Despite Improvements, Louisiana Is Still Least Affordable State for Auto Insurance
Max Dorfman, Research Writer, Triple-I Louisiana’s personal auto insurance affordability improved to 2.67 percent of median household income in 2022 – down from 2.93 percent in 2020 – but it retains the dubious distinction of being the least affordable state, Triple-I’s chief insurance officer told the Louisiana House Insurance Committee in recent testimony. Dale Porfilio – who also is president of the Insurance Research Council (IRC) – said that by nearly every metric the state’s insurance cost drivers are well above the national average: Accident frequency – Louisiana is 16 percent higher than the national average; Repair cost severity – Louisiana is 9 percent higher; Injury claim relative frequency –…
Georgia Is Among the Least Affordable States for Auto Insurance
By Max Dorfman, Research Writer, Triple-I Georgia’s personal auto insurance affordability has significantly worsened over the past decade and a half, making it one of the least affordable states, according to a new report by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) – a division of The Institutes, like Triple-I. The study, Personal Auto Insurance Affordability in Georgia, ranks the state 47th in terms of auto insurance affordability. Only four other states – Louisiana, Florida, Mississippi, and New York – are less affordable. In 2006, Georgia was the 27th most affordable state. Personal auto insurance expenditures in Georgia accounted for two percent of the median household income in 2022 (the latest year…
Report: No-Fault Reforms Improved Michigan’s Personal Auto Insurance Affordability
By Max Dorfman, Research Writer, Triple-I Michigan personal auto insurance affordability improved markedly after enacting substantial auto insurance reform in 2019, according to a new report by the Insurance Research Council (IRC) – like the Triple-I, a division of The Institutes The study, Personal Auto Insurance Affordability in Michigan, found that personal auto insurance expenditures accounted for 1.9 percent of the median household income in Michigan in 2022 (the last year the data is available), a decline of half-a-percent from the pre-reform peak. Michigan’s expenditure share remains higher than the percentage in the overall U.S. and forty-four other states. Other key findings from the report include: Before the reforms, Michigan…
NCIGF Moves Aheadto Support Insurers
By Max Dorfman, Research Writer, Triple-I For the last 35 years, the National Conference of Insurance Guaranty Funds (NCIGF) – an organization dedicated to serving 55 property/casualty state guaranty funds – has provided operational support; communications, education, and outreach; as well as public policy management for these organizations. State guaranty funds make up a privately funded, nonprofit state-based national system that pays covered claims up to a state’s legally allowable limits, protecting policyholders if their insurer becomes insolvent. There are 55 such funds because some states have more than one. “All states have a property/casualty guaranty association, and some have a workers compensation guaranty association,” NCIGF President and CEO Roger…
Triple-I Experts Speakon Climate Risk, Resilience
Hurricane Beryl’s rapid escalation from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane does not bode well for the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane season, which is already projected to be of above-average intensity, warns Triple-I non-resident scholar Dr. Philip Klotzbach. “This early-season storm activity is breaking records that were set in 1933 and 2005, two of the busiest Atlantic hurricane seasons on record,” Dr. Klotzbach, a research scientist in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University, recently told The New York Times. The quick escalation was a result of above-average sea surface temperatures. A hurricane that intensifies faster can be more dangerous as it leaves less time for people…
Insurance Underwritingand Economic Analysis: “Art and Science”
By Lewis Nibbelin, Guest Blogger for Triple-I Home and auto insurance premium rates have been a topic of considerable public discussion as rising replacement costs and other factors – from climate-related losses to fraud and legal system abuse – have driven rates up and, in some states, crimped availability and affordability of coverage. It’s important for policyholders and policymakers to understand the role of economic conditions and trends in setting rates. Jennifer Kyung, Property and Casualty Chief Underwriting Officer at USAA, opens a window into the complex world of underwriting and economics in a recent episode of Triple-I’s All Eyes on Economics podcast. Kyung told podcast host and Triple-I Chief…
Auto Insurers’ Performance Improves, But Don’t Expect Rates to Flatten Soon
Several metrics that influence auto insurance premium rates are starting to improve, but it will take time for these improvements to be reflected in flattening rates, according to a recent Triple-I Issues Brief. Direct premiums written and underwriting profitability improved dramatically in 2023. Additionally, 2023 net written premium growth of 14.3 percent is the highest in over 15 years. These are great gains, but it’s important to remember that they come on top of results in 2022 that were the worst in recent years. The number of drivers on the road and miles driven have returned to pre-pandemic levels – but the risky driving behaviors that led to high losses during the…
Personal Auto Line Propels Strong 1QP&C Insurance Results
Strong improvements in personal auto insurance results helped drive the U.S. property and casualty insurance industry to its second-highest net underwriting gain in any quarter since at least 2000, according to an S&P Global Market Intelligence analysis. Just 12 months from its worst-on-record start to a calendar year – with a combined ratio of 102.2 – the industry generated a ratio of approximately 94.0. Combined ratio is a measure of underwriting profitability in which a ratio under 100 indicates a profit and one above 100 represents a loss. While quarterly statutory data is insufficient to calculate combined ratios at the line-of-business level, S&P previously estimated that a direct incurred loss ratio…
Accurately WritingFlood Coverage Hinges on Diverse Data Sources
Flood risk is not only one of the most destructive perils facing property owners; it is among the most complicated forms of coverage for property/casualty insurers to underwrite. For decades, the private market wouldn’t cover flood risk, which is why the National Flood Insurance Program had to be established. But improved data collection and the availability of practically unlimited computing power have changed the equation for insurers, according to Anil Vasagiri, senior vice president for property solutions at Swiss Re. In a recent Executive Exchange with Triple-I CEO Sean Kevelighan, Vasagiri discussed the developments that have helped turn flood from a nearly untouchable peril to a burgeoning area of opportunity…
IRC: Insufficient Auto Insurance Coverage Is a National Problem
By Max Dorfman, Research Writer, Triple-I Nearly 16 percent (15.7) of U.S. drivers in 2022 had auto liability insurance limits that were too low to pay for damages or injuries they caused, according to new research from the Insurance Research Council (IRC), a division of The Institutes. The IRC report found that the underinsured motorist (UIM) rate increased from 12.6 percent in 2017, to a peak in 2020 at 16 percent, and remained elevated in 2021 and 2022. The 2022 rates, however, varied widely across the country, from 5.6 percent in the District of Columbia to 40.9 percent in Colorado. Other states with high UIM rates in 2022 included Nevada…
