Auto insurance premiums have been on the rise since April 2016, when a 6 percent rate hike made it the biggest monthly increase since 2003.

While the need for harder conditions in the auto insurance market is overdue, both personal and commercial auto policies are noticing the effects. And due to contributing factors that include the high costs of claims, increasing costs of vehicle repairs and unsafe driving behaviors, policyholders are not likely to see a softer market any time soon.

More Drivers on the Road

Thanks to low gasoline prices and rising employment rates, more Americans are driving. As a result, there are more accidents, which lead to higher payouts. Higher payouts lead to higher premiums.

The cause of more accidents isn’t entirely because more drivers are on the road—it is because of drivers’ unsafe driving practices. According to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, about 87 percent of drivers admitted to engaging in at least one risky behavior while behind the wheel in the first quarter of 2017, including using cellphones while driving and not wearing seat belts.

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