Isaiah Thompson assesses damage on this Jeep Cherokee, Nov. 14, 2023, St. Paul, Minnesota. Though inflation is cooling, service prices — including auto repairs — remain high. One culprit: The cost of auto insurance.
Auto repair and maintenance costs are up 7.2% compared to May 2023, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, continuing a brisk climb that began in 2021. Other costs associated with driving, including the costs of cars themselves, have declined: Wednesday’s federal inflation report showed a 9% year-over-year drop in the index for used cars and trucks.
“There’s a to insurance, and we have periods where rates increase — not usually quite this much — but if you take the entire cycle, an up and a down portion of the cycle, you get a very reasonable kind of annual increase,” he said.Consumer advocates aren’t convinced. Bilal Baydoun, director of policy and research at the Washington, D.C.
In the meantime, consumers can save money by shopping around with different companies, bundling home and auto insurance or — cautiously — dropping specific coverage areas such as rental car reimbursement, said Leslie Kasperowicz, managing editor at