| Could solar cars be the answer to random pricing?
As I sat down to write this column I received a phone call. My State Farm insurance agent called to let me know that my auto insurance rates had gone down. After picking myself up off the floor I politely thanked her and started to think about pricing of items in general.
I'm typing this on a computer that cost me less than the word processor, a glorified typewriter for all intents and purposes; I bought when I started college back in the late '80s. Even the flat-screen monitor I stare at for hours on end went for $700 when first released two short years ago, yet I picked this one up a month ago for under $200.
I'm looking at a telephone that I just used to call Sweden for business. Sweden is included in my all-in-one long distance plan that sets me back roughly the cost of a couple of movie tickets and a large tub of popcorn.
State Farm dropping rates
Not only is the state's largest auto insurance company dropping its rates in Hamilton and surrounding areas, it's passing out free money, too. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company — State Farm's auto division — is decreasing customer rates nationwide as a result of company performance and a drop in the number and severity of claims during the past three years. .
An Independent Approach To Car Insurance
(NAPSI)-Many consumers are finding they can drive down the cost of car insurance-and the time it takes to select the right policy-by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker. Because they represent many different insurance companies, independent agents have the flexibility to review rates and coverage from competing carriers and get you the best deal. Plus, they can offer affordable protection for your home, business and other assets. So rather than spending hours gathering quotes from various companies, you can get it done with one simple call or visit to your independent agent or broker. If you're thinking of contacting an independent agent, here are a few things to consider: • What's your lifestyle? Many factors determine auto insurance rates, not just vehicle year, make and model.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Questions Underwriting Methods
Tallahassee, FL (AHN) - Floridians with less education and blue-collar occupations may be paying more for auto insurance that they should. A report released Monday by Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) found that insurers' use of education and occupation information during underwriting may inadvertently harm minorities and low-income residents. OIR began to question the use of occupation and education as underwriting criteria back in 2004 and asked auto insurers to stop these factors within a year. Using race as an underwriting variable is illegal. But it is not illegal to determine auto insurance rates based on several factors such as, occupation, income and locale. While the OIR report may have raised the issue of fairness in underwriting auto insurance policies, it does not create a statue or set of laws or regulations.
State urges drivers to negotiate with auto insurers
Canceling and renewing policies -- a potentially cumbersome practice not usually encouraged by insurers -- is the tactic the state is urging some drivers to try in order to take advantage of lower auto insurance rates that go into effect April 1. Drivers renewing or purchasing a policy during January, February, and March will not be able to enjoy the 2007 rate reduction because of a change in billing procedures. Instead, these policyholders -- about a third of Massachusetts drivers -- will be billed at the higher 2006 rate until they renew again in 2008. But State Division of Insurance officials are launching a campaign today to urge consumers to negotiate with their agents to try to get the lower rate this year. "People who fall into this three-month window are frustrated by seeing that for 2007, the average rate is 11.7 percent lower, but they don't necessarily need to wait for a potential double-digit rate cut," says Daniel C.
Insurance Profiling Faces Ban
TALLAHASSEE - Florida regulators are preparing draft legislation to ban the use of education and occupation in setting auto insurance rates they say leads to higher rates for minorities. The move comes after a report found that the practice "unintentionally harms minorities and low-income individuals." For example, some white-collar professionals get better rates, even though some blue-collar laborers tend to have fewer accidents. "Just because something might be legal doesn't make it right," Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink said in response to the report issued Monday. The report by Office of Insurance Regulation found that some insurers use educational and occupational information to set rates, and customers who are penalized often don't know they're being placed in a more expensive policy.
Proposal Could Spark Insurance Rate Increases
Raleigh — A bill under consideration by the state Senate could lead to higher insurance rates for North Carolina residents, Insurance Commissioner Jim Long said Friday. Senate Bill 901 would allow a judge to decide appeals of insurance rate cases. Long, who is elected as a consumer advocate, traditionally has had the final say on requests by insurance companies to raise rates on their auto and homeowner's policies. Insurers usually ask for much higher rates than they get, and when they appeal the rates enforced by the state Department of Insurance in court, Long almost always wins. "We want the companies to have adequate resources to pay the claims, but we don't want them to overcharge," Long said. He boasts that North Carolina has the fifth-lowest auto insurance rates and the 20th-lowest homeowner's rates in the country.
The wrong loan: Is it common?
After being in this business, the mortgage business, for over 18 years, I am now more convinced than ever that the majority of people take the wrong loan. Some are just overpaying because their interest rate is too high for their situation and others are simply in the wrong plan. The amazing part about it is that for the vast majority of people, this will be their biggest obligation in their financial life. And to make it even more ridiculous, most of the same people will have the right auto loan, the wrong insurance, little or no reserves for emergencies and decent jobs. What is missing is fairly evident: people do not get nor do they seek a good education when it comes to their finances. Although I am not in the insurance business, it frustrates me that so many people have the wrong insurance.
State Farm Cuts Auto Rates By 5.4 Percent
Mar. 21--State Farm auto insurance customers can expect a 5.4 percent statewide average decline in premiums -- with First Coast customers enjoying savings of up to about 10 percent. The lower rates, which will go into effect Monday, represent an annual savings of $135 million to the company's Florida customers. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co., which bills itself as the largest auto insurer in the Sunshine State, said it covers one in every five cars insured in Florida. Tuesday's rate reduction announcement, which reflects lower losses State Farm expects from its auto customers, comes about a month after the company said it would slash auto premiums by a statewide average of 16 percent once the Florida No-Fault law ends. Northeast Florida customers would see savings of about 12 percent to 17 percent on their auto policies.
MASSPIRG statement on the release of the Massachusetts Automobile ...
Dan Crane, the director of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation convened an Auto Insurance Study Group at the request of Governor Patrick to identify opportunities within the existing system to increase competition and reduce costs while maintaining equity. The report filed today is good news for consumers. A few of the key recommendations include lowering our premiums through reducing our highest-in-the nation accident rate, delay of the implementation of the Assigned Risk Plan adopted at the end of the Romney administration but put on hold by the Patrick administration pending review; maintaining important consumer protections like limitations on rating factors and some rate flattening; and a re examination of the Safe Driver Insurance Plan to more accurately or better reward good drivers.
Health bills simmer, should boil
With the Colorado legislature due to adjourn May 9, a pair of well- meaning health care bills seem unlikely to suvive the traffic jam that develops in the session's final weeks. One measure, House Bill 1355 by Reps. Anne McGihon, D-Denver, and Tom Massey, R-Poncha Springs, would ban insurers from using the health history of workers to raise rates in businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The bill is awaiting action. Another proposal, Senate Bill 193 by Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, would have required all automobile insurance policies sold in Colorado to have included at least $25,000 in medical benefits. Tochtrop withdrew her bill last week but may re-introduce it later in the session. The McGihon-Massey bill is aimed at solving a problem faced by small businesses that provide health benefits.
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