Claims for bodily injuries climbed 6.6 percent in the third quarter, said PCI, which does not have fourth-quarter data. That was driven by more expensive hospital visits, which rose 6.7 percent in 2007, according to the Department of Labor.
Automobile owners, take note: You may soon pay more to insure your car, truck or SUV.State Farm and Progressive are leading the push by auto insurers to raise premiums in at least 20 states as the $160 billion industry moves to end two years of price reductions.
So far, the price increases don’t appear to have touched drivers in Kansas and Missouri.
Insurers say they need higher prices to counter climbing repair and medical costs. Allstate, ranked second by premiums, said collision bills rose 2.2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier and payouts for injuries gained 9.3 percent. Safeco Corp., which gets almost half its total premiums from drivers, reported a $19 million loss on auto underwriting.
Rising prices for new vehicles and expenses for labor and replacement parts contributed to a 45 percent increase in car repair costs during the past decade, according to information compiled by the Highway Loss Data Institute in Arlington, Va.
Collision costs rose 2.4 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, according to data compiled by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America. The cost of auto-body work was up 3.3 percent in 2007, the U.S. Department of Labor reported. [...]
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