Auto Repair Costs Are Up 40% Since 2020. That's Why Your Utah Car Insurance Keeps Climbing.

The average cost to repair a car has climbed more than 40% since 2020, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cited in a 2026 Insurance Institute for Highway Safety report, and that single number explains more about your rising premium than your car's age ever will.

It feels backwards. Your car depreciates every year, so the payout if it's totaled should shrink, not grow. But your premium isn't pricing your car's value alone. It's pricing what it costs to fix or replace whatever gets damaged, yours or someone else's, and that cost keeps climbing regardless of how old your car gets.

At The Insurance Center, this is one of the most common questions we hear at renewal time: "My car is five years older than when I bought this policy. Why did my rate go up again?" Here's what's actually driving it, and what part of it you can control.

Your Car's Age Actually Helps a Little

Depreciation does lower one part of your bill. Comprehensive and collision coverage, the part that pays to fix or replace your own car, is priced against your vehicle's current value. As your car ages, that piece of your premium typically goes down.

The problem is that comprehensive and collision are usually the smaller half of a full coverage policy. Liability coverage, the part that pays for the other driver's medical bills and property damage if you cause an accident, has nothing to do with your car's value. Neither does personal injury protection or uninsured motorist coverage. Those pieces price the cost of an accident in general, and that cost has gone up regardless of what you drive.

Why Repair Costs Keep Climbing

Cars have gotten more expensive to fix because they've gotten more complicated. A few things are driving that 40% jump:

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety's own research found that while these features raise the cost of an individual repair, they also lower the odds of a serious crash happening in the first place, which is part of why insurers still offer discounts for having them.

Utah's Own Rate Pressure on Top of That

Utah has a second layer working against you that has nothing to do with vehicle technology. Population growth along the Wasatch Front means more cars on I-15 and more claims per capita every year, and that cost gets spread across every policy in the pool, including yours.

On top of that, Utah's minimum liability coverage requirements went up on January 1, 2025, from 25/65/15 to 30/65/25 under House Bill 113. Every policy in the state was required to carry more coverage at renewal, whether you asked for it or not. More required coverage means a higher minimum cost floor across the board.

Full coverage in Utah now averages around $2,565 a year, but that average hides a wide spread between carriers. It's common to see quotes on the exact same driver and vehicle profile vary by more than $1,000 a year, which is the real lever most people never pull.

What You Can Actually Control

You can't control repair-cost inflation or Utah's population growth. You can control a few things that genuinely move your rate:

Worth noting on the credit point: Utah is one of a handful of states that significantly restricts how insurers use credit information. Under Utah Code 31A-22-320, an insurer here can use your credit to offer you a discount, but not to raise your rate, cancel your policy, or refuse to renew it.

Utah's Increases Are Not the Country's Worst, But They're Not Nothing

Nationally, average car insurance premiums actually fell about 6% in 2025 and are projected to rise only about 1% in 2026, but that average hides sharp regional differences. Premiums increased in 35 states last year while falling in 15, and the steepest jumps, New Jersey at 20% and Washington, D.C. at 18%, were both driven by the same repair-cost and claims-severity pressure Utah is feeling, just more acutely.

Utah isn't in that worst tier, but it isn't immune either. Population growth, more traffic on I-15, and the same nationwide repair-cost inflation all apply here. The practical takeaway is the same regardless of which tier your state falls into: the national average doesn't tell you what your specific renewal should look like. Only a real comparison across carriers does.

How to Read Your Renewal Notice Before You Call Anyone

Your renewal notice breaks your premium into coverage lines, not just one total. Before assuming the increase is unavoidable, look at which line actually moved. If comprehensive and collision went down but liability or uninsured motorist went up more than that decrease, the age of your car isn't the story, broader claims costs are.

Also check whether your coverage limits changed automatically. Utah's HB 113 minimum increase means your liability limits may have moved from 25/65/15 to 30/65/25 without anyone asking you, which is a legitimate reason for a modest increase and not something to be alarmed about. What's worth questioning is anything beyond that baseline shift that your insurer can't clearly explain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my car insurance go up if I didn't file a claim?

Your rate reflects the overall cost of claims across your insurer's entire pool of Utah drivers, not just your own driving record. Rising repair costs, more traffic, and higher required minimum coverage all push the average up even for drivers with a clean record.

Does an older car really cost less to insure?

Only partially. The comprehensive and collision portion of your policy typically gets cheaper as your car depreciates, but liability, PIP, and uninsured motorist coverage price the cost of an accident in general and do not depend on your car's age at all.

How much have auto insurance rates gone up in Utah?

Full coverage in Utah now averages roughly $2,565 a year, though individual carrier pricing on the same driver profile can vary by $1,000 or more, which is why shopping matters more than any single rate increase.

Does having automatic emergency braking or other safety tech make my insurance more expensive?

It can raise the cost of an individual repair, since the sensors involved often need calibration after a crash. But these features also reduce how often a serious crash happens in the first place, and many insurers offer a discount for having them.

Can I lower my auto insurance rate without dropping coverage?

Yes. The most effective way is shopping your policy across multiple carriers rather than accepting a single renewal number, since identical coverage can vary by over $1,000 a year between companies in Utah.

The Bottom Line

Your car getting older isn't the problem. What it costs to fix any car, including the one that hits you, is. Sensor-heavy safety tech, bigger vehicles, and more traffic on Utah roads are pushing repair costs up faster than your car's value is going down, and that math shows up on every renewal notice in the state, not just yours. The one part of this you can fully control is whether you're paying a competitive rate for the coverage you have.

Not sure if your renewal reflects a fair rate? Call The Insurance Center at (801) 622-2626 or visit us in Farr West or Heber Valley. We'll shop your policy across our carrier network and show you exactly where you stand.