Large Auto Insurance Increases Coming

[JBTX]

Our State Farm auto went up about 20%. I decided to call GEICO, who we were with years ago, and their quote was double State Farm’s. It didn’t help that I recently was in a fender bender, but still, the doubled quote seemed over the top. So we stuck with State Farm.

[crazygrow]

Farmers here, previous was 1K/6 months, 2 vehicles. Now $ 1700

I just left Farmers. I know insurance is local, but my agent said that Farmers has become completely uncompetitive with auto and sent a letter out that it is going to release new rates by February. I chose to leave both because they massively increased just for my wife and I but when we brought our 16 year old son on (and he is a triplet so two more are close to follow), they wanted $3k just for him for the year where State Farm only went up $1000 for the year. My agent said triplet #2 and #3 were each going to be at least another $1k/year and State Farm was only going to be like a few hundred maximum (I had them run quotes as if they had a license as of their birthday a few months ago).

[mmmmbrisket]

I received my upcoming renewal and was pleasantly surprised that it said my rates decreased. Not much, but I won't complain about a 2% decrease. This is after adding a fourth to the policy in August (kid #2) that increased my 6 month policy $4, less than a gallon of gas at the time.

[Johny Fever]

We are with Auto Owners in Michigan and our rates went up about 2.8% over all on our cars, bus and boat. We have stated value on bus and boat. Home is hard to know as we are in a new home. But dollar per dollar on home value looks pretty much the same.

[wfrobinette]

It wouldn’t be unusual for businesses, in a time of inflation, to try to tack on a little extra price increase for more profit.

Insurance carriers just can’t tack on price increases. They
Must file with the state, wait for approval and then implement.

[wfrobinette]

I just got my GEICO invoice and it had a 20% increase. I am interested to hear what others are experiencing. I think most insurance companies will be increasing their fees a lot. Due to:

-Used car prices are way up making payouts higher
-The cost to repair cars has gone up.
-The lack of repair parts has mean it takes more time to get a repair done and this means rentals will be longer
-Rental rates have gone way up
-Medical costs have gone up

I’m not sure that’s going to be true for all. My rates went down for this renewal period. Rates are dependent on dozens and dozens of variables so they really can’t be compared easily. You should be shopping right now.

[PNWpilot]

I'd like to add a data point.

Progressive auto renewal went up 30%. Never filed a claim in my life.

Geico, State Farm, and Farmers wanted 200% (!!!) what I currently pay now for the same coverage.

Esurance and Allstate wanted an additional 90% compared to what I pay now.

I kicked those numbers over to an independent agent...waiting on a response.

For comparison, I've paid $1,150 this year for auto insurance. Next years quotes are looking like a spread from $1,300-$2800 for the same coverage.

Whack.

[3feetpete]

I am the original poster. At another Bogleheads suggestion, I contacted Geico and found I was due another discount for (being financially responsible) which brought my cost down lower than last year. I never would have guessed I'd get a discount simply for paying my insurance bill on time. And I'm on time by definition because the payment comes out of my credit card automatically when it is due.

[talzara]

Insurance carriers just can’t tack on price increases. They
Must file with the state, wait for approval and then implement.

That's not true for most states.

In prior approval states, they have to "file with the state, wait for approval and then implement."

In file-and-use states, they can file rate increases and implement them as long as they have not been disapproved within a certain number of days.

In use-and-file states, they can implement rate increases and file them later. Use-and-file states rarely disapprove filed rates.

Most states and the District of Columbia are file-and-use or use-and-file. About a dozen states are prior approval. Illinois is the only state that does not review rates for auto and homeowners insurance.

[talzara]

I'd like to add a data point.

Progressive auto renewal went up 30%. Never filed a claim in my life.

Geico, State Farm, and Farmers wanted 200% (!!!) what I currently pay now for the same coverage.

If you live in Washington state, the insurance commissioner temporarily banned the use of credit history to rate policies. The ban was overturned in court, but the insurance commissioner reinstated the ban, and the second ban was also overturned in court.

Because of this, insurance rates in Washington are unstable right now. Some insurance companies are using credit history, and others are not. Some companies took a chance on winning in court, and others decided to comply with the ban and wait for the dust to settle.

You may have better luck in a year, after every company has had a chance to file new rates. Just because GEICO, State Farm, and Farmers are quoting 200% of your current rates doesn't mean they will still be quoting 200% in a year.

[jimmo]

Geico 6 month auto policy just renewed with 31% increase. No tickets, no claims, nothing different on my end. Geico had been notably below peers and now unfortunately have caught up to the pack on premium. Bummer.

[talzara]

I am the original poster. At another Bogleheads suggestion, I contacted Geico and found I was due another discount for (being financially responsible) which brought my cost down lower than last year. I never would have guessed I'd get a discount simply for paying my insurance bill on time. And I'm on time by definition because the payment comes out of my credit card automatically when it is due.

"Financial responsibility" refers to your credit history. To save money, GEICO doesn't pull your credit every year. If it looks like you might leave GEICO for another company, GEICO may be willing to pay for a credit report to try to keep you.

[pokebowl]

Just received my auto policy renewal notice from State Farm for 2023. 69% increase in premium for 2023 with no changes to policy nor claims filed in 2022. Will be calling around next week to see if I can get a lower quote from competitors.

[tomd37]

My USAA (military officer since 1961) full coverage auto insurance increased 9.8% when it renewed November 8th. No chargeable claims in past 20 years or more. Excellent service when 14-month old 2017 Lexus ES350 was totaled in 2018 by fault of other driver involved. Actually got a better equipped 2018 Lexus ES350 plus my $1,000 deductible back.

[FGal]

My GEICO policy just renewed and had gone up almost 50%. I played around with the policy online to see if I could change enough to get it down a bit, and nothing more than a few bucks. So I called and they ran me through a soft credit score pull (I assume this is the "see if I'm financially responsible" mentioned by another poster above) and they knocked off over 25%.

And then just for giggles, I checked the new policy online and realized there was an optional coverage I don't normally want, dropped that and I am barely at a 10% increase at this point. VERY happy considering. It has always paid for me to call them and get them to rerun the numbers.

[NYCaviator]

Insurance rates in general are going through the roof. Between natural disasters affecting homeowners' premiums, and inflation/car prices (and the abundance of awful drivers) costing auto insurers lots of money, every company seems to be raising rates.

I would not be surprised if we start to see a lot more people driving without insurance given the rate hikes. We significantly increased our un/underinsured motorist coverage this year after a series of hit and runs in the news and friends who have been hit by drivers with no insurance.

[exarkun]

Insurance rates in general are going through the roof. Between natural disasters affecting homeowners' premiums, and inflation/car prices (and the abundance of awful drivers) costing auto insurers lots of money, every company seems to be raising rates.

I would not be surprised if we start to see a lot more people driving without insurance given the rate hikes. We significantly increased our un/underinsured motorist coverage this year after a series of hit and runs in the news and friends who have been hit by drivers with no insurance.

Interesting note; the largest portion of my (avoided) 40% increase was due to increase in uninsured motorist coverage.

[chrisjul]

up 20% for me. BUT, ALL insurance is up big in FL!

[Rdytoretire]

I live in the suburbs of a large mkidwest city. No accidents or tickets. My Geico insurance bill for 6 months beginning in January 2023 is up 26% compared to last Januarys bill. Is this increase typical compared to other bogelheads?

[Triple digit golfer]

I live in the suburbs of a large mkidwest city. No accidents or tickets. My Geico insurance bill for 6 months beginning in January 2023 is up 26% compared to last Januarys bill. Is this increase typical compared to other bogelheads?

Yep. My Geico is up 19% compared to six months ago and 25% compared to a year ago.

I shopped around and the savings was about $200 a year and that was for auto, homeowners and umbrella combined. Not really even worth the hassle if switching all those and coordinating all the timing, cancelations of existing policies, etc.

[Rdytoretire]

I live in the suburbs of a large mkidwest city. No accidents or tickets. My Geico insurance bill for 6 months beginning in January 2023 is up 26% compared to last Januarys bill. Is this increase typical compared to other bogelheads?

Yep. My Geico is up 19% compared to six months ago and 25% compared to a year ago.

I shopped around and the savings was about $200 a year and that was for auto, homeowners and umbrella combined. Not really even worth the hassle if switching all those and coordinating all the timing, cancelations of existing policies, etc.

Thanks, that looks identical to my increases. I still think what I am paying is reasonable so I probably won't even bother looking elsewhere.

[Triple digit golfer]

I live in the suburbs of a large mkidwest city. No accidents or tickets. My Geico insurance bill for 6 months beginning in January 2023 is up 26% compared to last Januarys bill. Is this increase typical compared to other bogelheads?

Yep. My Geico is up 19% compared to six months ago and 25% compared to a year ago.

I shopped around and the savings was about $200 a year and that was for auto, homeowners and umbrella combined. Not really even worth the hassle if switching all those and coordinating all the timing, cancelations of existing policies, etc.

Thanks, that looks identical to my increases. I still think what I am paying is reasonable so I probably won't even bother looking eleswhere.

You're welcome. I also live in the suburbs of a large Midwest city. Maybe we're neighbors!

[Rdytoretire]

Is the large Midwestern city in Illinois and next to a great lake?

[Triple digit golfer]

Is the large Midwestern city in Illinois and next to a great lake?

Yep!

[Rdytoretire]

Northwest Suburbs? Happy New Year!

[Triple digit golfer]

Northwest Suburbs? Happy New Year!

Western. Same to you!

[cubs1999]

I live in the suburbs of a large mkidwest city. No accidents or tickets. My Geico insurance bill for 6 months beginning in January 2023 is up 26% compared to last Januarys bill. Is this increase typical compared to other bogelheads?

Same area and liberty mutual raised condo insurance 20% and auto insurance 20%. I shipped around and every place was cheaper for auto that I checked and that's even with increasing for better coverage. Three were slightly less than what I paid last year, and again this was for higher coverage. State farm and auto owners insurance were about tied for second cheapest. Shelter (I had never heard of it and have a thread on the Personal consumer section " was cheapest for condo and autos. I liked the agent and prices but I'm awaiting an explanation from the underwriters about UIM. The coverage lists "Uninsured Motorist" but not "Underinsured Motorist " like everyone else lists. IL las supposedly requires them to offer UIM if one pays for coverage higher than the min. Agent says UIM is covered. I'm supposedly getting an explanation from underwriting Tues after agent talks to them.

Edit:
LM was around $1600 for two old cars. Went up to almost $2k. Initially I was happy when AAA quote was $1900 with more coverage. State farm and Auto owners is about $1550 so slightly less than LM last year and with better coverage. Shelter is mid $1200's.

Condo was about $400-500 for all where LM was just over $500. Shelter is around $400.

[Rdytoretire]

Thanks for that information. Auto with Geico for one older vehicle is now $780. The cost of everything keeps going up. Seems like inflation is making up for lost time. Maybe we need a recession to stop this.

[Doc7]

I established a new GEICO policy in June. I got a significant discount for owning a single share of BRK.B. It totaled over 30% discount from my Liberty policy.

It just renewed and went up 76 cents for 6 months on 3 vehicles.

[Raraculus]

Auto insurance renewal time here...

I got a premium notice for an increase of 6.2% from Progressive. I checked GEICO to see if I could have a better rate - the GEICO premium was around 32% higher than Progressive!

I'm sticking with Progressive, but I fear that inflation is creeping into the insurance industry.

[exarkun]

My upcoming USAA auto (actual USAA, not the other tiers) renewal in Jan 23 is listed at a 40% increase!!!
No accidents, traffic violations, or anything else has changed for us in the last year.
I'm in FL.

Got a ton of quotes, compared apples to apples, and switched to progressive for same coverage at 50% the price of the new USAA policy, 35% less than my existing USAA policy.
Also looking forward to receiving the large subscribers balance I have at USAA in 6 months.

6 months later, nearly time for renewal.
Progressive has raised the price 40% if paid in full...

[Glockenspiel]

I haven't read all the replies, but I've found that auto insurers offer a low rate the first year, then jack rates up no matter what, the next year, because they know there is strong resistance to get quotes and change companies every year.

[exarkun]

I haven't read all the replies, but I've found that auto insurers offer a low rate the first year, then jack rates up no matter what, the next year, because they know there is strong resistance to get quotes and change companies every year.

I don't think that is the case here. I've gotten quotes from several other insurers so far and they are all significantly more than the renewal price of progressive for same or less coverage. I think my new policy with them just snuck in before some adjustments for inflation and prices of used cars.

[JonFund]

I recently had an increase of 25% on my auto insurance with State Farm. Ironically over the last several years it had been going down every year, but not this time. I was holding my breath on my home owners' insurance renewal, but fortunately, it only increased about 4%.