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Hurricanes and Auto Insurance in New Orleans

By: Kade Phillips, contributing writer at kanetix.com.

The devastating storms of 2005 sure caused a lot of auto insurance claims for damaged and destroyed vehicles in New Orleans, as well as other areas of Louisiana that were in the path of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. But, so far, indications are that auto insurance rates for New Orleans will remain relatively stable going forward.

Over 200,000 auto insurance claims were made by Louisiana residents following the unprecedented carnage brought on by Katrina, and it would be automatic to think that a rise in car insurance for New Orleans area residents was sure to follow.

However, comments from several auto insurance insiders have indicated that this is not necessarily the case, and that the price of any particular driver’s car insurance is still determined pretty much by the same variables that determined them before the storms.

Comprehensive car insurance (The kind of insurance that deals with damage to your vehicle) may be affected somewhat, but for the most part, your driving history, is still the major determinant of what you are going to pay for your car insurance in New Orleans, and not the fact that hurricanes Rita and Katrina caused so much damage to vehicles.

It’s not surprising though, that many New Orleans motorists are choosing to increase the comprehensive insurance on their vehicles if they can afford to do so, because so many found out after the storms that they had inadequate comprehensive coverage, and were forced to cover these costs out of their own pockets.

Interestingly, Louisiana does have more costly auto insurance rates then most of the other states, but this has far more to do with general Louisiana driving habits then the hurricanes that batter her shores from time to time.

Louisiana has an auto accident rate that is about one-third higher than the rate in other states with the same number of drivers.

Contributing factors to this higher accident rate are:

• Alcohol –  It seems that drivers in New Orleans and elsewhere in Louisiana continue to be among the leaders in alcohol-related accidents and fatalities.
• Speeding and disobeying traffic laws are a primary reason for increased accidents.
• Lower average income than most states – Vehicles are generally less well maintained, making them more dangerous to their drivers and others. A less affluent community leads to substandard infrastructure, and this is often a contributing factor in auto accidents. Things like inadequate roads, signage and traffic lights all play a part.

Other contributing factors to higher New Orleans car insurance premiums are:

• A lower average income than most states generally means more uninsured motorists on the roads, and other conditions that tend to increase the risk to auto insurers.
• Rising medical costs for treating injuries related to auto accidents.
• Louisiana still has one of the worst seatbelt-compliance rates in the country. This leads to a far greater level of injuries when accidents do occur, than when seatbelts are used.
• A somewhat higher incidence of litigation when car accidents occur. This tendency adds to the overall cost that insurers must factor in to provide auto insurance in New Orleans.

Generally, auto insurance rates tend to reflect what’s actually happening to vehicles on the roads and in the neighborhoods of any given area.

If drivers in a certain area tend to have more accidents or more vehicles are stolen in a particular area, car insurance rates will surely reflect that.

There’s no question that weather conditions do influence road safety, and in an area like New Orleans, you would be well advised to go through each aspect of your car insurance policy to make sure that it adequately reflects your unique situation. But, rather than being overly concerned about freak events like hurricane Katrina, you would likely be far better off to concern yourself with your own driving habits, and with paying close attention to the vehicles, traffic laws, and the road conditions around you as you drive.

Nationwide, a lack of attention while driving is one of the leading causes of death, injury and property damage. It’s also one of the leading causes of higher automobile insurance rates. It’s relatively easy to change this if we all start to take our driving a lot more seriously, and see it for what it truly is - one of the most dangerous activities that we do on a regular basis.

Being the safest driver you can possibly be is the surest way to way to avoid personal tragedy on the roads, and to keep your car insurance rates in New Orleans as low as possible over the long term, regardless of what Mother Nature throws at us in the future.


Kade Phillips is a contributing writer at kanetix.com,
Serving New Orleans car insurance quotes / Auto insurance quotes New Orleans.
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