Higher Insurance Rates? Blame Rising Health Care, Car Costs
Recent negative economic trends have impacted virtually everyone in one way or another. Many people are looking for ways to decrease spending, but for vehicle owners, auto insurance is a necessary expense that unfortunately may only be increasing. An economy with rising health care costs, ballooning car costs, and a bad job market usually translates into higher coverage costs overall. If an insurer suffers greater-than-expected financial losses because of fluctuating prices in other industries and bad investment performance, these losses may be passed on to policyholders in the form of higher premiums. In addition, consumers’ eroding credit may push their individual costs upward. When an insured motorist is involved in an accident, an insurance company is usually the one that pays for vehicle repairs. And when the cost of cars goes up, the amount that those insurers have to pay for repairs also increases. Recent information gathered by TrueCar.com places the average transaction price for a new car in April 2012 at $30,303, up 4.2 percent from April 2011. Higher vehicle value and improved technology has made modern cars increasingly expensive to repair, resulting in greater losses for coverage providers when they have to pay out on individual claims. According to the Insurance Information Institute (III) , the average cost of property damage, collision, and comprehensive claims went up 17 percent, 10 percent, and 28 percent, respectively, between 2000 and 2010. Another trend that has impacted the price of vehicle coverage is the rising cost of health care. Automobile accidents often lead to bodily injuries, which are commonly covered by insurers. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have found that national health expenditures reached over $2.5 trillion in 2010, nearly twice as high as the $1.3 trillion in expenditures in 2000. Of these expenditures, hospital care accounts for over $800 million. And according to the III, bodily injury claims rose a whopping 43 percent between 2000 and 2010. The cause of skyrocketing health care costs and the resulting car insurance premium inflations remains a heavily debated subject. Some institutions, including the Kaiser Family Foundation, accredit these price increases to a combination of technology, prescription drug, and administrative costs which have all steadily increased in recent years. If emergency medical procedures and medication costs increase, it means that policy providers may lose revenue, and motorists are charged more to compensate for this economic loss. Personal Economic Troubles Can Mean More Expensive Coverage Apart from changes within the insurance industry, lifestyle changes for individual motorists can also lead to higher premiums in an economic slump. When times are tough, many people are forced to turn to credit cards to cover their expenses. When drivers begin to borrow excessively, their credit scores begin to drop. In states where credit scoring is a common rating practice, a poor financial history could easily translate into a higher priced policy. To counter the rising price of coverage, one of the best actions that a motorist can take is to shop around to find one of the top insurance companies that are willing to provide adequately priced protection. Although there isn’t much that a motorist can do to impact industrywide changes, drivers are still capable of exploring all of their options to find cheaper alternatives. Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/companies/ratings/
Recent negative economic trends have impacted virtually everyone in one way or another. Many people are looking for ways to decrease spending, but for vehicle owners, auto insurance is a necessary expense that unfortunately may only be increasing. An economy with rising health care costs, ballooning car costs, and a bad job market usually translates into higher coverage costs overall. If an insurer suffers greater-than-expected financial losses because of fluctuating prices in other industries and bad investment performance, these losses may be passed on to policyholders in the form of higher premiums. In addition, consumers’ eroding credit may push their individual costs upward.
When an insured motorist is involved in an accident, an insurance company is usually the one that pays for vehicle repairs. And when the cost of cars goes up, the amount that those insurers have to pay for repairs also increases. Recent information gathered by TrueCar.com places the average transaction price for a new car in April 2012 at $30,303, up 4.2 percent from April 2011. Higher vehicle value and improved technology has made modern cars increasingly expensive to repair, resulting in greater losses for coverage providers when they have to pay out on individual claims. According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), the average cost of property damage, collision, and comprehensive claims went up 17 percent, 10 percent, and 28 percent, respectively, between 2000 and 2010.
Another trend that has impacted the price of vehicle coverage is the rising cost of health care. Automobile accidents often lead to bodily injuries, which are commonly covered by insurers. Unfortunately, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services have found that national health expenditures reached over $2.5 trillion in 2010, nearly twice as high as the $1.3 trillion in expenditures in 2000. Of these expenditures, hospital care accounts for over $800 million. And according to the III, bodily injury claims rose a whopping 43 percent between 2000 and 2010.
The cause of skyrocketing health care costs and the resulting car insurance premium inflations remains a heavily debated subject. Some institutions, including the Kaiser Family Foundation, accredit these price increases to a combination of technology, prescription drug, and administrative costs which have all steadily increased in recent years. If emergency medical procedures and medication costs increase, it means that policy providers may lose revenue, and motorists are charged more to compensate for this economic loss.
Personal Economic Troubles Can Mean More Expensive Coverage
Apart from changes within the insurance industry, lifestyle changes for individual motorists can also lead to higher premiums in an economic slump. When times are tough, many people are forced to turn to credit cards to cover their expenses. When drivers begin to borrow excessively, their credit scores begin to drop. In states where credit scoring is a common rating practice, a poor financial history could easily translate into a higher priced policy.
To counter the rising price of coverage, one of the best actions that a motorist can take is to shop around to find one of the top insurance companies that are willing to provide adequately priced protection. Although there isn’t much that a motorist can do to impact industrywide changes, drivers are still capable of exploring all of their options to find cheaper alternatives.
Source: http://www.onlineautoinsurance.com/companies/ratings/







As people drive down the road of life, they need auto insurance to cover their assets. But over time a person’s priorities change, and often the same policy won’t always offer the best protection. Consumers should review their policies on an annual basis, but, at the very least, there are three distinct moments when coverage needs drastically change, and drivers need to stop and shop for a new plan.
Motorists around the world are in the middle of a technological renaissance focused on keeping drivers safe while they cruise the open road. But safer cars with futuristic features means more than fewer accidents and injuries behind the wheel: It can also translate into cheaper car insurance. Producers rate applicants based on their accident risk, so if people are less likely to file a claim because of highly regulated safety features, policy prices might be lower.
Almost every state requires motorists to be insured before driving, but each state has a unique range of prices for vehicle coverage. Insurance costs are dependent on many different things, like population density, crime rate, uninsured motorist percentage, required coverages, and many other facts that are unique for every location. As a result, there are some areas in the U.S. that are more affordable than others.
People strive for gender equality in most facets of life, but in the auto insurance world, it’s a commonly known fact that men usually end up paying more. Data provided by California regulators, for example, shows men could expect to pay an average of about 13 percent more for the same coverage. Gender-based pricing differences are based on extensive statistical information that shows male drivers file more claims than female drivers. Although crash data usually comes out in a woman’s favor, gender can’t always be used to set rates.
Auto insurance companies base premiums on a policyholder’s accident risk, and not every motorist can maintain a perfect driving record. But people who have been in multiple accidents or have been convicted of several moving violations still need auto coverage to legally drive in almost every state. Unfortunately, having a higher accident potential also translates into steeper rates. As a result, getting affordable coverage as a nonstandard driver requires a fair amount of research, and possibly the assistance of state programs.
People often look for ways to lower their auto insurance costs, which are a necessary expense for many. Despite what some drivers may think, buying the minimum amount of protection that is required or driving without any coverage at all are not the best ways to cut costs. Being uninsured or underinsured could lead to heavy financial loss after an accident. Instead, vehicle owners should try some of these helpful and effective ways to save money.
Coverage providers take a wide range of personal details into account when rating drivers, and as a result, the price of automobile insurance is different for almost every vehicle owner. To get a quote from a coverage provider, drivers will have to relay a bit of personal data so that the insurer can interpret their likelihood of filing a claim and adjust rates accordingly.
Motorists who are 25 years and younger are generally considered high-risk drivers by insurance companies, and for good reason. Teenagers have continually demonstrated the greatest level of high-risk driving behavior of any age group. In 2009, over 350,000 teens were treated in emergency departments for car-accident-related injuries, and automobile crashes continue to be the leading cause of death in the U.S. for teenagers.
California is one of the most densely populated states in the nation, and is home to nearly 24 million licensed drivers. Throughout the state, and especially in busy cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego, automobile accidents are an unfortunately common occurrence. There are between 450,000 and 500,000 traffic accidents reported annually in California.
Years of hard work and saving have finally made it possible to buy that brand new car. But before driving off in that shiny new sedan or SUV, there is one hidden cost that people should consider: the price of auto insurance. Almost every single motorist needs to be insured to legally drive, and the price of certain types of coverage are largely based on a person’s automobile.
Almost every motorist can get the same coverage from a dozen companies at a dozen different prices. Cheap coverage is widely available, but just a few simple mistakes result in countless vehicle owners paying too much for their car insurance. Here are a few of those mistakes:
The price of automobile insurance in Michigan differs significantly between insurers because different companies have different underwriting and rating guidelines. All vehicle owners in the Great Lakes State need to be adequately insured to legally drive, but most residents have the advantage of being able to shop around for the cheapest prices available. Under MI law, all insurers within the state must accept applicants at regular rates unless they fail to meet specific requirements, but unique pricing methods still make some companies cheaper than others.
Car insurance is a legal requirement for almost every vehicle owner because it ensures that drivers will be able to pay for damages they cause to another person or their property. Being uninsured could amount to serious financial loss after an accident, and could lead to a wide range of fines and other penalties. To ensure that motorists are adequately protected, most states require vehicle owners to carry proof that sufficient coverage has been purchased.
When people shop for vehicle coverage, they shouldn’t overlook the potential savings that can come from maximizing insurance discounts. Policy providers often look for ways to stay relevant in a competitive market, and one of the more common ways to do this involves advertising unique ways that policyholders can cut costs. Motorists can usually get reduced premiums for a number of reasons, so to get the best combination of special offers, drivers should shop around online and thoroughly explore all of their options.
