Increased car insurance costs impacted by inflation, experts say

TAMPA, Fla. - The cost of auto insurance is going up for drivers across the country with some saying their policies have doubled or even tripled within the last year. 

"Every six months, before $1,500 a year, she was paying about $400 every six months, $800 a year, now it’s gone up to almost twice as much," said Donna Merdan about her mother’s policy.

It’s a hard pill for people to swallow, and insurance experts said it’s because of inflation.

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"When the cost of all those things go up, then there’s only one thing that happens to the cost of auto insurance, and the cost of things goes up gradually anyways, but we’ve seen an explosive amount of inflation over the last year or so," said Bob Passmore with The American Property Casualty Insurance Association.

He said the severity of auto insurance claims have gone up about 36% over the last couple of years. Also, loss ratios have jumped from less than 60% to 100%, which means insurance companies are paying out more than what they’re bringing in.

Here’s where inflation really comes into the picture. Medical expenses and auto repair costs are all up. Insurance experts said that impacts auto insurance, which is why you’re paying more.

"We’re doing all we can do, that’s all we can do is watch what you spend, watch what you eat, grocery bills, yeah," said Merdan.

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The AAA Auto Club said drivers have picked up bad habits during the pandemic, like speeding, phone use and running red lights.

Experts said drivers got used to the roads being empty, but that’s not the case anymore.  With crashes and claims on the rise, all insured drivers are paying for it.

Insurance experts said you should shop your insurance and/or take a close look at your deductible. You could save a good amount of money if you choose a higher one.

There’s also usage-based insurance if you only drive about 10,000 miles per year.

Some companies also give drivers the option to have their driving habits tracked on an app.  If you don’t speed or break to hard, and avoid accidents, data from the app could lower your premiums.