Smart Auto Insurance Blog

When shopping around for auto insurance, it’s important to understand the different ways to buy and understand some of the pros and cons of each.  There is a huge market for auto insurance out there today and it can be overwhelming when you first start out your shopping experience.

One option to buy auto insurance is to go through a broker, such as Eastwood Insurance.  Brokers, in general, do the shopping for you which can save you time and money in the long run.  It’s important to know when you are going through a broker, because sometimes consumers may think the broker company is actually supplying the insurance coverage, when really a different company is, causing billing and customer service confusion.

Purchasing directly from an insurance carrier can have its benefits because you know what you are getting right off the bat.  You may see an advertisement on TV or the web and can call directly to get your price.  On the other hand, if you are interested in ensuring you are getting the lowest quote, shopping around by calling each carrier is timely and can be extremely redundant.  You can also use websites such as smartautoinsurance.com to help you shop around and determine if you are getting the best price.  It’s a competitive market, so the informed consumer definitely saves more.

State Farm Insurance has named their agent Steve Borklund to the Chairman’s Circle, a prestigious award within the company, for the fifth time!  This award not only recognizes top sales, but honors agents with their ability to demonstrate and represent State Farm’s values.  Many go to Borklund to receive their State Farm Insurance quote, and he has met strict criteria and sales goals to receive this award. 

Steve has been with State Farm Insurance for 39 years and joins a small, select number of people in South Carolina to receive the Chairman’s Circle recognition.  And this is his 3rd consecutive year to win this award!  He offers a wide range of insurance and financial products and is extremely knowledgeable in the industry.

State Farm Insurance’s Corporate Headquarters in Bloomington, IL, received the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ENERGY STAR for the year 2008.  This certification means that State Farm Auto Insurance is exemplifying superior energy efficiency and prioritizing the environment’s protection. 

The EPA introduced ENERGY STAR in 1992 as a partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through efficient means of running energy.  Today the ENERGY STAR is found on 50 different types of products and is considered an honor by companies to receive.

Following up on a previous blog post announcing GEICO filing paper work to begin selling auto insurance in Massachusetts, last Monday GEICO went live, and is now actively selling Massachusetts auto insurance policies to MA residents.

GEICO’s first customer in MA was Beth Opishinski of Whitman, Mass.

Over the past year, Massachusetts has seen many of the nations leading auto insurance companies re-enter the auto insurance market providing them with more options when choosing an auto insurance policy.  Recent market entrants include Progressive Insurance Company, Esurance, GEICO, and Allstate will join the fun shortly.

Drivers in twenty-seven states can save money by taking an online course to reduce their monthly premiums and erase disciplinary points resulting from violations from their license.

The online courses cost drivers about $50 to take, and can save drivers about 10% off their auto insurance rates, for about 3 years.

Drivers who have points on their license can drop up to four points when they successfully complete the course, which deals with

1. collision prevention,
2. defensive driving techniques
3. aggressive driving
4. improper lane use and
5. driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

Online and in-class sessions are also available from American Safety Council, Inc. and the National Point and Insurance Reduction Course, Inc.   Once drivers complete the online course, the DMV is notified automatically, but individuals must inform their auto insurance company within 90 days to receive the discount.

Encompass Auto Insurance is concerned about keeping you safe, and has a section on their website dedicated to safety and prevention.  Many cities have outlawed the use of cell phones while driving because more and more accidents are being caused by distracted drivers who are on the phone. 

On the Encompass Auto Insurance website it discusses cell phone use while driving and they have some advice.  If you have to talk on the phone while you drive it is best to have a hands-free cell cradle in your car so you can speak without your hands.  But, it’s always safest to arrive at your destination before taking out your phone.  It’s too easy to get engrossed in a conversation and lose your focus on driving which is extremely dangerous.

On Monday, May 18th, Infinity Insurance (Infinity Property and Casualty) held its annual shareholders’ meeting and has made it available through Webcast on their website. 

More and more companies are going this route to publicize their company information.  The age of the Internet is encouraging companies to figure out creative ways to give customers and shareholders the information they want at their fingertips.  Webcast is a media file which uses streaming media technology and has become a very popular method to share live and recorded videos.

Infinity Insurance is a national provider for auto insurance with a focus on nonstandard auto insurance coverage.

In 1980, Nicolas Estrella built his insurance company from the ground up. Estrella Insurance is known for being a very family oriented company which is highly valued among customers. These types of companies are becoming harder and harder to find.

Estrella Insurance prioritizes customer service and has very reasonable prices. You can check out the Estrella Insurance quote to see for yourself. They specialize in auto insurance, but also have home, commercial, business, boat and motorcycle products available. It’s encouraging to know there are companies out there focusing on serving the customer while maintaining its foundation of values.

The state of West Virginia has made a change to their driver’s licensing laws as they relate to new drivers.

Effective July 10, 2009, young drivers in West Virginia who do not to enroll in driver ed will be required to drive for 50, rather than 30, supervised hours in the learner’s phase.

In addition, provisional license holders will be prohibited from driving between 10pm -5am (as opposed to 11pm -5 am).

Additionally, new drivers will not be permitted to have any passengers in their car for the first 6 months, and only 1 passenger for the next 6 months.

More information on West Virginia auto insurance.

A new topic that will be covered here in the smart auto insurance blog is driving laws.  While not exactly an auto insurance topic, all moving violations do indeed have an impact on auto insurance rates at the end of the day and changes to such laws should be of interest to those who have an interest in what is going on in the world of auto insurance.

Effective July 1, 2009, Tennessee joins 11 other US states (Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Utah, Virginia, and Washington) in banning text messaging by all drivers.

More information on Tennessee Auto Insurance.