Allstate Lowers Car Insurance Rates in New York, but Illinois Stays Stagnant
Allstate release a statement today agreeing to reduce rates for car insurance in New York at the request of New York legislators. Citing a reduction in car accident fraud in 2003 and 2004, Allstate agreed to reduce rates by 5.1% or 15 million dollars in savings for consumers. Allstate insures 1.5 private automobiles, or 17 percent of the market in New York. See related article here.
Allstate, based in Northbrook, IL, is unlikely to do the same in Illinois absent some prodding by the Illinois legislature or Governor Blagojevich. Rates are regulated within each state by state law, and Illinois is home to some of the most lax insurance regulation laws in the country. This is in no small part due to the fact that two of the biggest insurance companies in the country, Allstate and State Farm, are headquarted in Illinois.