Experts Weigh In: Are Changes in the Insurance Marketplace Coming?
From technology to the economy to politics and legislation, the world is moving faster and faster. And while it may not be possible to tell the future with 100% accuracy, we know a few people whose predictions can come pretty darn close.
This week Steve Gibson, President of Dealer Risk Services, joins us to help dealers gear up for 2019. Here’s what Steve sees in his crystal ball:
The 2017 and 2018 years dealt a strong blow to the insurance market. 2017 set a record for the number of billion-dollar weather/climate events. 2018 is on a similar pace with a few weeks yet to go. The combined occurrences of these years will initiate rate increases for both Property and Inventory as insurers providing coverage for Wind, Hail and Flood suffered major losses. While the Catastrophic (CAT) market is certainly resilient, the costs of these years will cause a tightening of the industry and an increase in both premiums and deductibles, at least for the short term.
Similar to the events affecting the Property markets, securing affordable coverage for Employment related issues will become more challenging in the coming years. Recent accusations in the Entertainment, Sports and Political arenas have heightened public awareness regarding Sexual Harassment and Discrimination. The result has been a consistent stream of allegations and litigation. Couple that trend with potential lawsuits from immigration issues and we have another area where the insurance industry is in distress. The market will respond, as it does when capacity is limited, with increases in premiums and deductibles. However, this trend, like the property market, will raise the Dealership insurance cost ‘’bar’’ substantially higher in the years to come.
Ok, we did it – we wrapped up our predictions for 2019.
Thanks to all of our subject matter experts who took the time to share their crystal balls with us. Here’s to a productive and profitable 2019!
