Reckless on our Roads: Car insurance rates driven up in Connecticut

You knew it had to happen at some point. 

The spike in reckless driving in our state has started to hit people in their wallet when it comes to car insurance.

In fact, rate comparison website Insurify predicted our state may see an average premium increase approaching 35% by the end of the year.

This seemingly never-ending stretch of poor, post-pandemic driving in our state has vehicle insurance premiums poised to ramp up.

It’s no surprise why. Just look at 2024.

Here's how to save money as Connecticut car insurance rates rise

We are on a near record pace for roadway deaths in Connecticut. According to the UConn Crash Data Repository, 195 people died on Connecticut roads as of Aug. 6.

This often results in very expensive payouts for insurers.

Tim Zawacki, who researches the insurance industry for S&P Global Market Intelligence, said “losses that the state of Connecticut has produced in the auto insurance business have been quite high.”

While there’s bad driving everywhere, our state often ranks in the top five in the U.S. when it comes to the percentage of all roadway fatalities involving alcohol.

Those poor metrics, and others, could mean we will also lead in premiums paid out if drivers don’t put the brakes on the horrendous driving we’re seeing in Connecticut.

Plus, the price and sophistication of today’s vehicles has meant repairs from crashes cost more.

“Cars are becoming more sophisticated. There's more technology in them. So not only more, not only are they more expensive to build, they're more expensive to repair. That technology is very expensive," Eric George from the Insurance Association of Connecticut said.

Industry experts add more crashes often means more litigation that gets expensive.

And now, the insurance industry believes there’s more personal injury attorneys representing this growing pool of accident victims.

“Litigated claims are a big inflationary pressure for the industry, just in terms of extending the timeline to settle claims and driving up the cost," Zawacki said.

He added these premium spikes may look worse compared to other states due to timing.

Zawacki said Connecticut’s system for filing and approving rate increases takes longer than other states. Premium hikes are often more immediate in other states.