Archive for the ‘Insurance’ Category:
Auto insurance and the new GM offer
There’s never really anything new in the world of marketing. The same ideas that sold three bottles of wine for the price of two in ancient Rome still work today. We all like to think we’re getting good value for money. The most usual approach is to offer volume for a discount. The more you buy, the less you pay. In the insurance world, we see bundles on offer. Pay less if you buy both an auto and home insurance policy. There will be further discounts if you insure multiple vehicles or several different “homes”, e.g. when your teens go off to college and need cover for their possessions. This is simple commercial sense. Unless your family is particularly unlucky, you are paying an increasingly large amount of premium income to the insurer which turns into more profit when you make no large claim. That earns a discount to reward you for your loyalty.
Well, here comes a new experiment from the motor industry. General Motors is flexing its muscles now it’s recovering from the Chapter 11 reorganization. During the last ten years, its reputation has taken a beating and sales of its brands has been declining year-on-year. The last financial year, 2010, was the first time it showed a profit since 2004. It has also shown a slight increase in sales volumes – the first increase after ten years of losing market share. To boost sales this year, it’s offering one year’s free insurance if you buy one of the eligible models. Before you all get too excited, this only applies to the good folk who live in Oregon and Washington, and the offer expires come September. But we can assume more of these offers will be made if sales in the models shows significant increase. So why is this potentially a good thing for you? More »
Reducing the risk of burglary
As we move into fall, there’s still time for one more quick break. It’s good to get away for a long weekend before winter comes – except for those of you in the south, of course, where it manages to be summer all year round. So the first rule is not to tell all your friends on Facebook or any of the other social network sites. No posting of photographs showing you enjoying a margarita by the beach. Similarly, stop tweeting your instant reactions to the hotel or the food in the restaurant. It’s bad enough you telling the world you have the type of lifestyle that makes it worth a burglar’s time breaking into your home. But also telling the burglar you’re not home. . . Indeed, any real-time messaging to the world describing what you do, where you shop, what food you enjoy, and so on gives thieves a shopping list of what to steal.
Did you know most burglaries take place during the holiday periods when there are fewer people around in your neighborhood and the thieves know your home is unoccupied. Remarkably, many do not actually have to break anything to enter. It seems we’re very forgetful when it comes to locking doors and securing windows. Some thieves don’t actually bother entering the home but force open the garage or shed, taking bicycles and anything else easily moved and saleable. So, if you’re going away, what precautions should you take? The first step is to create the impression your home is still occupied. You can buy timers for lights and electrical equipment. Leaving the curtains or blinds slightly open, you can program the television to come on. Ask neighbors to spend time inside your home in the evenings. Then cancel deliveries of the newspaper or anything else that will signal your absence. More »
Auto insurance tips to save money
The majority of politicians have a split personality. One minute, the deficit is the end of the world as we know it. The next, there’s no reason to panic. Except, when you look round the neighborhood and see the number of homes going through foreclosure, all those people you know who are unemployed and businesses closing down, you realize the country has not yet recovered from the recession. With every dollar counting to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head, the challenge is to keep all the essentials in place within breaking the budget. In this, remember you always get what you pay for, so buying something cheap is often not giving you good value for your money. It’s always better to find goods or services of reasonable quality at a price you can afford.
So, from the earliest years, we’re taught to shop around. Family and friends laugh at us if we accept the first price offered in the first shop we walk into. Everyone knows you have to go into at least three shops to get an idea of how much goods of this type actually cost. Only then can we see what represents good value for money. Would you start walking round car lots and showrooms without having an idea of the current prices? Would you simply agree to pay the asking price? Almost everyone is prepared to ask for a discount. Haggling may not be everyone’s strength but, in these tough economic times, we should all make the effort. It’s the same with insurance to go with the vehicle. More »
Medical clinics in drugstores
When is a doctor not a doctor? When is a clinic not a clinic? All questions of this type sound a little nonsensical. You can check whether someone has a degree and the credentials to be a doctor. Similarly, you always rely on a doctor in a clinic to diagnose and treat your medical condition. Right? Well, not necessarily. Here’s a slightly different question for you. Suppose a nurse works in a hospital for years and has vast experience in dealing with certain types of medical problem. You have that problem and are lying in a bed when this nurse gets in an argument with an intern – that’s a new medical graduate going through supervised training. The nurse effectively tells the doctor-to-be he has made a mistake. Whose judgement do you trust?
In other countries, experienced nurses are trusted to make limited diagnoses and prescribe some drugs. This allows urgent treatment to be given. If a consultant has to be summoned to confirm the treatment, this delay could be dangerous to health. In America, doctors are careful to protect their status and reputation. There are also medical malpractice implications if nurses are allowed to assume responsibility for critical parts of the treatment regime. It’s therefore interesting to observe the spread of medical clinics in drugstores and other retail environments. As an example, the Minute Clinic chain has more than 600 outlets in 24 states. These clinics are staffed by family nurse practitioners and physician assistants. Why should they have become so popular? More »
Insuring your custom ride
You’ve definitely seen many of those cars that the TV show “Pimp My Ride” and many other love to highlight. It has become a real fad among car owners, especially the younger ones, to customize their vehicles for the purpose of reflecting their individuality through the car they drive. Sure, in such an individualistic society as we all are there’s nothing wrong or bad about such a fad. However, quite often when it comes to insuring such vehicles their owners tend to overlook the changes their car has be subjected to, believing that their policy will cover it in case of an accident. And it’s such a bitter feeling when they actually file a claim and get covered partially or denied coverage in general. What’s wrong with custom cars that insurance companies are so picky about them?
First of all let’s take a look at what the insurance company covers in the first place. When you purchase a policy the company is obliged to cover the losses to your car in its form as the policy was signed according to its market value or independent evaluation. What happens when you decide to customize it? You change certain parts of the car from original to custom and effectively alter the market value of your vehicle. Let’s agree that installing a stereo system worth of 6k to your 3k Honda Civic is actually altering its price in a drastic manner. And in case you end up filing a claim for the altered value and configuration of your vehicle the insurance company has the right to deny you with coverage simply because you’ve altered the value of the insurance object without informing the insurer. It’s like buying a cheap computer, upgrading it with the most advanced parts, and then trying to get a refund for the final value of your PC because there was a short circuit in your flat. More »
Electric and hybrid vehicle insurance facts
The fad for electric and hybrid drive is still on the rise these days, with more models being introduced by car makers and new incentives offered for purchasing such environmental-friendly vehicles. You see more of these vehicles on the road and it may look like a good bargain to buy one. But what’s the situation when you actually try to insure such cars? Are they on par with their carbon-footprint peers or there are some peculiarities when it comes to covering such vehicles?
While electric motor vehicles haven’t been around for long enough to speak about any lengthy claims history, hybrid cars have been on the market for almost a decade and insurance providers have all the statistics they need to determine adequate insurance rates for such vehicles. And to much surprise, owning a hybrid vehicle doesn’t automatically mean that you’ll get better insurance rates. More »
Insurance quotes and your credit scores
If everything was left to common sense, the whole business of writing insurance would be easy. All you would need is an assessment of the individual’s driving ability. Good drivers have fewer accidents so pay less. Bad drivers are responsible for claims. That’s bad for business so they pay more. Except they had to take this simple idea and make it all complicated. Now, every last fact in every accident that’s reported, is collected by the insurers and analyzed. If you sat in front of a computer in an insurer’s main office, you could do a search and find out how many Chevrolet Tahoes have been involved in an accident on a straight dry road when all the driver had to do was brake to avoid the collision. In fact, it’s remarkable what you can find out when you add in time of day, weather, and any other variables you care to pick. Literally, there are statistics on everything. So, if you asked the computer whether it was Professor Plumb in the library with the candlestick, there would be an answer. Equally, if you put a driver of any age, race, religion and gender into any make and model of vehicle in a particular part of the country, with an estimate of the annual mileage, you will see the probability of an accident. The computer models are that precise.
So perhaps it might come as a surprise that one of the factors now considered by the insurance companies is your credit score. This ranks them alongside banks and loan companies, landlords and anyone interested in whether you are likely to pay them. It also matches the interest of potential employers who look at job applicants to see whether they manage their money well. The theory seems to be that people with bad credit scores are more likely to be unreliable employees – perhaps when they are short of money, they are supposed to be more likely to steal? Anyway, insurers also think that a poor credit score means you are more likely to make a claim. This is wrapped up with the ZIP-code weighting. Poor people live in the type of neighborhood where vehicles are vandalized or stolen. They stage accidents to make fake claims. All the usual stereotyping that works so unfairly.
But once you know insurers are going to check your score, you need to take action. A recent survey found there were mistakes in the credit records of 80% of adult Americans. Most of the mistakes were not serious, but enough reduced the credit scores. Remember there are three major companies, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion, so you need to check all three. This is absolutely free. The Fair Credit Reporting Act gives you the right to one free copy of your history every year, and the right to have any mistakes corrected. Once you are sure everything is correct, you can get the car insurance quote knowing they will be based on the right information. If you have found major errors in you credit history, contact your current insurer without waiting for a car insurance quote. Most companies correct the premiums immediately.
Auto insurance and the older driver
If you’re getting older, there’s one simple truth. You have years of driving experience and the odds are you’re a lot safer driver than the youngsters. In fact, statistically speaking, drivers in the age range of 55 to 64 are among the safest on the road. Almost all drive within the speed limit and have defensive habits. Eyesight is still good and reflexes fast enough to get out of trouble if an emergency looms. Over 65, the accident statistics show more accidents. Over 75, the accident rate rises faster although it’s still less than the rate for those under 24. For those of you who eat statistics for breakfast, older drivers cause about 15% of the fatalities on our roads. Almost all the traffic accidents involving seniors occur during daylight hours or on the weekends. Seniors are off-peak, leisure drivers.
So no doom and gloom. The fact we’re getting older is no reason to think of quitting driving. Indeed, the way our cities are built and the pathetic public transport systems, cars are the only way we can get around the place. But we can start taking a few basic steps to prepare ourselves. The first step is to ensure our vehicle is fit for the purpose. We might start thinking about swivel seats to help get into and out of the vehicle more easily. Hand controls can overcome physical problems.
Fitting a simple cushion can improve posture and help us see the road more clearly, but before you fit any of the new adaptive devices, you should talk with a rehabilitation expert to find out which are the best value for – look for members of the Association for Driver Rehabilitation Specialists (ADED) and the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The other factor is to keep your insurer in the picture. If you do adapt your vehicle make sure to send details of the cost so that, if the worst happens and your vehicle is stolen or it’s totaled, the fair value includes the cost of replacing the adaptation devices. Remember there are rebate schemes offering up to $1,000 for adaptive devices. If you have a prescription, most states waive the sales taxes and the cost of the equipment is tax deductible.
Think about muscle strength and how easily you can move your head. Can you adjust the foot pedals or change the height of the seats so you can see over the steering wheel more easily? There are solutions for every problem so make sure you get the best advice and, just as important, training in the use of any new devices. This is not a time to be proud. Accept the help. And just to reinforce the need to keep your auto insurance company in the loop. You will hold down your premium rates if you show a clear intention to stay safe on the roads. Indeed, many modifications and training courses may qualify you for a discount. Auto insurance companies want you to be safe (and make no claims) so talk to them to get the best possible deals.
Home insurance and those winter perils
Somewhere lurking away in one of those Christmas carol CDs is a happy chorus along the lines of , “Winter is a coming in, so loudly sing tra la. . .” or hey-nonny-nos to that effect. It’s all supposed to reassure you that all this white stuff falling out of the sky is great Christmas decoration and there’s nothing to worry about as those icicles form on the power lines. Ah, if only t’were so. The weight of snow on your roof can find any weakness. Come the thaw and melt water can seep through into lofts, bring down ceilings. That’s assuming the ice hasn’t burst your pipe before the thaw. All this good cheer should reinforce the basic message that a little prevention will keep you warm and the house secure.
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What are the benefits of tort reform?
In Europe there are a lot of safety options for cars that feature both standard and additional equipment. But it’s not the same in the US. What are the reasons for that? Some insurance specialists think that it’s the lack of tort reform that puts auto insurance in the US into such a situation.
But what is a tort reform in the first place and what it has to do with auto insurance? Tort reform is a general term that refers to a change in the US civil justice framework that is required to provide a limitation of tort litigation and damage. If the reform will be applied then the negative effects litigation has on the economy will be significantly reduced.
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