Equity in Automobile Insurance: Optional No-Fault

Abstract

Throughout the past decade, automobile insurance premiums have escalated in many jurisdictions. Excessive litigation and the over-utilization of medical services have been primary forces pushing the price of automobile insurance beyond the reach of many consumers. Nationally, automobile insurance premiums increased an average of 9.6 percent annually, about three times the average rate of increase in the Consumer Price Index, from 1982 through 1988 (see A. M. Best Company, 1990). In Pennsylvania, where major automobile insurance reform has been enacted recently, the rate of increase was almost identical to the national average during this period of time.

Article Footnote

This chapter originally appeared as an article in the June 1992 issue of The Journal of Risk and Insurance (59, 2, 203-220),and is reprinted with permission