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Consumers have enjoyed lower auto insurance rates for a
few years, but now they're heading back up.

Rates in Missouri and Illinois increased 3.8 percent from
April through June, according to Insurance.com, an online
auto insurance agency.

A Missouri car owner who was paying $1,569 a year now
pays $1,629. An Illinois owner who was paying $1,512 now
pays $1,570.

Missouri and Illinois were among the 10 states with the largest
percentage increase in premiums, the study says.


Nationwide, this was the second consecutive quarter for rate
increases, reversing a trend of steady or falling auto rates.

Eric Gerst, a lawyer, insurance industry critic and author of the
book Vulture Culture expects insurance rates to go up as gas
prices continue to rise.

He writes that the companies have fixed costs to pay (just like us).
So when some consumers can't afford to renew their policies,
insurers keep profits up by:

— Increasing rates to existing customers.

— Decreasing benefits.

— Increasing deductibles. [read more]

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BENEFITS OF GEORGIA SENATE BILL 276

On Monday, a House subcommittee and later a committee agreed to tack an amendment onto a fairly innocuous Senate bill an amendment onto a fairly innocuous Senate bill. The amendment would let insurers raise rates on all but the minimum required coverage without having to first get approval from State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine.

On Thursday, the House passed the amended bill 141-3 with little discussion. The sponsor told his colleagues what the original bill did, but didn't explain fully the changes and didn't answer questions. Less than two hours later, the measure won final passage in the Senate 43-10 while insurance lobbyists stood outside, shaking hands.

The bill now heads to Gov. Sonny Perdue for his signature.[...]

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AUTO INSURANCE CHECKLIST

We wanted to find out from an insider exactly what goes into those prices and what we can do to keep our car insurance costs down. We talked to Patrick Lawson, a 25-year veteran auto insurance agent.

Have you ever wondered how they come up with these numbers? Lawson mentioned the common factors like age, sex, car type and driving record but also noted a new, little known factor. "Companies are now, of all things, checking credit because people with poor credit, statistically, can be susceptible to more claims," he said. [...]

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IS GEICO INSURANCE REALLY NUMBER ONE?

Auto insurance rates at State Farm have dropped four consecutive years and while Tennessee's has decreased as well, it's near the bottom in terms of savings.

Tennessee's State Farm auto insurance rates declined 7.1 percent from Jan. 1, 2004 to Dec. 31, 2007, the 45th best among U.S. states and territories. [...]

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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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FLORIDIANS FYI ON AUTO INSURANCE
Floridians may have to pay higher auto premiums -- and health premiums -- if a state law mandating no-fault auto insurance is allowed to expire next month.
Insurers say switching to a tort system, in which the driver at fault in an accident pays, can only benefit consumers because there will be fewer fraudulent claims, lowering costs. But consumers and health care providers are concerned that the savings won't necessarily be passed along to policyholders. [...]