Texans paying more for home, auto insurance

[Bob Of Burleson]

By TERRENCE STUTZ
Austin Bureau
tstutz@dallasnews.com

AUSTIN — Homeowners and drivers in North Texas and across the state are feeling the pinch of higher insurance premiums this year. Average rates for both have jumped by double digits.

New figures submitted to the Texas Department of Insurance and analyzed by The Dallas Morning News show that rates charged by 30 home insurers in eight selected ZIP codes across the Dallas area have typically increased from 9 percent to 12 percent.

Auto policies have become costlier as well, up an average of 11 percent for the 53 largest insurers in the metropolitan area. Until this year, auto premiums had been more stable than homeowners insurance costs.

The rate figures vary significantly from company to company in both lines of insurance. But the average increases are large in comparison with inflation. From 2008 through the middle of this year, the cumulative rate of inflation in the U.S. was 10.5 percent. Auto and home insurance rates have increased almost as much in just the past year.

Insurance industry representatives cited higher costs for replacing roofs and repairing cars, driven in part by the continued high price of oil, a precursor to many building and repair materials. They also pointed out that consumers can cut their insurance costs by taking advantage of various discounts, such as having a security system in their home or vehicle.

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