Today’s post features McCourt Law Offices’ skilled Senior Litigation Assistant, who still suffers from injuries as a result of being involved in a rear-end motor vehicle accident exactly a year ago today:
My name is Rachelle Leger. I am a 40 year-old mother of two children, a lifelong Albertan and a former insurance adjuster with over a decade of experience working on motor vehicle accident bodily injury claims. As an ex-industry insider, I can advise that the keenly competitive Alberta auto insurance business, like many industries, is cyclical. When profitability is high, new insurers enter the market and premiums remain relatively flat, as companies compete for market share. As competition inevitably intensifies, weaker players are exposed and either run away or raise their rates, creating for consumers pronounced differences from weaker company to stronger (perhaps more competently managed) company regarding quoted insurance prices and terms. Especially in a hard market, it pays for consumers to call around and obtain quotes from a number of insurers. Each time a hard market returns, insurance representatives for poorer performers must explain to shareholders and policyholders why their bottom lines are not as robust as insurers with superior profit margins, and why their premiums are consequently rising, often by as much as 15 to 30% more than other competitors in the marketplace. Yet, and this is crucial, even in years when some industry players post underwriting losses, auto insurance companies still register ample after-tax net profits from the massive revenues earned investing premium dollars and accumulated capital.
