High Cost of Natural Disasters
The U.S. had 16 disasters last year with damage exceeding a billion dollars, the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday. That ties 2011 for the number of billion-dollar disasters, but the total cost blew past the previous record of $215 billion in 2005. Total cost for 2017 weather disasters is $306 billion!
What does that mean for consumers?
- Time to review your insurance: This is good to do annually any ways but a policy review is a great way to see what your policy covers with disasters. Some items, like flooding and earthquakes are not covered under traditional policies and you will need a rider policy.
- Expect insurance rates to go up: For most Arkansans are probably already feeling the pinch from higher auto insurance rates due to high cost of accidents and natural disasters. Home insurance rates will most likely increase as well as insurance companies try to retain their profitability. These costs will be spread across the country even though the disasters are regional.
2018 An Expensive Year for Chicken, Cellphones and More
As you are tackling your 2018 budget, it is important to take note of the expected cost items in 2018. Here are a few items that
Deal News projects to be more expensive then in years past.
- Home Construction, Remodeling, and Repair: The impact of the natural disasters has also had a huge effect on construction costs. Rebuilding is likely to take years, and the resulting demand for supplies and labor could affect costs nationwide. It doesn't help that the anticipation of a new duty on Canadian lumber pushed lumber prices up by 22% before hurricane season began.
- Smartphones: Smartphone makers increasingly add high-end (and pricey) new features to lure us into tossing out our old phone for the newest model. Unfortunately, if you want the latest and greatest, paying nearly $1,000 for a new smartphone is becoming the norm. Our advice? The 2016 model is probably good enough, and a heck of a lot cheaper.
- Streaming Video Services: There are now around 200 choices of streaming video services to help you cut the cost of cable and stay on top of your favorite shows and sports. Though individually the services are affordable but when you start to stack several services this does put a pinch on the pocket book.
- Chicken: Breeding issues have lead to reduced number of chickens being hatched. This directly impacts supply for the high demand protein.
- Eating Out: The Consumer Price Index predicts that the cost for food away from home will go up by 2% to 3% this year. That's a problem for both restaurants and your wallet: Increased prices mean people spend less cash eating out, which can mean restaurants need to increase prices even more to stay afloat.
- College Educations: Over the past 20 years, the cost of college has risen dramatically. In that time, the cost of attending a private university is up 157%, the cost of attending a public university (for out-of-state students) is up 194%, and the cost of attending a public university (for in-state students) is up 237%. Annual price increases have steadily outpaced inflation, with increases between 2.9% and 3.6% in 2017.
Takata Recall Expanded
The
Takata Airbag Recall is not new news for many of us, however an additional 3.3 million air bags have now been included in this recall. The latest recalls cover frontal air bags in certain 2009, 2010 and 2013 vehicles made Honda, Toyota, Audi, BMW, Daimler Vans, Fiat Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, Jaguar-Land Rover, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru and Tesla. The recall is of particular concern to those of us in the South as that the heat and humidity here can further deteriorate the chemicals used in the air bags. This deterioration causes the air bags to explode improperly which can cause injury or even death. More information on the recall can be found on the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website.
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