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Auto Insurance Rates in 2010, Will They Go Up Again?

Don't think that just because you've been a long term, loyal client that you'll be protected from rising pa auto insurance rates in 2010. The indicators show many companies are scrambling to cover their losses by jacking up the rates again. If you're anything like the rest of us it may just be the last rate increase that gets passed off to another loyal client.

The days of clients sitting back and absorbing rate increases are coming to an end...well at least a major slowdown. There was a time that pa auto insurance companies could just raise the rates and we all took it in stride. Or at the least, our agent explained away the inflation, cost of repairs, etc and we drank the Kool-aid like a kid on a hot summer day. The days of following blindly as our agents lead the way are beginning to get old.

Pennsylvania auto insurance rates took a dip during the last five years as the heat of a soft market got some competitors fighting for new business. Unfortunately, the price for grabbing "market share" at artificially low prices almost always comes back to bite the insurance company. Many of the largest companies in the industry got caught up in the race to grab more new business. Other, more traditional companies stayed conservative and kept rates at a level that would not damage their financial status if investments went "south". Guess what...investments did go south and they've pretty much stayed there. This bad news effectively killed the idea of taking "investment income" and using it to offset huge losses from underpricing the product. What's this all mean to you and I...you guessed it... higher rates are coming soon.

Now you need to get your shopping list ready so you can find the company who can bail you out of this mess. Certainly you'll be online doing some price comparisons but do you really want to take advice from a computer? Is your online advisor a six month veteran of the insurance business? These are only a few items that would concern me if I were doing some shopping online. Get your current policy out and be sure that you are comparing "apples to apples" when you get a pa auto insurance quote. Now you've got to sort through the "paid advertisers" and find a provider who is ranked high on their own merit. Once you've located a reliable source who is a proven expert in Pennsylvania auto insurance you can get down to business.

It's very important to remember that many Pennsylvania auto insurance companies use different methods of determining auto insurance rates. Some companies are using a model that puts a huge emphasis on your credit rating, of course that can be good or that can be bad..depending on your circumstances. Other carriers put an emphasis on open accounts in conjunction with other scoring methods. These alone are very good reasons you should be checking with agents/sources that represent more than one insurance company. This way you can ensure that you have someone who is looking out for you and knows they need to remain competitive in order to earn your trust.