R.J. Lehmann on Trump’s Auto Insurance Plan
ICLE Editor-in-Chief R.J. Lehmann was quoted by Insurance Journal in a story about former President Donald Trump’s proposal to slash auto insurance rates. You can read the full piece here.
Whether Trump intended for the post to elicit the types of comments it has received, many pointed to the illegal immigrant population as a factor in high auto insurance rates. Hartwig said he was unaware of any study related to immigrants as a driver of high auto insurance costs, or being associated with issues related to uninsured motorist coverage. R.J. Lehmann, senior fellow at the International Center for Law & Economics, said the same.
“I wouldn’t jump to that conclusion,” Lehmann said an interview. “Uninsured or underinsured drivers may be a factor, but [in terms of illegal immigrants] I don’t know of a study. It doesn’t come up. An uninsured driver could be anybody. Rates have gone up due to claims affecting insurers’ results.”
Lehmann explained that rates were going up around 7% per year until the pandemic, when the volume of vehicles on the road dropped significantly and insurers weren’t increasing rates at all. But since vehicles returned to the roads, studies have shown driving behavior has taken a downturn and motor vehicle deaths have increased. Insurers are “catching up,” said Lehmann, and recent reports suggest they may have. S&P Global Market Intelligence forecasted a “dramatic return to underwriting profitability” with a personal auto 2024 combined ratio of 98.4, down from 104.9 in 2023 and 112.2 in 2022.
…Lehmann said he believes “Trump isn’t thinking about federal regulation,” and there is little that he or Congress can do with the system of state regulation firmly in place. However, a president could fund road infrastructure improvements or campaigns with agencies like the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to promote safety.