Used car insurance becomes more expensive and the sector is looking for alternatives

In January 2012, a year of boom in the domestic automotive market, lawyer Flávia Moreira Bacha Meana renewed the insurance on her Peugeot 207 Passion and saw that the policy was R$130 more expensive. At the time, the justification was the increased risk of robbery in her neighborhood, in the west of São Paulo.

After ten years without any robbery or collision, and with two car changes in that period, the lawyer received a new calculation with a high readjustment between one year and another. But the reason was different: according to the insurance company, his current car appreciated.

“I was impressed when the brokerage sent the calculation, my car is worth much more today than last year”, says Flávia. While the appreciation sounds like good news, it is a symptom of a set of problems. Nor is it the only reason for the increase in policies.

“We live in a scenario never seen before. There is a lack of supplies, freight delays, lack of containers, lockdown, canceled flights, a multitude of situations that impacted global logistics, also reflecting in the automobile segment”, says Eduardo Dal Ri, president executive of HDI Seguros.

“Given this context, there was a lower production of vehicles, impacting the final price of cars, both new and used.”

Dal Ri adds that the price charged to guarantee coverage of the asset through insurance is directly proportional to the value of the vehicle. That is, if the car appreciates, it is likely that the amount charged by the insurance company will be higher.

Lawyer Flávia Moreira’s current car is a Peugeot 2008 Griffe year 2017. In January 2021, its value in the Fipe table, which serves as a basis for insurance companies, was estimated at R$ 53.8 thousand. Today the same table indicates an average price of R$ 66.9 thousand. The value of the policy increased by 17%.

The increase in coverage is reflected in the sector’s revenue. According to Fenseg (National Federation of General Insurance), there was an increase of 8.8% in the comparison between 2020 and 2021, having reached R$ 38.4 billion last year.

“The market has been gradually recovering since the beginning of the pandemic. In 2021, the collection of the [ramo de] automotive insurance totaled R$ 38.4 billion in premium volume, a nominal expansion of 8.8% in relation to the previous year”, says Antonio Trindade, president of Fenseg (National Federation of General Insurance).

The entity points out that part of this increase is due to the highs recorded on the prices of new and used vehicles, in addition to the increase in replacement parts.

Roberto Posternak, commercial director of the monitoring company Ituran, recalls that the signals given by the market in the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic could even lead to a reduction in the price of policies, but the situation changed quickly.

“Cars started to leave the streets, which reduced the volume of claims”, says Posternak. But he recalls that, soon after, there was a rise in demand for private cars, accompanied by problems in production lines and the rise in price of zero-kilometer cars.

The director of Ituran believes that the values ​​of coverage will remain between 15% and 20% higher this year than in 2021, since there has not yet been the normalization of activities in the sector.

Automakers continue to struggle to obtain components, especially semiconductors. This Friday (25), the Metalworkers Union of São José dos Campos e Região approved a new layoff request (temporary interruption of employment contracts) for workers at the Caoa Chery factory in Jacareí (São Paulo countryside). The start is scheduled for March and should last for 52 days, reaching 450 of the 700 workers.

In São Bernardo do Campo (Greater São Paulo), the Mercedes-Benz truck factory will also have part of its activities interrupted for 12 days in March due to lack of parts.

While supply problems and price increases are widespread, there is strong competition in the insurance industry. Therefore, companies need alternatives to try to retain customers and expand the base of policyholders. According to Fenseg, only 30% of the current fleet has some type of insurance coverage.

“We monitor market movements daily and always look for alternatives aiming at the least possible impact on the consumer, improving processes and reducing costs”, says Luiz Padial, director of automobiles at insurance company Tokio Marine.

Companies are starting to create alternatives based on Susep’s Circular 639/2021 (Superintendence of Private Insurance), in force since September. The new standard simplifies the insurance contracting process, and can reduce the value of the policy according to the services chosen by the client.

Among the changes is the fact that the policy does not have to be in the name of the vehicle owner, benefiting, for example, application drivers who use rental or subscription cars.

“More than talking about making insurance cheap, it is necessary to talk about leaving the correct price for each risk”, says Eduardo Dal Ri, from HDI Seguros. “It is necessary to choose, with the help of the broker, the coverage that suits your profile, not only thinking about the theft or theft of the vehicle, but also about collisions, damage to third parties and assistance services.”