SAN ANTONIO — Lupito Acuña can be found all over San Antonio with his camera on his hip.
“It makes you feel good inside that you are documenting San Antonio, you are documenting your culture, or at least I’m documenting my cultura,” Acuña said.
He’s always on the road, showing up to community events, capturing those moments, but one thing he didn’t see coming was a jump in car insurance rates.
“In six months, it went up a little bit more, and in 2023, it pretty much doubled,” Acuña said.
It was reported earlier in the year that Texans should expect a 10% increase in auto insurance. For many Texans like Acuña, it’s been a lot more than that.
A 23% increase and experts are saying in a year it will increase to another 10%.
James Cardenas, an insurance broker, said a higher rate of claims is partly why Texans are seeing that increase.
“Recently more claims have been happening and with the shortages in the economy, with the cost of mechanics to build the vehicle,” Cardenas said.
Cardenas says rates at different companies are virtually the same. He added that the market is also shying aware from customers who jump around from one insurer to the next.
“Hey, this person looks like they jump around a lot, they’ll actually cancel the business and continue to be with them, and that’s to protect the bottom dollar of the insurance company,” Cardenas said.
Fortunately for Acuña, he was with his insurance company for 30-plus years. He used his bank to shop around for a better deal.
“I was like, let them do it because us regular folks, it’s a lot to take in,” Acuña said.
Cardenas said bundling home and auto can help lower the rates or doing yearlong policies so the rate is locked in for an entire year.
“There’s a lot of companies competing with each other. Get the cheaper price, but as long as it’s meeting your expectations,” Acuña said.