Also the insurance rates are going up drastically thanks to the trucker that caused the Humboldt accident. Tragic accident due to negligence causing long term rate spikes for all trucking companies.
Sorry brother, but I gotta call BS on that one. Insurance rates are not up directly because of Humboldt, although Humboldt did cause insurance companies to take a closer look at their exposure to risk. Let's call that a market correction.
That being said, if you are a poor carrier and present an increased exposure to risk, you are certainly going to pay more for insurance. If your exposure to risk has remained the same, or decreased, then your renewal rates will reflect that.
The other significant factor is the stock market. If the market is hot and insurance companies are making good coin, they're not as aggressive with their rate increases. The opposite is also true.
It pay carriers huge dividends to know exactly how the insurance market works from the inside out. You can be sure your broker is not going to give you that information. It's simply not in their best interest for you to know as much about their business as they do.
PS ... don't be so quick to condemn that truck driver involved in the Humboldt accident. None of knows all of the sordid details, and the stars that aligned, to cause that accident.
All that we know for sure is that the outcome was one of the saddest in recent history.