There are many reasons for the increases we are all experiencing but the main two are inflation and the increase in severity of weather events. Here are two maps that show a history of weather events to compare. Please continue reading below for additional details about how these affect your premium.
Auto: If you get your auto renewal and it goes up, it’s because your used car has significantly increased in value over last year. It’s hard to get parts and they are valued higher than I’ve ever seen so please keep that in mind. It is important to have higher than state minimum liability coverage. Reasons why?! If you crash into an 80k Tahoe or have a vehicle that is now worth 30k, you are underinsured. I’m also suggesting customers increase the rental reimbursement to $50+ a day. If you can find a car to rent, they are running around $70 a day. Keep in mind it’s taking longer to fix cars due to no parts and if you are out of pocket for a rental $20+ a day because you only had $30 a day in coverage… that adds up fast!
Home or Commercial Property: Due to inflation, cost of labor and materials costs have skyrocketed more than I’ve ever seen. The cost to completely replace your current home has increase the coverage to cover it but premium will go up. This happening with every company no matter who you are insured with.
Business: All the above applies, but in different ways. For General Liability as an example, if you cause damage to someone’s property the home information above applies to property damage. If a person is injured, we are seeing similar increases in the cost of medical treatment and as a result the total cost of all claims are going up. This applies to work comp claims as well.
This will eventually come to an end and the market will improve. From what our underwriters are telling us we expect it to improve at the end of 2024.
We are here to help. Please give us a call if your current agent can’t help or you want a second opinion. 817-809-4522
