Former President Donald Trump recently made a bold promise: If he is re-elected president, he will cut your car insurance rates in half. But not everyone buys it and many wonder how to achieve that.
Trump’s claim came via a social media post in which he said, “Your car insurance has gone up 73% – VOTE FOR TRUMP, I WILL CUT THAT NUMBER IN HALF!”
The idea of saving so much money on something as essential as car insurance sounds great, especially as the cost of living rises. However, many experts wonder where this 73% figure comes from, as it does not match recent data.
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Economist and insurance specialist Robert Hartwig told Insurance Journal that while rates have increased, they have not increased as much as Trump has claimed. Hartwig claims that while the 73% increase is consistent with September 2016 rates, it does not reflect current trends. In reality, rates have risen 16.5% in the past year – a significant increase, but nowhere near 73%.
Hartwig and others emphasize that insurance rates are regulated at the state level, not by the federal government. This means that even if Trump were president, he wouldn’t be able to cut insurance rates in half. Instead, he would have to get 50 state insurance commissioners to agree to his plan—a tall order.
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Insurance industry experts say capping rates would hurt consumers in the long run, as Trump suggests. If insurers were forced to drastically reduce rates, they would likely stop offering coverage altogether because they could not afford the costs.
On
One user ridiculed the feasibility of Trump’s plan, tweeting, “This is awesome! We can’t wait to see your plan to make this happen in your first week back to work!” Others highlighted the irony of his proposal with a comment that read: “Sounds like communism!” given Trump’s previous criticism of similar ideas from Democrats.