In which states has the price of car insurance increased the most in 2024?
The average full coverage car insurance rate in the United States jumped 26 percent in 2024, but a few states saw increases over 40 percent.
Car insurance premiums have been on the up and up for most car owners in the United States in recent years. After jumping nearly 20 percent last year, 2024 is not looking any better. Quite the contrary, with the average full coverage rate up 26 percent on average according to a recent analysis by Bankrate.
The average annual cost of insuring a car in the US is now $2,543, accounting for 3.41 percent of the national median household income based on the latest data from the US Census Bureau. However, the rise in car insurance hasn’t been uniform from state to state ranging from a negligible decrease in one to over 40 percent in a few.
In which states has the price of car insurance increased the most in 2024?
Car owners in Wyoming were the only ones to get a break this year with full coverage dropping by a dollar to $1,851 annually. At the other end of the spectrum was Missouri where average premiums for full coverage jumped a whopping 44 percent going from $1,943 in 2023 to $2,801 this year. The following states saw the biggest increase in the price of car insurance in 2024 according to data shared with CNBC Select:
| State | 2023 | 2024 | Amount of increase | Percent of change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri | $1,943 | $2,801 | $858 | 44% |
| 2 | New Jersey | $1,754 | $2,555 | $801 | 47% |
| 3 | Rhode Island | $1,886 | $2,683 | $797 | 42% |
| 4 | Colorado | $2,121 | $2,902 | $781 | 37% |
| 5 | Nevada | $2,779 | $3,549 | $771 | 28% |
The highest full coverage car insurance rates in the US this year are in Florida where the average car owner will fork out $3,945 in 2024, $762 more than last year. Meanwhile, Louisianans are shelling out the greatest percentage of their income to keep their cars fully insured paying 6.53 percent of their income according to the analysis by Bankrate.
Extreme weather events in the two states which result in more frequent catastrophic claims is believed to be the driving factor behind the higher rates. And in California and Florida, insurers have pointed to the increased financial costs presented by “growing catastrophe exposure” resulting from climate change as well as citing elevated reinsurance premiums along with other market factors for not offering new policies in those states.
Other causes for elevated car insurance rates in some states compared to others are no-fault car coverage requirements for policies. These allow insurers to cover medical expenses, including uninsured passengers, when a driver was involved in an accident that wasn’t his or her fault. This is cited as the reason for higher rates than the national average in Michigan.