Smart Auto Insurance Blog

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.

That Motown classic was right: you better shop around, especially for Delaware auto insurance. KYW-TV’s eye-opening study shows how there can be wild swings in premiums between companies. Everything else can be exactly the same! Some examples:

A couple and teenage son in Wilmington, with one accident on their record can pay…

• $4,528 per year with Progressive Insurance
• or $2,776 per year with a Liberty Mutual quote

They would save hundreds of dollars per year by switching their insurer! What about basic coverage for a couple in Landsdale, Delaware? They could pay…

• $2,643 per year with Nationwide Insurance
• or just $1,054 per year with a Travelers Insurance quote.

As you can see, the savings could be substantial; especially important during these tough times. Unfortunately, research has found that most consumers don’t compare auto insurance before they buy a policy, and don’t often switch policies.

A new program from Progressive Insurance allows drivers to go online and pick their own auto insurance premium. The Name Your Price tool on their website will show you the most package that best fits the price you entered. Then, you can gradually change the desired level of coverage with a slider (Want lower auto insurance rates? Up your deductible or lower your coverage limit). Pretty simple, right?

The insurer plans to take the Name Your Price tool nationwide this year. It’s currently available in these states:

• California
• Ohio
• Texas
• Florida
• Connecticut
• Kansas
• Georgia
• Maryland
• Indiana
• Illinois
• Oklahoma
• Michigan
• Pennsylvania
• Missouri
• Wisconsin
• Washington

Get your own Progressive Insurance quotes.

In an effort to fight global warming, the Washington State legislature is considering a bill that would allow auto insurers to use electronic monitoring devices to charge different rates based on a person’s actual driving habits, reports the Seattle Times‘ Chantal Anderson. Individuals who have reduced their car usage (by using bikes or public transportation to commute to work, for example) could save up to 15% on their Washington auto insurance premiums.

Auto insurance companies that are offering or planning to offer pay-as-you-drive programs in other states include Progressive Insurance (through its Progressive MyRate program), Allstate auto insurance, Hartford insurance, and Unigard. Progressive wants to keep its proprietary rating information confidential, and the senate bill will be rewritten to reflect those concerns.

Chantal reports that the bill looks likely to pass the state Senate, but could face opposition in the House. Privacy advocates are worried about the “Big Brother” potential of the tracking devices, although the data allowed to be collected and the ways in which it can be used must be approved by the insurance commissioner.

Progressive Insurance is launching its MyRate tracking device in Kentucky this week, according to Alex Davis from the Courier-Journal. The product is a small computer that plugs into a car’s diagnostic port under the dashboard (for cars built after 1996) and tracks a person’s driving habits. Based on those results, individual auto insurance premiums will be calculated

Behaviors tracked by MyRate include:

• How often a driver slams on the brakes
• How often a driver accelerates rapidly
• When a vehicle is used
• How many miles are driven

The two largest providers of Alabama auto insurance recently announced plans to lower their rates, according to Jeff Amy in the Press-Register. State Farm, which holds almost a quarter of the state’s auto insurance market, will lower its rates by about 1.8%, as of January 12. Second-place Alfa Insurance is going to decrease its rates by 1.7% to 1.9%, depending on the subsidiary which wrote the policy. Those rate changes will go into effect on January 26.

Progressive Insurance also intends to lower its insurance rates for one of its Alabama subsidiaries later this month, by 5% on average. They’re the fourth-largest insurer in Alabama.

While Jeff warns that these lower rates won’t necessarily apply to everybody, it’s still a good idea to check out State Farm quotes or Progressive Insurance quotes, as well as Alfa’s, in order to keep up with rate changes in Alabama.

(Photo credit: southernpixel under CC 2.0)

According to Jeffrey Krasner in the Boston Globe, Progressive Insurance’s website recently showed incorrect comparisons with other auto insurance companies, making their rates appear cheaper than they really are. A computer glitch compared the price of Progressive’s 6-month policy with 12-month policies from Commerce Insurance or Liberty Mutual. (Unlike most Massachusetts auto insurance companies, Progressive sells policies in 6-month increments.)

Progressive spokesperson Cristy Colt stresses that they weren’t intentionally trying to mislead consumers; rather, the system is meant to divide competitors’ prices in half to show fair auto insurance quote comparisons. For now, the rate comparison tool on their website is down, and Progressive is sending letters to inform about 21,000 consumers whose decisions may have been affected by the error.

(Photo credit: wallyg under CC 2.0)