Applied Systems launches quarterly rating index

Applied Systems launched the Applied Rating Index on Wednesday, offering an overview of the trends for personal auto and personal property insurance premium rates across Canada.

The index is based on rates generated by Applied Rating Services. It covers more than 80% of the independent insurance brokerage market and 675 insurer rating plans.

“About 1.3 billion quotes have gone through the rating engine in the last 10 years, so we thought there was a good opportunity for us to try to come up with something that would be of value to the industry,” Stephane Lacasse, Applied’s vice-president of product management for Canada, told Canadian Insurance Top Broker.

The index covers auto insurance rates in all provinces except British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and property insurance rates throughout the country.

Key findings from the Q1 2018 Applied Rating Index include:

• Personal auto premiums increased by 2.2% compared to Q1 2017.
• Personal property premiums increased by 2.9% compared to Q1 2017.
• Alberta had the largest rate increases. Auto premiums increased by 5.8% compared to Q1 2017, and personal property premiums increased by 7.9%.
• Atlantic Canada was the only region that saw auto premiums decrease, down 2.5% compared to Q1 2017.
• British Columbia was the only province that saw personal property premiums decrease, down 0.7% compared to Q1 2017.

Applied plans to release a new rating index each quarter within a week of quarter end, allowing brokers to advise clients on expected premium rates during renewals and when evaluating new policies.

“For brokerages, I think it’s going to give them an idea and a sense of how premiums are changing over time from quarter to quarter,” Lacasse said. “We think it’s going to help them give better advice to consumers, potentially.”

Each quarterly index will be based on approximately 30 million quotes generated by Applied Rating Services.

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This story was originally published by Canadian Insurance Top Broker.