Auto insurance premiums and claims still on the rise: study

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AM Best’s latest Market Segment Report gives a grim outlook for the auto insurance industry, for both insurers and consumers alike. The auto insurance industry is hurting, with premiums and claims continuously on the rise, according to the study.

For insurers, the hike in auto insurance claims is largely due to drivers returning to the workforce. There’s an increasing number of people on the road compared to the height of COVID-19. The more drivers on the road, the more accidents that get reported, and the higher premiums tend to rise.

"Workplace patterns have changed post-pandemic with work-from-home arrangements, reducing the number of vehicles on the road. However, driver inattentiveness and riskier driving habits have become more problematic in the last few years, and as a result, auto severity has worsened," said Christopher Graham, senior industry analyst, in a press release.

Inflation is another point of blame for rising premiums, along with supply chain issues, the AM Best study cites. All these issues combined has resulted in a substantial loss for insurers, which gets passed on to consumers.

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