Auto insurance refunds U.S. auto insurers will return over $10 billion to their customers nationwide, according to an Insurance Information Institute estimate, in response to reduced driving during the pandemic. We’ve listed many of the companies that are offering refunds here and here. These lists are not exhaustive, so be sure to […]

Since people are driving less in the midst of COVID-19 related stay-at-home orders, many auto insurers have responded with premium refunds totaling about $10 billion. How are consumers reacting to these refunds? A May 5 webinar co-hosted by Cambridge Mobile Telematics’ (CMT) VP of Insurance & Government Affairs, Ryan McMahon, […]

How will the COVID-19 pandemic affect auto insurers in the longer term? No one knows for sure, of course, but a new McKinsey study provides a framework for considering the question. Fewer people are driving due to business closures and work-from-home practices. This could lead to fewer accidents and claims […]

Car insurance premiums have risen steadily since 2009 at a faster pace than inflation, according to a recent paper in the Journal of Insurance Regulation. Transportation is essential to opportunity in the United States. Cost of driving, therefore, isn’t a trivial issue. When you hear a stat like that, what’s […]

Sometimes the blog posts just write themselves. ABC News in North Carolina reports that a driver in the state looked up and saw a bird carrying a huge fish. “It was one of those slow-motion moments in life. I saw the fish and I saw him drop it,” said Rhesa Walston of […]

Never heard of “social inflation”? It’s a fancy term to describe rising litigation costs and their impact on insurers’ claim payouts, loss ratios, and, ultimately, how much policyholders pay for coverage. The number of auto glass AOB lawsuits statewide in 2013 was over 3,800; by 2017, that number had grown […]

“We went out again. We got maybe six steps before lights blared in our faces. It had crept up, big wheels barely turning on the gravel. It had been lying in wait and now it leaped at us, electric headlamps glowing in savage circles, the huge chrome grill seeming to […]

By Dr. Steven Weisbart, Chief Economist, Insurance Information Institute  Thursday’s announcement of escalating tariffs on Mexico could further squeeze auto insurers by making replacement parts more expensive. In an action to deter the flow of asylum-seekers on the southern border, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. would impose escalating tariffs […]

By Dr. Steven Weisbart, Chief Economist, Insurance Information Institute  There is remarkable good news on the auto insurance front— auto insurance prices have been trending downward since February 2018, and are now below the general inflation rate, but no one seems to have noticed. The vast majority of consumers in […]

By James Lynch, Chief Actuary, Insurance Information Institute With automobile rating factors in the news, here at Insurance Information Institute we have been fielding a number of calls on the topic. Here is some background information. I testified May 1 before Congress, and rating factors were among the issues I […]