Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to the article “The Effects of a DUI on Car Insurance Quotes” by insuranceagents.com, auto insurance quotes can skyrocket after a Driving Under the Influence violation is on your record.

Not only will a DUI on your record cause your auto insurance quotes to increase, but your license may be suspended and your current auto insurance policy may be cancelled, leaving you in a tough spot to find new auto insurance fast. 

There is a zero tolerance for drinking and driving in the United States because of how terribly dangerous it is to the driver, passengers and other people driving on the road.  Not only are you putting lives at risk if you drink and drive, but you are setting yourself up for a potentially very expensive road as well as possible jail time.

According to the article “State auto insurance program plans to raise rates” by Purva Patel from the Houston Chronicle, Texas drivers covered through The Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association will experience higher auto insurance quotes and premiums starting November 1. 

The insurer, often known as the last resort auto insurance company, assigns auto insurance coverage for those who cannot get insurance through private insurers in Texas.  They are also known as the “assigned auto insurance market”.  They issue policies which offer basic liability insurance required by Texas state law.  They also offer limited collision and personal injury protection.

The Association plans to increase auto insurance rates statewide by an average of 2.2%.  Jerry Johns, a spokesman for the company says the increases come because of the need to cover damaged vehicles and doctor and hospital fees.  They assigned 12,000 policies in ‘08 and plan on assigning 10,000 for the current year.

According to the article “Data Shows Auto Insurance Rates Rise for DWI Convinctions” by Lavonne Kuykendall on CNN Money’s site, auto insurance rates in general are on the rise. 

Information obtained by insurance.com shows that auto insurance rates for male drivers with a DWI or DUI convinction are rising faster.  DWI rates usually stay in effect for 5 years after a DWI conviction.

In 2009, male drivers who had a DWI conviction paid auto insurance which was about 24% more per year than did men without any violations.  This is up from a 22% difference in 2008.  The rate of increase for someone with a DWI has remained the same for women since 2008, at about 28% higher than the rate for women without any violations.

Auto theft is down in Ohio for 2008 according to The National Insurance Crime Bureau’s recent report.  The article “Ohio’s most-stolen vehicle: 2000 Dodge Caravan” from the Chicago Tribune gives some details.  The 2000 Dodge Caravan minivan is the most often stolen car in Ohio for 2008.  This could end up affecting your Ohio auto insurance quotes if you have this car.

Ohio’s second most popular stolen car is the 1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass.  The third is the 1996 Jeep Cherokee and Grand Cherokee.  This ranking is based on car theft data gathered in 2008.  According to The National Insurance Crime Bureau many older models of trucks and cars are being targeted because these cars carry valuable parts.  Parts stripped out from a chop shop can often sell for 2 times as much as the car itself would on the market.

Throughout the country, 2008’s most stolen car was the 1994 Honda Accord.  Auto insurance theft is down across the nation as well.

SR-22 auto insurance policies show the DMV proof of insurance according to an article on officialwire.com by Joel McLaughlin.  Auto insurance companies fill out a SR-22 insurance form for you and then they forward it to the DMV when your license has been taken away for various reasons including a DUI or getting in an accident with no auto insurance.

Once the DMV gets the SR-22 insurance form they then have the proof that you are carrying minimum liability auto insurance and they will return your license to you.  The usual standard for carrying SR-22 insurance is 3 years.  This can vary depending on which state the violation occurs in and how severe the offense was.  If your auto insurance company cancels your insurance policy for any reason before the date of termination they will notify you.

Not all auto insurance companies offer SR-22 insurance so you may need to use a different carrier than you previously used.  You also may end up contacting numerous different companies to find a carrier right for you.

According to the article “Insurance Fraud Costs All of Us Money” by Jeanette Krebs on Pennlive.com, 7 out of 10 Pennsylvania drivers say they would not attempt insurance fraud.  That leaves about 2.5 million people who may consider fraud.  The same group of polled people believe that those who commit auto insurance fraud are rarely caught. 

Getting Pennsylvania auto insurance quotes already includes many factors most of which are based on individual information.  But the economy, business stability and fraud losses are all considered when auto insurance rates are determined.  This is why insurance fraud ends up costing all drivers on some level.  The worst part is that it is extremely difficult to catch these perpetrators.  According to the Franklin and Marshall University Poll about a quarter of respondents stated they would not report someone they knew involved in an insurance scam. 

In 1994 the fraud prevention authority was created as a funding mechanism, making funds available to law enforcement and prosecutors to manage insurance fraud.  The budget is approximately $11.6 billion which comes from insurance companies within the state.  Part of the money is also used to educate Pennsylvanians about fraud, such as TV ads letting people know they can go to jail for engaging in insurance fraud.

The article “Jacksonville tops Florida for car crashes” by the Jacksonville Business Journal gives a brief overview of the report from the Florida Highway Patrol.  In the report it is found that Jacksonville has the highest incidents of car crashes in 2008 which may affect the city’s auto insurance rates.

Jacksonville crashes were shockingly 50% higher than Miami.  Jacksonville totaled about 14,000 car crashes throughout the year.  The 2009 GMAC Insurance National Drivers Test released a report ranking Florida 43rd in the country based on exam scores.  Florida’s average driving exam score was 74.1%. 

The good news is that statewide there were less crashes that resulted in death in 2008 from 2007.  There were less than 3,000 fatalities for the first time in 8 years.  Pedestrian deaths fell about 5%, but pedestrian injuries were up about 4% overall.  These types of reports are used by Florida auto insurance companies to assist in determining rates.

A helpful article on Officialwire.com by Joel McLaughlin gives information on SR22 Auto Insurance.

SR22 insurance is a form that your auto insurance carrier fills out for you and sends to the DMV office when your license has been revoked.  Once the DMV office receives the proof that you do have insurance and that you are covered for minimum liability, they return your license to you.

The standard requirement for having SR22 auto insurance is 3 years but this can differ from state to state and the offense severity.  If your carrier cancels your insurance before the date of termination, the carrier is required to submit a SR26 to advise the state that you are not covered by auto insurance any longer.  Not all auto insurance companies offer the SR22 option, so you will need to do some research as to which carrier will be able to assist you.

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.

According to 90.9 WBUR, The Urban Insurance Agents of Massachusetts (A trade association) say that over the next year more than 12,000 drivers per month who mostly live in urban or inner-city areas will lose their auto insurance coverage due to auto insurance deregulation otherwise known as managed competition.

Auto insurance companies in Massachusetts are no longer required to offer auto insurance coverage to neighborhoods they consider to be high-risk such as: Brockton, Springfield, Worcester, Dorchester, and Roxbury among others.

Massachusetts Drivers who are non-renewed can shop for auto insurance through an agent, online or through their own research in the competitive Massachusetts marketplace…or through the Massachusetts Auto Insurance Program (MAIP).

More information about Massachusetts Auto Insurance, and online quotes.