Paul’s Insurance Corner
Helping partners and clients stay informed on property and casualty insurance.
In Brief: Quick Updates
We are seeing rate cuts from some of the insurance companies to win new business. Great news, particularly for personal lines customers.
Insurance losses from natural catastrophes are heading towards $135 billion USD worldwide.
Consolidation in the industry continues with AJ Gallagher buying Assured Partners for $13.5 billion.
Commercial Insurance
What to know this month
Commercial Auto Insurance: Premiums have skyrocketed over the past 6 years. Why? No, insurance companies are not profiting more from higher premiums. Many say, a lack of experienced drivers, higher cost of labor and parts are to blame. Insurance companies are also seeing a record number of jury awards to plaintiffs for bodily injury cases.
Don’t expect any rate relief here anytime soon.
Do NOT lower coverage, in fact, given the massive payouts for jury verdicts it might be a good time to INCREASE coverage. You do not want to be left with thousands OR millions to pay in damages.
Increase deductibles. I would say a lot of businesses out there could handle $10k collision deductible. Talk to your agent and discuss what makes sense.
The best thing to do: Vet your drivers before hiring. If you have an employee with a poor driving record, exclude them from the commercial auto policy and do not let them drive. Ever. At least until they have consecutive 2 years of clean driving on their personal auto.
Personal Insurance
Homeowners insurance rates holding steady. Stricter underwriting guidelines continue for many companies. Clients may have a more challenging time finding good coverage due to their credit score, roof condition and time since last updates of major mechanicals.
Real Estate Agents Consider:
Leverage older mechanicals as a reason to bring the price of a home down. Not only for the cost of updating mechanicals, but also the higher cost of homeowner insurance due to older mechanicals. This could cost an insured $100’s extra per year.