WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Florida’s insurance crisis isn’t just impacting homeowners. It’s hitting the road—fast.
New findings show auto insurance premiums in Florida have surged 88% over the past decade, the steepest increase in the nation.
Now, tow truck drivers say they’re getting caught in the same financial storm.
“We need help," said tow truck company owner, Trevis Lewis. "We’re going down, a lot of people are going down in this industry and struggling.”
Trevis Lewis owns of Tows R Us in West Palm Beach. He has been working in the industry for more than two decades.
WATCH BELOW: WPTV's Kate Hussey sits down with Trevis Lewis, the owner of Tows R Us
"Yeah, been doing it for 25 years," said Lewis.
But lately, he says he’s facing a very different kind of breakdown.
"Oh my god, insurance is my biggest bill," said Lewis.
Lewis said his insurance premiums have doubled over the past five years, jumping $15,000 this year alone.
"It's a big, big, big bill," said Lewis. "Every time we go to renew every year, we're hoping the prices go down, and it goes up."
Right now, he pays $13,000 a month to insure his fleet of five trucks. To stay afloat, he’s already scaled back.
"We downsized one truck just to save a little money," said Lewis.
The Professional Wrecker Operators of Florida tells WPTV the spike isn’t isolated—tow companies across the state are getting slammed with insurance hikes of up to 40% year over year, with some forced to lay off drivers just to survive.
"I spoke to other company owners that have ten, twenty tow trucks, and they said when they were smaller they made just as much money as they do now because they’re overhead is so huge," said Lewis.
So why should drivers care?
The next time you’re stranded on the side of the road and need a tow—you may wait longer for help.
"I see tow truck companies dropping off because they can't afford to stay in business," said Lewis. "So AAA is not getting enough companies signing up with them to to have quicker response times."
In a statement to WPTV, the American Automobile Association [AAA] said it has expanded its fleet and provider network in the West Palm Beach area, which it says has helped reduce average wait times to just over an hour.
"While this marks meaningful progress, we are committed to continuing to elevate the experience for our Members in this region," the statement continued.
Still, that's not the only road bump drivers will likely face.
"It's going to cost you more out of pocket," said insurance attorney Aaron Bass.
Bass, who represented multiple tow truck companies in court before, said rising premiums for tow companies eventually roll downhill to consumers.
"The price is trickling down to your consumer," said Bass.
Bass said the outlook is bleak, with rates climbing across all areas of insurance as companies absorb growing losses from natural disasters.
And with only about five insurers still willing to write tow truck policies in Florida, he says there’s little competition to bring premiums down.
"It's kind of a perfect storm," said Bass.
For Lewis, that storm has left him stalled, facing rate hikes that seem to be in overdrive.
"It's hard because you can’t double your tows, you know," said Lewis. "You charge $100 for a tow, you can’t charge them $200 now. Trying to figure out how to do some type of transporting or something where I don’t need the tow truck insurance."
