There are more cars on the road, cheaper gas prices means more miles driven per car, and we have fewer total accidents but the accidents we have are more expensive due to more expensive parts (i.e. bumpers these days are thousands of dollars due to sensors and cameras vs a few years ago). All combine to create ~10% rate increase year over year.
I know this sounds like conspiracy theory and I can't tell you if this is a trend or not but I've heard about it from several people. To add to your point, the inspector has more incentive and justifiable reason to scrap the car altogether (salvage title).
Then, the inspector can buy the salvage car for pennies on the dollar, fix it, and sell it with a salvage title.
