Consumers could not only face sticker shock at their local car dealerships as car prices are expected to go up due to tariffs, but they could also pay more to insure those vehicles.
“Whatever the percentage of tariffs is on that car or that part, will likely be passed on by the manufacturers and the repairers,” Dave Snyder, vice president of the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, told WTOP.
Snyder said figuring out the exact impact of tariffs isn’t clear right now, but that “the numbers we’ve projected that the overall cost for personal auto alone” could go up by as much as $26 billion to $52 billion per year as long as the “tariffs, worst case, actually are imposed by the president.”
When it comes to the impact for consumers, Snyder said, “We’ve seen an estimate as high as increasing everyone’s personal automobile insurance about 14%.”
The knock-on effect likely wouldn’t stop there, Snyder said.
“The tariffs potentially on Canadian lumber or other construction materials would do the same thing-perhaps not as large-but would do the same thing for homeowners’ insurance costs and losses,” Snyder said.
He said that would also include the cost of materials like aluminum and steel.
Snyder said industry officials and consumers need to “hope for the best — or at least better — but plan for the worst.”
Consumers ought to keep close tabs on any price increases related to their insurance premiums, and shop around, Snyder said. He added that there needs to be “an ongoing dialogue” between consumers and their insurers “in this environment where you’ve got a lot of uncertainty where costs are going to go.”
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