Your insurance rates have followed the same path as the items you grab from the grocery store. Bankrate.com reported earlier this year that the average driver is paying just over $2,000 a year in insurance premiums nationally. That’s a nearly 14 percent increase over last year, with some parts of the country seeing their rates climb up to over 20 percent higher. You can partly blame inflation for the increase as wages for mechanics and body shop technicians have climbed along with the cost of parts and other supplies. Paul and Julia Stoneman from Stoneman-Schopf Agency say they have seen it cross over to other industries, too.

The Stonemans recommend talking to your local insurance agent about different options to help stabilize or even lower your insurance premiums such as shopping around with other insurance companies and bundling other policies. You can listen to the full conversation with the Stonemans on the Bridging the Gap podcast by clicking here.