Car insurance rates are surging as Americans struggle to pay for basic necessities and ongoing debt.

Car insurance rates are surging as Americans struggle to pay for basic necessities and ongoing debt.

The newest Consumer Price Index shows car insurance spiked 20 percent year over year. The surge in pricing occurred after years of gradual price inflation, with earlier reports finding the rates grew by 36 percent since 2020.

That’s at the same time debt is soaring for many Americans. While Americans hold around 1.75 trillion in student debt loans alone, they also have $1.05 trillion in credit card balances not paid off.

    • @RGB3x3English
      27•1 year ago

      And also insurance companies charging just as much as they can get away with.

      The US system is designed to squeeze every last penny out of a person, to the point they can still “survive,” but not so much that they become destitute and can no longer buy things and pay for essential services.

        • @lordkuri
          9•1 year ago

          There is competition here, though. It’s not like it’s a single insurance company monopoly. You can usually get a better deal by shopping around.

          It’s kind of funny you mention this. I just sat down and went through every insurance company I could find (over 15 of them) that are still writing policies here in CA because Geico decided to jack my rates over 20% this renewal. Literally every one of them were within $5 every 6 months of the price Geico is charging me for the renewal.

          Tell me again how I’m supposed to “get a better deal by shopping around”?

          • @stoly
            6•1 year ago

            Oh he has no clue. He just parroted the propaganda he received in middle school.

          • @[email protected]
            1•1 year ago

            I’m in the same boat except my rates went up 200% because of a single accident in the last 10 years. Fuck Geico and every other insurance company. Private companies should not be allowed in businesses where people have no choice. And I’m saying this as a libertarian mostly.

        • @blurg
          9•1 year ago

          The way the market works: You charge a competitive price that allows you to cover your costs and make a profit. If your product provides enough value to the buyer, they’ll pay for it.

          That’s what’s taught. There’s quite a bit more in practice, including: what insurance companies learned from management consultants.

          But they aren’t colluding to eek every ounce of money from people.

          Maybe so, though there appears to be a common interest.