They say ‘What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas’ – but the eye-watering auto insurance bill city resident Simon Edwards recently received is just one example of the staggering rises in premiums consumers are facing all across the US.
The 2012 Mazda 5 owner was shocked to find his monthly bill from Geico had rocketed up from $130 last April to $223 now – a rise of 72 percent in just eight months.
‘I’ve been in no accidents, no tickets, been with Geico for many years,’ a perplexed Edwards told the Wall Street Journal.
Manwhile, actress Marta Cross is having to pay more than $4,000 a year home insurance in Los Angeles.
For all too many home and car owners, the insurance market is proving to be perhaps the most brutal battlefront in the cost of living crisis.
There are concerns of profiteering from insurers, but they point to two key challenges – more natural disasters and rampant inflation.
Storms and wildfires causing catastrophic damage, to homes in paticular but also cars, has led to record claims. Making matters worse, high inflation jacked up the cost of repairing or replacing homes and autos.