2010 was considered to be a defining year as far as the insurance industry in US was concerned. There were many ripples created and lot of arguments too. People also learnt about the need to get proper insurance coverage in order to not run into massive debts in unfortunate situations. In the last quarter of 2010, some massive changes had started to roll in the auto insurance industry. With the market getting increasingly competitive prices have remained stable or in some cases actually declined. There have been some predictions for the year 2011, on what the trends are going to be.
There will be more new players in 2011 expected. A demand for the comprehensive package is likely to increase because of a predicted increase in the number of vehicles that will get onto the road once again. Individuals are therefore advised to focus on the best comprehensive package available, and if possible consult advisors to get cheap insurance. It is possible to boost the deductibility and lower premiums if you are a relatively safe driver.
A lot of states are increasingly seeing the trend of mileage based insurance that was kick started by campaigns like Drive Safe and Save in California which essentially would mean that insurance will cost less if you drive less. That means that individuals who drive 9000 miles a year currently, but are able to carpool or use the public transportation a few times every month, could save may be 500 to 700 miles a year. Even that could mean a substantial saving. This has been shown from statistics that individuals are expected to save about 1 – 2% on their auto insurance cost if they drive 500 miles less. This number therefore grows as you save more and more on mileage.
Therefore people are being encouraged to report what they actually drive. The real beneficiaries of this new trend are people who drive safer and usually commute less. These new programs point at two distinctly popular trends. More and more consumers are being encouraged to report their driving patterns and mileage to get the discount on insurance. The increasing competition amongst insurers is putting a brake on the rate hike as far as coverage costs are concerned. Both of these trends are likely to continue even as consumers are trying to be thrifty with an ailing economy and a high unemployment rate.
