DO. YOU CAN DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. I GOT YOU RIGHT. OKAY. I’M GOING TO START ACTUALLY WITH SOME GOOD NEWS ABOUT YOUR CAR INSURANCE. A LITTLE COMPLICATED, BUT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THIS. OKAY? STARTING ON JULY 1ST, PENNSYLVANIA WILL INCREASE THE THRESHOLD AMOUNT OF CLAIMS OVER A THREE YEAR PERIOD THAT CAN TRIGGER YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY TO RAISE YOUR RATES. IT WAS $2,100. STARTING NEXT MONTH, THAT GOES UP TO $2,250. OKAY, SO THIS IS WHAT THAT MEANS. IF YOU DON’T RACK UP THAT MUCH MONEY IN CAR INSURANCE CLAIMS IN THREE YEARS, YOUR CAR INSURANCE COMPANY CANNOT RAISE YOUR RATES. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT? IT SURE FEELS LIKE IT IS GETTING HARDER TO DODGE ROAD DAMAGE, AND IT COSTS YOU MONEY. I’VE BEEN REPORTING ON THE PITTSBURGH AREA’S POTHOLE PROBLEMS FOR A LONG TIME. THIS WAS 2014. YEAH, THEY’RE STILL CAUSING PROBLEMS, AND THEY COULD BE COSTING YOU MONEY. CAN POTHOLES MEAN HIGHER RATES FOR CAR INSURANCE? SURE. YOU KNOW THAT. IT’S A GREAT QUESTION. DAVE BUONO IS A DEPUTY STATE INSURANCE COMMISSIONER IN CHARGE OF MARKET REGULATION. HE STARTED OUR CONVERSATION SAYING HIS BOSS, GOVERNOR SHAPIRO, HAS BEEN BUSY FIXING 13,000 MILES OF ROADS AND PAVING 4700 MILES OF ROADS. BUT, YOU KNOW, TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, IT CAN. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT CAN IMPACT YOUR RATES. BUT, YOU KNOW, IF YOU DO STRIKE A POTHOLE, IT WOULD BE PAID FOR UNDER SOMETHING CALLED COLLISION. AND YOUR DEDUCTIBLE WOULD POTENTIALLY APPLY. IF YOU ACCESS AND MAKE A CLAIM ON YOUR CAR INSURANCE, SOMETIMES THAT CAN MAKE YOUR RATE GO UP. IT SEEMS LIKE A BUMMER, MAYBE A LITTLE BIT UNFAIR IF YOU JUST HAPPEN TO LIVE IN A PLACE THAT GETS A LOT OF POTHOLES. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT YOU WOULD TELL FOLKS ABOUT THAT? WELL, YOU KNOW, THE ONE THING THAT I WOULD WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT FOLKS KNOW IS, YOU KNOW, IF THEY SEE THOSE POTHOLES, I’M SURE THEY LET EITHER THE LOCAL FOLKS KNOW OR PEOPLE AT PENNDOT KNOW, BECAUSE SOMETIMES WHAT FOLKS DON’T KNOW, THEY DON’T KNOW. SO, YOU KNOW, MAKE SURE THE RIGHT PEOPLE KNOW SO THAT WE CAN GET OUT THERE AND HOPEFULLY FIX THOSE ROADS. HE ENCOURAGES YOU TO DO THE CHORE OF SHOPPING AROUND FOR CAR INSURANCE, BUT IT’S IS IT WORTH IT FOR FOLKS TO JUST CALL THEIR AGENT AND SEE IF THEY CAN GET A BETTER DEAL? OH, ABSOLUTELY. BECAUSE YOU COULD ALSO FIGURE OUT THAT MAYBE YOU HAVE COVERAGES YOU NO LONGER NEED, OR MAYBE YOU CAN ADJUST THINGS ON YOUR POLICY TO MAKE THINGS MORE COST EFFECTIVE. OR MAYBE YOU CAN BUNDLE THAT HOMEOWNERS OR RENTERS INSURANCE WITH IT. AND THEN HE TOLD ME ABOUT A WAY TO CUT YOUR CAR INSURANCE PREMIUMS BY 5%. BUT NOT JUST ANYONE CAN DO IT. OR MAYBE IF YOU’RE AN OLDER PENNSYLVANIAN, YOU KNOW, 55 YEARS OR OLDER, YOU CAN TAKE DRIVER TRAINING COURSES TO GET DISCOUNTS ON YOUR INSURANCE RATES SO YOU CAN FIND THE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT YOU CAN DO TO TRY TO SAVE, TO SAVE MONEY. WAIT, SO 55 AND OLDER, I’M THREE YEARS AWAY FROM THAT. CAN I? YOU KNOW WHAT, TELL ME MORE. YOU HAVE MY ATTENTION. THE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER TOLD ME ABOUT THE PENNSYLVANIA LAW THAT REQUIRES PREMIUM REDUCTIONS OF AT LEAST 5% PER VEHICLE ON A PRIVATE PASSENGER AUTO INSURANCE POLICY THAT A NAMED INSURED MEMBER WHO COMPLETES DRIVER TRAINING COURSES THROUGH PENNDOT CAN GET TRIPLE A, OFFERS AN EIGHT HOUR CLASS TO LOWER YOUR INSURANCE PREMIUMS. IT COSTS $22. IF YOU’RE NOT A TRIPLE A MEMBER, COULD THE INSURANCE COMPANY LOOK AT IT AND SAY, WELL, THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING THAT WOULD INCREASE YOUR RATES? SURE. BUT THERE ARE A LOT OF THINGS THAT COULD POTENTIALLY INCREASE RATES AND PREMIUMS. IT COULD BE TRAFFIC, IT COULD BE INCIDENTS, IT COULD BE THE AREA, IT COULD BE A LARGE NUMBER OF CRIME OR DEER THAT RUN OUT, WHICH WOULD BE A DIFFERENT COVERAGE. BUT, YOU KNOW, SO THERE ARE DIFFERENT THINGS. SO IT MAY NOT NECESSARILY BE THE POTHOLE THAT ALSO CREATES THE THE INCREASE. DEPUTY COMMISSIONER BUONO SAYS IF YOU HIT A POTHOLE CAUSES DAMAGE, CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY AND WORK WITH THEM. AND IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT ABOUT YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY, THE PA INSURANCE COMMISSION WANTS TO HEAR FROM YOU. YOU CAN CALL ONE 866 PA COMPLAINT. THEY SAY YOU CAN TALK TO A REAL HUMAN,

New insurance claim rules in Pennsylvania: Threshold rising to $2,250

Can potholes mean higher rates for car insurance? “It can, but there are a lot of things that can impact your rates,” a deputy state insurance commissioner says.

Updated: 9:39 PM EDT Jun 12, 2025

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Starting July 1, Pennsylvania will increase the threshold amount of claims over a three-year period that can trigger insurance rate increases, from $2,100 to $2,250, amid concerns about road damage.Can potholes mean higher rates for car insurance?”It can, but there are a lot of things that can impact your rates,” Pennsylvania Deputy Insurance Commissioner Dave Buono said. “But if you do strike a pothole, it would be paid for under something called collision, and your deductible will potentially apply.”Buono said it is important for people to report potholes to local authorities or PennDOT to facilitate repairs.”Sometimes, what folks don’t know, they don’t know,” he said. “So make sure the right people know, so that we can get out there and hopefully fix those roads.”Is it worth it for drivers to call their insurance agent and see if they can get a better deal?”Absolutely,” Buono said. “Because you could also figure out that maybe you have coverages you no longer need, or maybe you can adjust things on your policy to make things more cost-effective, or maybe you can bundle that homeowner’s or renter’s insurance with it.”Or maybe if you’re an older Pennsylvanian, 55 years or older, you can take driver training courses to get discounts on your insurance rates, so you can find the different things that you can do to try to save money.”Buono said there is a Pennsylvania law that requires premium reductions of at least 5% per vehicle on a private passenger auto insurance that a named insured member who completes driver training courses through PennDOT can get.AAA offers an eight-hour class to lower your insurance premium. The course costs $22 if you’re not a member.He advised contacting insurance companies if a pothole causes damage.”Could the insurance company look at it and say, well, this was something that would increase your rates? Sure. But there are a lot of things that could potentially increase rates and premiums,” he said. “It could be traffic, it could be incidents, it could be the area, it could be a large number of crime, or deer that run out, which would be a different coverage, so there are different things. It may not necessarily be the pothole that also creates the increase.”For complaints about insurance companies, the Pennsylvania Insurance Commission can be reached at 866-PA-COMPLAINT, where callers can speak to a representative.You can also click here to visit their website.

PITTSBURGH —

Starting July 1, Pennsylvania will increase the threshold amount of claims over a three-year period that can trigger insurance rate increases, from $2,100 to $2,250, amid concerns about road damage.

Can potholes mean higher rates for car insurance?

“It can, but there are a lot of things that can impact your rates,” Pennsylvania Deputy Insurance Commissioner Dave Buono said. “But if you do strike a pothole, it would be paid for under something called collision, and your deductible will potentially apply.”

Buono said it is important for people to report potholes to local authorities or PennDOT to facilitate repairs.

“Sometimes, what folks don’t know, they don’t know,” he said. “So make sure the right people know, so that we can get out there and hopefully fix those roads.”

Is it worth it for drivers to call their insurance agent and see if they can get a better deal?

“Absolutely,” Buono said. “Because you could also figure out that maybe you have coverages you no longer need, or maybe you can adjust things on your policy to make things more cost-effective, or maybe you can bundle that homeowner’s or renter’s insurance with it.

“Or maybe if you’re an older Pennsylvanian, 55 years or older, you can take driver training courses to get discounts on your insurance rates, so you can find the different things that you can do to try to save money.”

Buono said there is a Pennsylvania law that requires premium reductions of at least 5% per vehicle on a private passenger auto insurance that a named insured member who completes driver training courses through PennDOT can get.

AAA offers an eight-hour class to lower your insurance premium. The course costs $22 if you’re not a member.

He advised contacting insurance companies if a pothole causes damage.

“Could the insurance company look at it and say, well, this was something that would increase your rates? Sure. But there are a lot of things that could potentially increase rates and premiums,” he said. “It could be traffic, it could be incidents, it could be the area, it could be a large number of crime, or deer that run out, which would be a different coverage, so there are different things. It may not necessarily be the pothole that also creates the increase.”

For complaints about insurance companies, the Pennsylvania Insurance Commission can be reached at 866-PA-COMPLAINT, where callers can speak to a representative.

You can also click here to visit their website.