So this was written by a college pal who's been in insurance for 30 years, and has done just about every job there is during that time. He wrote this piece a few months ago, it went kind of viral (you may already have read it). The information he passes on is essential.

"I hope that you find the below information useful, and I hope that it helps explain what is happening in the insurance world today. It won’t matter what carrier you are with, this is an industry issue.

The insurance marketplace is tightening up and it's happening fast. It’s happening especially fast for home and auto insurance companies. Carriers are pulling a full hard stop on issuing any new policies across the country, and carriers that have NOT put a moratorium on binding new coverage, are actually just leaving the market or they are selling to other carriers/merging. They simply can't operate profitably in this inflationary market. *EVERY DAY* we are hearing about a pause on new business, or a carrier putting a full stop on writing new policies. Some carriers are requiring *full premium payment* up front for new business or requiring a 20 to 30 day hold on new applications. Carriers may shift underwriting guidelines, so they *only* want preferred business… no claims within 5 years (not 3 anymore), home and auto bundles, etc. Some carriers will NOT reinstate coverage if it lapses, no matter the reason.

The market is disrupted and it WILL affect you. If it hasn’t yet, it will. I have personally seen premiums double and triple what they were the year before.
The cost of claims has risen exponentially in the past 2 years, thus resulting in the carriers having to raise premiums or pull out of some markets. In some states, carriers have applied for rate increases, but have not been able to get them approved, so they simply shut down for new business.

If you have an auto or home insurance policy, your rates have gone up-- and if they haven’t, they will. This isn't personal, it’s not based on a claim you may or may have not had, it’s simply the cost of doing business. If you have *not* gotten a rate increase, be prepared for one at your next renewal, if you get renewal terms at all.
The cost to rebuild your home is up dramatically due to the rising cost of materials and labor. Supply chain for materials continues to be an issue. We can all agree that everything has gone up in price. Carriers simply can’t survive paying these higher prices without charging more themselves.
The cost to repair your car is up dramatically due to the rising cost of auto parts and labor to fix your car. In addition, parts in vehicles now include some technology features. Replacing a side mirror or windshield used to be $500 - now it’s more than triple that.
The cost of medical care continues to skyrocket. Bodily injury on auto accidents is off the charts.
Litigation is expensive and settlements are rising at an unprecedented rate.
Both the frequency and severity of auto accidents are WAY up post COVID along with the rising frequency of auto fatalities.
ReInsurance (the insurance your insurance carrier buys to help cushion catastrophic loss) is at or approaching capacity in many markets, and rising rates are unsustainable.

This is a significant issue affecting the property & casualty industry, and pricing correction is anticipated at least through 2024. It won’t be for forever, but it is here now.
There are some things you can do to help get through this current insurance market:
Consider Higher Deductibles. This will help save some money on your policy.
Safe Driving Telematic Programs. Telematics can reward you by giving you a discount for good driving.
Discount Reviews - make sure you're getting everything you're entitled to. Every carrier has different discount opportunities. Make sure you go over those with your agent.
DO NOT let your policy cancel or lapse *for any reason*. Carriers are not reinstating coverage as easily as they once did. If it does cancel, they may require premium in full before reinstating. This is across the board for every line of coverage.
Bundle your Auto and Home for more discounts and more stable pricing. Bundled/Packaged policies most always include better coverage and benefits and the cost savings is usually 10-15% (or more) on each policy. Many business risks can also bundle options.
Consider tenure - jumping companies too often will hurt you in the long run. In addition, some carriers won’t take you as a new client if you have less than two years with a carrier. And more importantly, carriers are getting off of some risks if a claim happens in the new business term or for the number of claims in a 3-5 year window. Tenure matters with a carrier.
Follow the laws so you don’t get any tickets. Those tickets really add rate to your policy and stay on your record 3-5 years, depending on the carrier.
Absorb small claims when you're able, and save coverage for catastrophic losses. Talk with your agent and let them claims counsel you should a loss happen. Stop using your towing or roadside assistance as a maintenance policy. Frequency of claims REALLY matters. A lot.

Lastly, please remember that we are agents for the carriers. We don’t make the rules, we don’t have control over the rates and we don’t make the decision if your policy is cancelled by the carriers. We are here to help educate, make sure you have the best insurance for your situation, manage your account with the carrier, and claims counsel when needed. We are doing our best to manage carrier changes with client needs.
I hope this message explains a little bit of what is going on in the insurance marketplace. Please be nice to your insurance agent - they are also taking the same increases, navigating carrier changes and doing their best to help you through this."

 

Insurance for my XES went from about $1k/yr last year to $3k this year (AUD). I moved to a different company, but they're likely to bump it next renewal.

My business motor vehicle policy covering 11 vehicles went from $10k to $22k, we had to remove some of the older vehicles from the policy and self insure them.

Pretty wild at the moment, not much you can do 🤷

 

So they can’t build another shiny new office complex with all the excess cash they’ve been sitting on. Jeez I feel sorry for them.

 

and in the 80's my business ins doubled one year...the reason, the stock market tanked which left the ins industry with less profit from their investments.
wj

 

[QUOTE=kj07xk;2717685] So they can’t build another shiny new office complex with all the excess cash they’ve been sitting on. Jeez I feel sorry for them.[/Quote


…they also seem to have enormous advertising budgets.

 

Liberty Mutual are flooding the air-waves with that stupid Emu campaign.

 

Consumer Reports published recently the results of a customer satisfaction survey for car insurance companies and the ones that advertise on tv are mostly near the bottom.

 

and State Farm seems to be single-handedly funding the Kansas City Chiefs.

 

In NY I’ve used Erie for business and Travlers for home, campers and XKR, they have both been good to work with.

 

The higher the prime rate of interest, the better off the insurance companies are. So profits are getting better for them, in that area.

 

See this article for an interesting analysis of the outlook for Property and Casualty insurance premiums in 2024:

https://www.swissre.com/institute/re...mber-2023.html

2023 was a bad year for insurance companies, notwithstanding higher interest rates on investments. Losses resulted from catastrophic natural disasters, persistent inflation, and reduced insurance reserves. Premium increases are no surprise.

 

Did you not find Erie to be much better (i.e. less expensive and more overage) than Travelers? We had Travelers for home/auto/umbrella and switched to Erie as they offer better coverage on our home, and car rates were significantly lower.

 

Just talked to my State Farm agent. Insurance for all my cars will go up roughly 20% this year. No new policies so if I buy another car, insurance w/ someone else. Looking at Hagerty for the 06 XK8 that I drove less than 1k last year. Hagerty for the 07 XKR will be interesting because I actually drive it. Keeping it under 5k miles/yr might be a challenge. Planned Seattle trip this year is 2k miles round trip.

 

So some current reviews on Hagerty aren't very good. Well regarded for many years. Merged in 2021 w/ Adel Financial so maybe that changed things. Anyone has experience settling a recent claim w/ them? Anyone look at the other classic car insurance companies? Experience? They are American Collectors, American Modern (have experience w/ them, settled our cabin claim quickly and agent was helpful), Leland-West, Chubb and Condon Skully

 

I didn't think Hagerty had a mileage limit. I have XKR and others on Grundy and they've been fine. They've paid out a small claim and a larger claim no issues. I did have an issue with a car added right before a renewal letter so the renewal was wrong and next letter I got was cancelled policy, that was annoying. But otherwise they've been just fine.

 

I use American Modern…agreed value was generous…no claims in the 3 years I’ve used them but all renewals and communication have been accurate and efficient. I’m limited to 6k miles per year, plenty for me.

 

Waiting on a quote from American Modern. Got to talk to an actual person which is huge plus. There's insurance broker locally.
American Collectors - Older than 2000
Chubb - hobby only, must be garaged
Leland-West is Hagerty
I was told there's also Travelors (sp?) which is declared value
Also told State Farm has a Classic Car line but not in CA

 

No personal experience, but I know someone who lost a car he had over $500K agreed value and Hagerty paid. Also DDE use Hagerty for all of their cars.

 

I’ve had Hagerty for 4 years now. No claims to date but communication and renewal have been clear and hassle-free. Cost includes a Hagerty car club membership (whether you want it or not) which gives some product discounts and a slick, large format magazine.
Agreed value with no specified mileage limit although the clear intent is Sunday driver/ show car ( I think I gave an estimated yearly milage of 3k miles when getting the initial policy and seeing about that in practice). You do need a primary car and keep the insured car in a locked garage.
Works well for my purposes.

 

I would like to get a quote from Hagerty.
Do you have a n Agent, or just go online?

John