Employment elasticity of demand for auto insurance
In addition to the growing number of older cars on the road, the percentage of uninsured drivers rose to 18.1 percent in 2009, from 17.4 percent a year earlier, according to CNW Research. The economy is a big reason: a percentage point increase in the unemployment rate leads to a rise of 0.75 percentage point in the number of uninsured drivers, said Michael McShane, a risk management professor at Old Dominion University.
AUTOMOBILES
Insurance Rate Forecast: Cloudy, Chance of Rises
By KEN BELSON
Published: December 24, 2010
For many drivers, trying to figure out where auto insurance premiums are headed is like trying to catch butterflies: just when you get close, they fly off in another direction.