Bankrate.com recently took a deep dive into car insurance costs, and found that the average annual U.S. premium is $1,674.
Put another way: That represents 2.44 percent of the average driver’s income.
Bankrate also reinforced that how much you pay depends on where you live. For example, folks in Tampa pay about $450 more each year than drivers in Orlando. Yikes.
“The true cost of auto insurance in 2021” includes an interactive map that shows you average rates in your state and also its major metropolitan areas. It also spells out the ways that common life events – such as a drop in your credit score or being in an accident – can affect your premium.
The one that really got my attention is the “change in credit score” factor. In all but three states (California, Hawaii, Massachusetts) your credit score can help determine your car insurance rate. The difference can be scary-high.
For example, if you drive in the Detroit metro area, a low credit score could send your premium to more than $5,000 a year. Double yikes.
The credit scoring system may seem unfair, and sometimes it is. But a savvy consumer learns to work within its constraints. For starters, if I had improved my credit I would make sure that my insurer knew it and had factored that into how much I was being charged.
I would also look around for better rates, making sure to compare apples to apples when it came to the quotes I received. A lower rate doesn’t do you any good if you aren’t getting the same coverage.
Things you can win
Invested Wallet is giving away a $100 Visa gift card. The deadline to enter is 1 p.m. EDT May 17.
The Wealthy Nickel has put a $100 Home Depot gift card up for grabs. Enter by 11:45 p.m. CDT May 16.
Savings.com is giving away five $100 e-gift cards to Sam’s Club. The deadline to enter is 11:59 EDT Thursday, May 13.
Finally, Fresh Giveaways has put a $25 Amazon gift card on the block. The entry deadline is May 15.
Summer gigs for the strong and fit
If you own a pickup, you’re likely accustomed to hearing friends (or even casual acquaintances) ask, “Hey, do you still have that truck? I’m changing apartments/want to buy a couch/have my eye on a big-screen TV.”
It’s one thing to help your BFF move house. It’s quite another to give up three or four hours to drive some guy you barely know over to Best Buy and then realize that he expects you to help him carry the giant box back to the car, and then up four flights of stairs. All in exchange for a, “Thanks, bruh” or maybe a couple slices of pizza.
You could always opt out, as in, “No.” (It’s a complete sentence.)
Or you could opt to get paid to do this sort of thing. According to SideHusl, you and your pickup you can earn up to $66 an hour moving other people’s stuff through sites like Truxx and GoShare.
Other sites, like uShip and Citizen Shipper, let you and your truck book gigs as you feel like driving. Or if you feel like making a road trip: If you’re heading to Austin or L.A. or New Orleans anyway, why not make some money by toting someone else’s goods to those cities?
Not that you need a truck to make money. Some of the better-paid spring and summer side gigs are for “the strong and fit,” says SideHusl creator and longtime personal finance reporter Kathy Kristof. For example:
If you can lift at least 50 pounds, you are wanted and needed as a mover. Platforms like the ones mentioned above plus others such as LaborJack, TaskRabbit and Dolly are looking for strong backs and strong work ethics. Wages start at $15 per hour and go as high as $47.
Personal trainers, kids’ sports coaches and referees, furniture assembly (damn you, IKEA!), construction workers, skilled tradespeople and others are also in high demand this summer. To learn more, check out “Side Hustles for the Strong and Fit.”
Readers: How do/did you deal with car insurance costs?
I hate insurance but love tackling reoccurring payments! You do the research once and then reap the rewards for months to come. I did the home work. I learned that my rates were competitive. The competing agent told me that I would get better value if I upped my deductible. You never file a claim for just $500 anyway and if you do have a collision $1,000 will seem like a bargain.
Instead you need to raise the limits. You might get another $50K in coverage by raising your deductible $500. After all you might hit more than one car (or even worse – injure someone.) I don’t know about you but $50K would take a bite out of my retirement! Tackle those reoccurring payments.
Thanks for sharing this tip.
I don’t understand that point of view. That $500 deductible is per occurrence. One year I got hit 13 times.
Also: Why are reoccurring payments a problem?
I live in Massachusetts and although my credit score and DH’s credit are excellent, it’s good to know that in Massachusetts insurance companies don’t use it to gauge insurance rates. I was not aware of this until you posted it. Our state is one of the most expensive in which to live in our nation so it’s good to know folks who are struggling are cut a little slack.
Greetings from Taxachusetts, huh?
LOL! Haven’t heard that one in awhile but oh boy that is definitely still true!
The point of view is the purpose of insurance is to protect you from a huge claim. Yes, I would be hurting if I paid 13 x $500, but I wouldn’t have to sell my house, tell the kids that college is no-go and put off retirement. If I had to pay $50,000 for a large bill that is beyond my coverage it would probably have to work another year.
Nancy, I am curious did you have to pay when you were hit by others? I understand hit and run is a possibility, but usually if you were the victim the other guy pays.
And BTW. I don’t love reoccurring payments, I love whittling them down.
Thanks for responding!
None of the 13 accidents were my fault, so no I should not have had to pay. BUT! I think I wound up going through my insurance company instead of theirs, twice, because they poked along and poked along. Which means I had to pay my deductible and I never got those back. Supposedly your (mine) insurance company is supposed to go after the other at fault party for the deductible and refund it to you, but that has never happened for me. My deductible at that time was $100, I think. It was an old policy, that I do not think is sold anymore. That was a bad luck, brand new car, with a target on it saying “Hit Me”. My husband used it one night, and was hit and run by a huge truck and it was totaled and he went to the ER. Our current policies have deductibles of $250 and $500.
I always recommended that people get additional car insurance coverage for medical payments for self and others, because I used to work for medical assistance applications in Maryland and often saw Burn Unit and Shock Trauma bills. They were huge bills ($100,000 +), even if you did not have horrible injuries. It was/is about $100 – $200 extra per vehicle, per year. One year, they paid out in excess of $40,000 for me for surgery, occupational therapy, and physical therapy for nine months.
Reoccurring payments – I like to whittle them down and get rid of them. The only ones I don’t mind are the ones with zero interest (which I pay off a month or more before due because you can’t trust those finance calendars) and my last car loan, which was less than 1 percent.
I used to have this bumper sticker on my truck: Yes, this is my truck. No, I won’t help you move.
I just saw that bumper sticker two days ago!
I love that!
People with trucks being hit up for moving help reminds me of an incident a few years ago when I was attending tech school. I was in class one day telling some other students that I’d moved over the weekend. One classmate spoke up with “I wish I’d known, I’d have helped you move. I have a truck.” I didn’t know him well, but appreciated the belated offer. Came to class a few weeks later and he wasn’t there. When I asked about him, I was informed he’d had a mild heart attack!
Yikes! Hope it didn’t happen as he helped someone else move.
One the best things we’ve done recently is take our insurance business (car/house/umbrella) to an insurance broker and let them bid it out to dozens of companies. All we have to do is look over the quotes and select one. We saved over $1,400 this year using this strategy.
Niiice.