Rates for private auto and homeowners’ insurance continued to rise in 2013, according to “RateWatch,” a competitive intelligence report from Perr&Knight, an insurance consulting services company.
Rates for personal auto insurance increased 2.5 percent on average in the United States in 2013, according to the report. Average annual rate increases have ranged from 2 percent and 4 percent for the past five years. The average national rate increase in 2012 was 3.7 percent.
Homeowners’ insurance increased by an average of 5.1 percent last year; renters’ insurance rates increased 2.6 percent and rates for condominium insurance increased 2.9 percent. Over the past five years, average annual rate increases have ranged from 5 percent to 7 percent for homeowners insurance; 2 percent to 4 percent for renters insurance; and 2.5 percent to 6 percent for condominium insurance, according to the report. From 2012 through 2013, no states experienced overall reductions, but rates in North Dakota remained flat for that period.
"Overall, there were moderate rate increases for both auto and homeowners insurance in 2013. Our RateWatch’ product provides visibility into these changes by accumulating the approved rate changes extracted from the public rate filings of companies representing about 80 percent of the personal insurance premiums written," said Tim Perr, Perr&Knight's CEO.
Top 5 states for auto insurance hikes:
- Michigan, 8.6 percent
- Georgia, 5.2 percent
- New York, 4.3 percent
- Delaware, 4.3 percent
- Nevada, 4.1 percent.
Top 5 states for homeowners’ insurance hikes
- Oklahoma, 12.1 percent
- Florida, 11.0 percent
- Kentucky, 10.9 percent
- Kansas, 10.3 percent
- North Carolina, 10.1 percent
“The only state experiencing a double digit increase in renters or condominium rates was North Carolina where rates increased 18.7 percent for each. Two states, California and Hawaii, experienced overall decreases in homeowner insurance rates in 2013 of -3.4 percent and -0.7 percent, respectively,” Perr&Knight said. “Insurers in California also decreased their overall renters’ rates by -1.8 percent and condominium rates by -1.4 percent in 2013.”
