State’s Auto Insurers No. 3 in Profits in U.S.

Auto insurers operating in California enjoyed the third-highest profits in the nation in 1997, a survey by Laguna Hills-based Auto Insurance Report shows. The independent newsletter found that California’s 15.4% total profit margin followed only Hawaii’s 26.4% and Connecticut’s 17.7%. California ranked sixth in the nation in 1996 and third in 1993. The newsletter analyzed figures provided by the National Assn. of Insurance Commissioners for 1997, the latest year for which information is available. Newsletter editor Brian Sullivan said insurers doing business in the state benefited from a lack of price competition in 1997, although all major insurance companies have since trimmed their auto rates. Insurers have benefited from safer cars and safer drivers as baby boomers age, as well as new laws that limit lawsuit damages in some instances.