NEW YORK - Falling car prices, competition between insurers and safer vehicles are among the factors that drove auto insurance rates down for only the second time since 1973, says the Insurance Information Institute. Auto insurance rates fell by 3.2% in 1999; in 1998 rates fell by 2.8%. Other factors cited by III as influencing the rate decline are more skilled drivers on the road, diminished tolerance for driving under the influence and anti-fraud efforts by insurers and states. Auto insurance expenditure, which measures what the average consumer actually spends for insurance on each vehicle, continues to fall but slower than auto insurance rates, which reflect the price of specific types of coverage. Average auto insurance expenditure dropped an estimated 1% in 1999 compared with a drop of 0.4% in 1998 and an increase of 2.3% in 1997. -
ekingoff@cutimes.com
