San Leandro, CA Pleasanton, CA How to Read Your Insurance Renewal

Your homeowners and car insurance renewals came in the mail and to no surprise, the premiums went up again. Why does this happen with every renewal?

There are several reasons why your premiums have gone up. Some you may have control over but others are out of your hands:

1. Every major insurance company is increasing rates on Auto insurance. This is not new and has been going on for the past couple of years. The carriers claim that loss ratios are high because of all the technology found on cars these days. Examples include, backup cameras, parking sensors, heated mirrors, computer chips and connections everywhere, etc. So now that mirror that gets knocked off may cost $1000 or more to repair or replace when just a few years ago, this wasn’t the case. Add these cases up and it’s real money in claims costs.

2. California Fires have caused most insurers to increase property insurance rates and tighten underwriting guidelines. This is a huge problem if your home is located in or near brush areas, but even if you are not located in a brush area, the rates have increased and will continue to do so until we have a year or two without major fires.

3. Increased construction costs to repair or rebuild your home have increased. Because of the increased costs, most carriers are increasing your Dwelling (Coverage A) limit to reflect these cost increases. This of course increases your premium!  If you have questions about the limit on your renewal, please call us as we have cost estimator models that can help you determine how much coverage to buy.

These are a few examples of why you may be seeing another rate increase on your renewal. If you have questions or would like to use the service of a broker to shop multiple carriers for your insurance, you know who to call – yes! Call SMD. Thank you!