Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to the article “Florida Senate Panel Advances Auto Insurance Bills” by Brent Kallestad on Business Week’s website, two Florida bills aimed at cutting down the amount of fraud running rampant through Florida moved passed an important Senate panel.  The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee barely approved the bills after some debate between lawmakers.

Legislature is trying to get a handle of the amount of auto insurance fraud that is frustrating insurers enormously.  The bills move forward after being backed by the insurance industry which would give them more power to deny claims they deem suspicious for fraud.  A similar bill is moving through the Senate as well.  Florida auto insurance quotes are impacted by the amount of fraud going through the state, so hopefully as fraud decreases so will auto insurance quotes Florida.

The bills are guaranteed to pass.  Mark Cedarberg, an Orlando lawyer, cautions lawmakers about giving the insurance companies too much freedom.  He believes that if the bills pass it will make it harder on honest people, including honest doctors who need to be paid.  Once an auto insurance company decides to deny a claim it will be challenging to get it reversed.  Insurers, medical providers, and lawyers all agree that fraud is too prevalent, but they can’t agree on the best solution to fix the problem just yet.

Bristol West has a link to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website because driver safety is a priority to them.  Not only will driving safe keep your auto insurance quotes lower, but it keeps you and your family safe on the road.

An article posted on the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety website discusses the 2011 Top Safety Pick in their “Hyundai Equus Earns 2011 TOP SAFETY PICK Award” listing.  This luxury car earns this award for many reasons.  They actually earned this high rating across the board in the Institute’s safety evaluations.  The Equus was rated good for front, side, rollover and rear crash protection.  On top of this, it has electronic stability control which has become another requirement for earning the Institute’s highest rating.

In the rating for roof strength for rollover protection, the Equus withstood a force equal to 4.87 times the car’s weight.  This earns them a high rating as well since the current federal standard is 1.5 times a car’s weight.  Bristol West Insurance not only wants drivers to know about safe cars, but they hope lives can be saved through education.  As car makers compete for this honor, the hope is that vehicles will become safer and safer over time.  Many auto insurance companies take car safety into consideration when they calculate an insurance quote because someone is less likely to be severely injured in a very safe car.

According to the article “Louisiana Auto, Property Insurance Rates Highest in US” by Christopher Tidmore on Bayou Buzz, an average quote for Louisiana auto insurance is $1,111 which is the highest in the nation.  This is based on a recent survey conducted by InsWeb.

There was a drastic difference between Louisiana and other southern states.  For example, North Carolina’s average rate is $495 and Virgina’s average rate was $521.  This is about half of what the state of Louisiana is experiencing which is making it difficult for Louisiana residents to afford auto insurance coverage.

The closest southern state was Florida coming in at about $750 on average.  Louisiana also ranked high for very high property insurance rates as well.  The average premium for home owners insurance for the whole nation is $690.62 which is significantly cheaper than Louisiana’s average which is $1392.  This is up .2% from the previous year.

The south typically has higher insurance rates because of the devastating threats of hurricane season, but Louisiana consistently is one of the most expensive states for insurance in the United States.

State Farm auto insurance offers pay-as-you-drive auto insurance policies in California, Ohio, Texas and Illinois.  Progressive Insurance offers it as well throughout the US.  It’s getting more and more popular.  According to the article “Low-Mileage Drivers Benefit From Insurers’ Pay-As-You-Drive Plans” by Eve Mitchell on BellinghamHerald.com, auto insurance rates are tied to part of the actual number of miles driven and many consumers are seeing big savings.

State Farm specifically calls their program the Drive Safe & Save program and drivers can self-report their mileage online or at an agent’s office before they renew their policy.  Customers who drive General Motors, Saab, and Saturn vehicles with OnStar technology and have a diagnostics account can have their actual mileage sent right to State Farm for updating.  Drivers are paying better attention to how they drive in hopes that it will ultimately save them money on their quotes on auto insurance.

The pay-as-you-drive momentum is party due to California’s Proposition 103 which was the landmark auto insurance reform bill passed by voters back in 1988.  It requires insurance companies to base rates primarily on the customer’s driving record, number of miles driven per year, and driving experience.  More recent regulations allow actual mileage to be a voluntary alternative to estimated mileage and it makes it possible for auto insurance companies to obtain mileage verification from devices inside the car.  Any savings from actual miles driven are applied once the policy is renewed.  Drivers who are not on the road that often really appreciate this initiative and are hoping to see big savings over time on their auto insurance.

Based on a recent online survey completed by the InsuranceQuotes website, a surprising 16% of American drivers say that they have driven without carrying auto insurance, which happens to be against the law.  Also in this survey, 2% admitted to currently driving around without auto insurance which is concerning for all insured drivers on the road.

With the past few years being tough economic times for many, this probably makes sense.  According to the article “16% of Motorists Have Driven Without Insurance” by Alex Vorro on insurancenetworking.com, 28% of males ages 18-25 and 45-54 were at the top of the list for driving without insurance.  The percent of women driving without insurance is only about half of men.

Men and women combined in the age group 45-54 were the most likely to have driven without insurance at about 22%.  In the age group over 55 only 8% have admitted to ever driving with auto insurance.  The survey also looked at the reasons why people were driving with out auto insurance.  Auto insurance quotes can be expensive and it would seem that would be one of the reasons.  Actually, 24% of drivers drove without auto insurance because they didn’t have a chance to renew, 19% because of a gap while switching insurance companies and 12% because the insurer cancelled their policy.

Louisiana once again is experiencing the highest median auto insurance costs throughout the entire nation.  Coming in at $1,111 on average according to the InsWeb survey, Louisiana feels the weight of these high rates especially when compared to other states which are significantly lower.

According to the article “Louisiana Auto, Property Insurance Rates Highest in US” by Christopher Tidmore on BayouBuzz, North Carolina’s average cost is $495 and Virgina comes in at $521.  Both of these rates are less than half the cost of Louisiana auto insurance.  Florida auto insurance quotes have jumped and are on the higher side as well, coming in at about $750, which is worse than last year.

InsWeb’s 2011 Car Insurance Rate Report comes in handy when people are shopping around to compare auto insurance.  It gives consumers an idea of what to expect and what might be considered “high” in their state.  The annual report ranks all 50 states and Washinging DC and bases their rankings on the median household car insurance rate for a 6 month policy.  InsWeb gets their rates from a system that tracks rates from the largest auto insurance companies in every state in addition to actual profiles of their customers.

Auto insurance fraud is soon to become a felony in the state of New York.  Legislators are working on harsher penalties for those submitting false claims and other fraudulent activity according to the article “New York Senate Passes Bill Making Auto Insurance Fraud a Felony” found on the US Insurance Corner website.

The New York Senate is hoping that passing harsher penalties against perpetrators will not only encourage less fraud but will ultimately lower costs of auto insurance quotes for everyone in the state.  Fraud losses have to be made up somehow by insurers and unfortunately it ends up coming out of innocent, law-abiding customers.

Republican Senator James Seward sponsored the bill and on the Senate’s insurance committee as a chairman.  He believes the new legislation offers a strong deterrent to those considering fraud against their auto insurance company.  He also sees this bill improving highway safety and dropping auto insurance rates for everyone.  Depending on the history of the perpetrator and the circumstances around the fraudulent activity, a person could face a class B, C or D felony which translates to much harsher punishment.

The bill targets those who stage accidents since that is one of the more egregious acts, but this is not the most common type of fraud.  The State of New York Insurance Department says about 9 out of 10 fraud cases are related to no-fault injury claims.

Texas auto insurance quotes and rates are expected to increase over the next few weeks due to a recent regulation change.  There was recently a mandatory minimum liability coverage requirement increase according to the article found on Digital Journal detailing the new regulation.

The Texas Department of Insurance states that liability coverage was much too low and an increase was necessary.  The coverages were barely covering the cost of accidents and this was hurting other drivers involved.  Department of Insurance spokesperson, Jerry Hagins, believes Texas drivers can expect to see an approximate increase of 2%-3% in their current rate.  Charles Law, a local auto insurance agent, estimates this to be around $40 per year on average across the board.  This is a small increase for most people, but it gives us some foreshadowing of where the rates are headed.

Apparently, this minimum liability coverage increase was long overdue.  There hadn’t been an adjustment since 1983 which is simply shocking since medical costs and auto repair costs have skyrocketed since then.  The new rate increase was called for in 2007 law, but it did not take effect until January 2011 and by now consumers are seeing the difference on their statements.  As much as no one wants to pay more for their auto insurance this is a necessary evil to ensure our coverage actually protects us in case we hurt someone or something out on the road.  If it’s too small of an amount we could end up paying out of pocket and no one wants that.

A survey released earlier this week revealed some good news for Florida residents.  Insure.com released a survey which found Florida’s average annual premium for auto insurance was $1,476 which is $85 less than the national average.

Florida does happen to be one of the most expensive markets for property insurance, but the auto insurance market stays competitive according to the article “Florida Auto Insurance Cheaper Than Average, Survey Finds” found on FloridaTrend.com.  Compared to all of the other states and Washington DC, Florida ranks 29th overall in expensive auto insurance.  The most expensive states from the survey were Michigan at $2541, and Louisiana at $2453.  The cheapest auto insurance rates will be found in Vermont with an average premium of $995 and South Carolina at $1095.

Florida auto insurance quotes being lower is great news for residents since they are already paying higher rates for property insurance.  This is probably due to hurricanes which can devastate properties and cause homeowners insurance rates to soar.  Lower auto insurance quotes Florida help offset those costs.

We are bombarded with car insurance information all the time and it can often be challenging to sort out the facts from fiction.  According to the article “Experts Dispel Common Auto Insurance Myths” by Larry Printz found on The Ledger, AAA and the Insurance Information Institute have gathered the top car insurance myths out there right now and work to set the record straight.

The first myth is that red cars have higher car insurance quotes.  Color typically is not used when car insurers calculate quotes.  The second myth is that insurance costs increase as you get older.  Often times the opposite is true that rates decrease with driving experience.  The elderly can even take courses which will earn them discounts on their car insurance.

The next myth has to deal with your credit score.  Some people think it has no bearing on car insurance but it usually does.  If you have trouble paying your bills, car insurance companies can worry about you paying your premiums and some studies have shown a link between driving record and credit rating.  The fifth myth discussed clarifies that your policy does not automatically cover you for theft or damage to your car.  You have to carry comprehensive and collision.  Another myth is that the car insurance policy does not follow the car but it does.

One myth circulating is that soldiers end up paying more for car insurance, but this is not the case.  Many auto insurance companies actually offer discounts to military men and women.  The final myth says car insurance will cover you for business use of your car.  Depending on your situation you could find yourself uncovered if you happen to be using your car for business purposes, so double check to see what is included in your policy if you do use if for work purposes on occasion.

Hopefully dispelling some of these auto insurance myths out there will help consumers make more educated decisions and will carry the coverage that works best for their individual situation.