Car insurance premiums around the U.S. are soaring. Here's why.
CBSN
American motorists are spending less on fuel than a year ago, but any savings are likely being gobbled up by soaring car insurance premiums.
Although prices at the pump in December were nearly 2% lower than a year ago, auto insurance rates jumped 20% over the same period, Labor Department data released on Thursday showed. Insurance coverage far outpaced the rate of inflation, rising six times faster than consumer prices overall last year.
Other measures show an even steeper jump in car insurance premiums. In 2023, the average U.S. rate for full auto coverage rose to $2,019 per year, up 24% from $1,633 in 2022 and nearly 29% from 1,567 the prior year, according to insurance comparison shopping site Insurify. A bare-bones policy required by states climbed to $1,154 a year in 2023.
President Biden on Monday signed into law a defense bill that authorizes significant pay raises for junior enlisted service members, aims to counter China's growing power and boosts overall military spending to $895 billion despite his objections to language stripping coverage of transgender medical treatments for children in military families.
It's Christmas Eve, and Santa Claus is suiting up for his annual voyage from the North Pole to households around the world. In keeping with decades of tradition, the North American Aerospace Command, or NORAD, will once again track Santa's journey to deliver gifts to children before Christmas 2024, using an official map that's updated consistently to show where he is right now.
An anti-money laundering law called the Corporate Transparency Act, or CTA, appears to have been given new life after an appeals court on Monday determined its rules can be enforced as the case proceeds. The law requires small business owners to register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, by Jan. 1, or potentially pay fines of up to $10,000.