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For the last three years I’ve spent spring break week enjoying a road trip with my family. This vacation always seems to happen right before my auto insurance renewal generates. This year was no different and like many of you I grumbled when I saw my premium. After all, I’ve had no accidents, tickets, or claims of any kind. Sigh.
For over 5 years Colorado has been experiencing increases on home insurance. Given our catastrophic hail losses and wildfires, most people understand these increases. However, we are just starting to see the beginning of industry-wide auto insurance rate increases. This is a national concern, but has significantly impacted Colorado for a number of reasons. I’d like to thank Safeco Insurance for sharing some of these reasons with their sales force.
MORE MILES: One reason is that we are driving more miles. Turns out I wasn’t alone on my spring break road trip. Encouraged by lower gas prices and higher employment rates, U.S. drivers drove 3.1 trillion miles in 2015 according to the Federal Highway Administration. That’s a record.
MORE NEW CARS: New car sales hit a record in 2015, just under 17.5 million vehicles sold, up 5.7 percent from 2014. The safety, technology, and convenience features are great – however the cost to repair or replace them isn’t cheap.
MEDICAL COSTS RISING: Along with the increase in severity and frequency of accidents, we are also seeing an increase in medical costs. From 2005 to 2013, the average cost for a bodily injury claim rose 32.1 percent, according to the Insurance Research Council.
MORE DISTRACTED DRIVING: I know this one doesn’t come as a surprise, but the number of distracted drivers on the road is on the rise. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how many accidents are caused by distracted driving because accident reports don’t always cite if a cell phone or other distraction was a contributing factor. I’m sure that most of you can personally attest to witnessing all of the distracted drivers out there.
As I enjoyed my road trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park, I made an effort to be a focused driver. Between my two children (occasionally bickering in the back seat), my cell phone (alerting me for every email and text), my GPS, and the DVD player entertaining the children — let’s face it — there are plenty of distractions.
OUR RESPONSE: We take customer service seriously and many of our clients have told us that this is what sets us apart. We’ve implemented a new system that allows us to better monitor all client renewals. We are double checking and looking for any new discounts that might apply and we are taking advantage of our companies that offer usage based insurance programs. Our goal is always to find the right coverages at a competitive price.
