III Report: Auto Insurance Prices Show Strong Upward Trend

    RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA, November 16, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Insurance Information Institute's (III) president and economist, Robert P. Hartwig, indicated in a presentation given last week that the average price paid by Americans for auto coverage has been increasing steadily for the past few years, resulting in an overall hike of more than 10 percent when compared with the 2007 average.

According to Hartwig, the hardening of the market that was ushered in by the beginning of the "Great Recession" has made finding low cost auto insurance policies significantly more difficult for consumers, and the gradual increase is expected to continue.

The III projects that the national average for expenditures on coverage has risen by a total of approximately 12.5 percent since 2007 -- jumping from $795 up to $895 -- and continued growth is expected through the early part of the decade, according to Hartwig. As is indicated in the presentation, the pricing cycle tends to last for about 10 years. So, if the current cycle follows the pattern of previous cycles, prices can be expected to peak between 2012 and 2013.

The rise in costs could add to the value of Web sites that provide car insurance quotes without personal info required. Most state regulators advise drivers that an integral part of securing the best prices for policies is comparison shopping, and sites offering quote-generation services often enable consumers to get a dozen or more rate estimates in the time it would take to call only a few agents or coverage providers.

Source: http://insurance.mo.gov/consumer/teens/tnGenIns.pdf

The average-price data put forth by the III are based on numbers from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Consumer Price Index. Average expenditures reflect costs for all types of coverage, not just state-set minimums.

To learn more about getting an optimal policy with adequate protection and a reasonable price, consumers can go to http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/quotes/no-personal-information.htm where visitors will be able to use the free quote-comparison generator.

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