Even if you have a clean driving record and make all your payments on time, you could still see your rates go up — sometimes significantly.
Rates can rise for many reasons, including:
- Increases in the cost of repair for accidents (even minor ones)
- New safety features that insurance companies have to pay for
- The declining number of accidents and injuries in general
The rising cost of owning a car:
If you’ve been in an accident and haven’t filed a claim, your premiums might be higher anyway.
The rising cost of owning a car is one reason why your insurance rates could be climbing even though you haven’t had any claims.
- The price of repairing damaged vehicles has increased significantly since 1980, according to the Insurance Information Institute (III). In fact, it’s risen by 85%! This means it costs more for insurers to repair vehicles after an accident—and they pass those costs on to policyholders like you.
- The labor and materials used to repair damaged vehicles have also gotten pricier over time, according to the III’s analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
An increase in traffic accidents:
The most common reason for increased rates is an increase in traffic accidents. In Georgia, the number of traffic accidents is increasing, which means that you could see your rate go up if you haven’t had any claims. Nationwide, car crashes are the leading cause of death and serious injury for people under 25 years old.
The good news is that there are ways you can keep your rates low:
- Drive safely: Obey speed limits and stop signs, drive at a safe distance from other cars on the road, don’t text while driving (or at all), don’t drink alcohol before getting behind the wheel…the list goes on!
- Don’t be reckless: It might seem like fun to drive with no seatbelt or leave your turn signal on all day long—but it’s not worth risking getting into an accident just because you’re trying out new driving techniques.
An increase in distracted driving accidents:
- Distracted driving is extremely dangerous. A study from the University of Utah found that drivers were four times more likely to get into an accident when they were distracted than when they weren’t. Texting and driving is especially dangerous, but anything that takes your attention away from the road can be distracting.
- Distracted driving accidents are very common—and in every state except for Montana and Oregon, which have stricter laws against using cell phones while driving than other states do. In 2014 alone, distracted drivers caused over 6 billion dollars’ worth of damage according to a study by The University Of Utah School Of Medicine And Public Health.
Higher costs for labor and materials used to repair damaged vehicles:
In short, the cost of labor and materials for repairing damaged vehicles is rising. The reasons for this are not entirely clear, but it probably has something to do with the fact that more people are in accidents than before—and therefore there’s higher demand for services—as well as increased regulatory compliance requirements.
If you’re a customer of ours, we want to help you understand what your insurance policy covers and how to use it. We also want you to know that we take pride in being there for our customers when they need us most.