Deer Collisions Down; W. Virginians Still Hit the Most

Posted by Benji Riggins on October 13, 2011 under Safety | Be the First to Comment

NU Online News Service, Oct. 07, 11:47 a.m. EST

West Virginian deer continue to find the front grills of vehicles—more than in any other state.

Using its claims data, State Farm has again come up with a report on deer-vehicle collisions and has found that for the third straight year, the overall number of these unfortunate encounters in the United States has fallen between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2011.

However, the average cost of property damage due to these collisions was up 2.2 percent during this period, to $3,171.

But the Mountain State, for the fifth year in a row, tops a list of states with the greatest odds of striking the wide-eyed grazers.

Over the next 12 months 1-in-53 drivers in West Virginia are likely to hit a deer, State Farm says. That’s actually an improvement over the last report, when the odds were 1-in-42.

The likelihood of hitting a deer in eight of the top 10 states form last went down from a year ago. For example, in Michigan—the state with the fifth-greatest odds of hitting a deer—there were 23,000 fewer deer-auto accidents during the latest period compared to the last period.

State Farm says about 1.09 million collisions occurred in from the mid-point last year to June 30 this year. That count is down 7 percent from the same period a year prior.

“It makes sense to us that during these challenging economic times, drivers in the U.S. are logging fewer miles,” says State Farm spokesman Dick Luedke in an email. “Everything else being equal, the fewer miles we drive, the fewer deer we hit.

“But perhaps not everything else is equal,” he adds. “Perhaps there is at least one other factor in play. We would like to think that the attention State Farm and others (including the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety) have drawn to this issue in recent years has inspired drivers to be more attentive to what they can do to reduce their chances of an encounter with a deer.”

The nation’s top insurer of cars uses its data with licensed-driver data from each state to calculate the odds.

By Chad Hemenway, PropertyCasualty360.com

MetLife rating reaffirmed

Posted by Benji Riggins on June 20, 2009 under Insurance News, Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) of “a+” of MetLife Auto & Home and its nine members, led by Metropolitan Property and Casualty Insurance Company. The outlook for all of the ratings is stable. Best said the “ratings reflect MetLife Auto & Home’s adequate capitalization, consistent operating performance, strong enterprise risk management practices and successful multiple-channel distribution network.” However, offsetting factors include “the group’s moderately elevated underwriting leverage, as well as its exposure to weather-related events. The rating outlook is based on the group’s adequate capital strength, consistently favorable operating trends and the support of its parent company, MetLife, Inc. ” In addition Best noted that “positive rating attributes include MetLife Auto & Home’s geographic diversification and the marketing advantage it derives from the established brand name recognition of MetLife.” The ratings also acknowledge management’s “focused operating strategy, extensive product knowledge and multiple distribution channels. The group has consistently generated capital through operating earnings reflective of disciplined underwriting and a steady stream of investment income. Behind these results is an enterprise risk management structure of oversight committees and work groups that maintain various procedures and contingency plans within MetLife Auto & Home.” Best pointed out that, although MetLife Auto & Home has incurred large catastrophic losses as a result of several hurricanes in recent years, “the group continues to reduce its catastrophe exposure through underwriting initiatives, coverage limitations, increased deductibles and reinsurance protection, which should favorably affect future operating earnings.”