very cheap, my 2016 F150, more expensive, as is our 2019 Honda.
“I’ve been told by agents from two different insurance companies that the rate increases are due to illegal aliens.”
There are plenty of Americans driving without insurance too.
Try uninsured motorists as the key cause of price hikes. These illegals have the cash to buy new or newish cars and insurance? Yea maybe.
Here’s a kicker: many companies are hiring these julios to drive trucks or service vehicles. And tell their drivers to flee the scene if they are involved in an “incident”. Search the license plate and the company is out of state. If they stop good luck on the driver speaking english.
Cant deny them a drivers license because thats where the motor voter law comes into play. Got to have new voters!!
You probably didn’t know but about $10,000+ is now needed for union pensions too.
Time to allow owners to drive without airbags. If one blows, remove it, end of story.
that too...I forgot to mention that other benefit. If there’s a real threat of incarceration, they’ll find another form of transit.
Florida ins has $0 deductable on windshields
I don’t believe this. Maybe it’s true but my 2019 car was given discounts up to last year for having additional safety features (collision detect, lane guidance, etc) - these were removed last year because the car was no longer deemed worthy of the safe car discount.
That was last year - this year they just keep raising the cost to insure the car to where I’m almost double the rate. I get inflation but there’s no way repair costs have doubled!
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