Car Insurance is Too Cheap

Car Insurance is Too Cheap

Author: The War on Cars, LLC March 19, 2024 Duration: 45:01

It has never been more expensive to insure a car in the United States. Today, the average annual premium for full coverage is more than $2,500, up from more than $1,700 just a few years ago. There are a lot of reasons for this—including the high price of cars, supply chain issues, and the rising frequency and severity of crashes—but no matter how you add it up it's a huge problem in a country where driving is a ticket to full participation in society. 

Despite this, what if we told you that car insurance is still way too cheap? That's something most people don't understand until they or someone they love is directly affected by traffic violence. Today, mandatory state minimum coverage requirements have not kept up with the rising cost of car crashes, something all of us subsidize whether we drive or not—and that crash victims often pay for with life and limb.

***Support The War on Cars on Patreon and receive access to ad-free versions of all our episodes, exclusive bonus content and stickers.***

LINKS:

Learn more about Michelle DuBarry and her advocacy for a Made Whole Doctrine in Oregon.

Why Car Insurance in America is Actually Too Cheap, by Daniel Knowles in The Economist.

Buy a copy of Carmageddon: How Cars Make Life Worse and What To Do About It by Daniel Knowles and get books by previous podcast guests at our official Bookshop.org page.

Steve Vaccaro: "New York City's best-known lawyer advocate for bicyclist and pedestrian rights."

Auto Insurance Spike Hampers the Inflation Fight (New York Times)

NHTSA: Traffic Crashes Cost American $340 Billion in 2019

Buy t-shirts, stickers, hats and more in The War on Cars merch store

Find us on Bluesky, Mastodon, Instagram, Facebook and Threads.

Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps people find us!

This episode was recorded by Josh Wilcox at the Brooklyn Podcasting Studio. It was written, produced and edited by Doug Gordon. Our theme music is by Nathaniel Goodyear.

 

TheWarOnCars.org

 


Imagine a world not built around traffic jams and parking lots, but shaped for people. The War on Cars is a dispatch from the front lines of that effort, a collective conversation questioning the automobile’s dominance over our cities, our environment, and our daily lives. Each episode digs into the real-world fight to reclaim public space, examining everything from the politics of a new bike lane to the history of how cars came to rule. You’ll hear from urban planners, activists, historians, and ordinary people pushing back, offering a mix of sharp analysis, on-the-ground reporting, and compelling narratives. This isn’t just about transportation; it’s about the culture and societal choices that have led us here, and the tangible, often inspiring work to create safer, quieter, and more connected communities. Tune in for a thoughtful and necessary critique of the status quo, a podcast dedicated to the idea that our streets can-and should-be for so much more.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

The War on Cars
Podcast Episodes
TEASER: Hess for the Holidays [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:07
Since 1964, the Hess Corporation has released a toy truck for the holiday season, an annual tradition that's highly anticipated by children and collectors alike. Models have included gas tankers, fire trucks, motorcycles…
Road Ecology with Ben Goldfarb [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:17
In his new book, Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping The Future of Our Planet, independent conservation journalist Ben Goldfarb writes about how roads and cars are wreaking havoc on nature across the globe. He reports…
What the Hell is Happening In the UK? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:44
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has declared it's time to end what he calls "the war on motorists." First, the Conservative Party leader announced he was delaying the UK's commitment to ban the sale of new gas-powered…
TEASER: Origin Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 5:38
Have you ever found yourself wondering, how did Aaron, Doug and Sarah get mobilized into the war on cars? What made them this way? If so, you're in luck. In this bonus episode, exclusively for Patreon supporters, we dive…
John Bauters, America's Bike Mayor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 33:32
Since he was elected mayor in 2020, John Bauters has gained an international reputation for his work to transform transportation and housing in the tiny city of Emeryville, which is wedged between Oakland and Berkeley on…
Dark PR with Grant Ennis [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:49
In his new book, Dark PR: How Corporate Disinformation Harms Our Health and the Environment, Grant Ennis — a lecturer at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia — identifies the "nine devious frames" that corporations…
Unintended Consequences with Steven Johnson [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:11
This year, 2023, marks the hundredth anniversary since chemical engineer Thomas Midgley, Jr. made the discoveries that led to the invention of leaded gasoline. Of all the many harms that the automobile has caused the env…
TEASER: Celebrating Your Wins! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:10
In this bonus episode just for Patreon supporters of The War on Cars, we do a quick news roundup before getting to the thing that matters most: WINNING. Last month we reached out to our liteners and asked them to send us…
Why Congestion Pricing Matters with Diana Lind [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 38:44
After 16 years of slogging its way through municipal, state and federal government and every imaginable form of public process, congestion pricing is finally on its way to New York City. If all goes as planned, then anyo…
TEASER: Coach Balto's Bike Bus Lessons [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:59
While working on Episode 110, Back to School with the Bike Bus, we spoke with Sam Balto, a phys ed teacher in Portland, Oregon, who goes by @CoachBalto and who's become one of the most visible advocates in the global mov…