WATERTOWN, New York (WWNY) – A lot of drivers have noticed they’re spending more money on their auto insurance. This has been a common theme recently with no end in sight.

According to a March report by the Associated Press, drivers have seen a 22 percent increase in auto insurance rates from a year ago.

“It’s been kind of a burden for me because I live alone and I pay bills by myself and my income is limited,” said Veronica Swem of Watertown.

“There’s a natural concern. I am retired and on a fixed income. I can’t really afford too many jumps in many areas and we’ve already seen our food prices go up,” said Christine Stark of Cape Vincent.

AAA insurance sales manager David Kirst says this has to do with insurance companies’ response to the pandemic.

“It just takes a while for some of those rate approvals to go through so that’s why over the last two years you have seen a lot of those increases,” he said.

Although insurance rates have gone up, AAA says there are alternative solutions for how customers could save money.

“Take a look around. See if there are any options out there. Some insurance carriers have been taking significantly more rates than others. You want to maybe see what else is available out there for you,” said Kirst.

Kirst says that the increase in insurance rates could help customers in the long run.

“It does hurt everyone’s wallet when you do see these rate increases, but there is a reason for that. We want to make sure that our insurance carriers do have enough money in reserves to cover up those claims,” he said.

Kirst believes the increased rates are winding down and that prices will remain stagnant by next year.

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