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Chicago Tribune
a day ago
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
State lawmakers, officials seek input into how auto insurance rates are set
Just weeks after Gov. JB Pritzker called for action following State Farm's 27.2% rate hike for homeowners insurance, some state lawmakers and officials said they are renewing efforts to address the steady rise in auto insurance rates. Curbing the cost of auto insurance has been the subject of several legislative proposals in the last couple of years, but those measures have yet to go anywhere. The Illinois secretary of state's office, which has unsuccessfully promoted a measure that would eliminate factors such as credit scores and advanced age from being used as metrics to set car insurance rates, is set to launch a campaign to highlight why it thinks employing those factors is unfair to consumers. 'This, to me, is an economic justice issue. People are struggling to pay their bills. People are required to have car insurance, and it's becoming unaffordable for folks to have it,' Giannoulias said. 'So if the purpose of auto insurance is to protect the eight and a half million Illinois motorists, it only makes sense that their driving records … serve as the primary factor for setting their rates.' Car insurance rates have climbed across the country. According to the finance website the rates have increased at a slower pace compared to past years but from 2023 to 2024, full coverage auto insurance jumped by an average of 14% and by 12% from 2024 to 2025. The website, citing an official from the Insurance Information Institute, attributed the rising rates to some of the worst underwriting losses in decades. also suggested President Donald Trump's administration's tariffs on vehicles and auto parts could affect car insurance costs. Democratic state Rep. Will Guzzardi of Chicago, who has worked on legislation aimed at regulating car insurance rates, said he is optimistic there's enough will in the legislature to take on high costs of auto insurance, but acknowledged the need to do so without harming the insurers doing business in Illinois. 'We want to maintain a vibrant, competitive insurance market in Illinois, where companies are competing for your business, and that drives prices down,' Guzzardi said. 'Premiums are rising and Illinois consumers are bearing the brunt of it, and government needs to step in and protect us from those kinds of abuses.' A bill Guzzardi introduced in January would bar insurers from refusing to issue or renew a policy of auto insurance based in whole or in part on 'specified prohibited underwriting or rating factors.' The bill would require auto insurers to show that their handling of claims and algorithm models do not unfairly impact any group of customers based on factors including race, gender, religion or sexual orientation. The bill has been stalled in the House, and Guzzardi acknowledged the difficulty in getting such legislation passed given the insurance lobby's power in Illinois, which is home to both State Farm and Allstate. 'If it's a reasonable increase and (insurers) can justify it, then it's fine. But if they're just raising their rates to protect their profits and pad their CEO pay, then the state has the ability to veto or reduce those premium increases,' Guzzardi said. 'And it (seems) really unfair to base someone's car insurance premium on factors that are out of your control and have nothing to do with whether or not they're a good driver.' In a statement, the Illinois Insurance Association, along with the American Property Casualty Insurance Association and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said that 'Insurers are not permitted to use and do not use factors like race, income, religion, and/or ethnicity in setting rates. This is true in Illinois and in every state.' But the organizations defended the criteria that are used to set rates. 'Allowing insurers to continue using a wide set of objective criteria to determine risk and set rates will ensure this market can continue to flourish,' the statement read. 'We oppose efforts to limit the actuarial process that has driven companies out of other large states and led to increased premiums for the majority of policyholders.' Another bill that has languished in the legislature, which would affect homeowners as well as auto insurance, would require insurance companies to open their books so that state officials can assess whether the rate increases are too burdensome. Insurers would need to provide information on their rates to the state's Department of Insurance '60 days in advance of a proposed aggregate rate change of 5% or more.' This legislation has the backing of the Pritzker administration and could be the subject of debate during the two-week veto session in October since lawmakers and the insurance industry were busy during the spring session haggling over the bill's details. According to the secretary of state's office, Illinois is one of only two states, the other being Wyoming, that doesn't require a rate review process to protect auto insurance customers from excessive rates. The influence a person's economic status has on their insurance rates has long been a point of contention. Two years ago, the Consumer Federation of America issued a 25-page report showing the impact of car insurance rates when consumer credit information for good drivers who have decent or bad credit scores are factored in by insurers. The 2023 report showed that Illinoisans who were safe drivers with excellent credit paid an average annual premium of $424 for auto insurance, while consumers with a comparable driving record and fair credit paid around $607. At the same time, the report notes, safe drivers with poor credit paid an annual average of $915. These findings were echoed nationally, according to the report. 'These credit disparities are connected to systemic biases against Black, Latino, and Indigenous communities and long-standing structural hurdles to achieving financial stability for communities of color,' the report said. 'When credit information is used to construct credit-based insurance scores for underwriting and rating auto insurance, the result is higher auto insurance premiums for drivers of color.' 'Insurance companies use these rating factors, these non-rating factors, significantly, to set rates, and that can lead to both discriminatory and absurd outcomes,' said Abe Scarr, director of the Illinois Public Interest Research Group, which posted the report on its website. 'Also, it's, I think, somewhat less pronounced and maybe less investigated as well, but they're doing this with homeowners insurance as well.' Under a bill pushed by Giannoulias' office during the spring legislative session, the secretary of state, in partnership with the Office of Risk Management and Insurance Research at the University of Illinois, would look into 'the use of ZIP codes, credit scores, and age in ratemaking and whether the specific factor results in inequitable rates being assessed to certain populations.' The bill had 16 Democratic House sponsors and 17 Democratic Senate sponsors. It passed through the Democratic-controlled House in April on a 70-39 vote. But it never made it through the Senate. State Rep. Jeff Keicher, a Republican from Sycamore who sits on the House Insurance Committee and opposed the bill, said Illinois has one of the lowest rate environments 'given the factors that we are currently using.' The competitive market helps consumers because if the rates are too high with one carrier, they can easily move to another. He said eliminating factors such as where a customer lives and their credit score could increase the rates for suburban drivers. 'So you'd have a rate in Chicago the same as a rate in the middle of a cornfield in Illinois,' said Keicher, a 30-year insurance agent who said he was not speaking on behalf of the industry. 'The industry has proven time and again that that credit-based score is effective and accurate, and there have been no other challenges once regulators have looked at the direct correlation in accident propensity with the factors that insurance companies are currently using,' Keicher said. Kevin Martin, executive director of the Illinois Insurance Association, said there have been a number of studies over the years purported to show credit scores are an appropriate metric, including one that concluded 'better credit scores correlate with lower insurance risk.' As for Giannoulias' bill from the spring, Martin's group had concerns over whether the secretary of state's office's involvement in the study would've led to a 'very, very biased result,' noting the office has come out 'very much opposed to allowing us to use these factors.' 'We have no objections to having a study,' Martin said. 'We were opposed to any reference and any language that would have put (the) secretary of state's office in a position to conduct, lead and write the report.' Lou Sandoval, president and CEO of the Illinois Chamber of Commerce, which advocates for businesses in the state, echoed Martin's criticism of the bill. 'We're not against transparency of trying to say, 'Hey, listen, what should we get done?'' he said. 'What was problematic is the bill sought to do a study that basically abided with the (confirmation) bias of the bill itself.' 'It was like, 'we're going to do a study to confirm the fact that there's racist policies in place, not to identify what the policies are and whether they're racist or not.' It's like 'we have a thesis. The thesis is, this is racism, and that's the direction we're going,'' Sandoval continued. 'And you know, writ large, we have a problem with government basically stepping in and whacking industries that are major employers in the state.' The statewide advocacy campaign being launched by the secretary of state's office, dubbed 'Driving Change,' will ask state residents 'to share their stories about unfair and discriminatory ratemaking practices employed by auto insurance companies,' according to a news release from Giannoulias' office. There will be town halls on the issue over the next several weeks throughout the state, and the secretary of state's office would be conducting a study using feedback from residents to determine whether factors such as credit score, ZIP code and advanced age unfairly raise insurance premiums for residents. From there, the feedback could be used to aid in crafting new legislation over what factors to include when setting car insurance rates, the secretary of state's office said. Locations and times of the town halls would be posted on 'To me, it doesn't matter whether you live on the South or West side of Chicago or in rural southern Illinois,' said Giannoulias, whose name has been floated as a potential Chicago mayoral contender in 2027. 'Our point is, base it on driving record.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Mortgage rates dip to lowest level in three weeks
Mortgage rates retreated this week, with the 30-year fixed rate averaging 6.76 percent, compared to 6.81 percent the previous week, according to Bankrate's latest lender survey. Current mortgage rates Loan type Current 4 weeks ago One year ago 52-week average 52-week low 30-year 6.76% 6.79% 6.90% 6.79% 6.20% 15-year 5.92% 5.95% 6.24% 6.01% 5.40% 30-year jumbo 6.76% 6.76% 6.97% 6.83% 6.36% The 30-year fixed mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.30 discount and origination points. Discount points are a way to lower your mortgage rate, while origination points are fees lenders charge to create, review and process your loan. Learn more: Will mortgage rates go down this upcoming week? Shop smarter for mortgage rates Bankrate connects you to the latest lender offers, tailored to you. Find your low rate today. Explore mortgage rates Monthly mortgage payment at today's rates The national median family income for 2025 is $104,200, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the median price of an existing home sold in June 2025 was $435,300, according to the National Association of Realtors. Based on a 20 percent down payment and a 6.76 percent mortgage rate, the monthly payment of $2,261 amounts to 26 percent of the typical family's monthly income. 'Affordability is still a challenge,' says Lisa Sturtevant, chief economist at Bright MLS, a listing service in the Mid-Atlantic region. 'Some buyers are waiting both for rates and prices to come down before they get into the market.' What will happen to mortgage rates in 2025? Last month, the Federal Reserve decided to leave the federal funds rate untouched. Mortgage rates didn't respond to the Fed's three consecutive cuts last year — a reminder that fixed mortgage rates are not set directly by the Fed but by investor appetite, particularly for 10-year Treasury bonds. When there's uncertainty in the market, investors buy Treasury bonds, which in turn drives yields — and, often, mortgage rates — downward. Shop Top Mortgage Rates A quicker path to financial freedom Personalized rates in minutes Your Path to Homeownership President Donald Trump's tariff policies were blamed for an increase in inflation, which moved up to 2.7 percent in June from 2.4 percent in May. The Fed's inflation target is 2 percent. In addition, as of Wednesday afternoon, 10-year Treasury yields were just below 4.4 percent. Learn more: How are mortgage rates set? Methodology The national survey of large lenders is conducted weekly. To conduct the National Average survey, Bankrate obtains rate information from the 10 largest banks and thrifts in 10 large U.S. markets. In the national survey, our Market Analysis team gathers rates and/or yields on banking deposits, loans and mortgages. We've conducted this survey in the same manner for more than 30 years, and because it's consistently done the way it is, it gives an accurate national apples-to-apples comparison. Our rates differ from other national surveys, in particular Freddie Mac's weekly published rates. Each week Freddie Mac surveys lenders on the rates and points based on first-lien prime conventional conforming home purchase mortgages with a loan-to-value of 80 percent. 'Lenders surveyed each week are a mix of lender types — thrifts, credit unions, commercial banks and mortgage lending companies — is roughly proportional to the level of mortgage business that each type commands nationwide,' according to Freddie Mac.
Miami Herald
21-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
Will skipping ‘Made in China' beat tariff price hikes?
For most shoppers, "Made in China" has been a way of life for consumers. The mark is on seemingly everything. That has consumers concerned about how tariffs and trade battles between the United States and China might hit home, literally. If tariffs ultimately act as a tax on consumers – most economists say they do – how can Americans avoid paying higher prices? Stop buying things that were made in China. That's easier said than Trump recently took to Truth Social to say that the United States and China have a deal that's done, pending final approval of leaders from both countries. He said that U.S. tariffs would be set at 55% on Chinese goods, while China's tariffs remain at 10%. Officially, tariff plans with China and other countries are on hold until July 9, but U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said several times that the 55% tariff "definitely" will not change. Related: Major housing expert predicts huge change to mortgage rates in 2026 While many of the harshest tariff hikes face legal challenges, current U.S. tariff rates are at their highest levels in nearly a century; estimates from the Yale Budget Lab say that's costing the average U.S. consumer an extra $2,500 a year. A recent study by covering consumer sentiment about tariffs shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans believe tariffs will have a negative impact on their personal finances. Just over 40% of respondents said tariffs would "greatly worsen" their personal finances. But even if consumers decide to tackle the China tariff problem by eliminating spending on goods from the country, it doesn't mean they will save money. They also will find the task daunting, if not impossible. That's according to journalist Sara Bongiorni, who tried to live without goods from China for a year back in the early 2000s; the trials and tribulations of her effort became the basis for her book, "A Year Without Made in China." Bongiorni, now an adjunct professor at Louisiana State University, woke up on Christmas morning in 2005 to a house full of stuff, and as she rummaged through it, she realized almost everything was made in China. "I said to my husband, 'Do you think it would be possible to live for a while without things made in China? You want to try that?' He was not very enthusiastic about that idea, but we gave it a whirl." Related: Forget tariffs, Fed interest rate cuts may hinge on another problem Bongiorni didn't set out to make a political statement or to write a book. She was simply hoping "to understand at a personal level, as best we could, how much we relied on things from China in our everyday, ordinary consumer life." In a recent interview on "Money Life with Chuck Jaffe," Bongiorni recounted how her rule was to avoid the words "Made in China," which are only seen on the end consumer product sold to shoppers. That's a low bar, given that countless products are assembled in the United States or in other countries using parts from China. Those goods-like the ones with the Made in China label-will incur increased costs due to tariffs. Bongiorni noted that in certain product categories – notably toys, household gadgets, many types of electronics, coffeemakers, sneakers and footwear, and children's clothing – it was nearly impossible to find items that weren't made in China. Even when she did find rare exceptions, Bongiorni noted that the options often pushed her to higher-end goods, which meant paying more for the purchase, in some cases, more than she would expect to pay now on goods from China with tariffs attached. "I think there were so many things we didn't buy that year because you couldn't find a viable option that wasn't made in China," Bongiorni said. She also noted that, ironically, it's nearly impossible to celebrate a wholly American holiday like July 4th without goods from China, as the small flags, fireworks, parade toys, festive paper goods, and more were made there. Truly trying to avoid all goods from China – including component parts – would be nearly impossible, Bongiorni said, noting that consumers would find themselves with no easy alternatives. "The share of things, ordinary consumer items from China, account for at least 65% of things you find in a typical household," Bongiorni said. "If you push up [prices with tariffs up to 55%], that is a huge impact, especially when we've got inflation and other things going on in the economy. It's a huge thing for most families to have to shoulder that burden." More Tariffs: Aldi plans huge price cut despite tariffs driving costs higherCar buyers should shop these brands for the best tariff dealGeneral Motors makes $4 billion tariff move Bongiorni does think the United States can bring some manufacturing back onshore, but that will have a limited impact because of the breadth and volume of goods coming from China, and the convenience of having those items and getting them cheaply. "I have a hard time thinking that we can lure ourselves off of our connection to China as consumers as a long-term affair," she said, "but also I can see a huge public outcry because this is going to affect people's bottom line every month." While Bongiorni recalls her efforts fondly nearly two decades later, she says she would not want to permanently do without Made in China, even if tariffs raise costs. Avoiding goods from China and finding alternatives was "incredibly time-consuming." And when there were no viable product options, she was willing to go without certain items for a year, but would not want to sacrifice them for a lifetime. "I do think it's interesting to have an awareness of where things come from, and to get a sense to the extent you can to which you are connected to the international economy on that consumer level," said Bongiorni. "I found that enjoyable and interesting, but the idea of weaning ourselves from Chinese goods, after doing this, just seems very unrealistic.…I can't imagine living like that long-term." Related: Fed official sends shocking message on interest rate cuts The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.
Time of India
16-06-2025
- General
- Time of India
Juneteenth 2025 events near me: Is Juneteenth a Federal holiday in the U.S? What day is Juneteenth?
Juneteenth is a powerful reminder of when freedom truly came for enslaved people in America. America's second Independence Day is just around the corner. Juneteenth honors the day when federal troops entered Galveston to seize Texas and guarantee the emancipation of slaves in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation. What day is Juneteenth in 2025? The date of the 2025 Juneteenth is Thursday, June 19. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Mi Piace Così | Quanto costa perdere peso? Mi Piace Così Undo Is Juneteenth a Federal holiday in the U.S.? Per the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Juneteenth will be a federal holiday in 2025. What's the history behind Juneteenth? The abolition of slavery in the United States is commemorated on Juneteenth. On June 19, 1865, federal troops arrived in Galveston to seize control of Texas and free the slaves in accordance with the Emancipation Proclamation, according to the History Channel. The oldest African American holiday, Juneteenth, honors the abolition of slavery in the United States. Live Events ALSO READ: Was Melania dozing off during Trump parade? Videos go viral, here's the truth Are banks open on Juneteenth? According to Juneteenth is a Federal Reserve bank holiday, so the bank regulator is closed. USA TODAY reports that Capital One, Bank of America, PNC, Truist, CitiBank, and JPMorgan Chase will close on Juneteenth. Why is it known as Juneteenth? Juneteenth was inspired by the arrival of Union troops in Galveston on June 19. "Juneteenth" is what the newly freed slaves in Texas called it, according to the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History & Culture, as per a report by The Columbus Dispatch. FAQs Is Juneteenth a federal holiday in 2025? Yes. It became one in 2021, and this year it falls on Thursday, June 19. Will banks and mail services be open on Juneteenth? Most banks and all post offices will be closed. FedEx will still run most of its services.
Epoch Times
15-06-2025
- Epoch Times
The Average Cost of a Vacation: Transportation, Food, Entertainment, and More
By Karen Bennett As another travel season approaches, many Americans are researching the costs of flights and accommodations, with the caveat that while
