Shouldn’t My Auto Insurance go down? My Car is a Year Older!

Shouldn’t My Auto Insurance go down?  My Car is a Year Older!  This is very common question or comment from our prospective new customers and existing customers.  We don’t see much rate relief on any line of insurance; personal or business.  Here is a reasonable explanation…your comments or questions are certainly welcome.

• Rates are not just based on “your car”, they are split between several types of coverage.  Liability (Bodily Injury, Property Damage), Medical Payments, Uninsured Motorist, and then coverage for your vehicle; Comprehensive and Collision and Rental/Towing.
• Bodily Injury Liability; medical cost are not going down…they increase each year likely over 15% each year…just think of your health insurance costs.  This component in the auto insurance coverage does not go down each year…if anything, it increases.  Health insurance is just more costly each year, next year, period.
• Property Damage Liability: This pays when you hit someone else’s vehicle, or other property and typically stays pretty much the same…but, you’ll notice higher premium for larger vehicles (heavier) or vehicles that are older and have few safety features like anti-lock brakes.  Bigger can cause more damage hence the higher premium for heavier vehicles.
• Uninsured Motorist Coverage: Pays when someone else does not have insurance or not enough insurance to pay for your medical costs…again, medical costs are not decreasing.
• Medical Payments Coverage: again, medical…not going down.  This is for medical coverage for occupants of your vehicle.  You will notice the larger or the more safety features your vehicle has, the premium will be less compared to other vehicles without those safety features.  Safer vehicle means you are less likely to be injured and therefore the lower premium.
• Comprehensive and Collision Coverage.  These cover your vehicle…do these components go down over time…yes, they may.  But, they don’t decrease as much as you might think…or as much as you’d like…why?  Most accidents that occur are fender benders…something like over 95% are fender benders.  As a result, fixing your car for a partial loss cost more this year than it costs last year…wages go up, materials like steel and plastic cost more this year, etc…generally these costs just don’t go down.  Very few vehicles are considered total losses…if they are, you do get less this year as compared to last year.

These are not the necessarily the answers that folks want to hear, but that is the reality of automobile insurance in NH, or anywhere in the country.  What we offer at Fortified Insurance Agency is the ability to have us check pricing with other carriers.  This allows us to see if your insurance program is “market correct”…and if we find something priced better with commensurate coverage, we’ll promptly move your policy.

Let our agents know if we can help you today!

Keith Beausoleil, CPCU

Keith Beausoleil is an insurance agent at Fortified Insurance Agency. Fortified Insurance Agency in Manchester NH specializes in coverage for auto insurance, automobile insurance, home insurance, homeowners insurance, umbrella insurance, renters insurance, condo insurance, RV insurance, motorcycle insurance, boat insurance, personal watercraft insurance, PWC insurance, snowmobile insurance, golf cart insurance, business insurance, commercial insurance, surety bonds, rental property insurance, and more. Talk to our professional insurance agents about coverage in New Hampshire (NH) today or refer us to someone who needs an independent insurance agent.