NEW YORK (AP) — Relentlessly rising auto insurance rates are squeezing car owners and stoking inflation.
Auto insurance rates rose 2.6% in March and are up 22% from a year ago. Premium costs have been marching steadily higher since 2022, even as inflation at the consumer level steadily cooled from its 9.1% peak in the middle of that year. Consumers have had some relief as the rate of cost increases for food and energy, two key components of most budgets, has eased greatly.
But auto insurance and car ownership costs have become a sticking point for consumers and the Federal Reserve in its battle to rein inflation back to its goal of 2%.
Typically, individuals would see a noticeable increase in their premiums because of speeding tickets and other moving violations. Adding new drivers or a general increase in claims in the area were other reasons.
Angela Rayner brands Rishi Sunak 'a pint
Baltimore bridge collapses after being struck by ship, six presumed dead
China news: Mystery as Xi Jinping unexpectedly skips key speech
Colorado reporter's expulsion from Republican gathering causes uproar
Ancestry website cataloguing names of Japanese Americans incarcerated during World War II
HK's West Kowloon arts hub to run out of funds in 2025: CEO
Death toll rises in Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years
Alicudi: Italian island offers goats up for adoption
Pascal Siakam leads resurgent Pacers offense in 125
'We will not be silenced': Gisborne council backs Māori wards
Olympic tennis champion Belinda Bencic announces the birth of her daughter
HKFP Lens: Hong Kong marks China's National Day with displays of patriotism, pyrotechnics