Insurance Market Disruption Will Affect You

Nine Tips for Reducing Your Risk

Inflation is affecting everything, including insurance premiums and claims. Additional factors like higher interest rates, more lawsuits and severe weather events resulting in substantial claim losses, are all compounding the insurance market. The market is disrupted, and insurance companies are reflecting these higher costs in their pricing. This is occurring in every state and affecting all policyholders.

​Learn more about the "hard market" the insurance industry is experiencing and nine tips for reducing your risk. 

This situation is what we in the insurance world refer to as a “hard market.” The insurance marketplace is QUICKLY tightening up, especially for home and auto insurance companies, regardless of where you live (however California, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas are being hit particularly hard). Prices for everything has and continues to go up. Carriers simply can’t survive paying these higher prices without charging more themselves.
 
At Desmond Insurance, our mission has always been, and continues to be, to help educate you, to make sure you have the best insurance for your situation, to manage your account with the carrier, and to provide claims counseling when needed. As agents that means we don’t make the rules, we don’t have control over the rates, and we don’t make the decision if your policy is cancelled by a carrier.
 
We are working diligently to manage your insurance needs within your budget, evaluate market conditions, and talk with insurance carriers to keep up with their changes in pricing or coverage terms and conditions.
 
As hard markets are cyclical, there is no way to know how long they will last. During this time, there are typically fewer insurers competing for your business. In addition, a hard market causes coverage to be more expensive.

Consider These Nine Tips for Reducing Your ​Risk

1. ​Consider Higher Deductibles.
   This will help save some money on your policy.
2. Safe Driving Telematic Programs.
   Telematics can reward you by giving you a discount for good driving.
3. Discount Reviews - make sure you're getting everything you're entitled to.
   Every carrier has different discount opportunities. You may qualify for potential policy discounts or better coverage options. These discounts can include smoke alarms, burglar alarms, fire suppression systems, vehicle telematics and water damage detection systems. Make sure you go over those with your agent.
4. DO NOT let your policy cancel or lapse *for any reason*.
   Carriers are not reinstating coverage as easily as they once did. If it does cancel, they may require premium in full before reinstating. This is across the board for every line of coverage.
5. Combine your Auto and Home for more discounts and more stable pricing. ​Packaged policies most always include better coverage and benefits, and the cost savings are usually 10-15% (or more) on each policy. Many business risks can also bundle options.
6. Consider tenure - jumping companies too often will hurt you in the long run.
   In addition, some carriers won’t take you as a new client if you have less than two years with a carrier. And more importantly, carriers are getting off some risks if a claim happens in the new business term or for the number of claims in a three-to-five-year window. Tenure matters with a carrier.
7. Follow the laws to avoid tickets.
   Those tickets really add rate to your policy and stay on your record three to five years, depending on the carrier.
8. Absorb small claims when you're able and save coverage for catastrophic losses.
   Talk with your agent and let them claims counsel you should a loss happen. Frequency of claims REALLY matters.
9. ​Buy your insurance from an experienced Independent Insurance Agent.
   ​Independent agents can provide different options and can help you navigate this crazy market WITHOUT SACRIFICING COVERAGE. Lowering coverage could ultimately cost you more money in a loss.

At Desmond Insurance, we aim to provide comprehensive insurance policies that make your life easier. We want to help you get insurance that fits your needs. You can get more information about our products and services by calling our agency at (859) 491-5100.