How to find the cheapest insurance

You may be surprised how much insurance rates vary from company to company. Thinking that there is one company that is cheapest for all is a myth. Each company has different factors that they take into consideration when determining your rate.

Compare insurance companies and find the most competitive rate. Also, don't go with the first quote you get, be sure you compare rates from several companies, and then decide.

If you don't compare, you will never know you are getting the best deal. This is why it's important that you compare rates before purchasing. Also, there is no need to get less coverage to save money. You can save plenty of money by comparing rates from different companies.

This will help you find the cheapest rate or at least a very cheap rate. Also be sure that the companies are reliable and have good customer service.

Public Vs. Private Health Insurance for Children

Lately we've been hearing a lot about SCHIP and children's health insurance and I have decided to do some research and let all of this sink in. I recently read a news article about parents that couldn't afford health insurance for them or for their children. This is not only a political issue. This is a personal issue. People are coming out and defending themselves that they can't afford health insurance and it REALLY has made people think about health insurance for their children.

First, health insurance is much cheaper for children than an adult. According the chart I'm about to show you, the costs (after adjusting for health differences) for children's private health insurance is $795 and public health insurance $719. For adults, it's $3,145 for public and $4,410 for private. Here is a graph that shows the differences in costs. The source of the graph is Hadley and Holahan 2003/2004. I found the graph at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities here.

Secondly, what should families do that can't afford health insurance for themselves and their children? Should they get health insurance for their children first, and after the children grow up, then get health insurance for themselves? Of course, it's best to have health insurance for you and your family. Another thought, one might consider catastrophic health insurance with a high deductible and if a major medical expense comes up, you will be covered for the majority of the costs and the plan will cost less.

Also, public health insurance and SCHIP are good when the costs of treatment exceed the policy of private health insurance.

Florida's Tool for Comparing Homeowners Insurance

While I realize not everyone is from Florida nor a homeowner, I found that this tool demonstrates the importance of shopping around for insurance quotes, no matter where you live. The state of Florida created a tool to compare homeowners insurance in Florida where you can easily click on your county and compare the average rates of different companies.

I looked around this website myself. I found that in some counties, rates varied $600 to $1,300 which really isn't a lot, but substantial. However, in the coastal areas, insurer's rates varied from $1,700 to $7,000 and that is a lot. Please note, if you are in Florida and using this tool, not all companies listed may be writing new policies.

The launch of this website was sometime in June, according to a press release from the Florida's governor. To use the tool you go to ShopandCompareRates.com and then scroll down and click on compare homeowners insurance rates. Note to others, regardless of where you live or type of insurance, you could save a bundle by shopping around.

AAA of Northern California lowers rates 6.5%

California Insurance Commissioner, Steve Poizner, approved a major auto insurance rate reduction of 6.5% for AAA of Northern California which will result on $100,536,590 in savings for policyholders according to the announcement at the California Department of Insurance. AAA of Northern California is the sixth largest auto insurer in the state, insuring almost one million drivers in California.

Policyholders can expect to save an average of $106 per policy and the new rate goes into effect December 15th. More than 1/2 a million policy holders are in the San Francisco Bay Area and approximately 156,00 policyholders in Sacramento area.

AAA has also filed to become 100% compliant with the auto rating regulations almost one year before than the mandated deadline. Under the new regulations, rates will be based on driving record, number of miles driven, and years of driving experience. The old regulations were influenced by other rating factors such as marital status, gender and zip code.

AAA and all other auto insurance companies that have complied with these new rating factors, prior to the deadline, have been applauded.

Declaration of Insurance Emergency Issued in California

Steve Poizner, the California Insurance Commissioner, issued an emergency declaration to help speed up the claims process from the aftermath of the S. California fire storms.

The proclamation will allow CDI-licensed insurance adjusters and insurers to use the services of non-CDI licensed adjusters, such as those from out-of-state, to assist with the multitude of insurance claims arising from the fire storms.

The work from the non-CDI-licensed adjusters must be under the active direction, control, charge, or management of a CDI-licensed insurer or adjuster.

Read full press release. Read text of declaration.

Health Insurance... A State Issue

It's likely, people choose to get health insurance. It's a choice. Now, you can say - but it's because some people can't afford it, but there are some people that can't afford it, and still manage to pay for it. There are others that can afford it, but prefer to spend it on other expenses. Most people's goal is for everyone to have insurance. However, what about the goal to ease the burden for people that are trying to set aside enough money to provide health insurance for their family?

From a statistical standpoint, I can not see living in California much healthier than living in New York. However, because of laws and mandates, New Yorkers pay more for health insurance. Massachusetts and New Jersey have even higher average rates. It doesn't matter if you live in the middle of the mountains or live in the middle of the city - It makes more difference what state border you are in.

The reasons for different prices in various states include mandates, laws, ect, - so I tend to think health insurance is more of a state issue than a national issue. Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages for each state. Some states don't require insurers to insure everyone, while other states do. Some states don't allow insurers to use age or prior conditions as a factor, while other states do. I think each state can learn from each other and have advantages but also keep the cost of health insurance affordable.

Plan to Expand SCHIP not going away

A blog at the Baltimore Sun reports that the plan to expand SCHIP may be coming soon. House majority leader, Hoyer, said the democrats could bring the bill back to the floor as early as next week. While republicans believe that a compromise must be met, Hoyer suggested that the main difference will be better salesmenship.

Also The Hill reports about the concerns the republicans have with SCHIP and how the democrats plan to address these issues. Among the concerns was the idea that families making as much as $83,000 could get health insurance for their children, but this was proposed only by the state of New York. Other concerns are addressed in this article.

The reason for the income level in New York, is most likely because of the cost of private family health insurance in the state. We'll see in the near future if they decide to compromise or not, or if the democrats can do a better job selling the bill to the republicans.

The democrats better have a good case. Are they assuming the republicans did not already know these things? Can they really sell them this time? This time when the republicans and democrats mingle, I suggest they come to an agreement, rather than wasting our time.

UPDATE...

Reuters reported about the changes to the bill. The price tag is still the same. However here are the new changes. While the old version did not allow illegal aliens, the new version requires more rigorous background checks. Coverage would not be offered to children of families with income three times over federal poverty rate. It also declares benefits to childless adults will be phased out within a year.

California Health Care Quality Report

We all know how important it is to have quality healthcare, and this information may help you be more informed about making your healthcare choices in California.

California's Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) released it's annual report card on health care quality. There you can see how your Health Plans (HMO & PPO), Doctors and Medical Groups, Long-Term Care and Hospitals rate on care. HMO ratings are based on meeting national standards of care and how their members rate their HMO. You can also compare the ratings for asthma care, diabetes care, heart care, maternity care & more. HMOs receive from 1 to 4 stars. To view the Medical Group Ratings you select your county and it gives you list of medical groups with their ratings.

If you wish to compare hospitals in your area, go to calhospitalcompare.org and type your county, city, or zip code. You can then check up to 5 hospitals and select compare.

Average Car Insurance Rates by State

The rates vary because of states laws, and how many people in the state live in small towns or cities. For example, North Dakota most people live in smaller towns, with less traffic. Keep in mind, if you live in a state with higher averages, and live in a smaller town, your rate will be lower.

The 5 States with lowest average rates: (North Dakota $554, Iowa $555, South Dakota $565, Idaho $583, Kansas $590)

The 5 States with highest average rates: (New Jersey $1,184, New York $1,122, Massachusetts $1,113, Louisiana $1,076, Florida $1,063)

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) recently released this data of the auto insurance rates by states. The research statistics is based on averages in 2005 - for a full year. The national average is $829. Other states are listed in the report at NAIC, which is in pdf format, if you would like to see.

* Also, if you have full-coverage your rates will be higher than the average, since not everybody has (collision) full-coverage.

How to Lower Your Auto Insurance Rates

Auto insurance companies all have their own way they calculate your rate, but here are some general ways they calculate your rates & ways you can lower your rate.

* Your driving record - A way you can have a better driving record is to drive slow, always be alert, and don't get in any accidents.

* Where you live - People living in cities have a higher rate, so you may want to consider becoming a farmer and moving to a small town.

* Your age and gender - Not much you can do about your gender and not much you can do about your age. The good news is the older you get, the lower your rates will be.

* Your marital status - It's been shown that single people file more claims, thus married people have lower rates. You can start looking for a wife or a husband and you can get lower rates.

* Prior insurance coverage - Pay your insurance bills on time and don't get cancelled for non-payment. This can effect your rates in the future.

* Vehicle use - The more mileage you have on your car, the higher rates you will have. So you may want to consider car-pooling to work or taking public transportation.

* Your type of vehicle - It's been shown that sports cars and luxury cars file more claims, and more expensive claims. You want to drive a safe car, but you may want to consider driving a vehicle not so high profile.

Maybe not all these tips are practical, but the best advice is most likely: Shop around and compare auto insurance quotes. Keep the auto insurance market a competitive place and reward the most affordable company with your business. Also be sure they are a reliable company.

My conversation with a State Farm agent

So I was interested in finding out more about renter's insurance. I decided to call State Farm and ask them about it. This is what I learned from the experience.

It's important to ask a lot of hypothetical questions and if an agent doesn't know your questions then ask them to double check with the claims department. It's important to know what your coverage will cover and what it won't.

This goes for any insurance company or agent you are dealing with. You need to know what coverage your are purchasing. Take a look at the policy yourself and have the agent looking at the policy as well. You may or may not have any questions about your policy. However, it's always wise to ask them questions and then ask them to point out where on the contract it says the answer.

This goes for any insurance policy you are purchasing and every insurance company you are working with. Just because you get an answer from one company that says one thing, doesn't mean other company's have the same policies. Each company has different policies and you need to know what policy is right for you. Read the fine print. Ask questions and get them answered.

Auto & Health Insurance

The other day, I was thinking why are there no insurance companies that offer auto and health insurance. After doing some searches I found no answers, only information that confirmed my beliefs that there was no company. Rather than giving up I decided to ask on the net. I did learn of one company that offers both. Nationwide insurance has both, but currently offers comprehensive health care insurance plans in California and Ohio only.

While many companies offer auto and homeowners, I am unaware of any other insurance company that offers auto and health. It would seem like more companies would offer such, because auto and health insurance are probably the most popular types of insurance for non-homeowners. Does anyone know of any other companies that offer auto and health in your state?

Montana CHIP: We have plenty of funds

The state of Montana, says they have plenty of money to fund the program of CHIP, until the issue gets worked out. The agency has no waiting list, and encourages families to keep applying. The program covers more than 15,000 children in Montana for famlies that make less than about $36,100, which is 175% of the poverty level. Other states have been forced to consider other measures and waiting lists until the issue gets worked out. The website for Montana's Children's health insurance program is at Montana CHIP.

The state of TX also sees no immediate changes to their Texas CHIP program and says they have sufficient federal funding to maintain the program. Other states are not as fortunate. Hopefully the issue will be resolved soon.

California Health Insurance Bill, AB1324 signed

I recently posted about a health bill that was on the California governor's desk.

This weekend, the bill, AB 1324, was signed. This bill requires health plans to justify rescinding policies to the Department of Insurance or Department of Managed Health Care. Health plans also may not recover the costs of claims for care provided unless they can prove consumers purposely deceived them to obtain coverage.

He signed and vetoed many bills over the weekend, for more information about all the different bills, you can go to California progress report.

I think it's good news that he signed AB 1324. It's great bill and as mentioned in my previous post about this bill, this bill will help fix health insurance in California. I don't know much about the other bills, but this was the main health bill I was concerned about.

Auto insurance rates in Michigan

Auto insurance rates are high in Michigan, but there may be hope for the state to lower the costs, according to Free Press. Currently people can spend $4,000 a year on auto insurance in Detroit. Michigan is the only state that mandates unlimited lifetime medical benefits for those injured in auto accidents. Legislators have introduced two bills - one that would allow drivers to take a minimum $250,000 of personal injury protection. Policy holders could still choose unlimited coverage. The other bill would create a fee schedule for auto insurers paying for medical treatments. New York currently provides the second highest minimum PIP coverage at $50,000. If legislators can approve these bills, drivers in Michigan will likely have lower rates.

It always seems to me, the fewer the mandates required, the healthier the insurance market is in general. People have free choice, insurance costs less. Everybody wins. When you compare states with more mandates compared to states with fewer mandates there is a rather large difference in the costs of the policies. Every state has the right to have unique laws on insurance, but if affordability suffers as a result, they should be less different than their neighbor states. I think the bills proposed will be good for Michigan.

Jury sides with Allstate in billion dollar lawsuit

The jury decided that the insurer was not responsible for the two-year delay in settling a woman's claims. If she did deserve any money from Allstate, the jury did not think it was more than a billion dollars. I can not understand why trial lawyers think they can get that much money. I read about this at AJC, and I'm not surprised the jury sided with Allstate on this one. The trial lawyers thought they would have a better chance if it was a class action. They were asking for $475 million for mental anguish and $950 million in punitive damages, for 1 person.

Does anyone else think that those numbers are outrageous? The jury did. The lawyers say that Allstate is greedy, maybe the lawyers should take a look in the mirror? I do think insurance companies have an obligation to be honest, but asking for that much money seems a bit over the top to me.

Progressive Insurance goes Paperless

Progressive insurance announced they will go paperless with their billing. Aside from saving hundreds of trees, it will also reduce the clutter in your mailbox. If you are already a progressive customer, and you do not wish to receive bills through the regular snail mail you can start receiving them via email.

Perhaps this will encourage other companies to become more environment-friendly as well. Think how many trees could be saved if more companies did this. In their announcement at Progressive.com, they say it will be available in Indiana and in all states where does business by the end of 2007. For information about enrolling in Progressive's paperless billing you can call them or visit http://www.progressive.com/paperless/.

New bill may fix California's health insurance

While leaders in California have been working toward proving health insurance coverage to more Californians, the current system has had major flaws. HMOs and insurance companies have been canceling policies when people get sick, leaving patients with the medical bills.

The SFGate reported on a new bill that may fix health care in California. The new bill, AB1324, makes it clear that health insurance companies can not cancel policies and leave patients stranded when they need health coverage the most. The bill passed out with overwhelming bipartisan support in both houses, and is now on Gov. Schwarzenegger's desk awaiting his signature.

Mandatory health insurance heats up in New Jersey

I recently posted about the plan for California mandatory health insurance. I may have been wrong about California being the second state, because New Jersey may be the second state first. The Associated Press reported about the plans for mandatory health insurance in New Jersey. The senator in New Jersey said he soon will announce plans to require NJ residents in to have health insurance. He said the fine details about affordability are being worked on. The state senator said he will announce plans after the new year.

Health insurance in New Jersey is the most expensive in the US, and many people in NJ simply can't afford it. So will the senator fix the problem by requiring people to fork over the money anyway, or will he some how be able to make health insurance affordable in New Jersey. I'm guessing we won't know more until the end of the year.

Hazard Insurance

Depending where you live, makes a big difference on what type of hazard insurance you may want. It wouldn't make sense to live in Florida and want Winter Storm insurance, or living in Colorado and wanting hurricane insurance. Obviously. So just because the coverage exists, doesn't always mean you will need it. When you buy a comprehensive homeowners insurance policy, there may be many hazards that it already covers, but you may wish to seek additional hazard insurance for specific hazards. If you are unsure which types of hazard insurance you should get, you may want to ask an insurance service. The rates will vary depending on how likely the hazards may occur in your specific area.

Types of Hazards:
Dam Failure
Earthquake
Fire or Wildfire
Flood
Hurricane
Landslide
Thunderstorm
Tornado
Volcano
Winter Storm
and more..

Personal Umbrella Insurance

An umbrella insurance policy acts as an umbrella over your current policy. You may have already have homeowners or auto insurance, and adding an umbrella policy to it gives you more money incase of a lawsuit. Umbrella insurance is usually relatively inexpensive, sometimes less than a dollar a day. With a personal umbrella insurance policy you can add an additional 1-10 million in liability protection, amounts may vary depending on the company.

If you don't already have a homeowners and auto insurance policy, you can ask your agent about umbrella insurance when you are shopping for insurance. In order to get an umbrella policy, you must already have liability insurance for auto and homeowners insurance. By adding an umbrella insurance policy to your existing coverage you will have more liability insurance and be better protected.

Auto Insurers' Teen Monitoring Devices

Several auto insurance companies have come out with teen monitoring devices that allow parents to get text messages or emails when their children drive too fast, hard breaking, swerving, and other risky behavior. There is a small camera installed in the car. In some of the programs, parents can monitor the location of the car. The insurers believe these programs will create better teen drivers. Below is a review I've written of each program after having visited the programs' websites. The programs have similarities and differences.

Teen Drivers' Programs:

The Teen Safe Driver program is for American Family Insurance customers, they developed the program in association with DriveCam, Inc. The video and audio camera only captures risky driving behaviors. Reports are then sent to parents for review online. The monitoring device does not enable parents to track their teens' whereabouts. The cost of the program is free for a period of one year.

The program for Safeco customers is called Teensurance. In this program, you can know the location of your teen. You can set notifications for boundary, curfew, destinations & speed. You can locate the vehicle in real time, get real-time messages sent to your phone, and other options. The cost of the program is 14.99/month.

AIG has recently launched the AIG Teen Driver Program and have partnered with MobileTeenGPS. This program has speed alert, current vehicle location, if the car is at an unapproved location, and a find vehicle now option. Alerts can be sent to your cellphone, email, you can call toll-free, or login to the website. Currently this program is free to set up, and monitoring is free for the first month, and then 19.95/month.

Dog Bite Insurance

More than likely your dog will not bite anyone, but just incase your friendly companion accidently bites something, maybe you should get protection? Even if you don't own a home, you can get that type of protection. Both renters insurance and homeowners insurance can offer liability insurance on your policy, but make sure it does not exclude canine liability.

There are a few exceptions of dog breeds that some companies will not insure liability on, but can usually find a company that will insure those breeds. Pitbulls and a couple others may be on the banned dog list for some insurance companies. It's a good idea to get liability insurance regardless if you have a dog or not, but having a dog, you don't want your dog to bite another dog or your friend. So you may want to consider getting a policy that covers you in case something like this may happen.

Most homeowners have insurance, but renters that may have dogs, don't always have renters insurance. Renters insurance is cheap and can protect you from the small risks of having a dog, but make sure it covers canine liability. Unless you have a really small dog, you may not need to bother, but if you have a bigger friendly dog, it may be worthwhile to consider this option.

If you have homeowner or renters insurance, and it does not cover canine liability, talk to your insurance agent about getting "personal umbrella liability' which might include canine liability, but be sure to check.

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McCain's health insurance plan

McCain's health insurance plan "sounds" like a very good plan. The first plan that I thought, "Wow, cool!". I've posted a few times on this blog, about different states having much higher prices than other states. Some prices of health insurance vary per state in the thousands, depending on what state you live in. Just as an example, you may live in State A and pay $4k for health insurance, but if you live in State B you may only pay $1k.

The Associated Press reported that he wants to allow people to buy health insurance nationwide instead of limiting them to in-state companies. Does this mean that if you live in State A and get your health insurance from a State B insurance company you will get a cheaper rate? Maybe. Maybe not. They may still require you pay more because of what state you live in, but maybe not. It's an idea worth considering and worth mentioning. He has a few more ideas about health insurance, but it sure would be nice for him to focus on that 1 key point, and expand more on it. I look forward to hearing him debate this plan.

What he didn't address was that laws in certain states are the reason for the high costs. Some states do not allow insurance companies to use age as a factor to determine costs, as well as require them to insure everybody. If he can address this issue about why costs would still go down, I'd love to hear it.

Children's Health Insurance - Veto Fight Ad

New ads target Republicans to overturn Bush's veta for SCHIP expansion. The coalition, which includes the AFL-CIO and MoveOn.org, is spending nearly $1 million on a television ad campaign, reported on CNN.com. House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, says they needed "less than 20 votes" in the House to overturn the veto.

The ads will include a baby and children, with an announcer saying "Bush just vetoed Abby". I'm really curious if ads can make a difference to persuade our politicians, to vote one way or another. I find the idea of placing ads quite interesting, in fact. This won't be the end of my posts about state children's health insurance. I will be posting again later.

Meanwhile, do you think this will work? Hey, at least MoveOn.org pre-warned us what ad they are going to show.

Insurance Commissioner Information

What do insurance commissioners do?

Insurance commissioners job is to regulate insurance in your state. They protect consumers' interests as well as help bring new business into the state. In order for them to become a commissioner, there is an election or they are appointed by the state.

How to find your insurance commissioner's website?

NAIC has an easy way to find your state insurance department, or you can also do a search for your state's insurance department. The websites have the latest news about what is happening with insurance in your state, as well as some quite useful info.

What is NAIC?

The National Assocation of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), their website is naic.org. They assist state insurance regulators, individually and collectively. Their goals (aligned with the commissioners) include protecting public interest and promoting competitive markets.

Pollution insurance a requirement in one county

Normally business liability insurance policies normally exclude pollution. In Lenawee county, they make it a requirement for waste haulers. Waste haulers in Lenawee County required to get pollution insurance for their garbage trucks are protesting though, reported at the Lenawee Connection. Currently it's the only Michigan county that requires this. It's goal is to protect the Landfill and private homeowners. I've never heard of such before, and thought it was interesting. However, waste haulers in Lenawee think it cost a lot of money and isn't necessary. It was the County's decision and not the insurers.

So I guess if you are a private homeowner in Lanawee county and a waste hauler dumps waste on your property, then you can file a claim and someone will have to clean it up. Anyway, if you are a waste hauler in Lenawee county, pollution insurance may cost you about $10,000. The waste haulers say rates may go up because of this charge, and those for pollution insurance say it's not that much money.

List of Insurance Companies in Texas

I was doing a search trying to find a list of Texas insurance companies, and could find no such list, so I went looking through the Texas Department of Insurance. There is a page there, that has the top 40 insurance companies for each type of insurance. I had to look for it, but I ended up finding it.

The top 40 lists include: homeowners, auto, worker's compensation, accident and health, HMO, Life and annuities. The data is based on 2005, but it gives you a good idea anyway. Even though it seems the top 10 insurers have most of the market share. These are insurance companies in Texas only, of course some companies will be in many states. It just depends on the company. Anyway, here's the top 40 list for tx.

California next state for Mandatory Health Insurance?

Recently Massachusetts created a bill that required all people to have health insurance in their state. Could California be next? It looks like Schwarzenegger just outlined his plan. I'm quite curious how mandatory health insurance has affected people in Mass. Did everyone actually get health insurance? How do people get in trouble for not having health insurance? If you get pulled over, do they arrest you if you can't prove you have health insurance & car insurance? What kind of fines must you pay if you don't have a health plan? I would be interested to hear from people in Mass, and what people think of this in California. Quite frankly, I agree with a writer at LA times, when he said Making health insurance mandatory, isn't reform.

I believe it's important to have health insurance, but if you don't have it, it's not really affecting others, so you don't really hurt other people. Are they really looking after our best interests? Maybe they should ban unhealthy foods instead? Rather than requiring people to have health insurance, maybe they should try to make it more affordable so people can have a choice to buy it or not. Most people would like to have a health plan, so making it more affordable to those that can not afford it, would be a better plan, I think. So who would like to have health insurance mandatory in California? According to a post at a california health insurance blog, Kaiser Permanente HMO likes the proposal, and what health insurance company wouldn't enjoy health insurance being mandatory?

New Jersey's health insurance disaster

I already knew that health insurance in New Jersey is expensive, in fact the most expensive in the country, but I didn't realize the reality of the huge problem. The number of uninsured New Jersey children has gone from 9% in 2000, to 37% in 2005, reported here at alliedquotes.com. This is compared with a 9% decrease nationwide. Forget the politics about children's health insurance for the middle class, ect. Shouldn't we really be concerned about New Jersey?

Here is more information about New Jersey's health insurance and the "Reform" they had in the 1990s. Age makes no difference how much you pay. So if you are 18 earning minimum wage you still had to pay the same amount as someone that is 50 years old. The article was written in 2001, but I'm not sure much has changed.

Ok, let's think for a minute. Who has the most expensive health insurance? New Jersey. Who has 37% of their children uninsured? New Jersey. Government health insurance isn't the problem. Private health insurance is the problem. Who created the problems with private health insurance there? The government. Our politicians. Maybe the lobbyists? Maybe the insurers?

Regardless who created the problem, I think it should be fixed. So honestly I could really care less about the hype of the news about our president vetoing a bill and both parties fighting, they have to be just politicking. They should really be addressing the issue in New Jersey. It's bad news for both the people of New Jersey that can't afford the insurance, and bad news for the insurers who can't sell their high priced coverage.

Time to Renew your Insurance?

If you need to renew your insurance policy, then it's a perfect time to compare prices. You may be getting the best deal already, but you never know, you could also save a few hundred bucks. Just make sure that when you get quotes from other companies, that you request the exact same coverage you have with your current insurer. Any insurance company can offer you a better deal if they offer you less coverage, so don't fall into that trap. Make sure you know exactly what coverage you already have, and then get other quotes based on your current coverage.

There are plenty of good insurance companies out there you can compare as and many services that you can get quotes from several companies at once. You may feel like you are in a rush to renew your insurance, but if you have a little extra time, then compare a few rates. You might be glad that you did.

Should states have hurricane insurance fund?

In the New York Times, I just read that New York has proposed that insurance companies set aside some of their profits to a Hurricane Fund. The insurance committee of New York thinks this may a good idea and other coastal states might want do the same thing. They also said that if a disaster does strike, that the insurers wouldn't have an excuse to raise rates. However, not all insurers think this is such a great plan, but some insurers think it may be good idea. Honestly, I'm not quite so sure about this plan. Giving the state a percentage of profits that the insurers make, could make the rates go up. Insurers may complain and say they aren't making as much money, and try to raise their homeowners rates. There are two sides to everything. So before other states decide to do the same thing, I think maybe they should see if it affects the rates of New York, if it passes.

Student Dorm Insurance

When I was living in a dorm, I am not sure I even knew about dorm insurance. Shows how much smarter the students are today. Dorm insurance or (renters insurance) is pretty much just a slice of a homeowners insurance policy. With a renters insurance policy you aren't required to have coverage for the dorm or place of residents, since you don't own it. This type of policy will cover your belongings, and you can also have liability added and also a small medical added, I guess called 'the good neighbor' insurance, which covers small medical bills. If you are considering getting dorm insurance, even though technically you are getting part of a homeowners insurance policy, it's way cheaper than a homeowners insurnance policy. You aren't having to cover a house worth thousands. Things break all the time in houses. Toilets flood, ect, ect. If you are interested in dorm insurance, get some quotes. It's surprisingly cheap insurance.

Understanding Insurance Ratings

There are several ways an insurance company is rated. It's important that your company have financial strength. An example of a site that rates companies based on financial strength is A.M Best. Obviously you want to make sure that your company doesn't go out of business. There are other ways to check out your company or one you may plan to use. You want to know if your insurance company has good customer service and not very many complaints. You can go your state department of insurance and check up on that. The bigger the company, the more complaints they will have, but it should explain this at the site. To find your state department, just do a search, such as 'California Department of Insurance' and substitute California for whichever state you are interested in. If you do a search for your state and you can't find this info, you can always check other states that the company does business in. So I guess I'm trying say, there are 2 important things to learn about. The financial strength of the company and how many complaints it has, hopefully not many. This way you will be sure to find a company with a good financial rating as well as good rating for customer service.

Progressive Car Insurance Now Protects Your Pets

Ok, so I can see if you have a well-trained dog you could drive around with your dog, no problem, but Progressive also says it will protect cats?? I really hope nobody is driving around with their cats. They are dangerous to drive around. They won't shut up and probably end up going under your foot pedal and cause you to get in an accident. I for one, would only drive around with my cat if she was in a cage.

Anyway, progressive now insures your cats and dogs in your car. You could see your dogs or cats easily getting hurt, because there are no seat belts for them! So really you shouldn't drive around with them, but hey, it's free world. In the press release, it says a Progressive policy with collision, in most states, will now cover dogs and cats.

Still Playing Politics with Health Insurance

It amazes me how dumb politicians are about health insurance. They talk about children's health insurance as some huge deal. Dude.. Children's health insurance is cheap! It's always been cheap. The real issue, (that they never address) is the difference in health insurance costs in different states. Did you know you could likely save 5 thousand on health insurance if you move from New Jersey to California, and the list goes on. Maybe if they addressed these issues, people would care. Health insurance for children is important, but in some states it's very cheap, while in other states it costs a lot.

Why don't they try and fix the costs of children's health insurance in states with expensive health plans. Rather than raising the bar and providing free health care to middle class, why not try and make healthcare more affordable in certain states. All states should not have to pay the price for a few states. The problem is, not all states need help, only a few do. NY Times reporting the ever important issue of childrens health insurance here. nytimes.com - Democrats See Wedge Issue in Health Bill