Auto Insurance News Archive for 2010

• Insurance based on mileage to be offered by state farm

  by Richard Burton
  

  It is an obvious fact that if you drive less in your car, the chances of meeting with an accident are less too. This is also the perception of the insurance companies who are planning to use it to attract new policy holders. Discounts are being offered to policy holders by correlating the risk they hold and the insurance rates they receive. State Farm is taking this initiative to offer rebates to its customers in California by using their odometer readings. State Farm, the insurance giant has create a voluntary program called Drive Safe & Save, wherein policy holders in … (more) December 14, 2010

• Comparing auto insurance rates could help California motorists save money

  by Richard Burton
  

  New types of coverage policies are being offered by insurance giants in California, State Farm Mutual and Automobile Club of Southern California. These policies would be rewarding those drivers who drive less by offering lower monthly insurance premiums. Pay as you drive schemes will be put in place by both the insurance companies. This new scheme will allow consumers the flexibility to choose their premiums based on the total miles they drive. This scheme could be the starting of similar policy changes from many other companies that will offer incentives to policy holders to drive less. It augurs well for … (more) December 13, 2010

• Auto insurance rates to be cut down for some customers by 10%

  by Richard Burton
  

  There is some good news for many policyholders, who would witness a drop in insurance rates by at least 10%. This insurance rate cut is planned to happen at Mercury, which is the 5th largest insurance company in California. According to an announcement from the company, based in Los Angeles, made on Thursday, a request for reduction in insurance rates has been approved by the regulators in the state. This rate reduction would be customers who buy or renew their old policies after December 15th. This policy change is likely to change an average of 72 dollar every year per … (more) December 12, 2010

• Drive less to get low cost insurance

  by Richard Burton
  

  Drivers who do not drive frequently and are willing to let the insurance companies verify this fact periodically, now have a reason to smile. Two insurance providers in the state of California are all ready to roll out the “pay as you drive” policy to the drivers in this state, starting February the following year. The State Farm Mutual Automobile and the Auto Club of Southern California have received the go-ahead from the California Department of Insurance to issue these low mileage plans that are lighten the pocket of many policy holders. Motorists, who would like register for this policy, … (more) December 11, 2010

• Drive less and save on your auto insurance premiums

  by Richard Burton
  

  Starting February, motorists in California who do not drive often can enjoy the reduced auto insurance premiums, thanks to the “pay as you drive” auto insurance policy that is due to take effect. Automobile Club of Southern California and State Farm Mutual, two major auto insurance providers in the state, are among the first in the state to bring out these policies for the benefits of customers who do not drive frequently. Other auto insurance providers are set to follow suit soon. As per the existing legal guidelines, customers have to only submit the details of their projected mileage to … (more) December 10, 2010

• Rear view cameras to be made compulsory for cars by 2014

  by Richard Burton
  

  Auto manufactures will be required to install the rear-view cameras in all new vehicles in 2014.  The federal government has announced this plan on Friday and has received strong support from insurance companies as well as the other analysts and in all likelihood will be able to garner support from auto manufacturers as well. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood was quoted as saying that there could not be anything more tragic for a parent or a caregiver to accidently injure or kill a child who is playing behind the motor vehicle.  These incidents occur while backing out a vehicle from the … (more) December 9, 2010

• Pay-as-you drive auto insurance comes as a welcome break for motorists

  by Richard Burton
  

  Two auto insurance companies based in California have come up with the pay-as-you-drive insurance policies where the motorists who spend less time on road will be paying premiums that are significantly low when compared to the regular premiums.  This offer will begin in the month of February.  This new policy has been brought in as an incentive for drivers who don’t do a lot of driving.  There are other companies which are also planning to follow the same. The first to come up with this offer have been the State Farm Mutual as well as the Auto Club of Southern … (more) December 8, 2010

• Insurers to get mileage-based coverage

  by Richard Burton
  

  A change in the auto industry is about to happen – credit goes to Chris Gay from the auto insurance industry.  The MileMeter was launched in 2008 and this was the only company that offered the pay-by-mile auto insurance without the use of the vehicle tracking devices.  Based in Texas, this is an online-only company which is licensed to provide insurance but has expansion plans where it would move to other states as well and have more options. Gay chanced upon this idea after having a bad insurance experience when he was hit by another car in 2004.  He has … (more) December 7, 2010

• Rising auto insurance claims due to teen accidents

  by Richard Burton
  

  A major auto insurer has reported that there is a rise in the number of vehicle accidents amongst young drivers. By October, most young people are expected to have spent at least 8 weeks in school and the routines too, seem to be stable and fixed, which brings us to the questions as to what happened to indicate the rise? As per recent reports, October is a dangerous month for teenage drivers in the country. In fact, the fall season is the most dangerous period for 70% of the country. This has come from an analysis of the collision and … (more) December 6, 2010

• Pay as you drive strategy means lower auto insurance

  by Richard Burton
  

  Usage based insurance or UBI is fast becoming quite popular in the country. This is because, customers, don’t need to pay high auto insurance premium anymore based on the estimated annual mileage for their vehicles. Rather their auto insurance premium will depend on the actual number of miles they have driven their cars for as shown by the odometers. MileMeter which is an auto insurer based in Texas, has pioneered the PAYD model. PAYD stands for pay as your drive and this model of auto insurance coverage in the US is actually being taken up by many drivers. As per … (more) December 5, 2010

• Survey shows satisfaction for auto claims slightly lower this year

  by Richard Burton
  

  The J.D. Power and its associates recently released the results of their 2010 study on claimants’ satisfaction with auto claims. This particular research revealed that claimants are less satisfied with auto insurers today than in 2009. According to the study there has been an overall decline of five spots to 837 from 2009 in a 1000-point scale.  Although there has been a bit of decline in consumers’ satisfaction with the service given by their auto insurance providers, 2010’s satisfaction rate is still 19 points better than that of 2008. According to the insurance practice senior director of J.D. Power, Jeremy … (more) December 4, 2010

• Online comparison sites report difference of premiums between male and female drivers

  by Richard Burton
  

  A leading online insurance comparison provider released a report showing the difference of the current median auto insurance rate of women from men. According to the figures women pay their auto insurance policy nine percent lower than men’s rate. The difference in the rate to pay is not about gender as what it may look like. According to the examination conducted by the insurance comparison provider there are many noteworthy differences that could account for the nine percent variation between the median auto insurance rate of women and men. According to the study done moving violations are associated with women … (more) December 3, 2010

• New law for uninsured drivers

  by Richard Burton
  

  To address the growing need to bring back some of the drivers in compliance with the state laws regarding the need for drivers to have at least the minimum requirement for auto insurance coverage before they can ride their vehicles, a new law was passed. The recently introduced law allows traffic officials to tow the vehicles of anyone who are stopped for violating any traffic law and who do not have any insurance coverage. This particular law also allows authorities to take hold of people who are still driving despite being banned. The strict implementation of such law is expected … (more) December 2, 2010

• Other factors car insurance consumers must consider

  by Richard Burton
  

  Several auto insurance companies have recently published a report reminding consumers to consider other important factors when shopping for auto insurance coverage aside from the price. With today’s economy it is no wonder why people would largely consider the amount they have to pay for any product or service they are to avail. This holds true even for auto insurances given that in general insurance policies are really expensive. This is the reason why people consider aiming at the most affordable auto insurance rate that could at least satisfy the minimum state requirement for drivers and car owners. However according … (more) December 1, 2010

• When more traffic means less crashes

  by Richard Burton
  

  A decline in the number of accidents has been reported in Hampton Roads despite having an increase in local traffic. In the past few years statistics showed that there has been a reduce in car accidents not just in the local areas but the trend was true also for the entire nation. In Hampton Roads accidents have dropped by 27.5 percent in the past six years. And since 2000, according to the figures released by the Department of Motor Vehicles and planning organization, reported accidents in Hampton Roads dropped by 18.4 percent despite the notable increase in local traffic by … (more) November 30, 2010

• Regulators recommend additional auto insurance coverage

  by Richard Burton
  

  A majority of the state require the drivers to carry a minimum level of coverage through auto insurance on their vehicles. Now industry experts and officials from the government are emphasizing to customers that these minimum levels of auto insurance protection are not sufficient and in case of a serious accident, additional coverage is highly required. Florida is one of the places where there is a strong case for additional auto insurance protection. The minimum requirement for drivers in this state remains amongst the lowest in the country. The automobile owners in the Sunshine State are needed to carry about … (more) November 29, 2010

• Pennsylvania sees new discounts on auto insurance from Unitrin Direct

  by Richard Burton
  

  A new program of auto insurance has been started in Pennsylvania by Unitrin Direct, which is a direct-to-consumer, group of companies. The insurance offers some attractive prices especially for the drivers with great track record. It also comes with improved protection rendered by novel coverage bundles. The model of business used by Unitrin Direct is very unique in the sense that the overheads are greatly reduced and the cost savings are passed on to the customers without compromising in the service. Unitrin Direct has launched a new savings program in Pennsylvania a few days earlier and customers of the company … (more) November 28, 2010