Blanchet House struggles to find footing with insurance rates

Claire Peterson on November 14, 2022

Blanchet House is a Portland-based non-profit social services organization, but like many others, it suffers from the effects of inflation.

According to employees, the non-profit organization faces a growing need with rising costs, disrupting their operations.

Blanchet House

The non-profit organization was founded by students from the University of Portland in 1925.

The students founded the Blanchet House with the encouragement of their priest, who urged them to take to the streets and help people.

Initially, it began as a fraternity called the Blanchet Club, named after Oregon’s first pioneer Catholic priest, Reverend Francis Norbert. Blanket.

The club found a building to perform its services and eventually named it Blanchet House.

The situation

The executive director of Blanchet House, Steve Kerman, points to the state of the economy as a source of problems.

“Goods and services are costing us more, and part of that is insurance,” said Kerman.

“It takes a lot of insurance to operate, to do what we do – housing and meal services – and those costs are going up about 20 percent.”

Additionally, Scott Kerman revealed that Blanchet House has enough private money to make ends meet but is worried about the rest of the community.

“What I’m really trying to do is just speak up for the non-profits in our community who have been doing extraordinary work under exceptional and unprecedented circumstances and are dealing with the financial challenges as a result.”

Factors

According to the Northwest Insurance Council, many factors explain the rate hike.

President Kenton Brine said recovery from recent fires and rising repair costs are among the rate hike factors.

“I know that insurers are doing their best to keep cost increases as minimal as possible,” said Brine.

“But inflation and these other cost increases can’t help but begin to show up in premiums that people pay for – home, auto, and business insurance in Oregon.”

Policy solutions

The president of the Northwest Insurance Council recommends seeking a policy, suggesting that there is still competition for coverage in places, including downtown Portland.

“Then do other things that you can to try and reduce your risk. If you can protect windows from being smashed, try to do that,” Brine offered.

“If you can keep flammable materials and debris from piling up outside your business in an alley, try and prevent arson – all those things help make you a better risk for insurers to insure.”

According to Brine, crime’s impact is still hard to overlook.

“It’s certainly going to be helpful if local leaders try to attack the crime problem more aggressively,” suggested Brine.

“And as crime rates go down and people aren’t experiencing as many claims, you’ll see insurance rates stabilize.”

Reference:

Portland non-profits struggle with rising insurance rates

Coca-Cola will make product design changes next year

Jason Robinson on November 3, 2022

Coca-Cola is a company that thrives on innovation, constantly experimenting with new flavors and experiences for its loyal customers.

Now, the company wants to innovate again with a new look for its drinks.

Package innovation

Coca-Cola plans to diversify its cans, bottles and value packs.

The beverage company will also offer customers more options, even if they pay more for less.

James Quincey, the company CEO, shared the idea during an analyst call about third-quarter results on Tuesday.

“Package innovation takes a bigger role,” said Quincey.

“We will be approaching ’23 with a broad innovation agenda, but with some slight weighting to packaging.”

Consumers

A company with Coca-Cola status offers different containers to attract customers concerned about their spending.

There is still demand for Coke products, even though prices are rising.

“It’s about extending the price ladder,” Quincey explained.

“Making sure the entry point… becomes as low down in the price spectrum, the actual out-of-pocket, as possible.”

The extension is needed with Coca-Cola seeing consumers limit spending amid rising prices.

Shoppers are careful now, spending less on groceries.

“Therefore, the price point becomes even more important than the price per litter,” Quincey added.

“That’s absolutely what we’re pursuing.”

Consumers may pay more per liter when they buy smaller packages, but others are willing to negotiate lower prices.

Their decision comes from the fact that they cannot afford expensive items.

Containers and packs

Coca-Cola sells smaller containers and multi-packs that have fewer cans.

However, the company started a value collection in the third quarter, which allowed customers to obtain products of different sizes.

The items are only available in the United States in select stores.

According to Quincey, they help retain and attract more customers while creating value for Coca-Cola customers.

James Quincey also points out that reusable containers are an affordable alternative.

Consumers can get their money back by returning bottles and cans.

Coca-Cola’s goals and strategies

The company said earlier this year that it will aim to sell a quarter of all of its drinks worldwide.

They plan to reach the goal by 2030 using reusable or reusable containers.

Coca-Cola also announced that it will change the design of the Sprite bottle.

The company is replacing the iconic green look with clear plastic, making recycling easier.

Its strategies can offset high prices.

The company believes that inflation and volatility in the commodity market will affect costs and continue to increase prices.

“There’s going to be above normal input costs,” said Quincey.

“So we are expecting pricing to be ahead of normal next year on top of what’s happened this year.”

Coca-Cola expects further changes in the future.

During the analyst’s call, James Quincey said they would add more premium options for those with disposable income.

The company also plans to continue promoting Coke Zero Sugar with improved marketing and other innovations.

Coca-Cola’s pricing and innovation strategy continues to work as net revenues increased 10% to $1.1 billion in the third quarter.