Auto Insurance
Insurance Cost To Homeowner Climbs Sharply
Across the country, the cost of insuring a home is climbing sharply and is expected to continue doing so for several years. Prices are rising at more than twice the 3 percent average of recent years, and by more than 10 percent in many states.
Allstate, the second-largest home insurer, has been leading the way, with increases of 10 percent to 25 percent in several states. State Farm, the largest home insurer, has been more reluctant to raise prices, lifting premiums 6 percent to 10 percent in a handful of states. Safeco, the eighth largest, says it expects increases to average more than 25 percent for its 1.5 million customers this year.
Though other companies are more circumspect than Safeco about overall insurance rates, analysts say higher prices are almost certain to spread. ‘’These are shock increases,'’ said J. Robert Hunter, the director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America.
Insurance companies, which set their own rates, state by state, and zone by zone within each state, are responding to profit pressures. The companies are earning less on their investments and on certain types of personal policies while reeling from a surge in weather-related claims in the last few years. In addition to raising rates, some companies are also forcing homeowners to pay more out of pocket after they file claims.
Rising home values compound the situation for some people, since higher rates come as the values of their policies increase. And the average increases often mask outright price surges for those living in areas singled out by insurers.
More : query.nytimes.com
Leave a comment
Comments Already Given »
No comments yet.
Related Articles from Auto Insurance
Floridian homeowners threaten to hit back at insurers.
Jack Fenwick wants to send a message to insurance companies that drop homeowner policies or jack up their rates. "If they do that," he said, "we'll just take our car insurance business somewhere else. "It's not about loyalty anymore." Fenwick is one of a growing number of Florida homeowners -- no one is exactly sure how many -- who were dropped by their property insurance company and decided that two can play that game. On its Web site, the Pasco County-based insurance activist group Homeowners Against Citizens, or HAC, calls for a boycott of at least seven insurance companies, including
Prices for Auto and Home Insurance Are Increasing Sharply
Prices for auto and home insurance have been rising sharply around the country in the last few months as insurers struggle to keep pace with increasing costs, insurance executives and analysts said yesterday. The two biggest auto and home insurers, State Farm and Allstate, have taken the lead in the price increases, and many smaller companies are following, analysts said. ''Both auto and homeowners insurance have lost tremendous amounts of money over the last few years,'' said Robert P. Hartwig, the chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group. Ronald D. McNeil, a senior vice president for Allstate,
Quarterly Profits Up Sharply for Buffalo, N.Y.-Based Insurance Firm.
Merchants Group's fourth-quarter profits soared as rising investment gains and shrinking loss expenses more than offset a drop in premiums, the Buffalo-based insurance company said Tuesday. Despite a 10 percent drop in premiums and a 16 percent dip in income from its investments, Merchants' profits... Source : accessmylibrary.com
Cost of Auto Insurance Increases in California
Three days after Californians voted for a sweeping rollback in insurance rates, insurance agents and state officials say people are paying higher premiums for automobile coverage than before, at least for the time being. Three days after Californians voted for a sweeping rollback in insurance rates, insurance agents and state officials say people are paying higher premiums for automobile coverage than before, at least for the time being. The reason is that some insurance companies have stopped writing automobile policies in California, sharply reducing competition in the confusing aftermath of the vote for the ballot measure. On Thursday the State
Car Insurance Rules for Accident Claims Will Become Stricter on Sept. 1
Stricter no-fault auto insurance regulations that the Pataki administration says are needed to fight fraud are to go into effect in New York State on Sept. 1. They will sharply reduce the time limit for accident victims to notify insurance companies and for doctors to seek payment for treatment. An attempt to put the tighter deadlines into effect last year was blocked by the courts in a lawsuit by legal, medical and consumer groups. They had argued that the shorter periods would penalize honest victims and medical providers and fail to deter fraud. Several of the groups said yesterday that