According to a recent study by online insurance agency Insurance.com, auto insurance rates are on the rise all across the United States for the first time in a year, and it is expected that premiums will continue to increase as the year progresses.
The company’s quarterly Car Insurance Rate Report is the source of this information, and their numbers revealed that even the lowest insurance quotes increased 1.05% from last quarter, which represents an average increase from $1811/year to $1830/year for annual premiums. This is in sharp contrast to 2007, which showed rates falling or holding steady, and had a Q4 result that was 5.2% lower than the same quarter in 2006.
Car insurance rates vary widely from state to state, with consumers in places like Florida and Ohio seeing rate increases far above the national average (6.6% and 4.8% respectively), Car insurance rates vary by state, and some states experienced rate quote increases in the first quarter that were many times greater than the average. Florida and Ohio, for example, saw rates jump 6.6% and 4.8%, respectively. Also showing increases above the average are Texas (2.4%), Pennsylvania (4.2%), and Georgia (3.2%).
According to Dave Roush, CEO of Insurance.com, “We have seen all of the major auto insurance carriers reporting an increase in the average amount paid on bodily injury claims, fueled by rising medical costs. Historically, this factor has signaled the beginning of a national upward trend in rates, and we think we’ll continue to see rates bump up through 2008 and maybe into 2009.”
While the increase in the cost of insurance is just one more factor in an increasingly volatile economy, not every state had an increase. Insurance rates in North Dakota, Maine, and Kentucky have actually declined.
It is theorized that this increase is partly responsible for the increased numbers in online insurance shoppers going to the net helps consumers save money.