Texas Insurance

The prices of automobiles and Home Insurance have been growing sharply around the country in recent months, the insurer of the struggle to maintain the rising costs, insurance executives and analysts said yesterday.

The two largest auto and home insurance, State Farm and Allstate, the leaders of inflation and many smaller companies are following, analysts said.

The deux”automobile owner and insurance have lost huge sums in recent years,’’said Robert P. Hartwig, chief economist at the Insurance Information Institute, a trade group.

Ronald D. McNeil, Senior Vice President for Allstate, told investors Banc of America Securities conference in New York yesterday, Allstate had increased its tariffs for auto insurance an average of 8.3 percent over 17 countries so far this year . He said, Allstate has thrown its prices for Home Insurance average of more than 20 per cent in 20 countries.

State Farm said it was seeking similar actions. It was not immediately situation, the figures for the increases so far this year. But Richard Luedke, a speaker said that earnings were significantly higher than the previous year, when she averaged 4.6 per cent for Home Insurance and 2.7 percent for auto insurance. The increases were necessary, he said, was denn”wir payment of duties that we have more in premiums was put together.”

J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America, said that the profit and loss trends for insurers to a need for an average increase of 4 percent to 8 percent in auto premiums. But he said increases of 20 percent for Home Insurance waren”Ausweg of the line.”

”I do not see what’s happening in the data to justify that, an increase of this magnitude,”he said.

In some countries, increases are even higher, said one analyst. ”We are beginning to see an increase of 25 percent to 30 percent in many countries,’’said Ira L. Zuckerman the nutmeg Securities in Fairfield, Connecticut

For years, he said, Home Insurance was sold as a puller, offers customers for more lucrative business of self-assurance. But in recent years, the two lines of the report were losing money.

Automobile insurance is the biggest line of reports of the industry, which accounts for about $ 125 billion per year in sales. However, the distribution of Home Insurance recent years have come to $ 34 billion. More cars than many homes, Mr. Hartwig said, duties and insurance in cars are more frequent and often more expensive. Some claims in the event of injury, for example, in the millions of dollars.

Insurance leaders of the Discounted-September 11 attacks as a factor in the rising prices of cars and apartments.

Mr. Hartwig said the cost of insurance apartments has increased, because the increased cost of materials and for the last two years, a relatively small but expensive storms. Insurers were also taken, he said, by costly claims in Texas and California and other USA floods, has been that the growth of toxic mold.

In some cases, toxic mold was so vast that the houses were destroyed and insurers have been forced to pay the full amount of coverage. In response, insurers are cutting their coverage for mold damage and water.

Became more expensive auto insurance, “said Hartwig, because of rising costs of medical services and sharp increase in fraud to the detriment of rights. In New York, Texas, Colorado and California, police say theatre bands auto accidents, they can raise funds for alleged violations.

Self-insurers, things worse for themselves by fierce competition on prices, said Michael A. Lewis, an analyst at UBS Warburg. ”Today, it emphasizes the rate in volume,”he said.

Several insurers price increase has started for home and auto insurance last year, but until recently, State Farm has resisted doing so.

The actions of large companies, Mr. Zuckerman said, it is easier for small companies to raise their prices. ”If the boys are big increase their prices,”he said,”it means that small boys not to worry about the economy to lose, the big boys.