The cost of owning and operating a car has skyrocketed in the aftermath of the pandemic. The latest pinch for drivers is the cost of auto insurance, which is up 20.6% year over year as of February — the biggest jump in the cost of car insurance in government data going back to 1985.
Car insurance accounts for 2.5% of the basket of goods and services the government measures when calculating the overall rate of inflation and is among categories counted towards the “core” inflation measure that the Federal Reserve keeps a close eye on. Core inflation rose 0.4% over the prior month in February and 3.8% over the prior year.
