Are the good times really over for good?

Discussion in 'Ask An Owner Operator' started by BAYOU, Jan 13, 2014.

  1. BAYOU

    BAYOU Road Train Member

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    Beaumont,Tx
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    If I didn't do as good as I do this would end it for me but no way could I pull the numbers I do now leased to anyone.
     
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  3. Tnttransport

    Tnttransport Bobtail Member

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    Jan 6, 2014
    Creston, Iowa
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    2 trucks 3 insured drivers 2 uninsured trailers, not 100% sure on all our coverages liability etc but mine is 39,000 a year through progressive. Now my age is a huge factor at 20, but my other 2 drivers are clean records etc. and they said it might possibly go up in June of this year... Progressive is a joke. I hope in a few months after my 21st another company will write my policy and that will decline a little. But as of now I'm stuck with it.
     
  4. ziggity

    ziggity Light Load Member

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    Yes I believe they are. Unprecedented times we are in. Nightmarish combo similar to the Gilded Age atop the Great Depression. Many have no moral compass trying to justify themselves. Econ 101..demand for goods is severely lower than supply=crash and burn. The cost of living is roughly 432% higher than attainable income. Most of us have given up anything other than absolute need. EX toilet paper costs 4x what it did 3 yrs. ago. Less goods shipped at higher cost.
     
  5. ziggity

    ziggity Light Load Member

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    Until mid 80's we broke it we bought it. Less accidents and no lawsuits. State by state the bowl of spagetti grew into the monster we are dealing with today.
     
  6. BAYOU

    BAYOU Road Train Member

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    Sep 23, 2010
    Beaumont,Tx
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    I cancelled my ITS account just because I never even look on there they didn't know what to say they just asked why I said I can't haul for the rates there customers are posting then they started saying how flatbed rates and volume is high they said the flatbed market was $2.43/mi....I said you people are nuts I can't tell you the last load I've pulled off your board that paid close to that.

    I price most my loads now as round trip loads and D/H back 70% of the time. Maybe things will change in trucking this year only time will tell.
     
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  7. ziggity

    ziggity Light Load Member

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    That speaks volumes when a truck is better off dead head.
     
  8. BigBadBill

    BigBadBill Bullishly Optimistic

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    Oct 2, 2010
    Chattanooga, TN
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    I know what happened and it is your agent. The insurance company is going to look at your claims and unless it is presented that you have less miles now you will be rated as is. Your agent needs to know how to sell you to the carrier and think what the underwriter is looking at. Last couple years Progressive didn't rate like most carriers. We all know that is changing. Thanks to Progressive, only way to get on with a good insurance company was to have a clean record. Heck, I was told two years ago my carrier didn't like how fast I was growing.

    You need to change agents fast and before you submits you to any other carriers. Damage is likely already done but if you can find a top producer for some of the better companies they will likely have a good relationship with the underwriter and can explain your situation and get them to relook.

    I had great luck with Gabe but not sure he writes in your area. But he could recommend someone.
     
  9. rank

    rank Road Train Member

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    Feb 11, 2010
    50 miles north of Rochester, NY
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    I went through the same thing a few years ago with myself and Markell Insurance (now Northbridge) and then again two years ago with another driver and Markell. In the first instance Markell would not insure me at all because I picked up two seat belt infractions, a minor speeding and a fail to have insurance card in 12 months in the company pickup truck. No claims.

    In the second instance they quoted the driver $17,000 because they paid a $3500 claim to a four wheeler. Driver said there was no contact and police report said no evidence of collision so it was the driver's word against the four wheeler with a broken pass side mirror. Problem was the driver never said anything to anyone about the incident and he never called Markell so when the claim showed up they just paid so that driver now has a claim on his loss run. ALWAYS call your ins company and tell your side. Even if the cop and the police report says there was no evidence of a collision.

    Anyway, I switched agents and he got us insured with Old Republic for $7,000.
     
    Last edited: Jan 14, 2014
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  10. RedForeman

    RedForeman Momentum Conservationist

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    Here's the lowdown on Progressive. They aggressively ramped up their commercial vehicle market starting in 2008 or so. Their original strategy was to go after local and regional fleets (thus the radius limits that get talked about so much), thinking they'd avoid what they saw as higher risk with the OTR market. A case of the guys in suits making decisions without real good, real world input.

    What happened was that they ended up selling a lot of coverage to that OTR market that they didn't count on. Salesmen will sell to anyone that's willing to buy. Agents will make it work for anyone. A lot of guys buying a 500 mi radius and running nationwide anyway. Some (me for example) making the radius work, sometimes grinding them for an increase in radius. They do offer unlimited mileage in some markets to some exceptionally low risk carriers.

    At the same time, they also did not rate new carriers like the more established commercial insurers. They picked up a TON of new carriers with no experience or loss run history. I guess they figured they could make it work on big numbers. Around the beginning of 2012, they started aggressively increasing rates. Seems all those new customers were racking up a lot more claims than they expected. At that point, they also started cracking down on safety violations as well. What they're doing now is un-doing the high risk profile they've built over the past several years. Exorbitant premiums for new businesses. Dropping coverage on two OOS violations, no matter what they are. Becoming less of an insurer of last resort.

    To compound all of that, is the way Progressive does business. Most insurance companies do not make all their profit on premiums minus claims. The oversimplification is: they take all their premium money into investments. Claims are an offset against investment income, not just incoming premiums. What you have at the end of all that is reduced premiums since the profit model is not entirely dependent upon them.

    Progressive and very few others don't do that. They actually do offset claims directly against premiums. That makes the premiums higher and more volatile to the risk pool.

    One other thing that I'll throw out there at the risk of getting this thread bounced to the political forum: In my opinion, The Affordable Healthcare Act will be driving any and all insurance rates higher. You don't get something for nothing just because there's a law for it. These companies are in business to make a profit. If a piece of legislation forces them to offer premium service at a discount in one sector of their market, you are incredibly naïve if you think they are just going to do that without recovering their losses on other lines of insurance. Even if Progressive does not offer AHA legislated service, you can bet that they will be moving with market pressure created by others.
     
  11. BigBadBill

    BigBadBill Bullishly Optimistic

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    Oct 2, 2010
    Chattanooga, TN
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    I am going to chime in on this based on what my Safety Manager of my insurance carrier told me in December.

    They are looking at Occ Accident and Workers Comp policies for all carriers they cover. The industry believes that the health insures will be looking for ways to push claims off onto others. So if our O/O's don't have Occ Accident they believe they will see an increase in potential claims. They don't believe they will have to pay out but will have an increased cost for defending against this.

    I am also seeing that just like trucking companies are fighting for drivers with clean records, insurance companies are fighting for the carriers with low claims history. I was stunned at how low some qoutes came in this year. But we have less than $10k in claims since starting this company.
     
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