General Business and Finance Blog

Thanks to the healthcare debate, everyone has got all fired-up about the question whether insurance should ever be made mandatory. This has been picked up by the right wing of the GOP with the Tea Partiers in full bitter resentment at the idea anyone should ever be required to buy an insurance policy. The newly elected members to legislatures around the country are coming into office with the idea they should roll back Big Government and leave the choice about everything to the people. At first, there was no sign the law might be in their favor, but one federal judge has now ruled a part of Obamacare is unconstitutional. It seems this is now headed for the Supreme Court. Except neither side is very keen for this to be resolved quickly. It may be 2013 before we have a final ruling. So where does this leave the everyday problem of insuring the vehicles we rely on to get around?

In theory, the two types of insurance are different and so insuring vehicles probably can be made mandatory. The reason? It’s your decision whether to buy a vehicle. You could walk, ride a bicycle or use public transport. If you choose to drive, then you have to carry insurance. But whether you fall ill is not under your control. People are what they are, so forcing everyone to buy insurance just for living does start to look more like a tax. We will see what the Supreme Court says. But the world is already changing. Take Wisconsin as an example. A newly elected Republican is co-sponsoring the Consumer Choice Auto Insurance Act. This would repeal the recent increases in the minimum liability requirements. It would still be mandatory to carry some insurance. Just less of it. The justification is that the insurers would then reduce the premium rates and so make life slightly more affordable. An alternative explanation is that even the newly elected State Rep did not feel able to justify repealing the mandatory insurance altogether.

In other states, the law-makers are reviewing the minimum amounts for the mandatory coverage. They are all proposing further increases. Taking account of inflation over the years, these amounts have been devalued by about 700%. All the costs of medical treatment and repairs have been increasing and are no longer covered by these minimum amounts. The whole point of mandatory minimums is being undermined by the continuing failure to make a real increase. Except, of course, this would force a rise in the auto insurance rates and would be very bad politics during a recession. Pushing up costs on what most people consider a necessity will inspire anger. No elected politician voting for this would be safe during the next election.

With everyone focussing on budget deficits both at state and federal levels, anything that pushes up the cost of living hits the poor and middle class at a time when they are most vulnerable. Since tax increases are politically unacceptable, the only way of reducing the deficit is to reduce both discretionary and entitlement spending. This will affect the poor even more directly yet, as everyone hunts for those elusive cheap car insurance policies, they could have less to spend on keeping their vehicles on the road.

Words are wonderful friends, even those that appear in insurance policies. Get those words on your side, and you’ve got those pesky insurers right where you want them (although not, as Sarah Palin would have us say, in your crosshairs because that might be misunderstood as inciting violence). So here we are again in California, the home of the consumer activists who insist on trying to protect people against the insurance industry. The nerve of these dangerous lefties who dare challenge the mighty gods of capitalism. First it was this whole thing about ZIP codes. Wow, was there ever anything so blown out of proportion. So what if using ZIP codes lumps all drivers together regardless of driving skill and experience. Anyone who can’t afford to live in a neighborhood with a decent code deserves everything coming their way. But, no, that all had to stop. Now insurers have to take the time to look at their policyholders as individuals. All that extra administrative work to press keys on their PCs. The strain on those finger muscles is almost beyond belief. But sacrifices have to be made if the voters are allowed their say.

Well, now the Department of Insurance has been interfering again! This time, the Commissioner has been excited by the massive advertising campaign behind the “accident forgiveness’ policy. Now what could be better than this? Here we have a leading insurer promising not to hit its insured with premium hikes if they make a claim or pick up a ticket. Is this not something special? Is this not something the Commissioner should be applauding as really great underwriting, recognizing people may have a bad day, allowing one mistake to pass without any penalty? Well, no! The Commissioner looked at the ads which have been high profile by Allstate and two of its subsidiaries. He asked Allstate which confirmed that several hundred thousand people had signed up. So were all these guys suckers? Did they need some Big Government stooge to step in to protect them?

Well, yes. The Commissioner thought the ads deceptive and unfair. The way the scheme worked was to increase the current premiums by 15% to buy the promise not to increase the rates if there was an accident or a ticket. To find out for sure, the Commissioner asked Allstate for details of how they currently treat people who do claim or pick up a ticket, and then for comparative information on how this practise would change under the new policy. For some reason, the company decided to scrap the new policy. All that money spent on ads has been thrown away. All policyholders will be phased back to the old terms.

Now no one is suggesting Allstate was just conning folk with these car insurance rates but it’s hard not to think that way. Why else would it just shut down the policy? Ah well, we should give Allstate the benefit of the doubt. The result is that all the folk who signed up for these new policies will now be back on what will seem cheap car insurance. Perhaps we should look see what’s happening in other states.

Q: Am I obliged to carry insurance coverage with my auto?

A: Nearly all states in the US legally require all drivers to have minimum amounts of liability coverage with their vehicles. In each state the minimum amounts of liability coverage are different, and not meeting these requirements usually leads to fines, suspension of license and even prison time. Even in states where insurance coverage is not a legal requirement, you should carry financial proof of your ability to pay for the damage caused in case of an accident. When it comes to other types of insurance coverage, outside liability protection, these are purely optional in all states and don’t have any legal limits or requirements.

Q: Do I need an insurance policy before buying a car?

A: In case you’re buying your first auto and never had any insurance before, you will need to buy a policy first in order to be able to take the car from the dealer. Moreover, if you’re financing the purchase using an auto loan, your lending company is likely to impose you with specific insurance requirements in order to perform the purchase.

If you already have an insurance policy and changing cars you have 2-4 weeks to inform your insurance company about the change, and the provider will adjust your insurance rates to the respective car make and model. Remember to inform your provider on time, otherwise you risk having no coverage with your new vehicle for a certain period of time.

If you’re simply adding a new car to an existing policy without getting rid of the old one, the rules vary from company to company. Some providers automatically provide coverage for the newly-added vehicle, while others require you to notify them about the addition in a specified period of time. It’s better to ask your agent about that first.

Q: How to get cheap auto insurance?

A: First of all, get as many auto insurance quotes from different providers as possible. This will allow you to comparison shop for the best policy, and most of you know how comparison shopping helps getting the lowest price for the best product or service. The rule applies here, too.

If you’re looking into purchasing a new car you should consider its insurance costs too. Ask the insurance agent about the most insurance-friendly vehicles if the rates really matter for you. Usually, the cars with the lowest theft rates, low repair costs, and good safety scores are the cheapest to insure. And this doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to buy a cheap car in order to get cheap car insurance.

Other ways of lowering your rates include certain financial risks, however they are perfectly legal. First of all you can increase your deductibles and your rates will automatically go down, however you will be required to pay more out of own pocket before the coverage actually kicks in. You can also revise your coverage amounts, and set them lower than initially. However, it is highly recommended that you carry more liability coverage than the state minimum requirements in order to assure you have the necessary funds for paying out a serious accident.

Your car probably means a lot to you. It is your baby and has become that ever since you purchased it. You want to make sure it is always in the right condition. In order to be able to maintain it that way, you have to invest money in it. In other words, it becomes a part of your life that you can’t imagine yourself without. So these reasons are probably enough to start looking for a good insurance that will satisfy all of your needs and be very thoughtful to your pocket.

Most people in the world do have their insurance. It happens mainly because they are afraid to take risks with the car. While driving on the road you can be as attentive as you can possibly be but sometimes we are paying for other people’s mistakes. What you need to do after you became a part of the accident is to file a claim. Here is how to do it in a short time:

First thing you have to do is decide whether you really need to fill a claim or not. The funny thing about insurance claim is that when you deal with insurance company even when you wonder about filing one they automatically record it on the insurance record. That is why it is necessary to keep the insurance record clean without insignificant worries about the claim. If you found yourself a part of an accident, the first thing you need to do is ask yourself if you are able to pay for the losses. If you know you have enough money to do without insurance company, simply don’t go for the claim.

Second of all, you need to fill out a special form – it is so-called ” what to do after an accident worksheet” – this form for keep you updated for the information you will need to put while filing your insurance claim. You have to act wise here. Don’t make up stories and invent no details when it comes to filing the form. If you have an opportunity to find witnesses that will take your side in the story – the better it will be for you.
You claim won’t wait no hours. You have to take action immediately. If this was not your fault, still don’t be afraid to call your insurance company as soon as possible as they will play the part of you advocate in the story.

Don’t be afraid to receive calls from other insurance companies. If there is a debate between two parties, it is very possible that the other insurance company will want to call you and meet you for any arrangements. If this happens make sure you remember the details of the person you talked to. Try to recollect what he said as precisely as you can.

The last step is getting your car fixed. It is also the best one as it gives your baby a chance to have a new life. What can possibly be better?!

You can read auto insurance quotes if you want to receive more information about the claims. And remember to keep smart about your car. Cheap car insurance is not always the best thing when hard times come and you need a shoulder to cry on. It is better to find a reliable company that you will always feel protected with. Cheap auto insurance is not what you think about when you think situations on the road. Trust and security is what is important for your car.

Do you remember the Blues Brothers? They were unstoppable. They were “on a mission from God”. Seems like almost everyone standing behind the counter in the rental agency is a Blues Brother when you come into collect the vehicle. They always want to sell you something, usually additional insurance. The most common special offer is loss damage waiver (LDW). It sounds such a good idea to have complete cover against any loss caused to the vehicle while under your control. The magic word is “waiver”. You are excluded from liability even if you drive the vehicle off the end of a pier and it sinks without trace (hopefully without you still inside it). The only problem is this good idea can seriously damage your bank balance when the final bill comes in. That hourly or daily rate just got heavy. So when should you add LDW? The answer is deceptively simple. If you do not own another vehicle and have no insurance cover in place, it may be a good buy. But most insurance policies on your own vehicle cover you while driving a rental. So it all comes down to the extent of that cover on your own vehicle.

To get the maximum discount in these hard economic times, most people have been pushing up the deductibles. In many cases, the potential losses can be managed to keep to the low end. It’s your vehicle. You can talk to the repair shop and get all the work you want done at the best price. But when it’s a rental vehicle, everything is out of your hands. The rental company has no interest in protecting your bank balance. It pays top dollar to get the vehicle repaired and sends you the bill. No searching around to find the cheapest replacement parts and lowest price body shops. Everything is top of the range and then comes the kicker. It’s called the “loss of use” charge. You are expected to cover their estimated loss of profit while the vehicle is off the road. And guess what. If you are paying their loss of profit, they have no incentive to rush the repairs. They can take their own sweet time and, in most cases, you pay – most private policies do not cover loss of use charges. Some credit card companies offer limited cover, but read the small print before relying on it. Limited cover means very little actual money will ever be paid out.

If you are only renting for a few days, it’s probably worth paying for LDW. It may not be cheap car insurance, but it protects you. But if the end bill is going to be too high, trust to luck and your own insurance policy. Hopefully, your own cheap car insurance policy will give you enough of a buffer against claims Remembering, of course, that only the best private policies cover you against the dreaded loss of use charges. If nothing else, all this bad news should give you the incentive to drive like your wheels are passing over egg shells. Drive as safely and carefully as possible. If you are going to break some eggs, make sure the damage is minor and the losses are small.

Starting with excessive rates to buying a separate policy for your teen driver, dealing with auto coverage is often confusing, complicated and it also involves a lot of money to be spent. Still, you can’t go around it, as it a legal requirement in most states and a helpful tool to give you a peace of mind when dealing with traffic accidents. Sure, it may seem like a dirty job and you don’t want to waste your time on it. But what if there’s an easier way to get your auto insured without all the hassle you fear of dealing with? If you are interested, read the frequently asked questions below as answered by insurance experts, who know how to get the right policy no matter what’s your situation.

Q: Am I obliged to carry insurance coverage when driving my car?

A: Nearly all states have it as a legal requirement for drivers to carry liability auto coverage as a guarantee that the damages you deliver in a car accidents are paid for. Each state has a minimum amount of liability coverage that a driver must carry with his policy. And even the states that don’t have vehicle insurance as a legal requirement oblige the driver to show proof that he has enough financial resources to pay for the caused damage. Any other types of insurance coverage, outside liability coverage are purely optional and can be purchased with respect to your personal insurance needs.

Q: Is insurance required before buying a new vehicle?

A: If that’s your first vehicle, you will be required to have insurance coverage before even taking it from the dealer. Moreover, if you’re using an auto loan to finance the purchase, you may be required to buy additional types of coverage besides liability. If you already have a car and are changing it to a new one or buying an additional vehicle, you have 14-30 days to report the changes to your insurance company.

Q: How can I get cheap car insurance?

A: Compare insurance quotes in order to see what other providers are offering, and if it turns out that you’re overpaying – switch the provider. If your current rates are quite competitive, compared to other companies, see if you’re taking advantage of all the discounts you can opt for.

When looking for a new car, always make sure that the make and model you are interested in provides cheap car insurance options. Some cars are a lot cheaper to insure than the others, ask your insurance agent to learn what cars are the most cost-effective from the insurance perspective.

Another way to get cheap car insurance, although a bit risky one, is to increase your deductibles. By raising the amount of out-of-pocket expenses you can afford before the policy kicks in you get lower premiums. And if you’re driving an older vehicle that has a low market value, you may want to drop collision and comprehensive coverage as it takes depreciation of the car value into account.

You can also adjust the amounts of coverage your policy carries, although experts do not recommend decreasing them to the level of state minimums as it is usually not enough to pay for a serious accident.

Insurance is not the most pleasant thing to deal with as it always tends to be quite complex and full of hidden stones you’ll break your neck with. And by breaking your neck we mean paying more of your money than you would want to. Many people tend to make the very same mistakes when purchasing insurance just because they aren’t quite aware of the hidden catches behind it. To make things a bit easier for you here is a list of 10 most common mistake people make when shopping for insurance coverage on their vehicles. Keep them in mind next time you quote online or contact an insurance company. It will save your time and money!

1. Don’t get only a single quote from a single insurance company bothering that multiple requests may damage your credit rating. They won’t! So get as much auto insurance quotes from different companies as you can!

2. In most cases a standard insurance policy does not include rental car insurance coverage. So if it’s crucial for you to have a ride every day make sure you get one.

3. Getting the lowest rates doesn’t mean you’ll get the best value with your policy. Get quotes for same amounts of insurance coverage from different companies.

4. Call the toll free number every insurance company has if you want to learn more about the services provided by this carrier.

5. Most people forget about modifying their coverage amounts after paying off their car loan or when its value has decreased. If you have an older car always make sure that the amount of collision coverage is adequate to the car’s real value with respect to depreciation.

6. Most car owners do not have enough liability coverage with their auto insurance that would cover the cost of repairing a luxury car or a fancy convertible you see quite often these days after an accident. Get enough liability coverage if you do not want to pay from your pocket for that Bentley you hit.

7. Most car owners do not search for cheap car insurance by opting for discounts. Read your policy carefully or ask your agent to explain the terminology in your policy. Sometimes you won’t even know about possible discounts because they aren’t clearly spoken of so it’s better to ask about them.

8. Regular payments quite often include additional hidden fees.

9. A large part of insurance providers use credit rating for calculating your rates. So if your credit rating has dropped it would be better that you change or purchase insurance coverage later, when your score improves.

10. Car owners who drive without any insurance coverage for a long time before getting a policy usually get quite expensive policies, because insurance providers tend to consider such drivers as a high risk.

Hopefully, you won’t make these mistakes when purchasing your policy or switching insurance providers. It’s not that hard to follow these tips so make sure you get the most competitive and cost-friendly policy out there. You will be surprised by how easy it may be.

Insuring your car is mandatory if you want to drive it without any legal penalties. And when it comes to purchasing a policy, most car owners don’t take much time to think about what they are buying and get the first thing they are offered. The cheaper the policy the better, so drivers base their choice only on the price tag their policy comes with. Such a strategy definitely looks like a smart one, but in most cases it turns out to be the biggest mistake you will make when buying an insurance policy.

Auto coverage is the type of spending most people would love to avoid, especially taking into account its mandatory nature. Insurance is used to protect you against financial trouble in case of an accident, but in most cases such circumstances never take place. That is why most car owners feel that they pay their money for nothing, giving it away for something that is very likely to never happen.

Still, there are many accidents out there on the road. They may be quite uncommon in your area but sooner or later you will encounter accidents of various severity and will understand why exactly you need to insure your car. That’s what the concept of insurance is based around – pooling funds from numerous participants in order to pay for the losses any of them encounters due to a special situation. In case of auto insurance we are talking about car accidents.

It is very important to understand that buying cheap car insurance doesn’t necessarily mean that you have the best policy. Of course, paying lower premiums is nice, but what if you discover that your policy won’t cover your costs arising from an accident to the necessary extent? And you will have to pay a lot of money out of own pocket. That’s definitely not cheap.

Buying an insurance policy for your vehicle is not a hard task at all. Learning a bit about the basics of insurance coverage and using your common sense will let you get exactly what you need without any hassle.

Prior to investing a sum of money into a costly product, such as a car for example, people tend to analyze the offer, the product and are very picky when it comes to purchasing it. The same should apply to vehicle insurance coverage.

When starting your research, make sure to get car insurance quotes from trusted companies with a long working history and good financial credibility. You don’t want to pay money to a company that won’t be able to cover you in case of an accident, right?

Don’t fall for “cheap” offers. Paying less money usually means having less coverage with your policy and in most cases this is very risky. Instead, try to remove the types of coverage you don’t need at all and raising coverage amounts for those types of insurance you want to be covered against.

Spend some time on the internet and compare the offers from different companies there. A lot of sites provide quotes from different insurers on the same page and that’s really useful when comparing the offers and shopping around. It takes only a few minutes but as a result you will be able to locate a really attractive deal in your area and get the policy that will be both adequate and inexpensive.