Archive for June, 2009

Stopped paying your insurance bill? It could cost you – Corpus Christi, TX | KRISTV.COM |

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According to Timothy Gaspar, an insurance agent with FMS Financial Partners in Encino, Calif., a policy lapse will almost always have negative consequences for the insured regardless of the type of coverage.

With auto insurance, which is required by law in all but two states, the consequences for letting an insurance policy lapse can be pricey. "Many auto insurance companies give consumers a discount for what they call ‘persistency,’ which is a discount for the amount of time you have had continuous insurance," Gaspar explains. "If you let this coverage lapse, the persistency credit will disappear, causing an increase in your rate."

Letting a homeowners insurance policy lapse can lead to even more serious financial jeopardy. Most preferred carriers will not accept a homeowner whose coverage has lapsed, and homeowners who fail to pay their premium for more than 45 days may be limited to a high-risk policy.

"I’ve had clients who let their homeowners insurance lapse for three or four months and suddenly find themselves unable to get coverage with anyone but a surplus lines carrier," said Gaspar. "It can really turn into an ugly situation."

read the rest by following the link below….

Stopped paying your insurance bill? It could cost you – Corpus Christi, TX | KRISTV.COM |

10 Used Cars to Avoid – Feature/Best/Worst Lists/High Performance/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver – Car And Driver

In tough times, there’s a huge temptation to compromise on one’s purchases, and buying a used car is one place to save a few bucks. Sure, we’d all like to drive a new BMW as our regular commuter, but, boy, that ’97 Malibu sure is tempting for $700. After all, it’s just for getting back and forth to work, and the woman selling it has to be 106—how much damage could she have done?

There’s nothing wrong with bargain hunting as long as you’re hunting the right game. When it comes to used cars, there are things that are always best to avoid.

 10 Used Cars to Avoid – Feature/Best/Worst Lists/High Performance/Hot Lists/Reviews/Car and Driver – Car And Driver

Do you have too much car insurance?

Posted by Angela Davidson February 20, 2009 7:59 AM

Categories: Insurance

Car insurance is a necessity. We all have it; we’re all supposed to have it anyway. As per Alabama Law, all vehicles operated, or registered within the state must be covered by a specific amount.

These amounts in Alabama are $25,000 for injury, $50,000 for injuries, and $25,000 for property damage. The only other option is that you cover your vehicle yourself with a $50,000 liability bond, or cash deposit through the State.

Basically, this means that if you have an accident and you are at fault, your insurance should cover up to $25,000 for the other driver’s injuries and up to $25,000 for their property. In the case that there is more than one person in the other vehicle, your insurance will cover up to $50,000 for all injuries.

follow the link below to read more

Do you have too much car insurance? – Centsible Living – al.com

10 Worst Insurance Companies for Consumers Ranked; No. 1, 3, 4 and 7 Sell Policies in AL – WHNT

MONTGOMERY – In recent years, Alabama homeowners have seen sharp increases in their insurance premiums.  A new study put out by the American Association for Justice ranks the 10 worst insurance companies in the U.S. for consumers and explains the overall rise in premium costs to an industry-wide strategy of denying claims, delaying payments and defending those positions as long as possible in hopes that weary claimants will settle for less than their claim is worth. (I am not sure how denying claims leads to an increase in premium – maybe this is article and ranking has something besides the truth as its purpose.)

“Nationally, we’ve seen insurance companies continue to put profits over the best interest of their policyholders,” Gibson Vance, president of the Alabama Association for Justice (ALAJ), formerly the Alabama Trial Lawyers Association, said, adding that “in Alabama it’s no different.”  

In Alabama, State Farm (#4 on the 10 Worst Insurance Companies List) is the leading insurer of property and casualty insurance, followed by Allstate, AIG and Farmers (#’s 1, 3 and 7 on the 10 Worst Insurance Companies List).  Alabamians pay the ninth-highest average homeowners premiums in the nation, which insurers say is because of hurricane risk, but interestingly only 12 percent of the state is coastal.  In addition, property and casualty insurers took in $6.6 billion in premiums from Alabama policyholders in 2006 but only paid out $3.5 billion in losses.

10 Worst Insurance Companies for Consumers Ranked; No. 1, 3, 4 and 7 Sell Policies in AL – WHNT

Alabama State Troopers begin entering electronic crash reports

Posted by Ginny MacDonald — Birmingham News June 08, 2009 5:44 AM

Alabama state troopers have launched a new electronic crash report system that speeds up the turnaround time for getting a crash report.

The system, called eCrash shortens motorists’ wait times for copies of wreck reports from state troopers. In one instance, a motorist retrieved his wreck report in five hours, said Birmingham State Trooper Sgt. Steve Bryant.

That’s good news for motorists involved in crashes because insurance companies typically need the reports to process auto damage claims.

“It’s a better way to submit crash reports and to do it in a more timely manner,” said eCrash project manager Sgt. Chris Brown, who has spent the past two years setting up the system. He noted that the state had been criticized in the past by federal agencies for failing to release crash reports in a timely fashion.

State officials have complained for years that they could not file final crash reports from the year before with federal agencies until the following April or May because of missing data from cities and counties.

Federal transportation officials are trying to standardize wreck reports across the nation.

“Some cities and municipalities have electronic capabilities, but our system is designed to handle every crash report written in the entire state,” Brown said. Alabama’s wreck report form had not been updated since 1999.

http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2009/06/alabama_state_troopers_have_la.html

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/124272451749570.xml&coll=3

WASHINGTON — Across the country, federal flood insurance policyholders ponied up more than $3 billion in premiums to protect their homes and businesses in the last fiscal year. Less than half of that money was set aside to pay claims for actual flood losses, according to government figures.

Instead, the Federal Emergency Management Agency spent almost $1.5 billion to cover overhead in two areas: interest on the program’s debt to the federal treasury, and compensation to the insurance companies that largely run the program day to day. Other costs included taxes and grants.

About $1.4 billion went for claims, reserves and adjustment expenses, according to figures supplied by FEMA at the Press-Register’s request.

Three and a half years after Hurricane Katrina swamped the program with claims, the numbers offer a snapshot of its continuing struggle to recover.

Created in 1968 because private insurers were reluctant to cover water damage, the initiative, formally known as the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) was generally self-supporting for much of its history. Now, it is considered effectively bankrupt.

As Hurricane Ike and other recent storms have spawned more losses, the program’s borrowing from the treasury has crossed the $19 billion mark. Last month, President Barack Obama’s administration urged Congress to forgive that debt or face the possibility that interest payments will eventually consume every dime in premium revenue.

So far, lawmakers have deadlocked on the specifics of a remedy. The flood program formally expired last fall, and Congress has since approved only a stopgap measure to keep it going through this September.

http://www.al.com/news/press-register/metro.ssf?/base/news/124272451749570.xml&coll=3