If you think it’s costing you a lot more to insure your car this year, you’re right.
A new study from Bankrate.com found that since 2022, the cost of auto insurance was up more than 14% in Chicago, the fourth-highest increase in the country. On average, city residents pay almost $1,850 dollars a year to insure vehicles. That works out to nearly 2.5% of the average household income.
Still, insurance analyst Cate Deventer said that’s not as bad as it sounds. Chicago’s increases are pretty much in the middle of the road when it comes to the nation’s top 25 metro areas.
“We saw drivers spending from one percent to about five point five percent,” she said. “Chicago is actually on the lower end of percentage spent.”
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Busy areas like Chicago, Bankrate.com said, have a lot more cars on the road, a lot more tourists and a lot more traffic.
“It’s more likely accidents are going to happen,” Deventer said.
When they do, clams will cost more because the city is a more expensive place to live.
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The study, entitled Bankrate.com’s 2023 True Cost of Auto Insurance Report, found that much of the increase is due to inflation. Carjackings and catalytic converter thefts, however, also play a role.
“Generally, comprehensive coverage is going to be affected by things like theft,” Deventer said. “That’s what’s going to cover something like a catalytic converter theft and theft or vandalism of your entire vehicle.
Linessa James said her catalytic converter was stolen from her car when it was parked right in front of her house. But she said her insurance went up before that happened.
“Nothing surprises me about Chicago and how expensive it is,” she said. “Everything is more expensive here: gas, insurance.”
Still, the study found Chicago is far from the most expensive place when it comes to auto insurance. That title went to Miami.
“Drivers in Miami spend an average of 5.5% of their income on a full coverage car insurance policy,” Deventer said.
And that number, Bankrate.com says, is likely to go up before it comes down later in 2023.
