Significant Auto Insurance

State Regulators Can Often Do Little To Control What Insurers Are Charging

WASHINGTON — As Americans struggle with double-digit hikes in their health insurance bills, millions are coming up against a hard reality: the state regulators who are supposed to protect them can often do little to control what insurers are charging.

In many states, it is the insurance industry that largely control the regulatory process, funneling money to key state lawmakers and squelching efforts to expand government oversight of premiums, a review of state regulations and campaign donations shows.

“The pressure that the industry can bring to bear in state legislatures is unbelievable,” said J. Robert Hunter, a former insurance commissioner in Texas. “They pretty much get what they want.”

And although the Obama administration’s healthcare overhaul is designed to ultimately change that, many consumer advocates fear the new law may not break insurers’ stranglehold on state capitals soon enough.

“A lot of us are scrambling right now to match the insurance industry’s influence,” said Larry C. Read The Full Article…

Tags: Regulators, State Regulators

11 Top Factors That Can Make A Difference In Your Auto Insurance Rates

Your auto insurance premiums are calculated by a number of different factors relating to your insurance risk. Each one of these factors can individually or collectively determine the premium that you are charged. If you are aware of these factors, you can sometimes do something about changing things so you can benefit from lower premiums.

1. Verifiable Driver Insurance History

One of the first things that an insurance company will look at is your insurance history. How long you have had insurance for? What has your claims record been? Is the car insured under your name? Sometimes, people say that they have been an insured driver for years but the insurance has been under their parents’ or spouse’s name. This does not provide a verifiable insurance history so insurance companies may be weary about providing you with insurance coverage. If you have had several claims in a short space of time, you will be paying a higher premium than someone who has a claim-free record.

2. Age

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Tags: Auto Insurance, Insurance

Watch out for America’s 100 most dangerous roads during your summer travels

What season is most dangerous to drive, winter or summer? If you said winter, you join about 83% of surveyed Americans. But the reality is that the three months of summer have the highest auto accident rates, accounting for about one in three fatalities. And as we’ve discussed before, Saturdays in August are some of the most dangerous days to drive.

When it comes to summer driving safety, there are definitely some spots that are hotter than others. The Daily Beast crunched the numbers on data 5 years of data from the National Highway Safety Administration to come up with a list of 100 U.S. interstates most likely to generate a fatal crash.

For another take on unsafe roads, you might turn to SafeRoadMaps, which offers a variety of interactive maps to tracks fatality data . See their report on states with the most rural summer hotspots (PDF).

Jon Burner of Forbes recently wrote an interesting article about America’s fastest roads – highways where speeds often exceed 90 mph.

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Tags: Summer, Summer Travels

What Factors Contribute to Your Car Insurance Premium?

Taillight and spoiler on new white car image by steven Husk from Fotolia.com  The kind of car you drive is a factor used to determine premiums. Many factors contribute to your car insurance costs, and sometimes insurance companies determine risk factors differently. For example, some providers use your credit report rating to determine your risk factor and policy cost. Beyond the most common factors that determine your premium, such as accident and driving history or age and driving experience, companies also offer a range of discounts or forgive price increases. Rates can differ, so be sure to shop.

Driving History and Experience

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Tags: Car Insurance, Factors Contribute, Premium