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.”
Continue reading →

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:

Continue reading →

The price of everything is going up these days. Now you can add one more thing to the list, car insurance.

Crumpled metal and shattered glass often the result of accidents we see on the roadways every day. We are all required to have insurance in Michigan to cover the cost, but the experts says rates are going up.

Bob Pierce, MI assoc. of Insurance Agents: “Everything is interrelated in today’s economy, when prices go up in one arena they impact another”

Pierce says it’s hard to say exactly how much prices are going up because there are so many different factors in insurance rates but he says the reason for the increase is simple.

Continue reading →

Car insurance premiums for young men are now around twice that of women, the latest figures show.

Research from broker AA Insurance shows premiums for newly qualified young male drivers have continued to rise, while they have been falling for women.

The AA has calculated the average quote for a 17-year-old man driving a three-year-old Ford Focus CL 1.4-litre five-door in Cambridge is £3,462, while the same quote for a 17-year-old woman is £1,810 – almost half the amount.

Once the same driver hits 21, the quote falls to £565 for a man and £333 for a woman.

However, the high cost of insurance is reflected in accident statistics, the AA said.

Continue reading →

Car insurance is one of the first insurance policies that a person will buy. However, many people do not understand the coverage nor how to read the fundamentals of the policy. Before a person can determine how to save on car insurance, he/she must understand the limits of liability and how to read the policy.

All policies cover liability which means that damage to another person’s vehicle or injury to another driver will be covered by the policy up to a certain dollar amount (damage to the insured’s vehicle is covered under collision).

Continue reading →

Where should I shop for my car insurance?

The growing number of comparison websites are a great tool for finding competitive insurance quotes, but it’s worth shopping around a few to find the best deal. No one site has every insurer, and some companies, such as Direct Line and Norwich Union, refuse to be quoted on comparison sites. Three of the best for car insurance are confused.com, gocompare.com and tescocompare.com.

Third party or fully comprehensive?

Third party insurance will only cover the other person’s costs if you have a crash. If you have an accident and it’s your fault – or you don’t get the other driver’s details – then you won’t get anything back. Comprehensive insurance will pay out in all situations, but costs more. You’re legally required to have car insurance, but if you’ve got an old car, it may not be worth paying for anything more than third party. If your car’s newer and more expensive, the extra cost is probably well worth it.

Continue reading →

Your car doesn’t just cost you money at the gas pump. The folks at Insure.com, a Web site that allows you to get quotes on all types of insurance from various companies, say what you don’t realize about your car insurance policy also may hurt your pocketbook. Here are a few tips for saving from Insure.com.

1. How much rates go up with claims varies: When an insurance company decides to raise your premiums because you make a claim, it doesn’t follow any concrete rules. If you make a claim and have a birthday before renewal time, your age might bump you into a higher-risk category along with the claim. Meanwhile, some insurance companies have “accident forgiveness” guidelines, which would cut you a little slack. Ask your provider how to qualify when you renew your policy.

2. If your odometer isn’t always churning, you should look for “usage-based” car insurance: It allows you to buy coverage based on how much you actually drive. If you don’t drive much, this can save you up to 60 percent on your insurance. Progressive is the first insurance company to offer “pay-as-you-drive” policies through its MyRate program. Your mileage will be measured by a wireless device installed in a car port. If your insurance company doesn’t offer usage-based coverage, inquire about “low-mileage discounts.”

Continue reading →

Erie Insurance has earned J.D. Power and Associates’ award for “Highest in Customer Satisfaction with the Auto Insurance Purchase Experience.” This award recognizes the top rankings in J.D. Power’s 2008 Insurance New Buyer Study, which assesses customers’ experience in purchasing a new auto insurance policy.

Erie Insurance is represented locally by Chaney-Buskirk Insurance, with offices in Wiley Ford and Fort Ashby, W.Va. Chaney-Buskirk Insurance offers a full line of property/casualty insurance products, including auto, homeowners and commercial insurance, as well as life insurance products and services from Erie Insurance. Chaney-Buskirk Insurance serves Allegany County, Md. and Mineral County.

The J.D. Power study examines the purchase behaviors and overall satisfaction of buyers who shop for a new auto insurance company. Three key factors are measured to determine overall satisfaction. In order of importance, they are: distribution channel (50 percent), price (29 percent) and policy offerings (21 percent).

Erie Insurance achieved the highest ranking with strong performance across all factors.

The California Department of Insurance wants Golden State drivers to drive less, save money and save the planet, all at the same time.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said Wednesday he’s planning to make a new green automobile insurance option, known as “pay-as-you-go,” available to California drivers as early as the fall of next year by proposing new regulations that will make the new option feasible.

Poizner, a Republican, described this as a way for consumers to “more accurately” pay for the coverage they need, by linking their auto premiums more closely with the number of miles they actually drive. By encouraging consumers to drive fewer miles, and thus reducing their insurance costs, the new insurance option could help reduce both greenhouse gases and vehicle accidents.

“As a strong advocate of healthy market competition and a healthy environment,” Poizner added, “I am especially pleased to encourage this kind of innovation and additional options for consumers.”

The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that if 30 percent of Golden State drivers participate in this new form of voluntary coverage, the state could avoid 55 million tons of carbon dioxide between 2009 and 2020 — the equivalent of taking 10 million cars off the road. This would save an estimated 5.5 billion gallons of gas and $40 billion dollars in car-related expenses.

Continue reading →

A kicking camel, a naked pedestrian and a nut-throwing squirrel have all been cited in insurance claims for car damage, it has been revealed.
Decomposing carrots, a weary horse and a crashed Harrier jet have also cropped up in claim forms received by insurance company elephant.co.uk.
In one case a woman motorist filled the tank with the wrong substance after mistaking shampoo for a container of petrol.
Continue reading →