Vehicle Insurance Soars
Inflation in the segment adds to laundry list of cost increases in automotive.

As insurance costs increased, vehicle maintenance and repair costs rose 7%.
IMAGE: Pexels/Mikhail Nilov
Car insurance premiums are rising more than many other consumer costs, according to a recent Consumer Price Index report, adding to car buyers’ already heavy purchase burden.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that motor vehicle insurance jumped 20.3% last year, far outpacing other segments’ increases.
Meanwhile, vehicle maintenance and repair costs rose 7%.
The bureau didn’t include analysis on the factors in the increases, but they parallel the surge over the past three years since the pandemic’s onset in vehicle prices and car accidents, along with rising vehicle theft.
Inflation brought on by the pandemic has left consumers with much higher vehicle purchase prices already, though those have started to come down and incentives have returned. At the same time, interest rates soared last year as the Federal Reserve has worked to cool inflation.
Still, new-vehicle affordability improved in November to its best point in two years as consumer incomes and vehicle incentives grew, Cox Automotive said. And the Fed has stopped raising rates as it waits to see if inflation falls to its 2% target.
Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today
More Industry

Pennsylvania Dealership Under New Retailers
The sale of the Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram store puts a family auto group on a leaner path as first-time dealers take the helm.
Read More →
Battery Storage Takes Priority Over EVs
U.S. automakers are prioritizing battery energy stationary storage over electric-vehicle production as the consumer demand for EVs lags the rest of the world.
Read More →
Auto Dealers Feel Better But Not Great
A second-quarter Cox Automotive poll of franchised retailers and independents found better views of the current market after a good spring but anticipation of third-quarter storminess.
Read More →
New-Vehicle Sales Picture Relative
A May forecast is complicated by last spring’s trade tariff effects on auto retail. Despite continued hard realities, many consumers took advantage of ways to bite the bullet.
Read More →
Auto Group Acquires Third Nissan Rooftop
Iowa-based Coleman Automotive Group recently acquired its seventh dealership, McGrath Nissan, which it renamed Nissan of Elgin.
Read More →
April Less Affordable
Based on prices, reduced incentives and slower household income growth, consumers found it more challenging to buy new last month, Cox Automotive reported.
Read More →
Building an Extraordinary F&I Agency
Work to determine your specialized talent, because that fact will determine everything about your agency’s future.
Read More →
Recipe for Compliance
The secret to both amazing barbecue and compliance is the same: understanding the basics and committing to a process.
Read More →
EVs Getting More Attractive
A growing percentage of U.S. consumers are open to switching and fewer are adverse to the idea, according to a recently completed survey. That’s despite the end of a tax break.
Read More →
EV Sales Drop in April Following Surge
North American electric-vehicle sales were down 28% year-over-year, a sharp contrast from global EV sales growth of 6%.
Read More →