Vehicle Insurance Claims, Premiums Rise

Spots N Dots
The Daily News Of TV Sales
September 12, 2017

VEHICLE INSURANCE CLAIMS, PREMIUMS RISE

HURRICANES WILL DRIVE UP COSTS

We reported last week that Warren Buffett had estimated that Berkshire Hathaway-owned GEICO would have to pay out for around 50,000 insured cars destroyed by Hurricane Harvey flooding in Texas—a scenario that is sure to be repeated for many other insurers. And that was before they had to deal with losses from Irma, which slammed into Florida over the weekend, and caused damage to new (and used) vehicles all across the state and in Georgia.

The latest Vehicle Insurance Trend Report from Runzheimerreports that insurance is a significant and growing component of vehicle ownership costs as claims continue a steady climb. Experts regard late August through the end of September as peak hurricane season, so Runzheimer says the big storms could also drive up costs.

“From July 2016 to June 2017, insurance accounted for 17.9% of the total cost to own and operate a vehicle. As a percent of total vehicle costs, this component grew by 1.7% in the last year and 9.8% over the last two years,” said Heidi Skatrud, Senior Vice President of Operations and Product Management for Runzheimer.

Several factors are driving insurance costs higher. Americans are driving more miles—setting new records each year since 2014. The total was 3.22 trillion miles in 2016, a 2.8% increase over 2015. Accidents are more frequent and distracted driving is on the rise. Accident frequency is at its highest level since 2007, the report says.

Claim costs are steadily increasing—both for collision and bodily injury. Since 2012, the average cost of bodily injury claims related to an auto accident has increased 15.9%. Over that period the average collision claim rose by 15.5%. “One reason for this increase is a shift in the overall mix of vehicles toward groups with higher repair costs: new vehicles, non-domestic vehicles and light trucks. Newer vehicles are also increasingly complex to repair due to the wide range of sensors and electronic components,” the report stated.

However, there is a bit of good news. Sport utility vehicles, on average, are less expensive to insure, compared with mid-sized sedans, says the Runzheimer report. The average cost to insure an SUV rose only by about 2% in the first half of 2017. As our readers well know, SUVs have accounted for a rising share of new vehicle sales, so more and more of them are on the road.

“The statistics in this report, which take into account these trends as well as the impact of recent and potential natural disasters, indicate that vehicle insurance premiums will continue to rise,” said Skatrud. “We are watching closely the potential impact Hurricane Irma might have on projections,” she added—and, as needed, Runzheimer will adjust its projections accordingly.

ADVERTISER NEWS

Kroger is opening a restaurant called Kitchen 1883 near headquarters in Cincinnati; Supermarket News reports Kroger officials had previously talked about expanding the company’s “share of stomach” to capture more of the total food dollar and this could be a way to do so. FYI, the company was founded in 1883 which seems to have played into the concept’s name……Nordstrom will open a new concept called Nordstrom Local next month in West Hollywood, CA, with only about 3,000 square feet compared to a normal store of about 140,000 square feet. The store will not stock inventory but will provide personal services and have dressing rooms where personal stylists can draw inventory from other Nordstrom locations for customers to try on. Other available services will include manicures and tailoring……CVS will introduce automated retail vending machines stocked with on-the-go necessities including over-the-counter health products, “better for you” snacks, and personal care items. The first 25 of the machines will be placed in New England and New York in venues such as airports, public transit stations, office parks and college campuses……Dealerscopereports RadioShack’s bankruptcy plan passed a preliminary court review which would allow the company to operate with online operations, a “major” network of independent dealers and a handful of company-owned bricks-and-mortar stores. RadioShack is currently suing Sprint, and money for vendors and other creditors depends on the outcome of that lawsuit……A six-year old restaurant concept called Melt Shop is going into expansion mode, hoping to open 100 locations in the next few years. It’s owned by Aurify Brands, which owns several small restaurant brands plus a cluster of Five Guys stores……The annual J.D. Power study of consumer satisfaction for the retail pharmacy sector finds there’s been a decline in overall satisfaction that has been driven mostly by increases in the costs of prescription drugs. Although the industry still ranks well compared to other retail segments, the cost increases have pulled down numbers for all the three major retail channels, although most supermarkets’ pharmacies lead chain drug stores and mass merchandisers. Brookshire (894 on a 1,000-point scale) leads supermarkets followed by H-E-B (893), Bi- Lo (891), Wegmans (890), Publix, Weis, Winn-Dixie and Kroger, with all others below the industry average. Among mass merchandisers, Sam’s Club gets an 874, followed by Fred’s (873), Costco, Meijer, CVS (for its units that are located inside Target stores), and Kmart, with others below the industry average. And for chain drug stores, Good Neighbor’s 889 leadsHealth Mart’s 886, Medicine Shoppe’s 879 and Rite Aid’s 851. The two biggest chains are both below the industry average—CVS at 845 and Walgreens at 844.

NETWORK NEWS

A new legal drama has picked up a script commitment from NBC. The Outsider is a thriller from Chuck Rose (The Art of More), the husband and wife producing team of Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, and Universal TV. The show is set in the powerful but often secretive world of the Supreme Court as seen through the eyes of their clerks. The group of twentysomethings who struggle with balancing their messy personal lives against the incredible demands of their jobs. The project is based on the novel of the same name from author Anthony Franze……ABC extended a put pilot commitment to a soapy drama series based on Curtis Sittenfeld’sbook Eligible: A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice. The project follows the five Bennett sisters and their complex journeys to finding love in its many traditional and non-traditional incarnations. Eligible is being developed by Sherri Cooper Landsman and Jennifer Levin, developers of the CW’s Beauty and the Beast, and I. Marlene King, creator of Freeform’sflagship series Pretty Little Liars. Warner Bros. TV, where King is based, is the studio for the project……Gerald McRaneypicked up his first Emmy win for his portrayal of Dr. Nathan Katowski on the hit NBC series This Is Us. McRaney discussed a possible return of Dr. Katowski in the upcoming season of This Is Us. McRaney said, “I have no idea. I hope Dr. K makes another appearance, but it he doesn’t I’m fine with that because it was such a joy to have been on this show and to have been a part of it.” This Is Us returns to NBC’s primetime on Tuesday, September 26th……The producer and executive that helped lead NBC’s Must-See TV revival in the 1990’s, Don Ohlmeyer, has passed away at his home in Palm Desert, CA. He was 72 years of age. The announcement was made by his longtime friend Al Michaels during the Sunday Night Football telecast on NBC. Under Ohlmeyer’s watch, NBC thrived with a fresh slate of hits including Friends, ER, Frasier, Mad About You, Seinfeld, Law & Order, Just Shoot Me and Will & Grace. He had a long run as a sports producer before moving to NBC as West Coast President in 1993…… Bonnie Bedelia(Parenthood) has been picked for a key recurring role opposite Kiefer Sutherland in the second season of the ABC hit Designated Survivor. She will play Eva Booker, the President’s (Sutherland) mother-in-law.

ACCOUNT ACTIONS

Goodby Silverstein & Partners has been named lead creative shop for Pepsi after the client conducted a review of Omnicom-only agencies. GS&P has already done work on other PepsiCo non-beverage brands including Tostitos, Cheetos, and Doritos. Pepsi’s drinks are among the biggest U.S. advertisers—Kantar Media estimates the beverage division of PepsiCo spent $527 million last year.

Ad Age reported late Monday that Airbnb has selected Wieden & Kennedy as its new creative agency, following a review. Omnicom’s TBWA, which has worked on the Airbnb account since 2014, was not invited to pitch. spent $30.4 million on measured media in the U.S. last year, up 29% from 2015, according to Kantar Media.

BUSINESS BYTES

- In a situation that’s sure to soon be duplicated in Florida markets, Automotive News reports there’s a surge of automotive sales going on in Houston and other Texas markets that had been battered by Hurricane Harvey. The head of the Houston Automotive Dealers Association, who is VP of five stores in the market, says sales at his stores are now up 40-50% as people rush to replace flood-damaged vehicles, and dealers’ inventories in the market are reported to be getting tight. One of the problems dealers may face according to AutoNation CEO Mike Jackson is that his company does not want to take any flood-damaged vehicles as trade-ins, and it has already run into some situations where customers’ claims of no such damage have not been truthful. Meanwhile, some Florida dealers had a surge in service business last week as Floridians prepared to evacuate to safer areas while at the same time dealers there were scrambling to move their inventory to safer locations to avoid the expected flood damage.

- A new report from retail brokerage firm JLL takes a look at 13 retail segments and predicts the future for those categories as either remaining primarily bricks-and-mortar segments or whether they will become more heavily online-dominated. “We found that shoppers are motivated to go either in-store or shop online based on how much time they have, if they need to touch goods or how much money they are willing to spend,” Naveen Jaggi, president of JLL said. “The carrying degrees of these values against different product types will determine how resistant they are to consolidation and migration online.” Likely to remain primarily bricks-and-mortar: Restaurants (fairly well-protected, although online ordering and delivery are becoming big factors); Off-price-retailers (offer a ‘treasure hunt’ to customers who want heavily slashed prices); Dollar Stores (E-commerce penetration is relatively non-existent); and Furniture Stores, (lets shoppers test out and visualize merchandise before buying). Sales Migrating Primarily Online: Office Supply (Physical stores offer minimal experience, time, and savings); Electronics Stores (Stores that don’t offer an experience or point of differentiation will have a rough time moving forward); Book Stores (availability of books has become commoditized, with e-commerce already near 25% of the category). Mixed Bag of Online and In-Store: Grocery (Continues to inch into omnichannel although 93% of consumers still prefer to inspect their own produce); Mass Merchants (E-commerce now about 5% but will grow as major players invest in their online platforms); Department Stores (E-commerce now about 13%, but likely that some chains will retain most of their portfolio of stores); Apparel Concepts/Fast Fashion (75% of consumers still prefer to buy their apparel in-store); Children’s Goods/Toy Stores: (E-commerce up 16%, but ‘physical stores will be essential in crafting their brand experience’); Sporting Goods (despite recent bankruptcies and closings, more than half of consumers still want to buy sporting goods in-store).

COMPETITIVE INFO

Teens complain of too many ads on YouTube more than any other social media site, according to a Forrester survey of youths 12-17. Even so, 77% of teens use YouTube daily, which Forrester’s Brandon Verblowsays is “an indication that video viewers have a higher tolerance for video ads.” 39% of teens say YouTube has too many ads, compared to 26% citing Facebook and 11% each for Instagram and Snapchat.

“Our survey also indicates that Facebook still has room to insert more midroll ads within videos without alienating users. While Facebook’s ‘too many ads’ response rate of 26% is the highest among the core social networks— Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest—it is still below YouTube’s 39%.

ECONOMIC NEWS

Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in August for the 92nd consecutive month, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The non-manufacturing index rose 1.4 percentage points from July to 55.3%. 15 non-manufacturing industries reporting growth in August, led by Retail Trade; Information; Management of Companies & Support Services; Real Estate, Rental & Leasing; and Other Services……The Labor Department reported that non-farm worker productivity rose at a 1.5% seasonally adjusted rate in Q2, up from a mere 0.1% in Q1. Output rose at a 4% rate from the first quarter, while hours worked were up at a 2.5% pace.

RETAIL IMPORTS AT RECORD LEVELS

As retailers prepare for a strong holiday shopping season, the National Retail Federation (NRF) and Hackett Associates report that imports at the nation’s major retail container ports set an all-time record in July. Ports covered by the Global Port Tracker handled 1.78 million Twenty- Foot Equivalent Units (TEU) in July, the latest month for which after-the-fact numbers are available. That was up 5% from June and 9.2% from July 2016. It was the highest monthly volume recorded since NRF began tracking imports in 2000, beating the previous record of 1.73 million TEU in March 2015. A TEU is one 20-foot-long cargo container or its equivalent.

“Consumers are buying more, and retailers are scrambling to import more merchandise to keep up with the demand,” said NRF VP Jonathan Gold.

AVAILS

General Manager: WLNE, ABC Affiliate in Providence (Market #52). WLNE seeks candidates who possess strong leadership, financial and people management skills; the ability to develop strategic revenue plans on all platforms and demonstrate operational expertise are additional requirements. A minimum of ten years broadcasting experience is necessary; five + years in sales management is preferable. Send salary requirements and resume in confidence to: Raymond Cole, President, Citadel Communications, One Corporate Place, 501 42nd St., Suite 370, West Des Moines, IA 50266. ABC6 is an EOE.

KOIN 6, a Nexstar Media Group Inc. television station in Portland, Oregon, is looking to hire a full time Integrated Digital Specialist (IDS). As a member of the Nexstar digital sales team, the Integrated Digital Specialist (IDS) is responsible for generating and growing digital marketing service revenue for the company. The IDS will be the market’s subject matter expert on digital services and will work, both independently and in conjunction with the Nexstar sales team. Get more details or apply HERE. EOE.

Want a unique opportunity to run a successful sales team in a fast growth lifestyle market in the Rockies? KPAX is hiring a progressive Director of Sales to drive revenue with a focus on client results utilizing CBS+CW with geotargeting capabilities coupled with a full suite of best of breed Digital products. This opportunity is primed for long-term growth. Connect with Bob Hermes, General Manager to set a meeting at NAB in Denver or for a phone interview – . More details HERE. EOE.

WSMV/NBC Nashville, TN has an awesome opportunity here in Music City for an Account Executive. We’re searching for talented AEs that know how to achieve assigned revenue goals, solicit new advertisers and increase their share of business. If you are an experienced driven self-starter and would love to join our team in Nashville and put satisfied advertisers on our station and digital properties, apply directly online at look for job code JR03770. EOE.

National - Local Sales Manager: Cox Media Group, Tulsa, OK is looking for a sales leader who creates a positive culture for success through leadership, clear direction, teaching, motivating and evaluating the sales efforts of our local and national spot teams. This leader will have a proven track record of success in achieving and exceeding station goals and objectives. Must have experience coaching, training and leading both a local and national team to grow market share and new revenue streams.CLICK HEREto apply. EOE.

FOX40-KTXL Sacramento has an opening for an experienced marketing consultant who wants to thrive in America’s Farm to Fork Capital. It’s an exciting time to live and work in Sacramento with the redevelopment of the city center that started with the New Kings arena in 2016. We are seeking a solutions oriented consultant who can thrive in any part of our business from transactional accounts to business development. Get more info or apply online today: EOE.

I told my girlfriend I wrote her a poem, but it was really just the theme song to King of Queens.–Mike Recine

My husband coughing the moment I got the baby to sleep is why spouses are the number one suspect in homicide cases.–FunnyTweeter.com

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SPOTS N DOTS
The Daily News Of TV Sales
September12, 2017
Phone: 888-884-2630