What is behind the rise in insurance rates in Colorado?

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - According to data from MarketWatch, auto insurance rates went up by over 16% in 2023. Those trends, according to industry experts, are continuing, but are difficult to analyze.

"A lot of the auto is it can be all over the map because there's so there are too many variables," JP West, the Owner of Westco Insurance said. "It's your driving that is affecting it. People are turning in small claims that they shouldn't."

Thanks to new technology in cars and phones, West said that the insurance apps tracking drivers will pick up on small things like braking too hard or speeding, which can drive insurance rates up.

Nevertheless, the increase in rates is causing many to switch companies according to West. He says he used to get one or two calls a day asking for help shopping around, and now, he gets six or seven. Colorado Springs residents echo this sentiment.

"Rates are very high across the board. You can shop, but you're probably not going to save a lot," Colorado Springs resident Jay Morris said. "You're not going to cut your insurance in half by shopping."

West says sometimes, when consumers shop around enough, they can save hundreds of dollars on their monthly bill. Even with shopping, however, rates are going up due to factors outside of the control of Coloradans.

West said that Colorado's extreme weather with, at times, golf-ball-sized hail and icy roads in the winter affects the rates at which they charge drivers because of an increase in accidents and damage done by that weather.

"In places like Arizona, you don't have you don't have earthquakes, you don't have hurricanes, you don't have you don't have hail, you don't have ice. We have all of the above, right? Plus a bunch of vehicle thefts" West said.

West went on to say that the cities of Pueblo and Denver rank among some of the worst for car theft, adding one more risk to the long list of liabilities insurance companies need to be prepared to financially cover to do business in the state of Colorado.

"I think we need like a shift in the mindset of insurance is transferring risk you want to transfer the stuff that you can't afford to self-insure," West said.