Fewer automobile thefts may not affect auto insurance rates

By Rex Hall Jr.
rhall@kalamazoogazette.com

A sharp decline in automobile thefts in Kalamazoo County is encouraging but not likely to immediately affect automobile insurance rates, a representative with the Michigan Association of Insurance Agents says.

Rates are determined by several factors, including frequency and severity of accidents in a particular area, litigation and medical costs, population and vehicle-replacement costs, MAIA spokesman Gary Mitchell said.

``It's not a real scientific formula,'' he said. ``A short-term drop in auto theft is unlikely to have any significant impact on auto-insurance rates. However, if there is a noticeable trend, that's the kind of thing insurance companies look at.''

A decrease in auto thefts over an extended period -- often up to five years -- could eventually push insurance rates down, Mitchell said.