Insurance CommissionerSo in CA you can't blame the governor?
Insurance CommissionerSo in CA you can't blame the governor?
Yes, the new normal maybe.What is going on here! I've been with Esurance for years, before that I was with Progressive, before that Geico. I'd switch whenever the rates were better. Got lazy so stuck with Esurance as the price always seemed OK. About $100/mo for what I consider to be good coverage. High limits, $500 deductive on comprehensive/collision, etc.
Recently I heard some insurance companies are no longer accepting customers in CA but didn't think much of it - though that was more in refence to home insurance or fire insurance or something.
Well, my boyfriend happened to share with me he pays $250/mo for insurance. I was like WHAT!!!! That seemed crazy to me. I looked at it and it's not minimum but not great coverage limits. Way less than mine. I have mine set high as modern vehicle prices, prices of everything, are high. On a Nissan Kicks. Annual mileage of maybe 12K-15K tops. One incident in the past five years where his parked vehicle was hit. So we tried to shop around. First I used the Jerry app to compare prices as it's convenient. 19/20 insurance providers declined coverage due to "not accepting customers in California at this time" while ONE that I'd never heard of offered coverage at $109/mo. But that was for minimum liability only. Increasing the coverage to something reasonable and added comprehensive/collision and they declined covereage as well.
Then we tried directly on Geico website. They quoted $200/mo and said something about a 15 business day underwriting review. Sounded to me like a kind way to say "no" without specifically saying no.
Esurance didn't even let us submit a quote upon entering zip code and referred to some third party thing I'd never heard of either.
My question is, is this the new norm? How is anyone getting reasonably priced insurance? What to do!? Like, what does someone do if they need insurance now?
Ah. In FL some of the press was blaming the guy.Insurance Commissioner
I cringe a bit saying this, but I have to wonder how much of this is due to any sort of for profit insurance?Either way it ends up in incredibly high prices or insurers backing out. Have you looked at the market for homeowners insurance in FL lately? I thought FL had the regs "dialed back"? There will be no insurance for high risk coastal areas soon enough. They can't charge enough to make it work.
My auto insurance will be going up 26% and similar increases are happening in many states. The problem is systemic and goes way beyond the policies of one state and probably even the US itself. Of course some policies are unhelpful and why it shows up first there, but CA is the canary in the coal mine.
For comparison purposes:
My ANNUAL auto insurance policy here in Maryland, underwritten by Erie Insurance stayed about the same. Possibly even exactly the same. If Erie operates in your state, you should seriously consider them.
I cringe a bit saying this, but I have to wonder how much of this is due to any sort of for profit insurance?
Don’t disagree. But I’m not protective of the insurance companies. They’ll pick my pocket as much as the scumbag trying to defraud them, or the idiot who isn’t paying attention while driving.I bet it has more to do with how crappy the average person in the US is today. It seems so many people are clueless, so many are playing on their phones while driving and no one seems to care. It looks like the insurance companies have made you care.
There's also a huge number of people always looking to shaft a company, lie, etc., to a "big company" because they think it hurts no one.
IOW, look at the character of the US today, the ethics and behavior....do you really question why these companies that sell policies that have to pay money out when "mistakes" happen are ramping up their revenue??
BTW, I am NOT a fan of insurance companies. But I know I have to have it in some cases and I am very protective of them when it comes to scumbags trying to deceive them, which affects my rates.
But the decisions of others to buy them means that somewhere in the calculation of YOUR rates is an assumption of some probability that you’ll cause a loss of such a valuable vehicle. And thus it’s built into the price however small a fraction of overall pricing. The insurer has a level of loss they’re anticipating. Those $100k vehicles are part of the pool of losses.Not the unrepairable 100k cars driven by other people in other cities.... Maybe write a letter to your elected representatives if you feel you are paying to insure other peoples vehicles...
True in places without no fault insurance like California. In Ontario and lots of other "no fault" states your insurance does cover you and your car, so hopefully I'm no paying too much for my neighbors expensive cars! We also have a separate line for liability insurance for covering property damage and injuries caused by your car.But the decisions of others to buy them means that somewhere in the calculation of YOUR rates is an assumption of some probability that you’ll cause a loss of such a valuable vehicle. And thus it’s built into the price however small a fraction of overall pricing. The insurer has a level of loss they’re anticipating. Those $100k vehicles are part of the pool of losses.
There are plenty of middle class and rich drivers operating a motor vehicle and being distracted on their phone........I see it ALL THE TIME!I cringe a bit saying this, but I have to wonder how much of this is due to any sort of for profit insurance?
Like other industries (medical for example) ripping off the public, how much goes to CEOs and administration, and bonuses, versus doing the right thing? 20%? 50%?
I find it dubious that most of these insurers really set their rates at 95%+ of their policy intakes, and restrict profitability. And I get it, why should they, they’re a business and often have shareholders or some other mutual arrangement.
Couple that with profitability on repairs performed, ever increasing costs to perform repairs, ever increasing costs on fancier and more complex vehicles, and it’s tough to limit cost growth. Who isn’t going to get theirs?
And then irresponsible uninsured and poorly driving people… increasing risk that they don’t pay for.
Horrible situation. And the attempt to pull costs out of auto repair - direct referral, third world substandard parts, etc. are all sub-optimal.
Hopefully when EVS are mandated they will also be fully autonomous and accident rates will be a very small percentage of what they are now.If you think insurance is expensive now, just wait until half the cars on the road are expensive, government mandated "limited-repairable" EVs where most every fender bender results in at least one or more total losses.
Or driving without insurance. Though I never have done that, and have no plans of ever doing it, automobile insurance policies discuss uninsured motorists, and there are plenty of them out there driving without insurance and without inspection or maintenance or a driver's license.The state sets the rates and the state limits the ability for insurance companies to raise rates = insurance companies not issuing or renewing policies because they are losing money = consumers can't get a car loan because they can't purchase insurance = consumers can't purchase a car.
This appears to me to be a "backdoor" way for CA (and other states) to limit the number of new cars sold. The nut cases want everyone living there either walking, riding bikes, or using mass transit.
Don't worry, there will be enough new perverse incentives baked into the cake by then to drive insurance rates even higher.Hopefully when EVS are mandated they will also be fully autonomous and accident rates will be a very small percentage of what they are now.
If you study the expense ratios of publicly traded insurers, you will find that most hover between 25-35%. Loss Ratios are running 50-70% nowadays and investment income is minimal.Like other industries (medical for example) ripping off the public, how much goes to CEOs and administration, and bonuses, versus doing the right thing? 20%? 50%?
Not sure if I follow.I find it dubious that most of these insurers really set their rates at 95%+ of their policy intakes, and restrict profitability. And I get it, why should they, they’re a business and often have shareholders or some other mutual arrangement.
Yes, claim severity has sharply increased in the last few years and in a number of states, rate changes have not increased fast enough to contemplate this issue. However, while it is true that PD claims have increased, keep in mind that they take a backseat to the liability payouts.Couple that with profitability on repairs performed, ever increasing costs to perform repairs, ever increasing costs on fancier and more complex vehicles, and it’s tough to limit cost growth. Who isn’t going to get theirs?
Always an issue, but hardly the main drivers.And then irresponsible uninsured and poorly driving people… increasing risk that they don’t pay for.
Horrible situation. And the attempt to pull costs out of auto repair - direct referral, third world substandard parts, etc. are all sub-optimal.
Retention will vary depending on the structure of one's book and every carrier has some form treaty reinsurance in place. Reinsurance costs have definitely risen but they are only part of the overall issue. Fundamentally, reinsurance is a risk management strategy for the carrier but it requires both parties to have "skin in the game."First, what we know as an insurance company is the retail end of the insurance business. The companies we know write individual policies. They then actually buy insurance themselves from re-insurance companies - who are more the wholesaler insurers. They want to make big investments in insurance bets - without the work of the retail end. So a lot of these re-insurers won't write policies in places that have big risks - so no policies in California due to wild fires and earthquakes, no policies in Florida due to hurricanes. It doesn't matter if your nowhere near a fault line or a hurricane area - re-insurers are simply getting out of these states completely for every kind of insurance - home, auto, etc. Some are getting away from any coast all together. This means the retail insurers can't afford to write policies there anymore.
IF you buy a $20,000 to $100,000+ car, motorcycle or boat in South Carolina the max sales tax is $500.It's california. Everything is expensive. Buy a car within the current average price? Pay $600 for registration.