Posted by admin on March 6th, 2010
The market for insurance in the US is somewhat unusual. In most every other line of business, companies are allowed to compete with each other across state lines. This helps to keep pricing and the quality of the product to higher levels and protect the consumer. But, the insurance industry is licensed and regulated state-by-state. There’s no such thing as a federal insurance policy. You have to buy a policy written by a company licensed in the state where you live. This is frustrating because, if you live near the border, your friends and colleagues at work probably tell you how little they pay or complain you have the better deals. Either way, it’s not very fair. Worse, the companies often decide not to set up in all fifty states, but pick and choose where they will operate. The result is that many states only have a small number of licensed insurance companies. Because there is no real competition, their premium rates tend to be high. This produces a big political divide. In Republican states, this is the free market at work and no intervention is necessary. If you do not like this, move to another state which has lower rates. In Democratic states, there is more interest in protecting consumer interests. Some states have intervened in their local markets to introduce “managed competition”. Needless to say, this has outraged the insurance industry and the insurance agents who survive on the commission earned from the insurers. There have been heated debates between the lawmakers. Where the local Department or Office of Insurance has produced new rules, they have been referred to the local courts. Who would have thought helping millions of average people to save money on their premium rates would produce so much heat. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by admin on January 26th, 2010
The first and most important piece of advice is: if you are involved in a traffic accident, stay calm. The NRA is proud of the fact it’s lawful for people to carry guns in their vehicles in the majority if US states. No matter how shocked and angry you are, do not automatically reach for your gun. Wait cautiously for a minute. If there is no gunfire from the other vehicles involved, it should be safe to leave your own vehicle. Now is the time to put your careful preparations into operation. Check everyone is OK. If anyone is even slightly injured, call an ambulance. Without treatment, many minor injuries grow more serious. Now exchange information with the other driver. You want their name, address, contact details, insurance company and its telephone number. Remember, everyone is supposed to carry proof of insurance when driving. The information you need is on that card. You should carry a preprinted card with all your information to speed this process.
Now comes the important part. We all forget the detail of what happened. Worse, because we prefer to remember ourselves in the right, we tend to forget any details that might show us in the wrong. So record as much as possible. If you have a camera in your handphone, take pictures of the scene, of the damage to the vehicles, of any obvious injuries, and of any other feature that might show how and why the accident happened, e.g. a stop sign that has fallen at a junction, broken glass on the road causing a tire blow-out, etc. If you do not have a camera, take detailed notes, draw a plan of the scene showing where the vehicles started off and where they ended up, and sketch an outline of the vehicles and mark where there is obvious damage. Should there be witnesses, get their names and contact details. Should it come to a dispute about who was at fault, this could be vital evidence in your favor from an independent source. If an ambulance or police officers attend the scene, take their names. Once you have collected all the information, always file a report at a convenient police department, sheriff’s office, etc. In many US states, this is a legal requirement. It’s often a precondition of being able to claim from your insurer. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted by admin on December 11th, 2009
We love to save. It is a fact that doesn’t need to prove itself right. Sometimes we want to believe something that doesn’t seem too real. It is crazy and unbelievable how TV or advertising in general can influence one’s mind. Commercials are made so that it blanks off our conscience completely – we trust every single word said if we see a good picture that matches our expectations. Nothing can stop us once we set our mind into something that we wanted to do for a while. TV and advertising is that “push”…
Since early 90s, back when people started to get more and more used to internet, advertising and online searching has become very popular in society. Practically millions of people became addicted to it and dependent on it overnight. With the help of web-sites that would allow you to advertise your services for free, companies that are dealing with cars and property started to earn more than ever. People received free quotes on subjects that they were interested in, companies became popular and talked about. Everybody benefited from it.
It is fair to mention that competition between companies that provide services such as insurances it is very easy to benefit from. They try to get more and more clients and reduce prices for their services in order to get people to use their company instead of the other one.
But cheap doesn’t always mean good. So can how you find a non-pricy deal and not have nightmares about it at night?
First of all, you never have to lose conscience about any decisions that you are about to make. We all know that sometimes we are blind to see reality because we want to hurry with a problem that is hanging above our head, but when we rush into something; we are more likely to trip and fall than to do it correctly.
We all have connections. We are social people that communicate with each other. This helps a great deal as we are able to give and share opinions, help with advices. Most of us like the support family and friends are able to give therefore we address them for help. When it comes to insurances, automobile, for example – we have to remember that 70% of people in the world do have cars, they drive them everyday. This means the automobile insurance deal is a part of their life every single day. These people could do us a favor if they shared their points of view with us from time to time. Read the rest of this entry »
