Shop Around For Insurance Quotes

Insurance quotes are good for a few different reasons. They are free, and they save you money. Whether you are looking for auto insurance, home insurance, health insurance, or other types of insurance, it's important to shop around.

We've all seen the commercials about how you can save money by switching to a different insurance company, but all companies say that you can save money by switching. So if you want to find the best deal, you will have to compare quotes from different companies.

When you are looking for insurance quotes, don't sacrifice coverage for a lower rate. All insurance companies can give you a better insurance quote if they give you a lower coverage. Decide what amount of coverage you want and then shop and compare insurance quotes from the different companies.

All states have different insurance companies for different types of insurance, but there is always an assortment of options for each state. There was a survey taken not long about how many insurance quotes each person got before they decided to purchase insurance. The average amount of quotes a person shopped was 3. That means that some people would get only one quote, and others would get up to 4 or 5.

I've posted before about the important of shopping around and listed a few places to compare prices in various states just to show that prices do vary. Insurance companies sometimes target specific audiences, so there may be an insurance company that has a low rate for you. You just have to shop around.

You may feel that you have the best insurance company with the lowest quote. You may indeed have found it already, but it doesn't hurt to shop around every year, because each year insurance companies sometimes lower or raise their rates. You may find a better deal by shopping around and comparing insurance quotes.

Texas Insurance Comparisons for Home and Auto

The Texas Department of Insurance has comparisons for home and auto insurance which will give you approximate prices in Texas from different insurance companies. There is also information about financial ratings and complaint index. The prices you see are not actual premiums, but just a general idea of what you might pay. The comparisons are based on limited factors, so actual rates will vary.

The auto insurance comparison has several different driver profiles. The profiles have different ages, 18, 25, 35, 55, and over 64. Also for age 18, you can compare single vs. married. The profiles are ones with no tickets or accidents. You would then have to select your locality in Texas and be able to see the different prices of the different insurance companies.

The comparison for home insurance has different owner profiles consisting of new brick or frame home, and then different ages of the homes. Also you can see what kind of discounts the companies may offer. You also select where you live to compare the different rates.

These comparisons can give you a rough idea about prices, but it's important to shop around and get actual quotes. It's also important to note, that not all companies may be writing business, because the comparisons are only as current as the last provision.

Unitrin Direct Auto Insurance Review

Unitrin Direct offers auto insurance in many states and continues to expand. The auto insurance company was founded in 2000, and is a subsidiary of Unitrin.

The Unitrin Property & Casualty Insurance Group is currently rated "A" excellent by AM Best for financial stability.

Unitrin Direct offers many different types of discounts for auto insurance and may vary by state. Some of the discounts include multi-car, pay-in-full, drivers older than 55 & away from home students.

The company also has a discount called loyalty, which gives you a discount after your first renewal. Consumers may also qualify for a discount if you sign your documents online and enroll in EasyPay, their recurring payment service.

Unitrin Direct's website is easy to navigate, clean, and very transparent. We know how important this is for consumers, and personally give them an "A" for their website design. According to their news release, they updated their website on Jan 12, 2007.

Unitrin Direct currently offers auto insurance in 25 states, and continues to expand. At their website they have a link that shows which states they do business in.

Unitrin Direct: www.unitrindirect.com

Insurance Complaints Drop in 2007

Insurance complaints dropped this year, while the most common types of complaints remain relatively unchanged according to new statistics.

According to data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), insurance complaints decreased 3.6% in 2007 from the previous year's data.

The most common types of complaints were Delays (16%), Denial of Claim (14.7%), Unsatisfactory Settlement/Offer (9.8%), Cancellation (4.6%), and Premium and Rating (4.4%).

The most common complaints by types of coverage were Accident and Health (36.4%) and Auto (34.4%).

Other types of complaints by coverage include Homeowners (12.5%), Life and Annuity (9.0%), and Commercial Multi-Peril (1.8%).

NAIC collects the data from its Complaint Database System (CDS), where states report "closed" complaints voluntarily, and the NAIC does not collect data from all states.

A total of 222,814 consumer complaints were reported to CDS in 2007.

California Health Insurance Mandate, Voted No

The Senate Health Committee voted against the bill that would have required all Californians to purchase health insurance. The bill, AB X1 1, was scheduled for vote last wednesday, but then delayed until Monday.

The committee was concerned about the spending in the bill, as well as the mandate that would require people to purchase health insurance they may not be able to afford.

The bill would have also required employers to purchase health insurance. The bill did have some good parts in it, but I guess the committee felt the good did not outweigh the bad.

Arnold, speaking to the San Francisco Chronicle, said "I'm not taking 'no' for an answer, we've come a long way to get as far as we have... this is the last mile."

It seemed pretty certain last wednesday that there was not enough support for the bill to get past the committee. Sure, California may need health insurance reform, but how about a bill without the mandate.

The bill had so many different provisions in it. Maybe they can make the bills not so lengthy, and pass the parts everyone agrees on.

BadgerCare Plus to Insure All Kids in Wisconsin

Wisconsin has proven to be a leader for insuring kids. Wisconsin's new program will provide health insurance for all children in the state, regardless of income.

The health insurance program, BadgerCare Plus, will be available to people in Wisconsin starting February 1, 2008.

Low income families will be able to enroll their children into BadgerCare Plus at no charge.  Higher earning families will be able to buy into the program for as little as $10 a month.

BadgerCare Plus also offers comprehensive, affordable health care to pregnant women and some adults in Wisconsin that make a certain amount of income.

Families can begin signing up for BadgerCare Plus on Friday, or get information about the program by visiting www.badgercareplus.org.

Other states have similar programs for children, but may currently have income eligibility requirements.

Blue Cross Unveils Plan to Cover Uninsured

On Wednesday, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association has announced a plan for covering the uninsured and comprehensive reform. The five-point plan is called "The Pathway to Covering America".

BCBSAs five-point plan for comprehensive reform includes the following:

1. Encourage Research on What Works. Today, an estimated 30 percent of healthcare spending goes toward care that is ineffective, redundant or inappropriate. America needs an independent institute to support research comparing the relative effectiveness of new and existing medical procedures, drugs, devices, and biologics.

2. Change Incentives to Promote Better Care. The incentives in our system must be changed to advance the best possible care instead of encouraging more services. Providers should be rewarded for delivering high-quality, coordinated care, especially for the increasing number of Americans with chronic illnesses.

3. Empower Consumers and Providers. Consumers and providers must have access to the information and tools they need to make informed decisions. This starts with information systems to manage personal health records. In addition, consumers need to know how much they are paying for their healthcare and what they are getting in return.

4. Promote Health & Wellness. The costs of treating chronic conditions are estimated to account for 75 percent of healthcare spending. As a nation, we must promote healthy lifestyles to help prevent chronic illness and work aggressively to help patients with chronic illnesses manage their own health.

5. Foster Public-Private Coverage Solutions. Coverage plans need to be tailored to capture the diversity of the uninsured population so that no one gets squeezed out by cost, misses out on available government assistance or opts out because they do not think they need health coverage.

To foster public-private coverage solutions, they propose states should provide brokers with a finder's fee for enrolling individuals in Medicaid and SCHIP & feel states should be allowed to automatically enroll children into public programs who qualify for other programs (such as free or reduced school lunches, ect).

In each step, they have outlined what the Blues are doing, and what the Government should do. The BCBSA plans to engage in a multi-pronged campaign both nationally and in all 50 states to help advance this proposal. For more details/information about BCBSA's plan visit www.bcbs.com/pathwayreport

Blue Cross Blue Shield has had 75 years as leaders in the health community, and the 39 regional companies insures millions of Americans.