There are a variety of reasons rates can increase, but understanding these reasons, as well as how to manage potential premium changes, can be crucial in maintaining your financial plans effectively.
If a rate increase occurs at a state-wide level, it can be due to factors such as:
An overall rise in the frequency and severity of claims;
Increased costs to repair or replace vehicles, homes, and personal property (including labor costs);
Legal expenses from more frequent lawsuits;
Rising medical costs.
Additionally, external market factors such as general increases in the cost of claims within a specific area can influence your premium even without any policy changes.
Some other common reasons for individual premium increases are:
The addition of a driver;
Changes in the number or type of covered vehicles;
Changes in coverage, deductible or limits;
The garaging location of a covered vehicle changes;
Information about the risk which differs from that on your application for insurance;
Loss of a discount;
At fault accident caused by a permissive operator;
A ticket or accident is charged against your driving record.
Previous at-fault accidents or incidents may continue to reflect on your premium for a set period, even if your recent record is clean.
Proactive Steps to Manage Premium Costs
Increase Your Insurance Deductibles: Raising the deductible amount lowers the premium rate, though it increases out-of-pocket expenses for covered incidents.
Explore all Eligible Discounts:
Safe Driver Discounts
Good Student Discounts
Mature Driver Discounts
Multi-Policy Discounts
Multi-Vehicle Discounts
Loyalty Discounts
Review Policy Periodically: Ensure all past claims or violations affecting your record are cleared after their applicable time window.
Contact us for Personalized Assistance: We're happy to review your policy to see how we can help optimize your premium costs.
For a complete policy review, please select Agent to be connected to the next available Chat agent for assistance. Or call us at 1.800.800.9410.
Changes in premium are communicated in advance on annual renewal policy documents, or on updated documents if policy changes are made mid-term. We highly recommend taking time to review these and encourage you to call with any questions or concerns you may have.