How economic woes hike minor accident claims

Current economic conditions have people stressed, and it’s showing up in personal auto claims, said Jesica Ryzynski, a claims specialist with Mitch Insurance.

Minor at-fault accidents among insureds are taking place more frequently, she told CU, with many taking place just as an insured is heading home from work or to pick up a child from daycare. The most common collisions are low speed rear-endings that happen at stoplights and suggest drivers have their minds on other worries.

“These are slow-moving accidents, literally rolling into the other car,” she said. “In my mind, that is definitely distraction [in play] because there’s no reason why they wouldn’t see the person in front of them if their mind wasn’t consumed with other stressors.”

And many of those fender-bending insureds have something else in common – a high percentage are close to having their auto policies cancelled for non-payment of premium.

“What I’ve noticed is that when someone would call in to report a claim…when I went into their account, I would see they were also in the midst of being cancelled with a registered letter,” she told CU.

This, Ryzynski said, suggests a link between rising financial stressors among the general populace and distracted driving.

“Usually, somebody has rear ended somebody else or otherwise caused the accident, which led me to connect that they’re distracted by other stressors in their lives,” she said. “I do think it’s a financial concern because, as I’m speaking with these people they are mentioning, ‘I’ve had so much going on.’

“Some people go into detail, some people don’t [and] there’s usually a mention of something financial. But the fact that the policy is pending cancellation indicates a shortage of funds.”

Clients also frequently mention money worries if they have deductibles or must pay out of pocket to secure a rental car while a claim is being set up.

“That’s usually when I’ll hear things like, ‘I haven’t worked in a couple of months’ [and there have been] two situations where people are dealing with an ailing parent. They’re driving back and forth trying to take care of their parents and things are falling through the cracks. Or they themselves have been sick. That I hear frequently as well,” she said.

All customers impacted

Logic suggests the double whammy of distracted driving and money woes would be prevalent among younger or elderly motorists, but Ryzynski said her conversations don’t corroborate that expectation.

“When I look at the claims I’ve dealt with recently, I cannot nail it down to a specific age,” she said. “It’s everybody I’ve talked to, and it doesn’t seem to matter who you are. It seems everybody is feeling that crunch, so when something like this happens, they can’t come up with their deductible or get their own rental because their credit cards are maxed out.”

What’s more, clients who own expensive vehicles aren’t immune from expressing financial stress during claims conversations. “I try not to make assumptions when I’m dealing with someone, but if you look at the types of vehicles they own, there’s a certain level of income that [would suggest their situation] might be different, but they’re just as stressed out.”

Regardless of a person’s economic circumstances insurance claims are taxing.

“But…if you have availability on a credit card, you’re not going to be panicked about a rental car and how quickly the adjuster can be assigned to offer that rental car. You’ll just go get your rental, and then you’ll submit that to the adjuster,” Ryzynski said.

“If you have massive credit card debt, you can’t do that. We have a lot of people who live in rural areas, so they can’t take transit. They can’t call an Uber or a cab. That rental is the only way they’re going to get to work. So that compounds the financial stress.”

Feature image by iStock.com/justhavealook