Happy Wednesday! In this week's Big I Buzz, we're sharing a platform that can help you increase your email open rates and the surging costs of car insurance.

An Easy, Quick Way for Small Business Owners to Keep in Touch With Clients

Levitate is a keep-in-touch platform designed to help small businesses create authentic relationships with their clients. Now, what makes Levitate different: 

• Plain text emails that look and feel personal, sent at-scale

• Average Open Rates of 50%+ and reply rates of 10%+

• Texting, meeting booking, surveys, automations and so much more!

Whether you want to schedule a short email check-in, a milestone birthday greeting or a current events alert, you're staying top-of-mind without the dizzying, impersonal email campaigns that so often land head first in clients' trash bins. And with Levitate emails averaging a 60%+ open rate, you'll see the results that you have been after!

If you're looking for a new approach that feels less like marketing and more like, well, a real back-and-forth relationship, take a look at Levitate. They'd be thrilled to show you around. Visit https://levitate.grsm.io/IIAW to learn more!

Auto Insurance Costs Soar By 20% in the US

US car owners continue to face escalating maintenance costs, with motor-vehicle insurance prices surging by 20.3% in December, the highest since 1976 and marking a 16th consecutive month of annual gains exceeding 10%. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts predict further increases in insurance rates due to rising replacement parts and repair costs. Despite a drop in 2023, used-vehicle prices remain 38% higher since the start of the pandemic. Meanwhile, new car and truck prices saw a more modest annual increase of 1% in December 2023. These trends contribute to ongoing challenges for car owners grappling with the financial burden of vehicle ownership. Read more here.

For more news, check out the Action News section of our weekly e-newsletter, Big I Buzz. If you aren’t subscribed, click  here  to add your email to our emailing list.