Imagine leaving your RV set up at a campsite and returning to find that a family of bears has moved in and, because they weigh hundreds of pounds and are not the best housekeepers, the RV is torn apart. Or accidentally flooding your neighbor’s coach with “black water” by mistakenly hooking your water connections up to the trailer next door. These incidents may sound far-fetched, but they actually happened to Progressive customers. Fortunately for them, they were covered because they had specialized RV insurance, but a lot of RVers wouldn’t be.

“Some people make the mistake of adding their RV onto their car insurance policy, only to find out too late that the car policy doesn’t cover a lot of things that can go wrong in an RV,” said Cathy Pelfrey, RV product manager, Progressive. “An RV is much more than a car—it’s a house on wheels. So an RVer really needs a specialized policy that covers more than what standard car insurance covers.”
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Insured drivers whose cars are damaged in auto-deer collisions may be covered for more than they think. With deer migrating and mating season occurring between October and December, the Better Business Bureau and Insurance Information Institute recommend that drivers read their auto insurance policy closely or they could miss out on reimbursements or other benefits they are entitled to receive.

“Drivers spend a lot of money on auto insurance, but too often they wait until they need to make a claim after an accident and don’t remember what their policy will cover,” said Steve Cox, vice president of the Council of Better Business Bureau in Arlington, Va. “When there’s a seasonal problem like deer collisions and many people are making claims simultaneously, it’s important for car owners to ask the representative handling their claim about their coverage and deductible, as well as any options that are included, so they get their money’s worth.”

According to the Insurance Information Institute (III), a non-profit organization, on average, deer-vehicle collisions cost $2,800 per insurance claim; $10,000 if there is injury to the driver or a passenger.

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Certain professions seem to take less care on the road, new figures from moneysupermarket.com suggest.

A new poll from the financial website found that 25 per cent of army officers admitted to speeding in their cars over the past five years.

Meanwhile, just two per cent of au pairs said the same thing.

Generally, a trend towards speeding was linked by the research to workers in high-stress professions – with over 20 per cent of surgeons and barristers also saying that they had broken the limit.

Moneysupermarket.com’s data was derived from answers put by members of the public on car insurance applications forms.

Peter Gerrard, head of insurance research at moneysupermarket.com, commented: “As a reflection on their adrenaline fuelled and active profession, army officers are most likely to be caught hurtling down the motorway; for them two speeding convictions could raise their premium by a third.”

He added: “Our research reflects the trend in the motor insurance industry that people’s professions can be reflected in the cost of their premiums.”

Nine companies accused of illegally collecting excessive interest on insurance premium loans to high-risk drivers are fiercely denying the allegations.

The Maryland Insurance Administration charged Monday that nine premium finance companies violated state law by loaning premium payments to Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund members and collecting interest at rates above the maximum 1.15 percent per 30 days. MIA ordered the companies to “cease and desist their unlawful methods.”

The accusation is “absolutely ridiculous,” said Robert Rubenstein, president of U.S. Capital Associates. “It actually leans on slanderous. It is absolutely untrue.”

The companies loan money to MAIF policyholders who are unable to pay their premiums. MAIF is the insurer of last resort for drivers with troubled driving or credit histories.

The nine companies named are Agency Services Inc., Central Acceptance Company Inc., Gebco Insurance Associates Inc., H&S Finance Company Inc., Insurance Billing Services, Insurance Payment Plan Inc., Premium Finance of America Inc., Senate Acceptance Corporation and U.S. Capital Associates.

The violations came on policies cancelled in mid-term, the administration said, requiring a portion of paid interest be refunded to the policyholder. The companies are accused of using a calculation method that front-loads interest on cancelled policies, allowing them to collect interest of greater than 1.15 percent in the early months of a loan.

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Con artists, unfortunately, spend their days thinking up schemes to defraud us of our money.

One increasingly common scam involves the sale of “cheap” auto insu nce to unsuspecting people. This scheme may appear genuine, but it’s intended to trick consumers into paying for auto insurance coverage that is invalid, or doesn’t exist.

To guard against potential auto insurance scams, take a look at the handy information on this topic, posted online by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO) — the regulator of the insurance industry in Ontario. To download the brochure: Don’t Get Scammed Buying Auto Insurance, visit FSCO’s website at www.fsco.gov. on.ca. Here’s a summary of the brochure:

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The Car Insurance Megastore compare.com website avoids the credit crunch on huge interest charges. Consumers are already feeling the continuous battle to gain cheaper car insurance and then the added pain of having to pay over the odds for there cheap car insurance quote over monthly instalments. The Car Insurance Megastore compare.com website have now revealed that they are reducing their interest rates on monthly car insurance payments to 12.5%, compared to some insurers with whopping interest rates of 28% and above, The Car Insurance Megastore can now save you even more money.

Wolverhampton, UK (PRWEB) September 28, 2008 — The Car Insurance Megastore compare.com type website avoids the credit crunch on huge interest charges. Consumers are already feeling the continuous battle to gain cheaper car insurance and then the added pain of having to pay over the odds for there cheap car insurance quote over monthly instalments. The Car Insurance Megastore compare.com website have now revealed that they are reducing their interest rates on monthly car insurance payments to 12.5%, compared to some insurers with whopping interest rates of 28% and above, The Car Insurance Megastore can now save you even more money.

The Car Insurance Megastore’s massive reduction of interest rates has created quite a stir in the market place and other high street and direct insurers with such great overheads are having great difficulty in matching such a low interest rate, less than half that of many of the major insurers and compare.com type websites.

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The online version of the prestige motor and biking magazine InFlux, www.influx.co.uk, from Adrian Flux Insurance Services, has added new videos and photographs to its gallery.

InFlux online is more than just an online magazine, it’s fast becoming a web-based motoring community where users can exchange information about the featured stories.

The current issue, as well as all back issues, can be viewed online in ‘interactive’ format with ‘turning pages’ and zoom control for finer detail or they can be downloaded as a PDF for offline viewing or printing out.

InFlux was originally available only to dealers and select customers of Adrian Flux and Bikesure as a luxury glossy magazine. The twice-yearly magazine was produced so that dealers could have an original top quality motoring magazine to offer customers in their showrooms. Now on its fifth issue, InFlux is becoming a much sought-after publication with readers eagerly awaiting each new edition.

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The private auto insurance industry objected yesterday to a rate-lowering proposal from the state’s insurer of last resort, arguing that the Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund’s plan to make coverage more affordable puts the private sector at unacceptable risk.

After a 2 1/2-hour hearing in Baltimore, insurance Commissioner Ralph S. Tyler delayed his decision to give both sides more time to provide written information, according to officials with the Maryland Insurance Administration. Tyler’s decision is expected within several weeks.

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Leading insurance comparison website Gocompare.com has added a range of new brands to its car insurance comparison service.

This means that, for the first time ever consumers can now compare over 80 car insurance brands in one place. Recent additions to the site include brands such as Mercedes, Prudential, female friendly insurer Diva and specialist insurance broker Sureterm Direct.

Hayley Parsons, chief executive of Gocompare.com, said, “We are delighted to welcome these brands to the Gocompare.com website. Our aim has always been to offer customers the widest possible coverage across the motor insurance market and with the addition of these products, we now provide the most comprehensive online car insurance comparison service in the UK, enabling customers to search over 80 car insurance brands.
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Motorists have been warned that car insurance premiums could be significantly affected by drink driving convictions.

According to insurer Norwich Union, offenders are likely to find it difficult to secure a cheap deal as a conviction “will seriously impact your premium”.

However, spokesperson Erik Nelson warned against the temptation to conceal such a record, saying: “As a reminder, if a motorist fails to declare their convictions they risk their motor insurance policy becoming void in the event of a claim. Honesty is always the best policy!”

This follows a report last year by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau that found drivers without insurance are ten times more likely to have a drink driving conviction, as well as being six times more likely to drive an unsafe vehicle.

And the AA recently found that the average premium now costs £682, an increase of six per cent compared to a year ago.