Hi, this is Heidi Kussurelis with the Heidi Kussurelis Insurance Agency, and I’ve been hearing the same question over and over. What is driving up my insurance rates? Well, marketplace conditions are affecting all auto insurance carriers with increased cost across the nation. The main thing is the rising claim costs. We are still having a lot of distracted driving, especially since the pandemic is “kind of over.” People are back driving a lot and they are texting, fixing their music and working on their GPS which is just causing claims. But we also have inflation as a factor. It’s costing more for products and services and there is supply chain constraints. I know that many of you have heard on the news about microchips not being available. The auto manufacturing industry continues to have supply shortages and also labor shortages and that’s impacting our local businesses as well.
And without enough workers it’s just taking longer to get cars fixed. I’m even having issues with customers being able to get into body shops to get their cars seen, which means that they’re in their rental cars a lot longer and contributing to the rising cost of claims. There’s an increase in new and used cars. New cars are up over 10%. Used cars are almost 8% increase in costs and we’ve had 15 major weather disasters with losses exceeding a billion dollars each in the U.S. this year. So all of those things are contributing to the claims and the rising costs.
So let’s control what we can. Let’s not get in an accident. Try to put down that phone. Get yourself all set up before you move into drive. Also know that the Heidi Kussurelis Agency has a team of people here waiting to help you. If you have questions about your insurance, you have questions about your rates, call us. We are a great service to you. We can take a look at your policies. We’ll make sure you’re taking advantage of all eligible discounts. We might be able to make some suggestions to help reduce costs and we also have the ability to look at other carriers for you. We are independent and have many different options available. So, safe driving and have a happy holiday. See you later.
Call Heidi KussurelisInsurance in Ann Arbor MI at (734) 213-6736
