Smart Auto Insurance Blog

According to the article “State Insurance Official Says 15 Percent of Montana Drivers are Uninsured” by Charles S. Johnson on www.missoulian.com, Montana’s uninsured rate is slightly higher than the national average.

The national average for uninsured drivers is 13.8% while Montana is coming it at 15%.  Even neighboring states are much lower.  Mari Kindberg, the property and casualty actuary in the state Auditor’s Office says North Dakota comes in at 5%, South Dakota is at 7% and Wyoming is at 9%.  What is different about Montana that’s making Montana auto insurance quotes unattainable?

Kindberg states that Montana already has laws requiring drivers to have auto insurance and there are stiff penalties for those who choose not to and get caught.  The Revenue and Transportation Interim Committee is studying the problem of uninsured and underinsured drivers.  The Auditor’s Office recommended changing the state credit act to assist consumers keep their current auto insurance policies and make rates affordable during tough times.  This may help Montana’s high uninsured rate.

State House Democrats announced last week a plan that would cut Michigan auto insurance rates and apply stricter restrictions on auto insurance companies according to the article “House Democrats Unveil Plan to Cut Auto Insurance Rates” by Chris Christoff on freep.com. 

Insurance companies state that this type of regulation will result in higher premiums for drivers.  The government’s plan would require insurers to offer low-cost auto insurance to drivers with lower income and good driving records.  Democrats and the state Insurance Consumer Advocate, Butch Hollowell, say the insurance industry is practicing unfair pricing. 

The article points out that Michigan has the second highest rates in the US just behind New Jersey.  This is despite the fact that accidents and thefts in Michigan have gone down over recent years.  The bill would also prohibit companies from using some discrimatory factors such as a driver’s education, their careers, or their personal credit ratings when determining auto insurance quotes.

Florida requires its residents to carry a Florida auto insurance policy which covers for both personal injury and damage to the property of others according to the article “Minimum Floriday Car Insurance Requirements May Not Be Sufficient” found on auto-mobi.info.  The article suggests that the coverage may not be enough to handle the high costs of medical care and property damage.

Florida auto insurance laws currently require drivers to have a limit of $10,000 for personal injury protection, and $10,000 for property damage liability.  These limits can easily be exceeded following a major accident and may leave you responsible for a large dollar amount if you carry the minimum coverage.  It’s a good idea to see what extended coverage is available and affordable as you shop around.

Drivers should consider adding Comprehensive and Collision to their auto insurance policy if they want to cover their car fully, especially if their car is being financed.  Some lenders actually require coverage for the physical damage of the financed car as part of the loan terms.  Car insurance quotes vary greatly from insurer to insurer, as do the benefits of policies, so it can pay off big time to do your homework.

According to the article “Additional Auto Insurance May Not Be Needed For Rental Cars” by Lawrence Shipman on usinsuranceonline.com, rental cars have auto insurance through the state of Minnesota. 

Auto insurance to cover a rental car can be up to $10-$15 per day.  This is a lot of money, especially if you are renting the car for an extended period of time.  That’s why it’s important to understand what type of coverage you have through the state of Minnesota and Minnesota auto insurance.  The minimum coverage for covering a rental car in the state is $35,000.  This is probably plenty to cover the car you are driving but the only thing to consider is that if you wreck multiple cars it could end up costing you more.

You will also want to check with your personal auto insurance policy to see if there is any additional coverage for rental cars.  When you are shopping around for Minnesota auto insurance quotes you can ask if there are any policies that offer such a benefit before making a purchase.  The Insurance Information Institute says consumers are usually covered when they rent a car.

The average auto insurance rate in Texas has decreased by more than 14% since the beginning of 2009 according to insurancerates.com.  This was found on the press release “Texas Auto Insurance Rates Decline 14.2 Percent in 2009″ on marketwire. 

This is good news for Texans as all Americans are trying to save money.  Texas auto insurance quotes are lower and by shopping around you can find competitive rates.  Some other statistics to keep in mind while shopping around are that men in Texas have an average auto insurance rate which is 7% higher than women according to the press release.  Drivers in Texas who are 19 years old or younger pay an average of 140% higher than drivers over the age of 75. 

The press release also points out that Texas is currently the 18th most expensive state for auto insurance so the decreasing rates are helpful.  Massachusetts auto insurance is the most affordable and Louisiana is the most expensive.  The best thing that you can do to ensure you are getting a good deal on your auto insurance is to shop around and compare rates.  You may be surprised how much money you end up saving.

As the unemployment rate increases and the state of the economy continues, more and more people are expected to drop their auto insurance.  This is according to the article “More Motorists Expected To Drive Without an Auto Insurance Policy” by John Pirro found on live-pr.com. 

The article states that many people see a strong correlation between unemployment rates and the number of people driving without auto insurance.  According to a study from the Insurance Research Council, about one in six drivers will be driving without auto insurance by 2010.  One of the main problems with this trend is that responsible drivers who follow the law and carry the proper auto insurance coverage end up paying more to account for accidents caused by uninsured motorists. 

The consequences for driving without auto insurance are getting harsher.  For example, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will suspend a driver’s vehicle registration if they are caught without proof of insurance.  Many of these people driving around uninsured believe they simply cannot afford the month to month cost of carrying auto insurance, but the truth is that it can end up costing you a lot more money in the long run if you are in an accident or caught driving uninsured.

According to the article “Shops debate the place of insurers in the repair process” by Brian Albright on SearchAutoParts.com, car designs have become more complicated and costly which is causing auto insurance companies to become more involved in the repair process.

Conflicts often arise between repairers and insurers as the insurance companies pressure shops to reduce costs.  The repair shops often see this as unnecessary meddling as they deal with their own financial pressures.  Most shops prefer that the insurance company cut a check and stay our of the repair process, but customers find value in the insurers taking over and the insurance companies want to keep costs down as much as possible. 

Not all insurance companies get in the way.  State Farm auto insurance is generally regarded as cooperative according to this article.  Recently they have engaged in programs looking for efficiencies in the repair business.  While some independent shops see this as intrusive, others see it as positive.  Gene Regan is a general manager at Causeway Collision Center in Manahawkin, NJ and he believes it’s a good thing State Farm is getting involved.  He sees the programs bringing the shops and insurance companies together to practice better business, and that ultimately will benefit the mutual customers.

According to the Associated Press, Michigan auto insurance policy holders will soon have to pay more in fees as of July 1st. The Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association raised its fee, which covers seriously injured victims of car accidents, to $125 per vehicle. The charge is a $20 increase from last year.

Since Michigan is the only state that offers unlimited lifetime medical benefits through auto insurance for the seriously injured, the MCCA levies the fee to cover rising medical costs. The fee was actually reduced by $18 last year; however, that was due to investment gains that reversed themselves this year.

An article by Kenneth J. St. Onge in the Insurance Journal says that Esurance auto insurance has filed to obtain a foreign company license, the first step in being able to sell Massachusetts auto insurance. The insurer is following Geico and Progressive who have also decided to enter the state’s market, a year after deregulation of the industry. Like those companies, Esurance sells auto insurance policies directly to the consumer through the Internet.

Despite this indicator, Kenneth stresses that the auto insurance company states that they have no plans to enter the Massachusetts market any time soon. For one thing, they have not yet filed a rate plan; such an outline of the auto insurance rates they plan to charge is mandatory to sell insurance in the state.

Cliff Reisig recently wrote about significant increases in New Mexico auto insurance rates in the Alamogordo Daily News. After being hit with a 48% jump in the cost of his auto insurance premium last year, even though he had never filed an accident claim in the 20 years he had the policy, he decided to investigate the cause. 

After contacting the state’s regulation commission, Cliff found that the New Mexico state legislature recently decided to deregulate the auto insurance industry. Now, insurance companies can increase their rates at any time for any reason. As a result, auto insurance rates have exploded across the state, far beyond the customary 3% or so inflation in past years.

Since New Mexico mandates that all drivers have auto insurance, a complete lack of price controls could hurt the state’s drivers.