Go Insurance Rates

Today’s News: Health Care Overhaul Receives High Marks, Louisianans Don’t Fully Understand Flood Insurance and Young Drivers Make Insurance Claims Most

Posted in Auto Insurance , Auto Insurance Claims , Health Care , Health Insurance , Home Insurance

August 6th, 2010
No Comments

The health care overhaul has received some high marks from a surprising party, a study found that Louisiana residents don’t fully understand home insurance and new data has revealed that young drivers have the highest frequency of claims.

Health Care Overhaul Receives High Marks

Democrats and even some Republicans have given President Barack Obama high marks for the way his been able to carry out the new health care law. A new poll suggests that many people are very pleased with the way he’s pushed for health insurance and executed it, especially within the law’s first 100 days of being signed. Since May, favorable reviews have increased; however, since there are still months and years to go, views could change. Most say the November elections will be the real indicator of how the masses feel (NY Times).

Louisianans Don’t Fully Understand Flood Insurance

The Insurance Information Institute recently released a study revealing that people in Louisiana — homeowners in the epicenter of Hurricane Katrina’s destruction — are less likely than others around the country to understand that a home insurance policy doesn’t cover flooding. Specifically, 16 percent of Louisiana homeowners mistakenly believe that a homeowners policy covers flooding, having no idea that a flood insurance policy from the National Flood Insurance Program is how floods are covered (NOLA).

Young Drivers Make Insurance Claims Most

A report from the Highway Loss Data Institute revealed that drivers ages 16-19 have the highest frequency of auto insurance claims, as well as the highest average loss per claim. The types of claims this age group has the highest claims for include collision, property damage liability and bodily injury coverage. On the other end of the spectrum are 30-59 year olds who have three times fewer average claims than the teenage group. However, the drivers with the fewest auto insurance claims, according to the study, are those over the age of 70 due to their increased concern about their own driving skills (Auto Quote Now).

I Wrecked My Car, Now What?

Posted in Auto Insurance , Collision Insurance , Comprehensive Insurance , Liability

August 5th, 2010
No Comments

Wrecking a car is something no one wants to experience, but causing the wreck and only carrying liability insurance coverage is definitely one of the worst types of accidents a person can have. Luckily, you won’t be responsible for paying for the damage to the other person’s vehicle, but if the damage to your own car is too costly to repair, you’re left with the dilemma of what to do with your car.

What to Do with a Wrecked Car

The worst has already happened; you’ve caused an accident and wrecked your car with only liability coverage. Now it’s time to figure out what to do with it since your auto insurance won’t cover the damage. Here are a few options to consider:

1. Part It Out

One option that you have as the vehicle owner is to “part it out” or dismantle the vehicle sell it for parts. Even though the body of your car may be wrecked, there are still working parts that an experienced person could take advantage of (battery, engine, transmission, exhaust system, seats, etc.). Many mechanics and car junkies love to piece cars together at their leisure and would be willing to buy the parts instead of the whole thing.

2. Sell It to a Junkyard

If you don’t feel experienced enough to part out your car, you could try selling the whole thing to a junkyard. Junkyards are always in need of cars and are willing to part them out to individuals who come looking for parts. Unfortunately, junkyards typically don’t pay a whole lot for cars. You might get lucky if you receive $200 for your car. Keep this in mind as you decide what you want to do.

3. Donate It to Charity

Another option that you have as the vehicle’s owner is donate your car to a charity. Many organizations offer services like fixing up cars and giving them to needy families. If your car is in good enough shape, the organization might fix the car up and give it away. If it’s not, it might be parted out to restore other cars.

The good news with taking this route is that you could receive a sizable tax deduction if you donate vehicle parts or the whole car. Of course, you’d need to keep your receipt to claim the deduction.

Are There Any Other Options?

While most of your options would be exhausted above, there are a few other things you could try to redeem the fact that you didn’t have comprehensive and collision auto insurance for your car before causing an accident:

• Sell it “as is”: Many people are willing to purchase vehicles in an “as is” state. This is an option you might consider if you have valuable parts on the car (i.e. expensive wheels and tires or audio system) and want to get something for the vehicle without parting it out. You’d be surprised by how much someone would pay for your “as is” vehicle knowing that they could pull some valuable pieces off and maybe even part it out on their own.
• Take out a loan and fix the car: This is probably not an option many would consider, but if you’re dedicated to keeping your car and know that it would be cheaper to take out a personal loan and get the repairs fixed than buy a new car then it could be worth a try.

It’s no secret that collision and comprehensive coverage are more expensive that liability, but it still doesn’t hurt to upgrade to full coverage, especially if you’re a not-so-great driver. This way, your liability policy doesn’t have to be the reason that you have a car one day and a bus pass the next.

Today’s News: U.S. Health Care Underperforms, Credit Scores Approved to Determine Insurance Rates and Wisconsin Mandatory Insurance Grace Period Near End

Posted in Auto Insurance , Auto Insurance Quotes , Health Care , Health Insurance

August 4th, 2010
No Comments

A report released in June revealed that the United States health care system underperforms compared to many industrialized nations, a court has ruled that credit scores are allowed when insurance companies determine rates and Wisconsin is nearing the end of a grace period allowing vehicle owners to drive without mandatory auto insurance.

U.S. Health Care Underperforms

A report released by the Commonwealth Fund, which is a private foundation focused on health, found that while the U.S. offers the costliest health care in the world, it underperforms many other industrialized nations. According to the report, the medical care systems of Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Britain and Australia are all superior to the United States’ system. Currently, the system ranks “last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system” including quality, access, efficiency, equity and health lives. However, the study noted that health care reform and new guidelines for health insurance should help to address the problems (AFP).

Credit Scores Approved to Determine Insurance Rates

The Michigan Supreme Court determined that insurance companies can use a person’s credit report to determine rates after deciding that state regulators had exceeded their authority by banning the practice. The battle to ban credit scoring use when determining insurance rates has been ongoing since 2005 and reached the Supreme Court last October. Many have said that the use of credit reports when determining auto insurance rates, unfairly targeted specific demographics for higher premiums. But in a 4-3 ruling, the Michigan law will now allow for those with better credit scores to receive lower insurance rates (Associated Press).

Wisconsin Mandatory Insurance Grace Period Near End

On June 1, 2010, Wisconsin became the 49th state to require mandatory liability auto insurance coverage for all drivers. And now, law enforcement is announcing that the grace period to acquire this mandatory coverage is coming to an end. While the specific deadline has not yet been set, police in the state are expected to begin penalizing drivers who do not yet carry coverage. Currently, drivers are required to carry $50,000 for bodily injury or death of one person, $100,000 for two or more people and $15,000 for injury or destruction of property. The penalty for not having at least liability insurance could cost up to $500 (WBAY).

Today’s News: Maine Seeks Health Care Waiver, Home Burglaries Increase and Blue Cross Cuts Cost by 20 Percent

Posted in Blue Cross Blue Shield , Health Care , Health Insurance , Health Insurance Companies , Home Insurance , Home Insurance Claims

August 2nd, 2010
No Comments

Officials in Maine recently asked the government for the right to be exempt from one provision of health care reform, home burglaries are said to be on the rise in the state of Texas and Blue Cross has decided to cut costs by 20 percent.

Maine Seeks Health Care Waiver

The insurance regulator in Maine recently asked the Obama administration to temporarily exempt the state’s health plans from a provision of the health care overhaul that would affect their profits. The provision is a measure of how much health insurance companies would spend on medical care in comparison to their administrative expenses and profits. The new law requires insurers to pay out at least 80 percent of the premiums collected on medical care. The insurance regulator says that these changes would result in one health plan, HealthMarkets Inc., to stop doing business in Maine, only leaving one health plan option for consumers (Wall Street Journal).

Home Burglaries Increase by 9 Percent in Texas

According to Allstate Insurance, the number of home burglary claims for the company’s customers in Texas jumped by 9 percent in 2009. Among the items that were stolen the most were flat screen TVs, laptops, jewelry and cash. While many of the burglaries looked to be neighborhood criminals, some were reported to be tied to organized criminal activity. The insurance company recommended that in addition to locking up homes securely whenever leaving the house, it’s important to have a quality home insurance policy to pick up the pieces financially (PR Newswire).

Blue Cross Cuts Cost by 20 Percent

Many insurance companies have had to make adjustments to accommodate health care reform and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina is one of them. The company recently announced its plans to cut its administrative costs by 20 percent. This adjustment is predicted to result in the layoff of up to 4,400 employees, but will ultimately help improve financial results for the company while keeping premium costs down for customers. The change is expected to take place by 2014 (The Charlotte Observer).

Today’s News: Health Care Law Raises Abortion Questions, Pre-Existing Conditions Health Pools Begin and Flood Insurance Overhaul Underway

Posted in Health Care , Health Insurance , Home Insurance

July 30th, 2010
No Comments

Now that the new health care law has passed, questions about abortion have resurfaced. In other insurance news, health insurance pools are beginning to crop up around the country to help those with pre-existing conditions and Congress has taken steps to get a flood insurance overhaul underway.

Health Care Law Raises Abortion Questions

Despite the fact that lawmakers promised abortions wouldn’t be covered under the new health care law unless the pregnancy was life-threatening or the result of rape or incest, abortion opponents have warned that some programs will indeed cover the procedure. The way they will be covered, according to some groups, is that those who have been denied health insurance because of pre-existing conditions will have a shot at the elective procedure if they are covered by the new federally-funded high-risk pools in some states. The Obama administration promises this will not happen but opponents say they don’t trust this promise. (USA Today)

Pre-Existing Conditions Health Pools Begin

Many states around the country have started implementing their insurance pools for those with pre-existing conditions. Enrollment has already begun for residents of Missouri who have been without insurance coverage for at least six months and have a pre-existing condition. Other states have also taken steps to get their programs underway. In Florida, enrollment has already started enrolling patients while Wisconsin will get its pool started for approximately 8,000 people on August 1. (News Journal Online)

Flood Insurance Overhaul Underway

After many months of watching the National Flood Insurance Program expire and get reinstated by Congress, House representatives have finally decided that the time is right to overhaul the program under HR 5114, also known as the “Flood Insurance Reform Priorities Act of 2010.” The latest extension of the program occurred in July and will allow policyholders to keep their flood insurance coverage until Sept. 30, 2010. However, if the act is passed in all of Congress, the program will be extended for five years. The act recently made it to Senate where it is awaiting approval. (Associated Press)

Does Your Weight Affect Your Insurance Options?

Posted in Health Insurance

July 29th, 2010
No Comments

Being overweight in this society has been an ongoing issue for several decades. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity in the United States has increased dramatically over the past 20 years. For instance, in 1988, there were no states that had a prevalence of obesity greater than 15 percent in the country. By 2008, only one state (Colorado) had a less than 20 percent prevalence of obesity.

The massive increase in obesity has had a significant impact on health as it is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, certain types of cancer and type 2 diabetes. Since being overweight or obese plays such a significant role in whether a person could get sick, easily injured or die, insurance companies have made weight a determining factor in what a person will be charged for coverage, or even if they’ll be declined coverage completely.

If you or a family member or obese or overweight, you should know your weight could affect your insurance rates. Also, it’s good to find out if there are options for insurance for overweight people.

Weight and Your Insurance

Being overweight or obese is known to have an effect on your health insurance options. However, many don’t know that it also has an effect on your life insurance options as well. As previously mentioned, the correlation between your weight and illness creates risk factors that insurance companies must consider when determining how much to charge for coverage (or even whether or not to accept you) because obesity could increase their likelihood of having to pay a claim in the future.

According to Med Plan Access, there is an undeniable correlation between weight and insurance. They even mapped out a chart that shows the effects your weight could have on your coverage.

For instance, according to the chart, a woman who is 5’5” and weighs between 175 and 235 pounds would probbly have to pay more for their health insurance coverage than a woman with a healthier height/weight combination. If the same person were to weigh over 235 pounds, they could be denied coverage, period. For a man at 5’10” weighing between 215 and 281 pounds, health coverage costs could also increase. Coverage would likely be denied if he weighed over 281 pounds.

With such a large portion of the population being overweight or obese, many people may find themselves with heftier health bills.

Unfortunately, the same is true with life insurance coverage. A life insurance health exam is required in most instances to obtain coverage. This is in order to gauge your overall health and level of risk you present for premature death – and a premature payout for the insurance company.

It’s for this reason that obtaining life insurance for overweight people is often difficult as well, unless the applicant is able to find coverage that doesn’t examine these details.

How to Combat Weight Affecting Your Insurance

Unfortunately, it is up to the insurance company to determine how much they want to charge for your insurance coverage or if they will take you on at all. However, if you fall into a weight category that could negatively affect your insurance options, there are routes you could take to stay covered:

• Lose weight: Probably one of the healthiest options would be to lose weight. Not only would you feel better, but you could become eligible for cheaper coverage options. Getting healthy is a great thing and a goal everyone should strive for in their lifetime, so why not improve you life and find affordable health insurance at the same time?
• Find lenient coverage options: There are companies that offer lenient coverage options for both health and life insurance. Coverage sometimes known as overweight health insurance offers affordable options for those who are considered clinically overweight or obese. There are also no health exams required orf those whose health may not permit them to be approved for coverage in their current condition.
• Wait for health care reform: Though health care reform laws successfully passed and health insurance changes are on the way, companies still have the right to deny coverage to anyone with a preexisting condition for some time. If you know that you won’t be able to lose a significant amount of weight soon, you could consider low-income health insurance options to help you get care while waiting out reform.

The fact is, excessive weight could have an adverse effect on both your health and insurance. The best option is to get down to a healthy weight rather sooner than later. In the meantime, be sure you you understand the options that exist so you can get insured even when weight affects your insurance options.

Today’s News: Employers Urged to Expand Health Plans, Medicare Doughnut Hole Checks Coming and the Nation’s Dumbest Drivers May Live Near You

Posted in Health Care , Health Insurance , Medicare

July 28th, 2010
No Comments

The secretary of Health and Human Services is urging employers to hurry and expand their health insurance benefits plans to employees with older children, while the government announces that Medicare checks may be mailed soon to beneficiaries into the “doughnut hole.” And in auto insurance news, GMAC has taken time to tell you where you can find the nation’s dumbest drivers.

Employers Urged to Offer Coverage to Children Up to Age 26 ASAP

Kathleen Sebelius, the secretary of health and human services, urged employers to begin immediately offering or continue to offer health insurance coverage to employees’ children up to the age of 26 — and they need to do it at little or no additional cost. While the new health reform law will require employers to do this very thing later this year, the secretary wants them to get started as soon as possible, especially with many college students graduating to no jobs or health insurance. While 65 insurers have already agreed to make changes early, very few employers have modified their plans accordingly. (New York Times)

Medicare Donut Hole Checks to be Mailed

In order to fill the gap in Medicare coverage that many senior citizens find themselves suffering through when their federal subsidies temporarily end each year, the government is offering assistance. The gap, or “doughnut hole,” requires that senior citizens pay for their medicine on their own until they reach the catastrophic stage of their plans. When they reach this stage, the government will pay 95 percent of their drug costs. Unfortunately, seniors have to pay about $3,500 on their own in drug costs to reach this stage. To help, the government is offering $250 rebate checks to those who find themselves in the hole. (Insurance and Financial Advisor)

Do You Live Near the Nation’s Dumbest Drivers?

According to a new GMAC Insurance National Drivers test, which polled 5,202 licensed drivers from 50 states and the District of Columbia, you may very well be among the dumbest drivers in the nation (see map). The test asked 20 questions based on state department of motor vehicle exams and required that participants receive a grade of 70 percent or better to pass. The test found that one in five drivers nationwide lack the necessary knowledge to pass the written driving test. And where are the dumbest drivers found? Sorry New York. (CNN Money)

How Twitter Could Increase Your Home Insurance Premium

Posted in Home Insurance , Home Insurance Claims , Save on Home Insurance

July 27th, 2010
No Comments

The president of home insurance at Confused.com, Darren Black, was recently quoted as saying, “I wouldn’t be surprised if, as social media grow[s] in popularity and more location-based applications come to fore, [home] insurance providers consider these in their pricing of an individual’s risk.” In other words, his prediction is in time, we could see home insurance coverage increase as more people take to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.

At first glance, it seems there is no connection between home owners insurance and social media. However, from the looks of things, the two may be crossing paths through the medium of social media, which has lately been garnering as many negative effects as positive.

Burglary Rates Could Increase Due to Reckless Behavior on Twitter and Facebook

Facebook and Twitter, along with other popular social networking sites, create an environment that encourages sharing personal information. In fact, sharing is downright expected and really the point of participating in social media networks.

However, when it comes to safety, these environments aren’t the greatest. Predators can be lurking for information and waiting for the opportunity to attack.

As noted by Black, criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their information gathering and can easily determine where you live by the few details you provide on your profiles, along with their savvy knowledge of Google Earth and Streetview.

It’s for this reason that it’s more important than ever to be discreet about the information you share online. Otherwise, you could put yourself at risk of burglary and increase the likelihood of a higher home insurance cost in the future.

Homeowners Insurance Companies Are Evaluating Risks of Social Media

Since home insurance companies are catching on to careless social networking behaviors, some argue you could eventually see an increased home insurance estimate as a result. Black predicted, in fact, that we may see a rise of up to 10 percent for people who use these sites as companies begin to consider social networking in their pricing for an individual’s risk.

Further, being burglarized or seeing a higher home owners insurance quote is not the only negative consequence of information sharing over social networks. If insurance companies see you as too high of a risk, they could actually reject you as a customer.

If you think insurance companies don’t look at social networking sites to gather information about current and potential customers, think again. It happens all the time and could easily happen to you as the practice becomes commonplace.

Protecting Yourself Against Burglary and Higher Insurance Rates

So what should you do to ensure you don’t run the risk of increasing your next home insurance quote? You could try to decreasing your coverage to home appliance coverage in order to pay less while remaining covered if you’re burglarized.

Of course, the idea is to not be burglarized in the first place, especially if it’s totally avoidable. So here are some tips for changing your behavior online and protecting your home and insurance rates:

• Censor what you post: Don’t post your personal information (school, work, e-mail, phone, kids’ or spouse’s names, home address) on social media sites ever.
• Don’t “friend” or “follow” people you don’t know: If you don’t know a person on a social networking site, don’t accept friend requests or follow them because it will likely open up your profile to strangers and offer information you don’t want known. Also, keep your profile private to block anyone from seeing your limited information except for your friends.
• Shut off location-based features: Any features that expose your network or location should be shut off unless they are absolutely critical.

If you’re concerned about higher rates for coverage in general, you could always shop around for online home insurance. Also, if you’re concerned that you’re making too many coverage commitments, you could look at a home insurance calculator to help you figure out how much to cover in your home.

Above all, change your habits when necessary to keep your family and home safe, and start with your social networking behavior.

Today’s News: AIG No Longer Being Probed and FEMA Offers Low-Cost Flood Insurance

Posted in AIG , Home Insurance , Home Insurance Claims

July 26th, 2010
No Comments

It seems that life insurance company AIG has been let off the hook in the criminal probe the U.S. Justice Department initiated. For those who live in risky floodplain areas, FEMA is offering low-cost flood insurance options.

AIG Is No Longer Being Probed by the U.S. Justice Department

Recently, the U.S. Justice Department announced that it has concluded its criminal probe into AIG and has chosen not to pursue charges against the insurer or its senior executives. The department pursued the probe originally to determine whether Joseph Cassano, the company’s head, had misled investors when he stated in 2007 that its portfolio of credit default swaps, which led to AIG’s fall and contributed to the financial crisis, would not produce significant losses.

After a two-year investigation, the department determined that there wasn’t enough evidence to bring criminal charges against the company. (CNN Money)

FEMA Offers Low-Cost Flood Insurance for 2 Years

FEMA has been redrawing floodplain maps all over the country, causing homeowners to purchase flood insurance who never had been required to purchase it previously. After many complaints surfaced about the redrawn maps, FEMA decided to help those struggling to pay for coverage by offering low-cost flood insurance to homeowners who live in newly-remapped areas for at least the next two years. FEMA says the cost could be as low as $300 annually, which is up to four or five times lower than what is offered by private insurers. (US Insurance Online)

Today’s News: Wisconsin Mandates Auto Insurance, Chinese Drywall Bill Helps Home Insurance Customers and FedEx Offers Same-Sex Health Benefits

Posted in Auto Insurance , Compare Health Insurance , Health Insurance , Liability

July 23rd, 2010
No Comments

Wisconsin is about to become the 49th state to mandate minimum liability auto insurance while the House of Representatives in Louisiana is about to mandate that home insurance companies keep their policyholders after filing a Chinese drywall claim. Also, employees who work for FedEx will now be able to take advantage of health insurance benefits for same-sex domestic partners.

Wisconsin Mandates Minimum Liability Auto Insurance Coverage

As of Jan. 1, 2010, only two states did not mandate auto insurance for their residents: Wisconsin and New Hampshire, but soon this all will change.

Beginning June 1, 2010, Wisconsin requires motorists to carry an active auto insurance policy and have proof of coverage at all times to avoid facing citations and fines. The minimum liability coverage limits for Wisconsin, which were mandated in January, are $50,000 for injury death to one person, $100,000 for two or more people and $15,000 for property damage. They also need uninsured/underinsured coverage of $100,000/$300,000 for bodily injury. (Official Wire)

Home Insurers Required to Honor Chinese Drywall Claims

Last year, a major issue erupted when thousands of homeowners realized the Chinese drywall in their homes was making them sick. When they filed claims with their home insurance companies, however, many policyholders’ accounts were dropped. The Louisiana House of Representatives has decided to combat this by approving a bill that will prohibit insurers from dropping or not renewing homeowners and businesses who file claims for Chinese drywall. If insurers do not comply with the bill, they could face fines of up to $15,000. (Nola)

FedEx Offers Health Insurance Benefits to Same-Sex Domestic Partners

As of Jan. 1, 2010, shipping giant FedEx offers health insurance benefits to same-sex domestic partners nationwide at the request of its employees. The company currently offers these benefits to employees working in California and in its division FedEx Office. The reason that the health insurance benefits package will be effective in 2012 is to give it time to re-add a package that was cut due to the recession. When it comes available, it will not be offered to unmarried heterosexual couples. (WHNT – Memphis)