Posted on 07/13/2023 7:40:16 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
A 40% increase by Allstate in Georgia, a 32% rise sought by Nationwide Mutual Insurance in California, an 11% bump by State Farm in New York. Insurers are imposing steep increases on auto insurance rates, with state regulators doing little to stop them.
Even states with consumer-friendly laws, and the power to veto increases, are allowing rates to rise. California this year agreed to more than a billion dollars of car-insurance premium increases, according to consumer advocates.
Insurers are getting big bumps because they have suffered big losses. Car insurance premiums could keep increasing through the end of 2024. “Rates need to rise probably 5 to 10 percent in each of the next couple of years, because the loss trends have gone up so much,” said Dale Porfilio, chief insurance officer at industry group Insurance Information Institute.
Premiums are increasing faster than other inflation-hit items, such as rent and food. Car-insurance rates increased 17% in the 12 months to May, more than four times the 4% rise in overall inflation, Labor Department data show.
“Unrestrained rate hikes are hitting the pocketbooks of Americans, and those least able to pay are seeing the worst burden,” said Carmen Balber, executive director of consumer group Consumer Watchdog.
In states like California and Florida, high auto premium increases are occurring at the same time that homeowners’ policies are getting more expensive, too.
Auto insurers say their rate requests are driven by necessity, not greed. The cost of claims has soared since the pandemic, due to more accidents, higher repair costs, bigger medical bills and increased litigation. Car insurers last year lost on average 12 cents for every dollar of premium written, according to S&P Global. State Farm, the country’s biggest car insurer by premium volume, lost 28 cents for every dollar written last year,
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
"It's probably the worst period for auto insurers it's been in 30 years at least," said Neil Alldredge, chief executive of industry body National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies.
Even though used car prices are coming off highs and tumbling, the cost of operating a vehicle remains elevated, if that's filling up the gas tank, paying for insurance, and or repair costs, the whole American dream of affording a car and home is becoming more and more unattainable.
You can afford just about anything, if you make up your mind and are willing to sacrifice even more to feed that particular want or desire.
Might be back to eating corn flakes or oatmeal for breakfast, though. And forget most red meats and a lot of dairy.
By design.
Are they saying that insurance companies, just looking at their financial reports, just looking at them as we would any other business, are losing money? They are unprofitable?
If so you can understand the rising insurance premiums.
But do they have cash reserves, derived from years when there weren’t major hurricanes, or major brush fires in California? There have been major insured losses in some recent years, but they don’t happen every year.
Just wondering, exactly how do the financial types, decide how to set insurance premiums, for any type of insurance, in the first place.
Mine jumped $75 in March — on a 2018 vehicle.
I hate to see what is coming in September.
With the current massive influx of invaders who are fond of driving drunk being given drivers licenses by “democrazy” governors, I can understand why insurance companies are going to need more money to pay for uninsured drivers. Somebody has to pay for them.
Here in FL, we’re absolutely bombarded 24/7 with “Have you been injured in a car accident? Call... ...with billions recovered for our clients. There’s no risk to you...” ads.
Dozens of commercials, more than 10x per day, all channels.
Might have something to do with it.
We desperately need “Loser Pays” laws.
Mine just jumped up almost $80. Called my broker and they said it was an across the board, industry wide increase. Still going to call around for a better rate.
Mine went down $60 (for 6-month policy, so $5/month) this month on a 2022 we bought new last year. It’s been over 30 years since I bought a new car. So I expected it to go down some because of depreciation. Do you think maybe it would have normally go down more but the overall rise in rates hampered an otherwise larger rate drop?
Another front of the wealth sovereign’s war on the common man.
Just renewed my registration. Went from 35 to 45 bucks.
” more than 10x per day, all channels.”
More than 10 FIRMS constantly, splattered over 20 spots an hour. Hundreds a day.
Media trick is to sell 30 second spots — in two pieces. Double the impressions. Triple the aggravation. Time to dump the off the air channels now.
Me: 7500 miles driven each year...no moving violations...no accidents in 10 years...my premium went up 40%.
Insurance companies, like bookies, put your money against mine and take a piece out of the middle.
Neither the well run bookie nor the insurance company can lose money, unless greed sets in.
Both are the kind of people that Jesus evicted from the Temple {money changers}.
The real answer to your question is, "What ever the market will bear", and not a penny less.
Millions of new uninsured drivers crossing the border evryday. We pay, they don’t.
When driving about as an insured driver keep in mind, you are insuring those running about with no insurance and probably no license either.
IMO, when the coppers come across someone operating an unregistered and or uninsured vehicle, they should get them out of the car, bring in a car crusher, crush it and leave.
The problem there is that those reserves weren't generating sufficient income to deal with today's currently inflationary environment.
The cost of claims and frequency of claims are by far the two biggest factors in establishing insurance premiums.
If new and used car prices are through the roof, how can insurance that pays for those items not go up? Its just a proxy for those purchases. Duh.
Driving from Connecticut into NYC there was,for years,a huge sign that I remember for an ambulance chaser lawyer whose phone number was “800 I AM HURT”
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