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Insights from over 25 million auto insurance premiums
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2021
Insuring the American Driver
Trends in Costs & Coverage
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 initial pandemic shelter-in-place orders have endured well beyond the onset of the pandemic.
Sources: National Safety Council & the Institute for Traffic Safety Management and Research
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.
*Based on projections modeled from historical premium trends from Insurify's proprietary database.
What factors determine how much you pay for car insurance?
Where you live
The average car owner pays $137 per month for auto insurance, which is up 12% from 2020.
INSURIFY INSIGHT
Drivers who live in cities pay an additional $194 monthly for their policies compared to drivers who live outside of city limits.
Urban
$1,666
Rural
$1,472
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%.
INSURIFY INSIGHT
For aggressive drivers, who have been charged with dangerous violations such as tailgating or reckless driving, auto insurance quotes are more than 25% more expensive than those for drivers with a clean record.
Your vehicle
Insuring the 3 most popular vehicles in the nation.
Ford F-Series Pickup
$1,619
Honda Civic
$1,962
Honda Accord
$1,855
INSURIFY INSIGHT
Nothing is more quintessentially American than a Ford F-Series pickup. In fact, about 1 in 40 Americans drive one of these perennially popular trucks.
Who you are
Gender & age
Women pay 9% less for their car insurance than men and 14% less than non-binary policyholders on average.
Marriage & home ownership
Unmarried homeowners spend the least on their car insurance, paying 8% less than married renters and 18% less than unmarried ones.
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.
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.
Bundling with homeowners insurance
Average yearly savings
8.6%
Senior driver safety training
Average yearly savings
15.2%
Military service
Average yearly savings
2.2%
About & methodology
About
Insurify’s Insuring the American Driver report is a comprehensive analysis of the 2021 car insurance quoting landscape, analyzing over 40 million auto insurance premiums.
It takes a closer look at the unique factors driving individual insurance costs, covers major events in the industry from this year, and offers projections for car insurance quotes looking ahead to 2022.
Insurify is the top-rated virtual insurance agent in America, offering instantaneous quote comparison for auto, home, and life insurance policies. Insurify has been used by over 7 million policyholders since 2017. It is also a valued source of data-driven trends, statistics, insights, and consumer education about the insurance industry.
Methodology
The Insurify data science and research team examined over 40 million rates from car insurance applications in its proprietary database over the past year to develop exclusive insights into 2021 trends in auto insurance and driver behavior.
Insurify driver applications originate from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and contain information on car owners’ vehicles, their driving history dating back seven years, and their demographic information.
The premiums recorded on Insurify’s comparison platform are driven directly by underwriting and rating software.
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.
