Don't get taken for a ride by your car insurer

Life Kit

NPR

Business, Health & Fitness, Education, Kids & Family, Self-improvement

4.5 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 19 March 2026

⏱️ 18 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Between the start of 2022 and the start of 2025, car insurance rates jumped by more than 50%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Luckily, there are tried-and-true tactics for finding the cheapest deal you can -- from comparing rates from multiple insurance companies to not letting your teen get their license just yet. NPR's cars and energy correspondent, Camila Domonoske, breaks down the surprising factors that contribute to high rates and how to make sure you don't get taken for a ride by your car insurer.

Find comparisons in your ZIP code: https://www.npr.org/2025/11/05/nx-s1-5397184/auto-insurance-credit-history-cost

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Transcript

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0:00.0	You're listening to Life Kit from NPR.
0:04.6	Hey, it's Mariel.
0:06.5	When I was in high school, my dad wouldn't let me get a driver's license.
0:11.4	Yep, dad, if you're listening, I'm telling everybody.
0:15.6	Nah, I mean, he was concerned about safety, thought that I and my brother were too young to take on the responsibility of driving.
0:21.8	Of course, I just ended up getting rides from friends, L.O.L. But I digress. Want to know another
0:27.6	reason to not let your teenager drive? Well, it makes your insurance go up a significant amount.
0:34.0	And have you seen car insurance prices these days? Between the start of 2022 and the start
0:39.0	of 2025, rates jumped by more than 50 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
0:45.0	There are a whole bunch of reasons for that, but it boils down to lots of things are expensive
0:49.3	right now, including the cost of car repairs. Now, car insurance prices have been leveling off, but they're still uncomfortably high for a lot of people.
0:57.7	So on this episode of Life Kit, we're taking a look at this big, not exactly optional expense and what you can do about it.
1:04.3	I'll talk to NPR's Cars and Energy correspondent, Camila Dominozki, about how to shop around, how your credit score and zip code can
1:11.8	affect your car insurance, and what to do about that, and why when you're buying a car, you should
1:17.7	price out the insurance for that particular make and model first. That's coming up after the
1:23.6	break. All right, Camila, you've been reporting on this. Car insurance rates have gone up a lot. What are people supposed to do about this?
1:43.3	So what are your options? The number one
1:46.7	recommendation that experts make is to shop around, like actually compare what you can get from
1:53.5	different companies. I don't want to sound like an ad here, but it is literally true that you
1:58.2	could save hundreds or in some cases thousands by switching providers.
2:04.0	You know, companies assume that you won't do that because it's kind of a pain to get quotes and shop
2:09.2	around. So you can really miss out on savings if you follow the path of least resistance.
	...

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