We all need car insurance on our vehicles for the unexpected. You might have an accident while commuting to work or a hail storm turns your car into something resembling a giant golf ball.

I am no insurance guru by any means when it comes to auto coverage, but I feel like I have gotten a pretty great deal over the years by comparing rates at various companies. On top of that, both my wife and I are safe drivers and have no accidents on our records. So the foreseeable future, our rates should stay relatively low, right?

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This morning, I got an email regarding our annual policy renewal. The email subject was "Your Policy Renewal Notice". I wasn't expecting to nearly fall over when I opened the documents. Looking over our rates, the policy premium increased by a total of 44 percent. I don't know about you, but a 44 percent, or $800 annual increase, seems a bit obnoxious.

WHY ARE AUTO INSURANCE PRICES GOING UP IN 2023?

This had to be a mistake. Really, there has to be something that was put into our records wrong. So I immediately called our insurance company to get to the bottom of the astronomical price increase. After going through the automated system, I was finally able to get in touch with a live human being.

I asked why our insurance is so incredibly expensive. The agent looked over our information and did confirm that there are no accidents, no traffic violations, and anything else that could cause such a massive increase over the course of a year.

Upon further investigation, it appears that the increases have come on three parts of the auto coverage.

Bodily Injury Liability

The bodily injury portion of our auto insurance increased a total of 145 percent. The agent said that the reason for this increase is due to higher healthcare and treatment costs.

Collision and Comprehensive

The collision portion of auto insurance increased by 45 percent and comprehensive increased by more than 25 percent. The agent that I spoke with said these increases are due to higher costs for vehicle parts as well as supply chain issues.

Those three segments of our auto insurance saw the highest increases in rates. Another area where an increase was seen was in the property damage section.

Shopping Around for Auto Insurance

Needless to say, I was not a happy camper when I got off the phone as I will now have to budget more than $70 extra per month next month for the same product with no change in benefits.

I did look into other companies to compare rates for auto insurance. It appears that every provider that I did look into has taken these price increases into consideration and the prices are sky-high across the board for auto insurance. I guess my main point is that prepare your wallet because if you have an upcoming policy renewal, you're almost certainly going to pay more.

It does seem like this is par for the course starting in 2022 and throughout 2023. Rates have risen on utilities, the price of gas, and inflation on nearly everything we buy. Needless to say, it is a bit discouraging.

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