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Are auto insurance prices starting to moderate? Later in this email, we will share more information about this and Team Clark's advice on shopping for cheaper premiums. |
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💵 Today’s Top Stories |
| | Clark Howard wears a watch around both wrists and another device on his ring finger. Why does he do it? And what devices are they? Read more. |
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| | Fraud alerts are supposed to protect you. But sometimes fraudsters send fake ones. Here’s how to “be your own police officer” in this situation, as Clark explains. Read more. |
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| | The Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs meet in Super Bowl LIX on Sunday. Here’s where you can watch the game, and how you can watch even if you don’t have cable. Read more. |
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| | The best cell phone deals include the option to get every fourth month free … forever! You can also get honeypot deals for a year by switching providers. And companies are giving out extra data. Read more. |
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| | It’s getting harder to find credit cards that offer car rental insurance as a benefit. But they still exist. Team Clark tells you where to find them and how the benefit works. Read more. |
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💻️ Tech Tip From Kim Komando |
Photoshop skills without all the training: It’s here with Adobe’s Magic Fixup. Imagine deciding you want something in an image in a different place or a little bigger. You can cut and paste it, then AI does all the work to make it look natural. Amazing stuff. Join 575K people who get tech smart with my friend Kim Komando’s free newsletter, The Current. |
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🚘️ Silver Lining: Auto Insurance Prices Starting To Moderate? |
With the exception of eggs, perhaps no staple of the American economy has increased in price as consistently as auto insurance in recent years. |
According to Insurify, auto insurance rose 15% in 2024 and 42% since 2022. The average American pays $2,313 per year for auto insurance. |
These are all discouraging numbers for Americans who have experienced a period of intense inflation. |
However, a record $33.1 billion in underwriting losses in 2022 led to a 24% surge in auto insurance premiums in 2023. As we’ve discussed, that number fell to +15% last year. And Insurify predicts it will climb “just” 5% this year. |
Seventeen states will experience auto insurance price increases of 2% or less, matching or beating the federal government’s stated target for inflation. (Sorry, Florida and New York. You’re expected to see nation-high 10% increases.) |
Moderating auto insurance prices isn’t an economic silver bullet if you are struggling financially. But stable prices year to year would be something everyone would welcome. |
For more on auto insurance, here is Team Clark’s advice on shopping for cheaper premiums and the best and worst companies. |
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📊 Stat of the Day |
🏬 $30.20: The new hourly pay for “most of” Costco’s hourly employees according to a memo the company sent to them this week. And that’s just the start – pay is slated to go up to $31.20 and then $32.20 per hour in the subsequent two years. Costco made the changes with the looming threat of a nationwide union strike. |
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💰️ Deal Alert: Today’s Top Deals |
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🎙️ Podcast |
 | Full Show: Why You Don’t Need an 800 Credit Score and Clark’s Secrets To Avoid Travel Catastrophes |
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Credit is so important in our financial lives. But do you really need to strive for the perfect 850 credit score? Clark shares the magic score you really need to get the best loan rates. (Hint: It’s below 800!) Also, travel is amazing – when everything goes smoothly. Clark travels numerous times a year. From flight cancellations to overbooked hotels to oversold car rentals, Clark shares his secrets to avoid disaster. |
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☎️ Need Money Help? |
The Team Clark Consumer Action Center is a free helpline that can help you navigate your money questions. Call 636-492-5275. Visit clark.com/cac for more information. |
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