2020 has been a wild ride, in a lot of different ways. For better and for worse, when you look around Waukesha, WI these days, it’s not exactly the world we grew up in anymore. Things that we’ve always taken for granted to be a certain way are being flipped on their heads, and we’re waking up to a whole new set of rules. Auto insurance is just one of the things that have been affected.
The Roads are Safer, and Less Safe
A silver lining to our roller-coaster economy and national crises in the last few months: Traffic accidents have plummeted. There are fewer people on the road, so there are fewer opportunities for a traffic accident to occur, it’s as simple as that. We’ve even seen people taking advantage of the cleared roads to set time records racing across the United States on abandoned highways. That’s not exactly legal, but it’s an interesting and surprising effect of the troubles we’re facing in this country right now.
We have a sort of domino effect going on right now, and every day it’s another surprise. For instance, we’re about to see a significant spike in uninsured motorists on the roads of Waukesha, WI.
This is a side effect of the deferred payment options many insurance companies are offering right now. It stands to reason that a company will want to make some concessions to its customers to retain loyalty, so insurers are doing whatever they can to ease the financial burden in these trying times. Some are even offering refunds on premiums since hardly anyone has been driving for the last few months, so it’s only fair that you shouldn’t have to pay full price if you didn’t even leave the house. The deferred payments are a great idea, too, but many drivers forget that those bills will have to be paid at some point.
Drivers who know how to plan ahead have been reducing their coverage to make sure that the bill isn’t too big once it stacks up. Others are, to put it as politely as possible, crossing their fingers and hoping for the best. When those deferred payments come due, many of these drivers may have no choice but to cancel their policies.
Right now Waukesha’s uninsured motorist rate is at just under 15%, roughly within the national average of 10% to 15%, according to the Insurance Information Institute. But give it a few months, and that may cease to be the case.
How Much Is Enough?
Wisconsin is one of several states where drivers are required to carry some uninsured motorist coverage, but there is no law mandating underinsured motorist insurance. There is some irony to the fact that we are required to carry protection against those who do not, but so it goes. In any event, every driver needs to consider whether they’re comfortable with their current level of insurance.
If you have any questions or if you’re thinking of upgrading your insurance, get in touch with Carrigan Insurance and let’s see what we can do to keep you safe out there.
