(Chicago, Illinois) Consumers in New Hampshire enjoy more attractive homeowners insurance at better prices than citizens in most other states, according to a new report card jointly released by The Heartland Institute and Competitive Enterprise Institute.
Like homeowners in Vermont, Idaho, Utah and Arizona, those in New Hampshire enjoy lower premiums for broader and more predictable coverage, earning “A or B” grades on the Heartland/CEI report card.
Consumers in Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Hawaii and Louisiana –whose states earned “F” grades–pay more for homeowners coverage that is inferior to states with positive insurance climates.
“On balance,” writes Eli Lehrer, the report’s author, “states with less-regulated insurance markets provide more consumer choice, more predictable rates, and insurance premiums that better reflect actual risk than do states with heavily regulated markets.”
The Property & Casualty Insurance Report focuses on homeowners and automobile insurance, the two types of insurance Americans typically are required to purchase. State laws in 46 states mandate the purchase of auto insurance, and nearly all mortgage lenders require their clients to secure homeowners coverage.
There are at least 11 key variables for evaluating P&C insurance markets. Among the most important are the size of the state’s residual markets, level of political oversight, loss ratio stability, rate regulation, and territorial rating.
New Hampshire achieved the report card’s fifth highest raw score, with a total of 15 points. “New Hampshire, like many other New England States, provides a good example of the free insurance market in action,” comments Lehrer. “Insurance is widely available and consumers have many insurers to chose from.” The remaining B-graded states earned raw scores between 14 (Ohio and Illinois) and 8 (North Dakota). Louisiana received the worst raw score, with -37 points.
Property & Casualty Insurance Report is available online at http://www.heartland.org/policybot/results/25091/
Editors: Report author Eli Lehrer, a senior fellow with the Competitive Enterprise Institute and Heartland Institute, is available for comment on this study. To communicate with him, contact Dan Miller, Publisher/Executive Vice President or Tammy Nash, Media Relations Specialist at The Heartland Institute at 312/377-4000 or by email at [email protected] and [email protected].
The Heartland Institute is a 25-year-old national nonprofit organization based in Chicago, Illinois. The Competitive Enterprise Institute, also founded in 1984, is headquartered in Washington, DC. Both are tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code. Nothing in this news release or the report it describes is intended to influence the passage of pending legislation.
Matthew Glans joined the staff of The Heartland Institute in November 2007 as legislative specialist for insurance and finance.
