San Antonio drivers, brace yourselves. Your wallets may feel a bit lighter as car insurance premiums in the area are buckling under the pressure, cruising to 19% above the national average. A recent investigation by FOX San Antonio reveals the city's average car insurance rate has hit north of $3000 annually, while the national peg is just over $2500.
It's not just a bump in the road—multiple factors are at the wheel pushing up rates. Explained by Kevin Witcher, the Chief Operating Officer for Insurance Services at SWBC, in a statement obtained by FOX San Antonio, "increased costs for vehicles, increased costs of parts, the supply chain challenges that we've had, the increase in natural disasters and weather events, the increase in legal liability and runaway verdicts" are all contributing to the surge. But there's still some steering control left to drivers; a spotless driving record could earn you lower premiums, and avoiding small claims is another pro tip to not dent your insurance score.
Meanwhile, the forecast for insurance rates isn't looking sunny across the nation either. In an interview with KSAT, Rich Johnson from the Insurance Council of Texas laid it out clear as day, "In 2022 we saw about a 20% increase. I think it’ll probably be a little bit more in 2023… I don’t want to give a specific number because I don’t know it yet." Car insurance is anticipated to rev up by 8.4% across the U.S. this year, per data crunched by Valuepenguin.
San Antonians like Cameron Tabb and Jesse Arias are feeling the heat, with Tabb's insurance rates doubling upon switching to a new car as he told KSAT. Arias lamented on the upward trend, noting alongside essentials like "food, talking about outings," insurance is just another wallet shrinker. However, there's a ray of hope for cost-savvy customers: Johnson advises shopping around and tweaking deductibles to potentially trim down costs.
