Had a client last week, that called me when he got his auto renewal, He said " I got a 2013 F-350 and a 2023 F 350. Why is the 2013 as high as the 2023?!!" I told him to call our mutual friend, Roger, and ask him how much he'd charge to paint the '13, and how much to paint the '23. And call the local junkyard everyone uses, and price out a '13 bed and a "23 bed. Or a door. Or a fender, etc. He then wondered why the liabilty premiums nearly doubled. I said, "Turn on your TV anytime day and night. At each commerrcial break, there will be at least one bottom-feeder advertising: "Have you been injured in an automobile accident? Then call the law offices of Dewey, Phuchum, and Howe".....
Our area has changed so much the last 30 years. Even in the 90's, this area was known as the dry well" by those kind of lawyers. People here considered anyone who sued anybody, as below the level of child molestors and Democrats. But, as more and more outsiders moved here, and as Atlanta moved further and further north up I-75 and I -85, so did the kind of people who made a living off insurance fraud, and the kind of lawyers that represent them.
The two P&C agents' associations have been putting pressure on carriers to make the initial offer for BI liability 75% of the limits, in an effort to break people from calling lawyers. These lawyers get 35%-40% of the claim, leaving you to get only 60% to 65%. But it is going to take a long time to teach everybody this.
