Data corrected: Car insurance rate jump in Philadelphia not as high as previously reported, Bankrate says
PHILADELPHIA - Previously, FOX 29 reported car insurance rates in Philadelphia had skyrocketed in 2024. However, a data error has caused those numbers to change.
In a statement released to FOX 29 Tuesday, Bankrate said it uncovered an inaccuracy in the methodology used to determine auto insurance premiums for Philadelphia in its 2023 True Cost of Auto Insurance report, noting that the 2024 premiums are correct.
The statement continues: "For Philadelphia, we had to manually run premiums through Quadrant vs. the automated method for collecting data from their system. The manual effort caused a zip code mismatch. We re-ran the 2023 data with the correct zip codes and have updated the 2023 report with corrected values. The 2024 premiums have not changed but the YOY increases have been impacted due to the 2023 premiums being updated."
Initially, Bankrate's report said Philadelphia saw the biggest increase in average full coverage premium costs from 2023 to 2024, jumping 154 percent from $1,872 to $4,753. However, Philadelphia's corrected 2023 premium is $3,938 decreasing the percentage change to 21 percent instead of 154 percent, making quite a big difference.
Bakrate said it found a similar issue with data errors in Detroit, Boston, Riverside-San Bernardino and Phoenix and that the 2023 report has been updated for those areas as well.
Drivers in South Philadelphia previously told us they were 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."
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."