It’s not exactly a secret that for idyllic as sunny California can be, the cost of living in the Golden State is utterly crushing.
Food, gas, rent, mortgage, taxes… you name it, and California’s cost is downright debilitating.
But lost amid the hullabaloo of the aforementioned costs? The onerous cost of owning car insurance — and it’s getting horrific.
According to the Los Angeles Times, “shocked” has been the emotion of the week for California drivers who are getting utterly hammered by exorbitant car insurance costs.
The outlet reported that the top 10 insurers in California were approved to raise premiums by an average of 6 percent.
That increase goes on top of a 15.4 percent hike in 2024, and a 13 percent bump in 2023.
“Add it all up and rates by insurers who write about 85% of all California auto insurance have climbed on average more than one-third from 2023 to 2025,” the Los Angeles Times reported.
The outlet noted that a California driver who had previously paid the state’s average premium of $1,087 in 2022 could be paying hundreds more in 2026 — and that’s assuming they’re a good, safe driver.
But even that figure could be underselling things.
The outlet spoke to one local, who is 60 and drives a 2010 SUV (though he owns other cars). The man, Jeff Phillips, is now paying an eye-watering $3,244 a year for coverage, despite having “discounts” applied.
“I didn’t have any incidents that would have caused it to go up,” he said. “So I was kind of shocked that it was going up as high as it was.”
One analyst suggested that it’s not so much sticker shock as it is the unpredictability that has California drivers reeling.
“It’s the volatility of price,” Pat Sullivan, editor of the Auto Insurance Report, told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s tough to stomach.”
“Auto insurance has become one of the least affordable necessities of daily life,” one consumer advocate added.
Several factors, such as the cost of manufacturing, have reportedly gone into these unsightly jumps.
This has been an especially frustrating trend for Californians, given the state of the rest of the country.
As KMPH-TV reported, most auto insurance rates across the country are starting to decline.
“But in California, its a different story,” the outlet noted.
“It’s the third highest anticipated increase in the country and it comes at a time where overall insurance rates have flattened and in some states have actually come down so this is going to be a little disheartening to California motorists who are looking for some relief from car insurance,” an insurance agent told KMPH.
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