10 Largest Auto Insurers Each Raised Rates by Double Digits in 2023 — Shops Feel the Ripple

Rising auto insurance premiums were a defining business-environment factor for auto-glass shops throughout 2023. S&P Global Market Intelligence's RateWatch data confirmed that each of the ten largest U.S. auto insurers raised auto premiums by double-digit percentages during the year.

The rate increases were a response to years of deteriorating underwriting results. Insurers had collectively lost money on auto lines in 2021 and 2022, driven by elevated claims severity — including dramatically higher vehicle repair and replacement costs — and rising reinsurance costs. The premium corrections that followed were unusually broad and steep.

For auto-glass shops, the insurer rate environment created two significant ripple effects. The first was consumer behavior: customers facing 15 to 25 percent premium increases became more cost-aware about filing claims, and some deferred or declined glass work that they might have pursued in a lower-cost insurance environment. This effect was most pronounced for chip repairs and small cracks — jobs where the out-of-pocket cost for cash-paying customers was modest but where deductible-paying customers might judge the repair unnecessary.

The second effect was insurer claims behavior. Insurers under financial pressure from elevated loss ratios often respond by scrutinizing claims more aggressively — questioning calibration invoices, challenging pricing for specialty glass, and extending claims-processing timelines. Shops working primarily on insurance referrals encountered varying levels of payment friction throughout 2023.

The double-digit rate increases also had a silver lining for shops focused on ADAS-related work. As premium costs rose, insurance companies became more focused on loss prevention — and ADAS systems that actually reduce crash rates are loss-prevention technology. Shops that could demonstrate calibration quality as a safety outcome, rather than merely a compliance requirement, were better positioned to argue for fair calibration reimbursement rates.

The insurer rate-cycle dynamics of 2023 are a reminder that auto-glass shops operate in a financially interconnected system: insurer profitability affects claims-handling behavior, premium levels affect policyholder demand for glass services, and both affect the commercial environment that glass shop owners navigate daily.