California is the only big auto market where Proposition 103 requires the Department of Insurance to approve rates before they hit your renewal. During the pandemic that process slowed. When the backlog cleared, the catch-up arrived in a lump.
RateWatch figures compiled for the industry showed California’s top auto insurers taking about 12.6% in 2023 and 16.2% in 2024 — a two-year stack near 31%. Repair costs, parts, and bodily-injury severity did not wait for the paperwork. A driver who paid the old statewide average around $1,087 in 2022 was not looking at that number by mid-2024.
This office writes personal auto next to commercial files. If your renewal jumped and nothing in your household changed — no tickets, no claims — it is often the statewide filing, not you. Shop it. California still requires a good-driver discount under Prop 103. We will check whether you are getting it.
If this is on your renewal, call the office at (619) 420-8600 or start a quote. We will tell you what the market will actually write.
Sources: Auto Insurance Report / RateWatch on 2024 California auto; Beinsure on California auto rates since 2023.