Consumers are shopping for better auto insurance rates more than ever before

Auto insurance - Shopping for car insurance

A new JD Power study showed that comparison shopping has reached an all-time high among consumers.

More than ever before, consumers have been comparison shopping for better auto insurance rates, according to a new JD Power report.

The report showed that over 40 percent of drivers had experienced an increase in cost after using telematics.

The report also indicated that some drivers are finding that there are fewer new rates available to them than they expected.

Auto insurance - Report for consumer shopping

Consumers hit by rising auto insurance rates have been searching for cheaper alternatives more than ever before. This brought car policy shopping to an all-time high in the last quarter of 2022, said JD Power’s Quarterly Shopping List Report.

In the fourth quarter of last year, 12.1 percent of drivers looked into new rate quotes, and the number of consumers who switched their coverage rose by 4.1 percent.

As insurers face rising losses and watch other expenses increases, they have eased their spending and many have shut down some of the acquisition channels that haven’t performed as well as others, said the report. This means that many drivers that had been seeking better rates had fewer options through which to do so, even if they were open to changing carriers.

While consumers look for better auto insurance rates, they might not have the options they expected.

“As we see, consumers are out shopping more than the past, entering a market that is more difficult to navigate and finding carriers who are not as interested in winning their business,” read the JD Power report. “How this plays out in 2023 will be something we will watch throughout the year.”

At the same time, consumers who had accepted a telematics device from their provider to help earn discounts on their coverage through their low risk driving habits haven’t always found the programs to be beneficial. Over 40 percent of drivers who use this type of coverage said that they have still watched their rates increase after having started their programs, which some think could reduce the appeal of using this type of auto insurance program in the future.

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