On Tuesday, Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney announced that he has approved an 11.2 percent decrease in rates for State Farm automobile insurance consumers.
“This rate decrease is good news for consumers in our state,” said Commissioner Chaney. “Competition and market share have turned around proposed rate increases by many companies, including State Farm. Additionally, new technology used in automobiles and in driver education by insurance companies has driven down prices for consumers.”
Chaney said this decrease keeps Mississippi out of the top 5 high-cost states in the U.S., which is good news for consumers. What kept us in that top 5 ranking prior to 2016 included being a rural state and lack of competition. He says now, we have better credit scores, consumers are better educated on deductibles, and people shopping around and comparing rates.
He talked through several factors that can affect the cost of automobile insurance, as shown in the diagram linked below:
Some consumers have already seen a rate decrease of 7.6 percent. The remaining decrease will take effect in the coming months, for a total of 11.2 percent decrease. The Mississippi Insurance Department expects other companies to follow State Farm’s lead.
“I’m sure that some others will follow suit, it’s just a matter of time. When the word gets out of what we’ve done today, I think you’ll see people follow suit,” said Commissioner Chaney.
Sarah Ulmer
