Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to multiple company press releases through Business Wire, Progressive auto insurance is hiring in Tampa, Colorado Springs, Austin, Cleveland and Phoenix.  Florida’s unemployment rate is close to 10%, so opening up 390 jobs in Tampa is a big boost to the economy.  The positions run throughout sales, claims and service at the Riverview contact center.  Progressive is known for being a great employer partly because of their on site fitness and medical facilities as well as a casual dress code.  The St. Petersburg Times voted Progressive auto insurance one of the top places to work in Tampa.  At the Cleveland home office facility, Progressive is hiring 337 new workers.  They are also hiring 65 workers in Phoenix.

In Austin, Progressive is adding 185 of the same type of positions in their Texas facility.  Texas has an unemployment rate of almost 8%, so these service, sales and claims jobs are just what the city of Austin needs.  Progressive pays employees for all training and also offers them the benefits of medical, life, vision, and dental insurance.  At Progressive’s Colorado Springs facility, they will be hiring 129 new faces.  The company is looking for people with some background in customer service.  New employees will help with quotes on auto insurance as well as sales and claims.  Progressive has a long list of amenities and benefits to offer their employees which is a big reason they are such a popular auto insurance company.  Happy employees take good care of their customers and Progressive is looking to add 1,106 employees by July.

Just like the cell phone industry fought for you to be able to take your phone number from one company to another, the auto insurance industry in California wants you to be able to take your discounts with you.  According to “Car insurance discount act could give break in prices,” Nannette Miranda of California’s ABC News10 says that your continuous coverage car insurance discount could become portable.

If the 2012 Automobile Insurance Discount Act passes, any driver who receives a discount for retaining continuous auto insurance coverage from one company would be able to take their discount to another company.  If this does not pass, companies will still be prohibited from giving discounts based on past coverage with another auto insurance company.  This initiative does not take into account any type of discounts for being a good driver.

A campaign consultant argues that this will allow for greater competition in the marketplace as companies can charge better rates.  The Consumer Federation of California disagrees.  They say that people who have been uninsured for any period of time will be hurt by 40-50% surcharges on their insurance coverage, even if they were uninsured because they didn’t have a vehicle.  Mercury Insurance tried to pass a similar initiative two years ago to no avail.  There are some people who believe Mercury is behind this initiative as well.

As the winter weather advisories pick up, make sure to check your auto insurance policies to ensure coverage before going out in that snow.  In Rhode Island, “RI Regulators Give Guidance on Snowplow Insurance Implications,” according to Ben Zitney of Online Auto Insurance News.  If you have a snowplow on your truck, your personal auto insurance policy should cover you plowing your own driveway or that of neighbors or relatives. Make sure that your auto insurance premiums cover liability and property damage.

But that assumes that you are doing the plowing for free.  If you accept money to plow anyone’s driveway, parking lot, or walkways, you need to have separate Rhode Island auto insurance to cover commercial work.  The Department of Business Regulation has guidelines on their website and urges you to look there or contact your auto insurance company to make sure you are covered.  The Department also reminds Rhode Island residents to make sure that their snowmobiles are covered before riding on them, especially if they are rentals.  Homeowner and auto policies do not typically cover snowmobile damage.

Allstate Insurance continued its crackdown of insurance fraud in New York state to close out 2011.  Many insurance companies have a big problem with insurance fraud because of the no-fault coverage issued in the state of New York, according to Insurance News Net’s “Allstate Files $1.1M Insurance Fraud Case in NY.”  This most recent lawsuit for $1.1 million is against sixteen people accused of falsely running companies they said were owned by a medical doctor in order to submit false claims to Allstate.  This is Allstate’s ninth insurance fraud lawsuit in New York this year and their thirty-sixth since 2007.

Unfortunately, no-fault auto insurance has been causing a fraud nightmare in the state of New York for years.  Consumers in New York pay more for their auto insurance because there is so much fraud, dubbed a ‘fraud tax’ by some.  An Allstate spokesperson urges New York lawmakers to enact and enforce regulation that will eliminate no-fault insurance or find a way to eliminate the fraud it is causing.

This most recent scheme involved multiple small companies and individuals sending medical claims and referrals in violation of the no-fault law.  Everything was under the guise of a named medical doctor who does not really exist.  Allstate’s Special Investigative Unit filed this lawsuit to recoup the more than $1 million it feels it lost.  Allstate Insurance is joined by many other insurers, like Donegal Insurance, and state leaders in New York in their battle to reform the no-fault auto insurance system.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55

There is a fairly unique system in place regarding auto insurance rates in North Carolina.  The Daily Reflector published an article by Gary D. Robertson of the Associated Press entitled, “NC lawmakers look at auto insurance risks, costs.”  This article explains the current debate in North Carolina over whether it is more important for overall auto insurance rates to be low or for individual drivers to pay more based on their risk.

About 20% of North Carolina’s 7 million insured car owners are in a high risk insurance pool.  Called the North Carolina Reinsurance Facility, the high risk pool is for drivers that cannot otherwise get insurance from companies because of their past history of riskier driving.  Rates are around 30% higher for those in the high risk pool, but 70% of those in the pool haven’t had any type of risky driving is over three years.  These drivers don’t pay the extra 30% premium, so their premiums fall flat of covering their expenses and losses.

There is a clear divide in the state as to whether this pool needs to be altered or dismantled.  Insurers like State Farm, Geico, and Progressive agree with trade associations that want the ability to better match rates with driver risk.  This would call for the elimination of the North Carolina Rate Pool, which sets the rates that North Carolina insurers are allowed to charge.  But Nationwide and other insurance companies think the system works well and point out that North Carolina has the 7th lowest insurance rates in the nation.  North Carolina’s insurance market is competitive, their insurers make profits, and their overall rates are low.  But many believe that their huge high risk pool needs some changes.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55

If you or someone you know has gotten a DUI, Fox Business article “DUI and car insurance: What happens next?” has some valuable information for you.  Penny Gusner writes that your auto insurance rates will almost definitely increase after a DUI.  Coloradoans will likely pay 30% more, while the 12 points you’ll get taken away in North Carolina could actually cause your rates to increase 240%.  You may need to compare auto insurance from multiple companies once you get your driver’s license back because your company may even cancel your coverage once it expires.

Your auto insurance rates will be increased as long as your DUI is still on your state driving record.  That is three years in many states, but could be five or more years depending on where you live.  California residents are banned from receiving safe driver discounts from companies like Bristol West for ten years.  Sometimes you are required to carry SR-22 insurance after your license is reinstated.  You’ll have to purchase at least the minimum coverage required in your state and have your insurer file the SR-22 form of proof with the state.  There is a cost associated with this paperwork and you’ll have to file this proof for anywhere from one to five years.  The easiest way to avoid all of these headaches and more is to not drink and drive.

Written by Sara Smart

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More than a year later, the National Transportation Safety Board has determined that a horrible car accident in Missouri was caused by a 19-year old driver texting on his cell phone.  Joan Lowy’s Associated Press article, “Driver was texting in Missouri traffic pileup,” says that the 19-year old was driving a pickup truck while texting on his phone and rear ended a tractor truck.  Because of that collision, one school bus rear ended the pickup truck and was consequently rear ended by another school bus.  The pickup truck driver and a 15-year old in one of the school buses were both killed.

Many states have banned texting or talking on the phone while driving; Pennsylvania was recently the 35th state to put a ban on texting while driving.  The NTSB has recommended bans for commercial drivers, but hasn’t recommended the ban for passenger cars yet.  Missouri auto insurance companies are well aware of all of the additional accidents caused by the use of cell phones for talking, texting, and surfing the internet.  One out of 100 drivers on the road in America are on their phones at any given time of the day.  An accident caused by using your cell phone while driving will likely increase your auto insurance premiums, but more importantly, no one wants to cause a death like those in Missouri for something as ridiculous as texting while driving.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55

Car and Driver magazine came up with a list of the 10 Best Cars for 2012, according to Yahoo! Auto News.  Their list is compiled all from cars under $80,000 and all of which are available for purchase by next January.  Included in the list are new cars, cars with major updates, winners from their 2011 list, and cars that weren’t yet available for last year’s list.

Before purchasing one of these cars, check out all of the great benefits listed and be sure to check auto insurance quotes and make sure your premiums won’t change too drastically with one of these new cars.  The Audi A6 and A7 top the list because of their excellent power, steering, structure, and bang for the buck.  With 21 years on the Best Cars list, the BMW 3-series and M3 have not even had a close competitor to match their benefits.  Next on the list is the Cadillac CTS-V because of its looks and power.  The Ford Focus is referred to as a “street fighter” and Car and Driver recommends only getting the manual transmission with the SE Sport Package.  The Ford Mustang GT/Boss 302 is on the Best Cars list because of its crazy good value; you get more power for $41,000 than anything else out there.

The Honda Accord is next on the list because of its old-school talent and goodness that has no comparisons in the industry.  The Honda Fit is praised for its huge genius in a little package, the Mazda MX-5 Miata for its unrivaled characteristics, and the Volkswagen Gulf/GTI for their small yet never boring components.  Finally, even though the Porsche Boxter and Cayman may increase your California auto insurance quotes, its well worth it for the amazing and pure sports car experience you’ll get from these vehicles.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that Geico car insurance must pay for damage and injuries from a rental car crash, even though the driver was not their insured.  Geico argued that they were not liable for the coverage because the person driving was not an authorized driver under the rental contract.  But after all was said and done through multiple courts, Geico lost the battle.  Since the driver who got in the car accident was authorized by another driver who was authorized by the insured driver, that trumps the fact that their name was not on the rental car contract.

Insurance Journal’s article, “Insurer Must Pay for Florida Rental Car Crash by Unauthorized Driver,” shows that car insurance quotes which cover any authorized driver on your vehicle include rental cars.  The rented car was a “temporary substitute auto” for the insured driver, so those authorized to drive the vehicle are covered in the case of an accident.  This trumps the fact that the insured driver was the only one authorized by the actual rental car company.  Sadly, the reason for all of this litigation is that minors were badly injured in the car crash and one passenger lost their life.  Be sure to know the details of your car insurance policy if you are authorizing someone else to driver your vehicle.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55

A reporter recently set out to see if it was possibly to hide a car insurance claim from someone like your husband or parent.  In the article “Can You Make a ‘Secret’ Car Insurance Claim,” Lynnette Khalfani-Cox explained the findings published on the Fox Business website.  Those who would be looking to hide an auto insurance claim are called ‘omnibus insured’.  This means that while they are not the primary insured, they have the permission of the primary insured to have their car covered by the policy and submit claims for accidents or other damage.

After speaking with experts at the Insurance Expert Network, the reporter found that while there is the slightest possibility that you could hide your car insurance claim, it is extremely unlikely for many reasons.  Insurers like One Beacon auto insurance don’t keep claims secret like you might expect health insurance companies to do.  Insurance companies are likely to telephone the primary insured to confirm information and claims.  If for some reason they didn’t call the primary insured, they would likely mail them some type of correspondence.

Not only will a check for the deductible most likely have to be written, but the primary insured will have to sign over the check from the insurance company to the dealership fixing the car.  If an omnibus insured person managed to keep all of this from the primary insured, the insurance company is still probably going to send a survey asking how their claims service performed.  And maybe most importantly, there is a good chance that the primary insured’s auto insurance rates are going to increase because of the accident.  A 10% increase will not likely go unnoticed.

Written by Sara Smart

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/SaraSmart55