Car Insurance

There’s a deep, dark little secret that most insurance brokers don’t want you to know about. It’s a secret that could - literally - put most of them out of business. You see, there is a very simple way for you to save as much as 40% on the cost of your car insurance without reducing the amount of your coverage by even a penny.

But before I reveal this huge money-saving secret, there are several smaller ways for you to save on the cost of your auto coverage that you should be aware of - because adding every savings secret together can really reduce the cost of your monthly premium.

Start by paying your premium automatically directly from your checking or savings account. In this way your company doesn’t have to send you an expensive bill through the mail every month and they are happy to pass most of that savings along to you.

If at all possible, park your car in a garage at night rather than on the street or even in your driveway. A garaged car is less likely to be stolen, broken into or vandalized and so your rates are lower if you park in a garage at night.

Are you married? Did you know that women pay less for car insurance than men do? If you list the wife as the primary driver on all vehicles and the husband as the secondary driver you’ll save quite a bit each month.

Carpooling to work saves you a lot more than you might think. Not only do you cut your gasoline bill in half and put less wear and tear on your vehicle, but cutting your monthly rush hour driving miles in half can save you quite a bit on your auto coverage as well.

If you increase your deductible you’ll decrease your premium immediately. You just don’t want to increase your deductible past the point at which you can comfortably pay it in the event you ever have a claim.

But the biggie…the Number 1 thing you can do to reduce your car insurance rates by as much as 30% in one fell swoop, is to simply buy your policy online!

It’s that simple. And when I say simple I mean simple. Buying your coverage online is fast, easy, and stress-free. You don’t have an agent looking over your shoulder, talking you into buying things you don’t need. You are in control when you buy your policy online - and doesn’t that sound great?

Online brokers have no overhead and so they can offer insurance coverage at wholesale prices - usually around 30% less than you’ll find locally for the EXACT SAME coverage. Also, there is a tremendous amount of competition online, and you know what that means - prices are cut to the bone and YOU come out the winner!

So whether you are buying your first policy or you’re just sick and tired of paying way too much for your auto coverage, now is the time to jump online and find out for yourself just how much you can save.

MAYFIELD VILLAGE, Ohio — For many motorcycle owners, riding is more than just a recreational activity, it’s a lifestyle. Riding represents freedom, friends and fun. It’s what fuels daydreams and fills weekends.

With so much fun to be had, it’s probably not surprising that riders like you aren’t spending your time poring over your insurance policy to understand coverage nuances. That’s why the Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, the largest motorcycle insurer in the country, recently conducted a survey of more than 1,000 motorcycle owners and found that many don’t understand important information about their policies. Not knowing - and making the wrong choices - can cost you thousands if you have a claim.

The survey focused on two key facets of a motorcycle insurance policy: physical damage coverages and loss settlement types. Here’s what bikers said and what you need to know.

Physical Damage Coverages

If you’re like most bikers, you’d probably say that next to riding, customizing your motorcycle to fit your personality and riding style is the best part of having a bike. That’s why it’s so surprising that more than half of all the bikers surveyed don’t know how much protection for their bike’s custom parts and accessories comes with their physical damage coverage. Of the 44 percent surveyed with more than $3,000 worth of custom parts and accessories on their motorcycles, the majority of them didn’t purchase additional coverage.

The physical damage portion of your motorcycle policy generally includes comprehensive and collision and custom parts and accessories coverages. Comprehensive generally covers weather-related damage (hail, etc.) as well as theft claims while collision generally covers crashes your bike has with objects other than animals. Most motorcycle policies with comprehensive and collision include some custom parts and accessories coverage free with the option to purchase more. Comprehensive, collision and custom parts and accessories are optional coverages and are subject to a deductible amount - that’s the amount you select when you buy the policy and the amount you’ll be required to pay first before the insurance company pays on either coverage. Common deductible amounts are $250 and $500.

“Most insurance policies that have physical damage coverage provide some custom parts coverage, but it could be as little as $500,” said Rick Stern, motorcycle product manager, Progressive. “Others provide as much as $5,000 worth of coverage at no extra charge - but you have to know what comes standard with your policy. And, if it’s not enough to protect the value of your bike’s custom parts and accessories, most insurance companies will sell you additional coverage. For example, we sell coverage for up to $30,000 worth of additional custom parts and accessories.”

Loss Settlement Types

If you own a custom or classic bike, pay attention. More than 45 percent of motorcyclists surveyed don’t know which loss settlement type - Actual Cash Value, Agreed Value or Stated Amount - their policy provides. And, 68 percent of those confuse the benefits of Agreed Value and Stated Amount settlement types; that is, they mistakenly believe that Stated Amount guarantees a pre-selected total loss settlement amount in writing in the event a bike is declared unrepairable or is stolen and not recovered.

These misconceptions could seem innocent enough, but they could cost you thousands.

Insurance companies generally do not offer all three loss settlement types - instead, the loss settlement type you have available to you is based on the type of motorcycle you own.

If you own a mass-produced motorcycle that has a resale value generated by a third party like the N.A.D.A. appraisal guides or Kelley Blue Book, you will generally be offered an Actual Cash Value (ACV) settlement option. This means that, in the event of a total loss or if your bike is stolen and not recovered, you will generally be paid the ACV, less your deductible amount.

If you own a custom or classic motorcycle with certain characteristics, you might find that some companies won’t insure your bike. However, many insurers that specialize in motorcycles will insure these types of bikes and will generally offer you one of two loss settlement types - Agreed Value or Stated Amount. Criteria for these settlement types vary by insurance company, and no insurance company offers both types. For example, Progressive offers motorcycle owners a policy with Agreed Value if they have bikes that are 25 years and older or custom bikes that don’t have resale values in an N.A.D.A. guide or Kelley Blue Book. Many other insurers only offer Stated Amount for bikes with similar characteristics. Here’s what you need to know:

Stated Amount is the amount selected by the bike owner at the time the policy is purchased and is the maximum amount the insurance company will pay in the event of a claim. If the bike is totaled or is stolen and not recovered, the insurance company will generally pay the Stated Amount or the ACV as determined by sources like N.A.D.A. or Kelley Blue Book, whichever is less. And, a deductible applies to the settlement amount.

FROM THE 1940S through the ’70s, the major telegraph companies voluntarily gave the government copies of all cables sent to or from the U.S. as part of an illegal project caned Operation Shamrock. According to “The Surveillance-Industrial Complex,” a new report from the American Civil Liberties Union, something similar is afoot today.

More and more, Washington is using private-sector intermediaries to circumvent the Fourth Amendment’s restrictions on the information its agents can directly gather. While public opposition killed the Terrorism Information and Prevention System (TIPS), which would have recruited private citizens to be the government’s eyes and ears, a plethora of smaller programs are attempting the same thing with neighborhood watch groups, real estate agents, truck drivers, and others.

Other laws require businesses to maintain records on their customers for the benefit of law enforcement, exploiting a legal loophole that recognizes no Fourth Amendment interest in the information individuals have turned over to third parties. Last year the FBI used “national security letters” to gather information on some 270,000 Americans from Las Vegas hotels and ear rental agencies, all without any individualized suspicion of wrongdoing. And even those demands are increasingly unnecessary: Government can just buy reams of information from…

Evaluations show that there are declining auto insurance rates in the year 2005. Now, drivers are experiencing lower costs of auto insurance rates, and believe me, they are not complaining.From 2004, there has been a 2% decline from the year of 2004. In fact, this is saving households an average of $60 per year. This has been a great event after the rising gas prices. However, this wasn’t a happy jingle for all of the U.S states. Some states had an increase.

These are the evaluations from Insurance.com. Based on the 2005 Insurance Pricing Report from Insurance.com we have some results from all of the 50 states of America:

2005 Auto Insurance Pricing Report

Top ten states with the largest percentage decrease:
State 2004 Premium 2005 Premium Difference (Decrease)Change from 2004
PA
NH
CO
MN
OH
TX
IL
LA
MO
CT

Top ten states with the largest percentage increase

State 2004 Premium 2005 Premium Difference (Decrease);Change from 2004
ND
DC
NE
MT
ME
DE
OR
VT
AL
UT

State Avg. 2004 Premium Avg. 2005 Premium Difference (Decrease) Change from 2004
AL
AR
AZ
CA
CO
CT
DC
DE
FL
GA
IA
ID
IL
IN
KS
KY
LA
MD
ME
MI
MN
MO
MS
MT
NC
ND
NE
NH
NM
NV
NY
OH
OK
OR
PA
RI
SC
SD
TN
TX
UT
VA
VT
WA
WI
WV
WY

As you can see, there were many states with a decrease in auto rates, but there still were many states with increasing auto insurance rates, causing both chaos and lower prices.