Children's Health Insurance Program Extended

Finally, legislation was signed on Saturday to extend SCHIP until March 31, 2009. This will ensure that the states will have enough funding to continue with their programs.

The SCHIP bill had previously been vetoed twice, because neither party could come to an agreement on the amount of funding and other specifics.

SCHIP has been around for about 10 years, and has received a lot of publicity lately due to the disagreement on the bill.

Some wanted SCHIP to be expanded and raise the limit of income-eligibility and others disagreed on this subject, and how they would provide that funding.

The State Children Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) provides low-cost or free healthcare to those with certain income eligibility requirements.

SCHIP is administrated at a state level, and may be known by different names in different states.

For more information about SCHIP in your state: http://www.insurekidsnow.gov/

PIP Insurance returns to Florida

Florida will once again require drivers to carry personal injury protection (PIP) insurance effective January 1st, 2008.

As part of the legislation, insurance companies must notify policyholders how the mandatory restoration of PIP/no-fault will impact them.

If a policyholder fails to maintain PIP coverage, the law requires your insurance carrier to cancel your policy and inform the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.

Florida DHSMV may then suspend the policyholder's driver license and vehicle registration.

After the law changed in October, some people chose not to keep personal injury protection insurance, but many opted to keep it. Be sure to check your policy to make sure you have PIP coverage.

http://www.myfloridacfo.com/NoFault/
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/article/10971

Auto Insurance Quotes

Auto insurance rate quotes are quick, free, and a fast way to compare insurance rates. Getting free auto insurance quotes and comparing rates is an easy way to find low cost auto insurance.

Auto insurance companies are competitive. This is good for the consumer, because insurers want your business. Shopping around is a good way to take advantage of this, and it will help you find an affordable price.

Some may wonder what auto insurance company has the lowest rate. Insurance companies use many factors to determine your rate, so it's probably different for most people.

Rates vary depending on several factors and it also varies depending on the company. Some companies may have cheap auto insurance quotes for some people, but for others, it's a different company.

When you compare auto insurance quotes, be sure that the quotes are for the same amount of coverage. Know how much coverage you need to get, before you start to compare rates from companies.

If you have auto and home insurance with one insurance company you may be able to save money. However, sometimes you can get a lower rate by getting auto insurance from a different company.

It's best to do some shopping around and find out what is the better option for you.

Saving Money on Car Insurance, It's No Joke

We've all seen the funny car insurance commercials about saving money on car insurance. Well, I'm here to say it's no joke at all. Shopping around for car insurance can save you a lot of money. Too many times, people just get one other quote, and see some savings and stop shopping around. Sure, you can save some money if you switch then, but you can save more money if you shop around.

If you don't care about saving money, then go with any insurance company you want, but if you care about saving money, then you care about getting a good rate. Some insurers are great for younger drivers and some offer outstanding rates for older drivers. You have to seek out the company that is right for you. The company with the most market share doesn't always have the better rate.

I've read somewhere the usual person gets only 3 quotes when shopping around for insurance, and that was for insurance in general, and may not have been for car insurance. Car insurance it may have been even less. I'd have to say getting 5 quotes would be better. It takes only about 20 minutes or so to get a quote from a carrier, and yes that may seem like a long time, but it's really not.

Since people generally shop for car insurance only twice a year or so, why not spend the proper amount of time getting quotes and comparing rates. Most people don't want to have to think about insurance for very long, but you will be glad you got a few other quotes and you saved some money.

Insurance by the Mile

Milemeter is a Dallas-based startup that will let you buy insurance by the mile and is aiming for a May 1st launch, and has already received regulatory approval in Texas. Other companies have piloted programs that offer discounts for driving-per-mile, but I don't know of any other insurers in the states that have sold insurance by the mile. There may be some, but not that I'm aware of.

Paying for auto insurance by the mile is an incentive to drive less and rewards those that do not drive as much. Why should someone that drives 5,000 miles a year pay the same price as someone that drives 20,000 miles a year. Paying for gas, you pay depending on how much you drive, and so paying for insurance by the mile makes sense.

To determine if you would save money on pay per-mile, you can look at how much you drove last year, which would give you a good idea how much you would be driving the next year, and multiple the cost per mile and how much you drove. Then you could see the differences in price of a regular policy.

In January 2002, Texas became the first state to explicitly permit per-mile insurance. State regulators must approve the type of insurance policies that insurers offer, and in many states current regulations would not allow pay by the mile policies. Currently, there may be other states that permit per-mile, but I don't know which ones.

Insurers announce healthcare plan

It's near election time, and every candidate has a healthcare plan. The health insurance industry has a plan of their own. Health insurers belong to a trade group, called (AHIP) American's Health Insurance Plans.

The New York Times reported that insurers seek bigger reach in coverage. The proposals, approved by a board at AHIP, will make it harder for insurers to cancel or deny coverage for people with pre-existing coverage & limit the premiums charged for such people.

The proposals also called on states to provide individual coverage for people who were likely to have extremely high medical bills.

Personally, I think this is a great idea. If the states are going to give health insurance to anyone, it should be people that can not afford it, or people that can not get it.

It's also up to the states to regulate the insurance industry, and AHIP is right, the states should make it more difficult for insurers to cancel or deny coverage, and limit premiums.

This may be good sound advice from the insurance industry to the states.

Allstate Insurance Review

Allstate offers auto, home, condo, renters, life, business and motorcycle insurance. Allstate is a large insurer and has more than 37,000 employees. The well-known slogan for Allstate is "You're in good hands".

Allstate was founded in 1931, when a suggestion was made to the president of Sears, Roebuck & Co that Sears should start an auto insurance company. Now, Allstate is a totally independent company.

At the Allstate website, they offer a way to get a ballpark car insurance estimate anonymously. There is also a search by location to find an Allstate agent. Allstate offers other products as well besides insurance. Some financial products.

Allstate offers some types of discounts for auto insurance, such as safe cars, defensive driving class, good student discount, economy car discount, and farm discounts - if the car is driven on a farm.

Allstate also offers home insurance, (in certain states & localities), and life insurance.

Allstate's website: www.allstate.com

Top Insurance Companies

The companies with the most market share in 2006 countrywide (in the US). The statistics will change next year, so see the links for the most recent updates. This is countrywide data, but doesn't mean insurers offer services in every state.

Property and Casualty
1) State Farm
2) AIG
3) Zurich
4) AllState
5) Travelers
6) Liberty Mutual
7) Nationwide
8) Geico
9) Progressive
10) The Hartford
See full list at naic.

Accident and Health
1) UnitedHealth
2) WellPoint
3) Humana
4) Aetna
5) HCSC
6) American Family
7) Highmark
8) Independence Blue Cross
9) Cigna Health
10) BCBS of MI
See full list at naic.

Insurance Rates and Your Age

Age is one of the many factors insurance companies use to calculate your rate. Being younger can be a good thing if you are looking for health insurance and not so good if you are looking for car insurance. Yes, age is a factor (in most states) when companies determine your rate because of risk-factor, but that's not the whole story!

Insurance companies still have to have competitive rates or they wouldn't get any business. The difference between insurance companies and regular stores, is that you can't see how they calculate your rate in black and white. Insurers want to have better rates than their competition, but it doesn't always happen.

Let's break it down. There are 5 insurance companies (we can call them A,B,C,D & E) and 5 people (all different ages) looking for car insurance. Each insurance company wants to win the business and each person wants the best rate. So here is a hypothetical situation that could happen.

Heather, Age 20
Insurance Company C Wins!

Tommy, Age 25
Insurance Company A Wins!

Janet, Age 30
Insurance Company C Wins!

Martha, Age 35
Insurance Company E Wins!

John, Age 40
Insurance Company D Wins!

Ahh! Company B didn't do any business that day. Age is a factor in determining risk, and because it is, it's also a competition factor. In order for insurers to get business they must offer competitive rates and hope they have the lower rate then the rest of the pack. Consumers are getting smarter and shopping around and insurers adapt.

Comparing Rates at InsureMe

InsureMe.com is a place where a seeker of insurance can submit their information for a quote. This information is then distributed to a number of agents in your area, independents and captive agents. They then contact you with quotes based on the information you provided.

It's sort of like calling many insurance companies at one time, giving your information only once and letting them do the shopping for you. Be ready to check your email or phone within 30 minutes.

It's good to compare insurance quotes because rates vary. Some companies may have good rates for some people, while other insurers will have better prices for others. InsureMe has been around since 1993, and makes it easy to compare rates.

Peachcare Update

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution just reported that Peachcare gets another week of funding and that it's likely Congress will extend SCHIP until september.

Peachcare offers free or low-cost health insurance for Georgia's children.

Peachcare.org is the website. I was just looking at the website and the meta title is "Index". Perhaps they should add a title to their website. It might help people find the website easier. Maybe they should spend some money on redesigning their website.

Don't give up Peachcare, we are pulling for you.

CA Insurance Commissioner wants to Fine Blue Cross

The SFGate just reported that California's insurance commissioner wants a 12.6 million penalty against Blue Shield. The commissioner claims Blue Shield unfairly canceled members policies and improperly processed claims. The insurance department revealed more than 1,200 violations of law, resulting in more than 200 people loosing coverage after submitting claims. The state department has already fined Blue Cross 1.2 Million previously. Now, Blue Cross is upset with the excessive fines and thinks the state is being unfair.

Blue Cross may be upset, but I bet the 200 members with canceled policies is upset as well. I don't know how this fight will turn out, but I've known of auto insurance companies canceling policies for getting a DWI, and what people did was they just switched companies. If Blue Cross wants to lose business, then they cancel policies. At the end of the day, they make money, no matter who they insure. If they want to cancel policies, and try to maximize profit, then that's not a very good business model.

Insurance companies shouldn't cancel policies for both business and moral reasons. They make money at the end of the day. They do not need so-and-so telling their friends they were canceled. No matter how big they are. All it takes is one competitor advertising more than them, and they take over the market. Insurers all have different business models, but their business model should focus on taking care of their clients. They have enough people that pay for insurance that they never use. It's obvious some people will need the insurance.

Let's go back in time. Why was insurance invented in the first place? Was it invented so insurance companies could make money? Nope. It was first invented for cargo ships, so that cargo ships could go about their business without worrying they would wreck their ships. Everyone put money in to the insurance company, and if someone wrecked their ship, then the other cargo ships money would cover the ship lost. That's what insurance is for. If I'm paying for insurance, and I never use it. I want it at least to cover people that need it.

The bottom line should be: Don't cancel policies, unless the member is committing fraud. If Blue Cross thinks this fine is unfair then I think they need to explain exactly why they canceled the policies. They are a leading insurance company in California and need to set the example. I'm also curious what kind of plans they were, and if they were prescription drug plans.

Locate insurance companies in your area

Insurance companies do business at a state level. If you live in a small town, you have the same options as someone that lives in a city in your same state. To find the most competitive rate in your state just compare quotes. The rates can vary quite a bit even with the exact same coverage.

If you moved to another state, you may wish to research and see what companies offer insurance in your area. You may luck out, and your insurance company offers insurance in the state you just moved. Even so, you may save some cash by shopping around.

You may check with the insurance department's website in your state to find out the insurers in your state. Local insurance agents and agencies may also know. Normally there is only a handful of insurers that represent most of the market share.

You can also go to insurance company's websites and see if they offer insurance in your state. Usually they will have a link for the list of states they do business in. If you have trouble finding the information, you can also ask the insurer.

You may wish to compare insurance rates from time to time and see if you find an insurer that has better rates. Insurance is a competitive market, and insurers are always trying to compete. You might be surprised how much you could save.

Texas moves to fix problem with uninsured drivers

Texas has the highest rate of uninsured drivers, at 24 percent.

If you live in Texas it is very important that you also have uninsured coverage since there are so many drivers without insurance.

Meanwhile, the state is going to test a program, to stop uninsured drivers. Through a state database they will be able to identify the uninsured.

Uninsured drivers can get caught when they are stopped for a traffic violation, involved in an accident, vehicle inspection, or when they pay for vehicle registration.

The state will also send out letters to the 4 million drivers without car insurance and warn them to get car insurance.

Similar programs have been tested in other states and they have dramatically decreased the amount of uninsured drivers. The program is going to first be tested in Austin, then in Dallas, and throughout the rest of the state.

Uninsured drivers are not just a problem for drivers without uninsured coverage, it's also a problem for insurance companies. Good drivers typically don't have at-fault accidents, but when an uninsured driver causes an accident, then the insurer that is insuring the good driver has to pay. Thus, causing insurance rates to increase overall.

Insurance Rate Factors

Factors that may influence your insurance rate include: your risk factor, your history, and competition. Factors used in determining your rate vary by insurer and state.

Your risk factor has to do with how likely you are to file claims, or have others file claims against you. If you have never filed any claims, then they have to guess based on their own statistics. Factors used may include: age, sex, marital status, zip code, occupation, and others.

Your past history of filing claims affects your rate. Each time you file a claim it goes on your CLUE report (a database that insurers use to share info). This information is saved for 5 years.

Lastly, competition affects your rate. Zip code may be based on risk factor or it may be based on what other insurers are charging in that area. Occupation may be based on what other insurers charge for that occupation, but may also have something to do with risk factor. Nobody knows, but the insurers.

With car insurance you see a lot of commercials about how much you can save by switching. How do insurers know a person saved $400 from switching? They ask. It's likely they keep that information. Having information about what other insurers are charging helps them stay competitive.

Say an insurer comes up with an idea to give a discount for a specific occupation, because they are seen as low-risk. The other insurers aren't going to sit back and watch them get all the business. Other insurers may discount that occupation too.

Should you care how insurers set your rate? Not really, but care about being responsible. Let insurers compete for your business and compare rates to save money.

Good Driver Insurance

Good drivers tend to pay less for insurance, but some insurers may see you as a better driver than other companies.

There are insurers that offer good driver discounts, but insurers have their own methods of determining who are good drivers and who gets better rates, so you should still compare insurance companies.

If you are a good driver, you should get a lower rate. In fact, your rate will likely be lower for pretty much every company. By staying a good driver, your rate may drop even more through the years.

Shop around, because each insurer will very likely quote you a different rate. Insurance companies will still use other factors in determining your rate. The good news, is that not every insurer uses the same factors.

Rates will vary from different insurers. So save money by shopping around and stay a good driver too.

Mandatory Health Insurance, Is It Even Possible?

I can across an interesting article, that prompted me to write about mandatory health insurance, but nobody seems to be asking the most important question. Can they do it?

Basically the article says that mandatory health insurance will require you to have health insurance or you face a penalty. Of course, I already knew that. Massachusetts is the first state that already has mandatory health insurance. New Jersey and California are two other states that have mandatory health insurance on their mind.

I guess the real question I have to ask, is it possible nationally? Can any candidate make it mandatory across the United States, or will they have to encourage each state to adopt the policy. Currently, in two states, car insurance isn't even mandatory.

Maybe I'm missing something, but if they can't even make car insurance mandatory across the board, now you hear talk about making health insurance mandatory across all 50 states, even though only 1 state has adopted such a policy?

I'm not going to argue and say mandatory health insurance is correct or not. I'm just wondering how any candidate plans to put a mandatory health insurance plan into action, or if it's even possible. For any insurance changes, each state has gotten to decide. I don't see that changing in 2008.

Compare Car Insurance Quotes with Same Coverage

Find the most affordable car insurance by comparing rates. It costs nothing to compare car insurance. Many companies say how much you can save by switching car insurance, but why not compare several auto insurers, so you find a company with the best rate for you.

If you could save five hundred dollars by switching to one company, think how much you could save by getting multiple quotes from car insurance companies. Each company has different factors when setting your rate, so just because one insurance company is cheaper for your friend, doesn't mean it will be for you.

Many things affect your rate, but also the amount of coverage affects your rate. When you compare car insurance rates, be sure that you get quotes for the same coverage. The amount of liability coverage, collision, comprehensive, and PIP coverage all affect your rate.

Comprehensive protects you against theft, if you hit a deer, or natural disasters. Collision is important if you can't risk having to buy a new car. PIP (Personal Injury Protection) is a small amount of medical coverage that will pay up to a certain amount, before your medical coverage pays for the rest.