Times are getting stressful as more people are expressing their concerns regarding the increase in auto insurance rates. That’s why the Nevada Division of Insurance brought specialists together to host a webinar to help the public get a better understanding of the issue.
Here’s what I learned after attending:
From Las Vegas to Reno, rates are going up, and reasons include
- Increased traffic on our roads as our communities continue to grow
- Rising cost of new cars, with an average car payment costing over $750 per month
“The increasing complexity in advanced technology into these vehicles is also a key driver in claims cost,” said Robert Passmore, the Department Vice President for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association. “You really can’t connect that to just inflation, this is one that’s actually going to grow as the vehicle fleet turns over and many advanced features that were once optional are now standard on even entry level vehicles.”
Experts said the pandemic has had an impact. They cited that the pandemic led to severe labor shortages affecting auto body shops and insurance claim departments.
This means it takes longer for vehicles to be repaired and claims to be adjusted. COVID also caused supply chains shortages for key parts to repair vehicles. Plus, bad driving habits continue post-pandemic.
“Accident frequency and severity have increased as motorists return to normal driving patterns post-pandemic lockdowns,” said Todd Rich, the Chief Deputy Commissioner for Nevada Division of Insurance. “However, in many cases these unsafe driving habits that we witnessed in the COVID lockdowns have remained and are more likely to cause accidents in denser traffic conditions.”
They also consider medical care costs and insurance fraud. According to a recent study there is a huge lack of tolerance regarding insurance fraud and more than 53 million Americans don’t view it as a crime.
Coalition Against Insurance Fraud is asking Nevadans to help change that.
“We’re not trending in the right direction with consumer attitudes to fraud,” said Brent Walker, Director of Government Relations. “So, I would ask this group of professionals ‘how can we partner to slow down the rise in fraud’ and it starts with every single consumer realizing that they just should not tolerate fraud and report it when they can.”
Experts also mentioned that legislation is working to decriminalize minor violations and minimize contact with law enforcement. But they say it’s our law enforcement that is keeping the costs down.
“Enforcement tools lead to bigger things including directly increasing the cost of driving for all of us, so please make sure the legislature, your local law enforcement, and the public, they need to know that enforcement needs to be a priority and is a key part in keeping costs down,” said JD Decker, Administrator of the Compliance Enforcement Division of Nevada’s DMV.
)
