Updated Apr 6, 2026
Rising Texas Auto Insurance Rates Push Many to Go Uninsured
Texas drivers have seen average car insurance rates climb over 50% since 2022, creating affordability challenges that led roughly 12% of vehicle owners statewide to go uninsured, according to a recent study by Texas Appleseed and United Way of Greater Houston. The issue is more acute in Harris County, where more than 14% of drivers lack coverage. The study attributes the steep costs in part to social and financial factors such as ZIP code, gender, and credit scores—drivers with poor credit, for example, pay about three to three and a half times the premiums of those with excellent credit.
Individual stories underscore the human toll of these increases. Monica Cabrera, a Black driver from unincorporated Harris County, said her premiums surged by over $150 monthly after her divorce, despite no change in her driving record, forcing her to drop insurance temporarily. Cabrera described the anxiety of driving uninsured to transport her special-needs son, especially where public transit is unavailable. Meanwhile, rising premiums have attracted the attention of Texas state leaders: Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has charged the Senate Business and Commerce Committee with enhancing regulatory oversight and expanding affordable insurance access, while House Speaker Dustin Burrows tasked the House Committee on Insurance with seeking consumer protections and ways to lower auto insurance costs.KERA News
Texas Legislature Moves to Address Soaring Auto Insurance Costs
Facing sharply rising auto insurance premiums that have priced out many Texans, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows have issued interim charges directing legislative committees to investigate reforms. The Senate Business and Commerce Committee is tasked with strengthening regulatory oversight and expanding access to affordable insurance, while the House Committee on Insurance must explore consumer protections and strategies to reduce property and casualty insurance costs in the state.
Advocacy leaders emphasize the urgency of ensuring affordable liability coverage, noting that lower-income drivers increasingly remain uninsured due to soaring rates. Ann Baddour, director of Texas Appleseed's Fair Financial Services Project, highlighted that the affordability crisis hinders many Texans' ability to maintain the legally required coverage.KERA News
Close Associate of New York Mayor Indicted for Auto Insurance Fraud
A close friend of New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on charges related to auto insurance fraud, with prosecutors alleging the individual secured millions of dollars through fraudulent no-fault insurance claims over a five-year period from 2018 to 2023.Brooklyn Eagle
The indictment details alleged activity involving systematically filing false or exaggerated claims to obtain improper payouts, underlining ongoing challenges for regulators and insurers combating insurance fraud in the city.Brooklyn Eagle
Advanced Safety Technology Linked to Fewer Auto Insurance Claims
A recent study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) found that electronic safety features, particularly advanced driver assistance systems bundled together, lead to significant reductions in auto insurance claims. The study highlighted that these technologies—ranging from automatic emergency braking to driver attention alerts—dramatically reduce crash rates as more are combined and improved. According to Matt Moore, HLDI chief insurance operations officer, “As they improve and become more common, we are seeing compounding crash reductions.”
The research examined 2015-2023 Mazda vehicles to measure claim frequency reductions across property damage liability (PDL) and bodily injury liability (BIL) coverages. The basic bundle, which included front automatic emergency braking, was associated with a 13% drop in PDL claims and a 9% drop in BIL claims. More comprehensive technology bundles, including pedestrian detection, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warnings, and rear automatic emergency braking, corresponded to even greater reductions in claims. The most advanced system tested was linked to a 39% reduction in PDL claim frequency.thetruthaboutcars.com
Auto Insurance Fraud Cases Remain in Spotlight Nationwide
Legal enforcement of auto insurance fraud continues in various jurisdictions beyond recent high-profile New York indictments. Authorities maintain active investigations into fraudulent claims, reflecting ongoing efforts to address this issue at a local level.Brooklyn Eagle