Car insurance rates rise again in state in 2017
For the third year in a row, base insurance rates offered by at least 20 companies went up across
So what's driving the increase?
It seems like we're just not very good drivers in the
QuoteWizard, a company that compares insurance rates nationwide, ranked
Insurance industry experts say that cheap gas, a strong economy and a rising population mean more people are on the road, driving newer cars -- and perhaps playing with their phones when they shouldn't be, and are thus getting into more and costlier accidents than years past.
"There definitely have been some negative changes in
Whittle said insurance companies in
Modern cars, with their sensors, safety features, and unibody construction, are more expensive to repair than ever before. On top of that, medical costs of treating people in those wrecks seem to keep endlessly rising.
"You can explain a lot of this according to the cost of repairs going up," Whittle said. "Vehicles have a lot of tech in them that have to be repaired or replaced. Today, you may have a
While the rise in car accidents can't be attributed to one particular cause, distracted driving is seen as an exacerbating factor behind the increase in auto collisions. Although stronger distracted-driving laws went into effect in
"The mere fact we passed them isn't as important as people complying with them," Whittle said. "On average, people are driving distracted for (about three) minutes for every hour they're driving. When you consider you can travel the length of a football field in a few seconds, then you add three minutes of distracted driving, that's a lot of football fields."
"(
But, just because they've recently gone up, insurance rates aren't necessarily a one-way ratchet. Whittle said car insurance is a highly competitive market, and as consumers look for a better deal, they can put downward pressure on rates.
"Our advice to consumers is to shop around and compare rates," she said. "But you also have to be careful as far as the type of coverage you had before compared to the new type of coverage you're getting. Read the policy carefully. It's not fun to read, but something you need to do."
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