2021 Insuring the American Driver

Trends in Costs & Coverage

Chase Gardner
Written by
Chase Gardner
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Written by
Chase Gardner
Data Journalist
Chase Gardner is a data journalist at Insurify. He informs readers on major developments in the auto and home industries through research into driver behavior, homeownership tendencies, cost of living trends, and more. He received a bachelor’s degree with concentrations in Environmental & Urban Studies and Statistics from the University of Chicago. Chase’s work has been cited in MSN, Yahoo News, The Street, and dozens of local news outlets across the country.
Tanveen Vohra
Edited by
Tanveen Vohra
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Edited by
Tanveen Vohra
Editorial Manager
Tanveen Vohra is an editorial manager at Insurify specializing in writing about property and casualty insurance. Through her work, Tanveen helps consumers better understand the components of their insurance policies so they can make smarter purchase decisions.Tanveen's work has been cited by CNBC , Fox Business, Business Insider, Fortune, and Market Watch, among others.
Andrew Huang
Reviewed by
Andrew Huang
Headshot of Andrew Huang, Directory of Analytics at Insurify
Reviewed by
Andrew Huang
Director of Analytics
Andrew leads data analysis at insurify.com, and he has formerly led data analysis projects at kayak.com and realtor.com. Andrew strives to help people save money on their insurance, and in his free time he loves finding great deals on travel flights. Insurify's network bidding algorithms and Kayak's flight trends are personal favorite projects.
Betsy Stella
Fact checked by
Betsy Stella
Headshot of Betsy Stella, VP of Insurance Partnerships at Insurify
Fact checked by
Betsy Stella
VP of Insurance Partnerships
Betsy Stella is the vice president of insurance partnerships at Insurify. Before coming to Insurify, she spent more than 20 years in distribution, operations, and sales at Farmers Insurance. She leverages her extensive industry experience to provide general audiences with clear, accurate, and up-to-date information on all aspects of the insurance shopping process.

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Driving & fatality trends in 2021

In March, April, and May of 2021, Americans drove 32% more miles than during the same period in the previous spring, though mileage did not quite return to 2019 levels. 

While the fatality rate decreased by 3% between spring 2020 and 2021, it remained 26% higher in 2021 than it was during the same period in 2019, suggesting that reckless driving habits adopted during the initial pandemic shelter-in-place orders have endured well beyond the onset of the pandemic. 

mileage fatality rate trends 2021

2021 projections graphic*Based on projections modeled from historical premium trends from Insurify's proprietary database.

The projected cost of auto insurance in 2022

Car insurance rates rose 12% in 2021 and are projected to rise another 5%* in 2022, likely influenced by rising inflation rates over the past year.

Where are drivers paying more for car insurance?

The average car owner pays $137 per month for auto insurance, which is up 12% from 2020.

state prices

Your driving record

Driving violations significantly increase insurance cost estimates. A single prior traffic offense can hike up the price of your premium by an average of 35%.

Quote Price by Driving Violation

Your vehicle

Insuring the 3 most popular vehicles in the nation.

ford

Ford F-Series Pickup

$1,619

honda

Honda Civic

$1,962

Honda Accord

Honda Accord

$1,855

Who you are

Gender & age

Women pay 9% less for their car insurance than men and 14% less than non-binary policyholders on average.

Gender + Age insurance chart

Marriage & home ownership

Unmarried homeowners spend the least on their car insurance, paying 8% less than married renters and 18% less than unmarried ones.

marriage and home ownership

Level of education

On average, drivers with a doctorate pay the least for their auto insurance, while those without a high school degree pay over 20% more.

level of education insurance chart

Your coverage & discounts

Insurer discounts can lower premiums by up to 16%, which can get drivers cheap car insurance to save money significantly over time.

home & car 140x140

Average yearly savings

8.6%

Senior safety 140x140

Average yearly savings

15.2%

Military service 140x140

Average yearly savings

2.2%

About

Insurify is America’s top-rated destination for the largest selection of accurate insurance quotes and expert advice, and it operates as a licensed insurance agent appointed in all 50 states. Featuring direct integrations with all top insurance companies, Insurify offers a personalized, real-time comparison and buying experience for auto, home, and life insurance policies.

More than 11 million policyholders have used Insurify since 2017. Insurify’s insurance experts and data scientists are also valued source of consumer education, delivering data-driven insights and fresh perspectives on statistics and general trends throughout the insurance industry.

Methodology

To create Insurify’s 2022 Auto Insurance Trends Report, the research team at Insurify examined more than 40 million rates from car insurance applications in its proprietary database over the past year.

Insurify driver applications originate from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and include information on the car owner’s vehicle, their driving history dating back seven years, and their demographic information.

The premiums recorded on Insurify’s comparison platform are quoted via integrations with insurance companies. Average premium costs by location, driving history, or demographic subset reflect all premiums that insurance companies quoted to drivers within that subset.

The data on drivers’ experiences and consumer behavior comes from an Insurify survey of 1,200 participants in July 2022.

All statistics and percentages in this report are based on Insurify customer data and surveys unless otherwise stated.

Data attribution

The insights, statistics, data visualizations, and more from this report are free to use; we simply ask that you attribute any full or partial use to Insurify with a link to this page.

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