Car Insurance
Health insurance should work like car insurance - for emergencies.(PERSPECTIVES)(Letter to the Editor)
Waldo Proffitt’s column Sept. 21 contrasts private health insurers and noncompetitive government health insurance. This comparison may be important for safety-net (catastrophic) health insurance, but more important is the questionable expectation that health insurance must cover routine health care (first-dollar coverage).
First-dollar coverage is prohibitively expensive for any insurance. We insure our homes but do not expect the insurer to pay for plumbing repairs or repainting. We insure our automobiles but do not expect the insurer to pay for changing the oil or replacing the tires.
Insurance for routine health care is not only..
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Energy Insurance.(control of carbon emissions through automobile insurance)
The vast majority of scientists who study climate issues now agree that carbon emissions are a potentially disastrous problem. However, economic fears have obstructed even the mildest remedies. Particularly in the United States, voters resist taxes that would raise fuel costs, and there has been little political support for massive investment in new technologies or mass transit systems.
Yet there are also some less painful ways to cut greenhouse gases. One is to change how the nation buys its automobile insurance. If people paid for insurance on a per-mile basis, instead of in a lump sum, it would provide a substantial disincentive to drive–about the same disincentive as a $1.50 per-gallon gas tax. This in turn would reduce the number of miles driven by 10-20 percent. Less driving would mean fewer accidents, which would then lower the cost of insurance. So “clean” (pay by the mile) insurance may be the biggest free lunch around in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
To take an example from Todd Litman of the Victoria Transport Policy Institute, imagine buying gasoline the same way you buy car insurance. Once or twice a year, you would get a bill based on how much gas people…
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Car insurance rates do U-turn.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)
It might be time to say goodbye to the falling cost of car insurance in California.
After a decade of declining rates, the personal auto insurance market is turning “hard,” with most insurance carriers slowing or halting requests for lower rates.
The culprit is increasingly expensive insurance claims.
Some big names are even asking the state to approve rate increases of up to 9.5 percent.
“‘Plateaued’ is a good word for it,” said Candysse Miller, executive director of Insurance Information Network of California, the Los Angeles-based organization formerly known as Western Insurance Information Service.
Two of the big companies that want to raise rates are Progressive Corp. and Geico Corp., which specialize in insuring higher-risk drivers. They say the long cycle of low rates is over.
Analysts don’t say the market has turned hard yet, but do say that higher rates are ahead.
“The biggest thing is that loss costs, which had been…
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Go Online, Get Insured.(Column)
Everybody needs insurance. And the Web is (slowly) becoming a great place to buy it.
I’LL SAY THIS RIGHT UP FRONT: I hate insurance. It’s expensive, confusing, and no fun. I’ll avoid shopping for it as long as possible, and once I’m insured, I’ll gladly pay a slightly higher premium if it means never having to think about it again.
Nonetheless, as homeowners (or tenants), drivers, and parents, we all need the stuff. And the Web can take some of the misery out of finding and buying it. Better yet, going online for insurance can save you a bundle right now.
But don’t expect to accomplish all your insurance-related business with a few clicks in your Web browser just yet. For various reasons, insurance companies are still playing catch-up with the rest of corporate America when it comes to the Internet.
The move online means big changes for the slow-footed insurance industry. “Insurance has always been a secretive business,” explains David Sterling, chairman and CEO of insurance brokerage firm Sterling and Sterling. “The theory has been that the less [a consumer] knows, the better off [insurance companies] are. It’s a model that supports a huge network of brokers who make a living off commissions.”
I found that observation vaguely comforting: I’m confused because I’m supposed to be, not because I’m an…
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Shopping for Car Insurance Could Fund Your Child’s College Education.
If you think you can’t save enough to fund your children’s college education, think again. The money could be right in front of you – in the form of your auto insurance premium. Research from Progressive Insurance shows that the average difference between the highest and lowest auto..
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Know your options for rental car insurance.
Looking forward to renting that exciting off-road vehicle on your summer vacation? Before you climb the ladder into your Hummer, take a moment to ponder a more mundane topic: insurance.
Doing research before renting a car could save you a lot of grief, say insurance experts. Many people wait to make crucial decisions until they step off their flights hungry, tired and desperate to get out of airports. Avoid doing this. There are many options and pitfalls to protect you and your wallet when that person slams into your car in Los Angeles, or you have a close encounter with a moose on a Montana highway.
Choices, choices
Generally, there are three insurance choices in renting a car: your existing auto policy, your credit card and the coverage offered by rental car companies. When renting in Louisiana, state law mandates that the coverage you have on your most heavily insured vehicle will transfer to a rental car, says Robert…
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After strong start, insurance sector expected to surge onward.
The past ten years have brought such fundamental changes to the Hungarian insurance sector that EU accession will not mean new challenges, according to Mihaly Patai, chairman and CEO of Allianz Hungaria Insurance Rt and president of the Association of Hungarian Insurance Companies (Mabisz).
“The Hungarian financial sector has already joined the EU, because it was internationalized at the beginning of the 1990s. EU accession will not bring any significant changes,” Patai asserts.
As the most important thing to happen in the sector in the last ten years, he cites the entry of large international companies during the first half of the ’90s, gaining strategic…
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BRIEFING - ASIA INSURANCE - NOV 4, 2002.
An executive briefing on insurance for Nov 4, 2002, prepared by Asia Pulse (http://www.asiapulse.com), the real-time, Asia-based wire with exclusive news, commercial intelligence and business opportunities.
THREE FOREIGN INSURERS GET NOD FROM CHINA
BEIJING - Three foreign insurance companies have won approval to operate in China, bringing the total number of.
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Bracing for Impact of Mandatory Insurance.
With the introduction of compulsory third-party liability insurance for car owners just around the corner, analysts say the industry is now experiencing the lull before the storm.
The price war that hit the automobile insurance market a couple of years ago has eased and premium prices have begun to steadily rise – but the market’s reaction to the introduction of the compulsory insurance remains to be seen.
Since the beginning of the year, insurers have raised their tariffs by about…
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Car insurance, the easy way.
Vehicle demand is increasing among Bangkok residents even though the city is notorious for its poor traffic. So why the increase? It seems to have to do with the wealth factor. That’s why there are people saving like mad for several years to buy that shiny new car that will set them back at least Bt400,000.
So, imagine that car-lover finally gets his or her dream machine and then either causes an accident or is hit themselves, with no insurance policy in sight. That can get expensive. And on top of that, there is the theft factor, no…
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Car Insurance quotes 88% higher than in Britain.
Dublin, Ireland, 13 October, 2002 The size of the gulf between the cost of motor insurance in Ireland and the cost in other European Union countries has been highlighted in research carried out by www.123.ie, the online arm of Richardson Insurances.
As controversy rages over the cost of motor insurance in Ireland, 123.ie has produced details of quotes for six new vehicles seeking insurance in Ireland and Britain.
British insurance costs are around the average found among the 15 European Union member states.
The quotes are for comprehensive cover and are approximate. They are based on policyholders aged 41 with clean licences and no claims or convictions and are for vehicles insured for social, domestic and pleasure purposes. The Irish quotes are based on a Dublin 14 address, while the British quotes are based on a south London address.
The average difference between the best approximate quotes given to Irish motorists and their British counterparts was a massive 88 per cent. However, that included insurance quotes for the Porsche 911 Carrera, increasingly seen on Irish roads.
The difference between insuring a Porsche 911 in Ireland and Britain is striking. A 41-year-old Dublin man would have to pay e5,117 a year to put his on the road, while his British…
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Car insurance fraud is epidemic.
Professional car insurance fraud in Poland is at its highest level for the past three years according to insurance giant, Powszechny Zak[superscript three]ad Ubezpieczen (PZU).
PZU’s deputy director of internal controlling Jerzy Cywoniuk, said corrupt garage operators, who collude with vehicle owners to inflate the cost of damage done to vehicles involved in accidents, are the main culprits.
“There are definitely more ‘professionals’ in the fraud business now than a few years ago, and by professionals I mean that these frauds are professionally organised,” Cywoniuk said. “And the most frequent fraud is done in garages.”
Current industry figures from the Polish Chamber of Insurance - the industry’s self-regulatory body - estimate that up to 50% of all insurance claims made on cars are fraudulent, and of these only 1% can be pinned down as fraudulent because of difficulties in tieing…
MIRROR INVESTIGATES: DRIVEN OFF OUR ROADS: Irish car insurance costs are highest in Europe.
THE Daily Mirror today exposes a shameful rip-off by car insurance companies in Ireland.
Some motorists here are forced to pay premiums up to 10 times higher than in other parts of Europe.
And many Irish insurance firms simply refuse to cover many drivers under the age of 30.
Even when a driver can get cover, the premium for just one year is often worth more than the car they drive.
We compared the cost of premiums across several European countries - and the results are shocking.
In Holland, a 24-year-old driver can pay less than EUR500 a.
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Esurance Launches New Car Insurance Program in California; Launch Introduces Esurance Property and Casualty Insurance Company.
Esurance Inc., a direct-to-consumer personal auto insurance company, recently announced the introduction of its new multi-tiered auto insurance program in California.
Esurance customers will now benefit from the highly targeted pricing structure because they will pay a rate that more closely matches their individual profile. Many drivers may..
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Long-term-care insurance: what the 90% of older clients who don’t have this coverage need to know.
Accountants would never advise clients to go without car insurance. Yet rarely do CPAs recommend their clients purchase long-term-care insurance when, in fact, the probability of needing LTC insurance is much greater than the likelihood of being in a car accident.
The American Council of Life Insurers says less than 10% of the nation’s elderly own an LTC policy. Benefits are tax-free and there’s no imputed income to employees whose companies provide this insurance as a benefit. It’s a good deal for many clients–even better than buying car insurance. Here’s what CPAs need to know to advise clients on their LTC insurance needs.
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Americans love their car … insurance: Unlike in Canada, U.S. auto insurance promotes safety and accountability.
U.S. auto insurance is not only fairer, it’s cheaper, thanks to free enterprise. Politicians and other advocates of state control should keep that in mind
Throughout North America, advocates call for auto insurance reforms. In Canada, the advocates are mostly provincial politicians
fearful of being turfed out of office and the Consumers Association of Canada. They tend to seek lower insurance premiums by limiting choice in insurance providers or curtailing claims paid to consumers.
In the United States, the advocates include everyone from consumer and safety organizations to environmental groups and members of the insurance industry itself. They tend to seek lower premiums by increasing the types of insurance on offer and increasing competition.
Which approach best serves consumers? The U.S. system wins hands down. While Canadians are up in arms over our automobile insurance policies, Americans love theirs: 86% of Americans, a RoperASW survey reports, are very or fairly satisfied with their auto policies.
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S. Korea’s online car insurance buyers top 2 mln.
More than two million South Korean drivers have purchased car insurance online, as Internet-based insurers offer much lower rates than offline rivals, industry sources said Wednesday.
As of September, 2.01 million automobiles, 13 percent of the total insured vehicles, were insured through online car…
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Bangko Sentral OKs Equitable PCI bid to sell insurance products in branches.
EQUITABLE PCI Bank has received the go-ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to sell life insurance products of its affiliate within the bank’s branches.
BSP Deputy Governor Alberto Reyes said the Monetary Board approved the application of the country’s third-largest bank to engage in a new trend called bancassurance…
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Regulator lets banks cross-sell car insurance.
The Monetary Board has issued a circular allowing motor car insurance among the nonlife insurance products that banks may cross-sell.
Circular 401 will amend Circular No. 357 issued last November, which liberalized cross-selling rules by allowing banks to sell insurance products of their subsidiaries…
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AXA switches focus to low-end drivers.
AXA Insurance Plc is stepping away from heavy price competition in the first-class or comprehensive insurance business, and looking to tap the lower-end market with value-added services under third-class policies, such as emergency towing, repairs and fuel.
“Price cutting is now rampant in the comprehensive car insurance market,” said Kheedhej Anansiriprapha, the CEO of the French-Thai joint venture.
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