Car insurance rates in Philadelphia jumped in 2024: Here's the average rate
PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia saw the biggest increase in average full coverage premium costs from 2023 to 2024, jumping 154 percent from $1,872 to $4,753.
Drivers in South Philadelphia told us they’re feeling the pinch of car insurance rates.
"It’s ridiculous. It really is," said Frank DeVuono. "It was $99 a month, now I’m paying $140 a month. I’m paying over $13-1400 a year. I’m older. I don’t understand why my rates are so high. I’ve got no tickets, no accidents. Nothing, and it just seems like it keeps going up and up."
"For full coverage I pay $625, which is very expensive, every month for full coverage," said Trinity Matthews. "I didn’t have any accidents on my record. My license is clean, no tickets. So, I don’t understand why my insurance is that high."
Shannon Martin is the author of the Bankrate report "The True Cost of Auto Insurance in 2024," which reports that nationally the average cost of full coverage car insurance increased to $2,543, which is 26 percent higher compared to last year.
"The average household is putting 3.41% of their income toward car insurance. In Pennsylvania, the average household is spending 3.89% of income towards car insurance, which is even a little bit higher than the national average. Once you start looking at the metro area, you see drastic jumps.
Philly is 5.63% and full coverage car insurance is over $7,400 a year. That was the biggest jump, that was an increase of 154 percent between last year and this year," said Martin.
Martin said the factors leading to increased rates are inflation, impacting the cost of vehicle parts, labor and medical supplies. She said there was a 10 percent increase in car crash fatalities and a high number of claims due to extreme weather events.
Here in Philadelphia and other metro areas, crime was also a contributing factor.
Car insurance rates skyrocketed in 2024: See your state’s average rate
You’re probably paying more for car insurance this year, and you’re not alone. Here’s how much costs have increased, and who pays the most.
"Now metro wise, Philly did have a large increase in car thefts as well, and so that’s really having everyone pay more for insurance," said Martin. "Insurance is shared risk so even though you’re doing the right things, maintaining good driving record you haven’t put in any claims—the amount of thefts or vandalisms, or distracted driving in your area can still make you pay more for car insurance."
Loretta Worters of the Insurance Information Institute said it may be tougher to shop around for better rates now than it was in years past because insurers are experiencing the same issues, but she said consumers can consider changes to the policy that still provide necessary coverage.
"If you increase your deductible from $500 to $1,000, you bring your annual premium down maybe 20-25 percent on average," said Worters. "You just need to make sure you can afford to pay the cash for repairs if you need to."
According to Martin, having good or poor credit will play a role in your car insurance rate and teenage drivers can take advantage of the good student discount by maintaining grades over a 3.0 GPA.