Insurance professionals are in demand
A study of labour market requirements has found that unemployment in the insurance profession is low and the majority of companies are planning to hire. Industry recruiter The Jacobson Group and sector analysts Ward Group say that 65 per cent of insurers are intending to hire this year while the unemployment rate is at 1.6 per cent. The poll, carried out in the US, also found that technology, claims and underwriting positions continue to be the most in demand industry positions. The study concludes that if hiring intentions are carried out the level of employment in the insurance sector will grow by 1.9 per cent.
Auto premiums predicted to rise sharply in British Columbia
The Insurance Corporation of BC says that it is working with the government to try to mitigate an expected rise in the cost of auto insurance in the province. Premiums are predicted to increase by as much as 6.7 per cent in 2016 partly due to a hike in soft tissue injury claims and potentially fraudulent and exaggerated claims.
The number of injury claims being reported to ICBC has escalated in recent months – almost 68,000 new injury claims reported over the last 12 months, approximately 7,000 more than the preceding 12 months. The ICBC says the cost of claims for bodily injuries was $2 billion in 2014 and expected to be $2.3 billion for 2015, that’s a 64 per cent rise since 2008. There were a record 3,200 injury fraud investigations in 2014.
"If we were to file our full application today, we would need to ask for a 6.7 per cent increase in basic insurance rates, in large part due to the unexpected and rapid escalation in the number of injury claims being reported to us in recent months," said Mark Blucher, president and CEO of ICBC. "In the best interests of our customers, we are going to work alongside government over the next few weeks to help identify and examine steps we can take to lower the required rate increase."
Speed cameras do affect safety says insurance researcher
Drivers hate them and some suggest they are just revenue generators but a new report shows that speed cameras do have a marked effect on road safety. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety undertook a large scale study in Maryland and found that long-term driver behavior and rates of deaths and injuries improved when camera were used.
Currently only 138 jurisdictions in the US uses automated speed cameras but they are becoming more common. Montgomery County, Maryland, has 56 fixed cameras, 30 portable ones and 6 mobile speed vans. The IIHS says that if all US states had a similar program there would have been 21,000 fewer deaths or incapacitating injuries in 2013. This is based on a reduction of 39 per cent on residential roads with a 25-35 mph speed limit. The study found that even on roads without cameras there were fewer deaths and injuries due to changed driver behavior.
