Auto insurance rates could continue to rise

The latest CPI showed the auto insurance prices up 16.9% in May, following a 6.4% increase in April.

Despite recent increases in auto insurance rates, many experts believe higher costs are still to come.

As the amount of driving consumers fell in 2020, auto insurers refunded $14 billion in premiums, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Rates continued to stagnate, or even decline, through the first quarter of this year.

However, the most recent consumer price index data showed the auto insurance index up 16.9% in May, following a 6.4% rise in April — the first increases since March 2020.

Auto insurers are facing a number of challenges as the econonmy reopens. Workers are returning to offices and vaccinations are prompting many people to take summer vacations. Government data from March, the most current statistics available, show driving up 19%.

Though the number of driving hours plummeted by 13% last year, fatalities climbed 7%, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Experts blame a higher incidence of speeding, impaired driving and distracted driving for the increase.