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Vol. 14 / Issue 12 / March 2024
REGIONAL NEWS
Farmers Leads Insurers’ Rate Hikes Wreck/Rebuild Program Continues to with 17.6% Increase Farmers Insurance Group of Cos. raised its private auto insurance rates by a weighted average of 17.6% across 43 states in 2023, outpacing the rate hikes of its competitors but part of the broader trend in the industry, where double-digit increases have become the new norm.
states like New Jersey, Vermont and Colorado experiencing increases below 10%. This pattern of substantial rate hikes was not unique to Farmers Insurance. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., another industry giant, reported a 16.0%
Benefit NY Auto Body Students Alfred State College auto body students continue to gain hands-on, real-world experience through the wreck/rebuild program funded by the Educational Foundation of Alfred, Inc. Students in the auto body repair major, led by CJ Tremper and Brad Smith, enhance their skillsets by fixing wrecking vehicles and gaining insight into what it is like to work inside a collision shop. Tremper and Smith teach and work alongside students throughout their time in the program. Vehicles are secured through funding provided by the Educational Foundation of Alfred, Inc., a private foundation dedicated to improving the Alfred State community through the support of educational programs.
The foundation possesses a New York State automobile dealer’s license that allows the college to purchase wrecked cars from an auto salvage auction, which are then used for hands-on projects. The foundation covers the cost of purchasing these cars and any parts or materials needed to bring them back to preaccident condition. “These cars are great learning tools for our students,” said Tremper. “The repairs that the students perform are like what they will see when they get into the workplace. Challenges like this force our students to step up their skills and reinforces what they have learned during their time in this program.” l CONTINUED ON PAGE 19
REGIONAL NEWS
According to S&P Global Market Intelligence’s RateWatch, not only did Farmers Insurance lead this surge, but all 10 of the top auto insurers in the U.S. also imposed double-digit increases throughout the year, a shift from the more moderate rate changes observed between 2018 and 2021. For Farmers Insurance, the 2023 rise was approximately 3 percentage points higher than its 14.5% rate change in 2022. Nebraska witnessed the company’s highest increase at a weighted average of 30.4%. In contrast, North Carolina had the smallest rate hike at 1.8%, with other
weighted average rate increase in 2023. Similarly, Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s GEICO Corp., despite having the lowest effective rate change among the top insurers at 10.1% in 2023, had experienced the previous year’s highest at 17.2%. The industry-wide trend of escalating rates was further evidenced by the nationwide effective rate change. In 2023, 43 states and Washington, D.C., reported an effective rate change greater than 10%, leading to a national average increase of 14.0%—a significant jump
Maine’s New Right to Repair Law Faces Implementation Hurdles Maine’s enactment of a voterapproved right to repair law, granting vehicle owners and independent repair shops equal access to vehicles’ diagnostic data as authorized dealerships, may not happen as swiftly as expected, the Portland Press Herald reported. The law, which garnered an overwhelming 84% approval from Mainers, mandates car manufacturers share crucial repair data with independent shops, allowing vehicle
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A Yes on Question 4 sign outside a Napa Auto Parts in Kennebunk, ME, ahead of the 2023 election. Photo by Lauren McCauley/Maine Morning Star
INSIDE THIS ISSUE 20
Columnist Mike Anderson: How to Ensure You – and Your Techs – Have Adequate Business Insurance Coverage
28
Columnist Abby Andrews: Collision Repair Industry to Be Influenced by Supply Chain, Vehicle Complexity in 2024
6
Columnist Stacey Phillips Ronak: CES 2024 Unveils Future of
12
Columnist John Yoswick: Mitchell Joins CCC, Audatex in Giving
Transportation Technology
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