Drivers across Florida are getting an unpleasant surprise about their car insurance. For many, premiums are going up by hundreds of dollars.
And damage from Hurricanes Helene and Milton could drive rates up even more next year.
A Bankrate Study shows Florida already has the highest auto insurance in the nation -- $1,4000 more than the national average.
Ruth Allen couldn’t believe how much her car insurance bill shot up.
“We’ve had no auto accidents. We’ve had no car violations, no speeding violations, no infractions, nothing!” Allen lamented.
But Allen and her husband’s premiums rose 35% this year -- or $800 more. Then, they got a break simply by switching the order of their names on the policy.
“Well, we were told if we put my husband’s name on the policy first, that they could save us $300 more,” Allen said. “I’m not quite sure (why). They’re insuring the same people, same automobiles.”
Yes, but a lot of people don’t realize how the order of names can sometimes affect the price.
While everyone on the policy is rated in terms of their driving record -- policies are also rated based on other factors specific to the primary driver (or whoever is listed first).
“The only thing I can think of is my husband is younger than I,” Allen said.
Car insurance costs more when we’re young, then rates go down for 30-plus years, then go back up as we age.
“Age is probably the biggest difference,” said Mark Friedlander, spokesman for the Insurance Information Institute, an association and research arm of the insurance industry.
And he says there are more than a dozen rating factors that determine prices beyond the primary driver’s age.
“Certain occupations are considered higher risk, for example, construction workers,” Friedlander said.
Builders tend to pay more than office workers.
And while it helped Allen to list her husband first due to an age gap, it often works the other way around.
“If you have one male and one female on the policy, the female is probably going to be rated lower risk than the male on the same policy,” Friedlander said.
So, with all other factors being equal-- (or roughly equal) listing a wife before a husband can bring down the bill.
“Gender is a factor because actuarial analyses of the insurance industry show that female drivers tend to be safer and have less accident frequency than male drivers, and males have higher levels of DUI infractions than females,” Friedlander said.
But all of this can be outweighed by the primary driver’s credit score.
That can swing the price by more than a thousand dollars over the course of a year.
A Consumer Federation of America study based on data from 2020 in Florida found that for consumers with perfect driving records and excellent credit, the average premium is $820.
“But if you have poor credit and an excellent driving record, you were paying an average of $2,000 for auto insurance -- over twice as much, and that’s astonishing,” said Michael Delong with the Consumer Federation of America.
Another factor that can make a difference: your home address. Neighborhoods with a higher frequency of accidents tend to have higher rates of insurance.