CBS News
Inflation may be cooling, but car insurance rates are revving up. Here’s why.
Kayla Mills spent most of this year driving a Honda HRV, but last month she decided to return the vehicle to the dealership. Her reason? The $520 a month car insurance bill no longer fit her budget.
“I can pay it, but being able to afford it while also affording the rising costs of everything else going on, I made an executive decision to let go of my car,” the Massachusetts resident said.
Mills isn’t the only one feeling the pinch of car insurance payments. Not only has overall inflation grew 3% in June compared with a year ago, but auto insurance has gone up a whopping 19.5%, according to the most recent Consumer Price Index data. The national average for full coverage car insurance is nearly $2,300 a year as of July, or $190 a month, according to data from personal finance website Bankrate.
But it wasn’t the increase alone that bothered Mills. She said she ultimately returned the HRV because her insurance increased without explanation from her provider. So what was the reason for the rate increase?
According to one insurance expert, there are three reasons why auto rates are going up, even if your own driving record hasn’t changed.
Inflation hits car insurance
First, the cost insurance providers pay to repair vehicles after an accident — like mechanic hours and car parts — has increased more than 40%, said Dale Porfilio, chief insurance officer at the nonprofit Insurance Information Institute. Insurers are starting to pass more of those costs onto policyholders, he said.
“You also have the fact that people’s behavior got riskier during the pandemic,” Porfilio said. “So, you think about things like speeding, drunk driving, all those characteristics got worse during the pandemic — our own behavior got riskier.”
The third reason insurance rates are climbing: Lawyers are increasingly involved in settling accident claims.
“In general, when you have increased attorney involvement, you actually end up with a higher payout from the insurance company, but a lower payout coming to the injured parties and the claims,” Porfilio said.
Dent in summer car buying season
Car buying activity typically picks up during the spring and summer months, experts said, as customers like to stroll dealership lots in warmer weather. But rising auto insurance rates are starting to threaten what’s typically a fruitful season for automakers.
Gas prices and regular maintenance on a vehicle — like getting the oil changed or the tires rotated — are also weighing down household budgets. A Bank of America survey from March found that Americans feel vehicle maintenance and loans are two of the top five most difficult household expenses to afford.
Drivers should expect auto insurance rates to continue climbing the rest of this year, Porfilio said, adding that although prices should stabilize in 2025, exactly when will vary from company to company.
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A picture is emerging of the suspect who officials say pointed a high-powered rifle at former president Donald Trump on a Florida golf course Sunday afternoon.
Ryan Wesley Routh, 58, was armed with an AK-47-style rifle and was 300-500 yards away from Trump when members of the former president’s Secret Service detail spotted him, according to Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw. Routh was a few holes ahead of where the president was golfing at the Trump International Golf Course in West Palm Beach, officials said.
Members of the Secret Service detail opened fire at Routh, according to law enforcement officials. It’s not clear if Routh fired any shots. Bradshaw said a witness saw a man jumping out of the bushes and fleeing in a black Nissan. The car was pulled over and the driver detained and identified as the suspect. Law enforcement found the rifle, a scope, two backpacks with ceramic tile and a GoPro camera in the bushes at the scene.
The FBI and U.S. Secret Service are investigating the incident, which the FBI said “appears to be an attempted assassination of former President Trump.”
As the investigation continues, here’s what we know about Routh:
Stephany Matat / AP
A decades-long criminal history
Routh’s most recent address is listed in Hawaii, but he spent most of his life in North Carolina, according to property records. Routh owned Camp Box Honolulu, a shed-building company, according to his LinkedIn profile. The account also says that he studied at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and graduated in 1998.
Records show his problems with the law go back to the 1990s and include less serious charges, like writing bad checks. But in 2002, he was charged with a felony — possession of a weapon of mass destruction — according to North Carolina Department of Corrections records.
Between 2002 and 2010, Routh was also charged with a number of misdemeanors, including a hit-and-run accident, resisting arrest and a concealed weapons violation, records show.
Suspect criticized Trump online
Routh voted Democratic in the 2024 primary election in North Carolina, and he voted in person, according to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. He appears to be registered as an unaffiliated voter.
His X account, which has now been suspended, included a number of posts about Trump.
“@realDonaldTrump While you were my choice in 2106, I and the world hoped that president Trump would be different and better than the candidate, but we all were greatly disappointment and it seems you are getting worse and devolving,” he wrote in a June 2020 post. “I will be glad when you gone.”
He also referenced the July 13 assassination attempt on Trump in multiple posts, suggesting that President Biden and Vice President Harris should visit the injured and attend the funeral of the Pennsylvania rally-goer who was killed.
A Facebook account under Routh’s name was no longer online on Sunday evening.
Ukraine supporter
Routh was passionate about fighting for Ukraine, even traveling overseas to fight in the country’s war against Russia in 2022.
“I am coming to Ukraine from Hawaii to fight for your kids and families and democracy.. I will come and die for you,” he wrote on X.
In one post on LinkedIn, he shared a photo of himself in Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
A CBS News review of Routh’s social media shows his pro-Ukraine views seeped into his public statements as well. He urged people, even those who didn’t have military skills, to take up arms for Ukraine. He was interviewed by several news organizations, including The New York Times and Semafor in 2023, and Newsweek Romania in 2022. He was quoted about his efforts to recruit volunteer fighters to aid Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion, though it wasn’t clear whether he had succeeded.
“This is about good versus evil,” he told Newsweek Romania.
contributed to this report.
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