Thousands of Empire State drivers are facing double-digit car insurance rate increases to kick off the new year. In December, the New York Department of Financial Services, which oversees the state’s insurance market, approved rate increases ranging from 3.6% to 22% for several insurance companies.
The Hartford Casualty Insurance Group, The Hartford’s Trumbull Insurance Company, four USAA companies, GEICO, three Travelers Insurance companies, New South Insurance Company, and Utica National Insurance Group all received the go-ahead to raise car insurance rates. In total, the rate increases will affect approximately 582,625 auto and motorcycle insurance policies, documents filed with the state show.
In December 2024, the average annual cost of a full-coverage policy in New York was $3,804, according to Insurify data.
Increases will add up to thousands for some unlucky drivers
The Hartford Casualty Insurance Group, which hasn’t issued new auto policies in New York since 2015, received approval for an overall rate increase of 12%. The majority of the 2,778 affected policies will see premiums rise between $251 and $500. And 50 policyholders will face premium spikes of more than $1,000. The hike will apply to policies that renew on or after Feb. 28 of this year.
Trumbull Insurance Company, a Hartford company, received approval to move forward with a 19.8% increase that will affect 45,572 policies. Approximately 43% of affected policyholders will see their premiums rise between $251 and $500 upon renewal. And more than 1,200 will face steep annual increases of more than $1,000.
USAA, which exclusively serves active-duty military personnel, veterans, and their families, won approval to increase rates for customers who buy their auto insurance through USAA (8%) or three of its member companies, USAA-CIC (10%), USAA-GIC (13.4%), and Garrison (22.1%), rate filings show. The rate boosts will affect 190,117 current policyholders across all four companies. Of those, 67,559 will see premium increases of less than $100 annually. But 1,000 customers will face premium increases of $1,000 or more, and 55 could see annual hikes of $2,000 or more.
The state approved a 12.5% rate increase for GEICO motorcycle policies. The increase will affect 72,986 policies, with most (47,558) seeing their annual premiums rise by $100 or less.
Drivers with New York Quantum 2.0 Automobile Insurance policies through Travelers Personal Insurance Company, Travelers Personal Security Insurance Company, and the Standard Fire Insurance Company face a 3.6% rate increase. The change affects 236,423 existing policies across the three companies and will also apply to new policies. One unfortunate policyholder with full coverage for five drivers and seven vehicles will see their premium soar by $14,522 upon renewal, according to state filings.
The state approved an overall 5% rate increase for New South Insurance Company. The change affects 1,660 policyholders, most of whom (892) will see their rates rise between 5% and 7.2%.
Utica National Insurance Group received approval for a 13.5% overall rate increase that will affect 33,089 policies. The largest chunk of policies (8,189) will experience premium increases of $100 to $200 upon renewal. Nearly 2,000 policyholders will face annual premium hikes of more than $1,000, and 257 could see their premiums skyrocket by $2,200 or more.
What’s next: Car insurance rates continue to rise
Across the country, car insurance costs have risen significantly since 2022, when the average annual cost of full coverage was $1,633, according to Insurify data. As of June 2024, the national average had climbed to $2,329. New York’s full-coverage average at that time was even higher — $3,325 annually.
New York is the third most expensive state for car insurance. Traffic congestion in densely populated areas of the state and having the highest number of stolen vehicles in the U.S. — according to National Insurance Crime Bureau data — contribute to the state’s high car insurance costs.
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