Some auto insurance companies offer a low annual mileage auto insurance discount, if you do not put a lot of miles on your car. What happens if you put more mileage on my car than you reported to your auto insurance company? Can they charge you more money for not driving low miles you reported, or not pay a claim? Here is what you need to know about the low annual mileage discount, how to get it, and the consequences of misreporting annual mileage. Continue reading
Tag Archives: money
Progressive Home Insurance Review 2013: Bundle and Save?
Did you know, when you buy homeowners, condo, or renters insurance from Progressive Insurance, through their Progressive Home Advantage program, it is not Progressive insuring your home? Progressive primarily insures automobiles & trucks, but acts as an agent, representing other insurance companies, when Progressive sells you property (homeowners, condo, renters) insurance, for you to receive the “bundling” discount you hear about in the Progressive advertisements. How good is the bundling discount? It can vary by state, home insurance company insuring you, and the type of coverage needed. When I called Progressive, the customer service representative told me only the home insurance policy would be discounted. Discounts for insuring your home and auto together are common with many insurance companies these days, and some companies discount both policies by as much as 20%. If you insure your car with Progressive, is bundling your property insurance with Progressive your best and least expensive option? If you bundle with State Farm or Allstate, unlike Progressive, both of those companies will be insuring your home & auto, possibly with much larger bundling discounts. This review will analyze the pros & cons of bundling your auto & property insurance together with Progressive, to help you decide if this is the best option for you. Continue reading
Auto Insurance Companies with Good Customer Service
Do you get what you pay for when you buy cheap auto insurance? Can you save $100s on your auto insurance, and regret it when you have a claim? The short answer is, “No.” The price you pay for insurance has nothing to do with how happy you will be with the insurance company’s customer service. So, how do you find auto insurance companies with good customer service? This blog post will give you some tips to finding the best combination of price and service for auto insurance. Continue reading
Nonstandard Auto Insurance: How to Get the Best Rates
Have you called around for auto insurance price quotes, only to be told you don’t qualify for standard rates? Do some auto insurance companies say they won’t insure you? Are the auto insurance companies willing to insure you very expensive? Welcome to the world of nonstandard auto insurance.
From my experience, the people most interested in shopping for better auto insurance, are people paying or being quoted high rates, because they’ve had a lapse in coverage, have not been licensed to drive in the US for enough time, or have tickets, claims, or accidents. Unfortunately, these are the people some insurance companies want to avoid as customers, because they are considered at being a greater risk than the average driver for claims in the near-future. Rather than qualifying for lower standard or preferred rates, these people are offered nonstandard auto insurance rates, or turned away, if the insurance company does not offer nonstandard auto insurance rates.
If most auto insurance companies consider you a high risk driver, what do you do about it? You do what every auto insurance policyholder should do at least once a year — shop for better auto rates. Nonstandard auto insurance is expensive, but if you shop around, you’ll find some companies are much more expensive than others. This blog post will give you tips about how and where to shop for nonstandard auto insurance, and what you can do to get lower auto insurance rates. Continue reading
How Much Do Speeding Tickets Increase Auto Insurance Rates?
Speeding tickets increase auto insurance rates. But by how much? I decided to write about moving violations and your auto insurance, after reading this NY Times Money blog post here. The NY Times blog mentions an Insure.com study stating one moving violation can lead to 18% higher rates on auto insurance. This strikes me as high, based on my many years experience working with auto insurance companies, and I think the problem might be the study treats all moving violations as equal. For example, a reckless driving or DUI violation is lumped in the same class as a minor speeding ticket. I assure you, insurance companies have MUCH higher rates for major violations, like reckless driving, than they do for a speeding ticket. This blog article will explain how minor moving violations impact auto insurance rates. Continue reading
Auto Insurance Policy Exclusion: Pizza, Newspaper, & Other Types of Delivery May Not Be Covered by Auto Insurance
Cars used in pizza or newspaper delivery, or transportation of any person(s) or property for a fee, are usually excluded (not covered) by personal auto insurance policies, while engaged in these activities. In fact, if you use any vehicles insured by a personal auto policy (instead of a commercial auto insurance policy) for any business pursuit (picking up supplies at office depot, dropping off paperwork with a co-worker, etc.), whether you are self-employed, or work for a company or someone else, you should check with your agent or car insurance company, to see if you are covered, should you be involved in an accident or need to file a claim. This blog post will explain more about this common auto insurance policy exclusion. Continue reading
Progressive, Geico, Esurance Homeowners Insurance: Is it a Good Deal?
Have you seen Geico, Esurance, or Progressive insurance ads on TV? The ads promote their auto insurance, but the ads often mention they offer homeowners & renters insurance, too. In fact, one of these insurance companies is heavily promoting a discount for “bundling” home & auto insurance together, to get low insurance rates. However, buying property insurance from these companies can be misleading, and you might be insuring your home with an insurance company you have never heard of, with a poor customer complaint record. This review will give you information, to help you decide if buying home insurance from Progressive, GEICO, or Esurance is a wise decision for you. Continue reading
Tower Group AM Best Financial Strength Ratings Downgrade: How safe are its subsidiaries like Castlepoint, York, MA Homeland, Adirondack, & NJ Skylands Insurance?
The most well-known insurance company rating agency, A.M. Best, has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) of Tower Group International, Ltd., and its subsidiaries to B++ (Good) from A- (Excellent). All subsidiaries are under review with negative implications. Fitch Ratings has also downgraded Tower Group International, Ltd.’s and Tower’s operating subsidiaries’ Insurer Financial Strength (IFS) ratings to ‘BB’ from ‘A-‘. I, like many insurance agents, recommend not insuring your autos or property with any insurance company having less than an A- AM Best financial strength rating, whenever possible. Most of Tower Group’s subsidiary companies insuring homes & personal use autos & trucks in the USA are not easily identifiable as being a part of Tower Group, so this blog post will inform you about the subsidiaries operating under Tower Group, and how this ratings downgrade impacts them. If you are insured with some of these companies associated with Tower Group, you should shop to see what more financially stable insurance companies can offer you. I’ll show you some major competitors that my be a better choice for you. Continue reading
Why would anyone pay more than the lowest price for auto insurance?
In my last blog post, I explained auto insurance is not priced like a commodity, with low profit margins for auto insurance companies, as each company competes to offer the lowest price and under-cut the competition. In reality, the thorough auto insurance shopper can save a lot of money by shopping with all the major companies, and find a reputable company charging a lot less than other companies for the same coverage. Continue reading
Is Auto Insurance Soon to be Priced Like a Commodity?
When it comes to getting people to switch their auto insurance, the biggest factor influencing most consumers is the price. But is auto insurance a commodity product, like buying gas for your car, where the auto insurance offered by one company, is the same as the auto insurance offered by any other company, with the only difference being the price each company charges for its coverage? Continue reading
Insurance Zebra, Ratekick Reviews : Which Websites Provide Accurate Auto Insurance Quotes from Multiple Companies in the USA?
Its hardly news to point out the Internet has revolutionized business in the 21st century. Thanks to the Web, consumers have more information than ever to make smarter buying decisions. Websites like Travelocity, Expedia, Priceline and Kayak have changed the travel business, and put many travel agents out of business. But where is the Kayak of auto insurance, helping consumers find the best deals and lowest rates to insure their cars & trucks?
At least two websites are attempting to provide consumers with auto insurance quotes online from multiple companies, without the consumer having to disclose specific personal information, like names, social security numbers or vehicle identification numbers. I’ve looked at both Insurance Zebra and Ratekick, and although I’m impressed with each site’s design and ease of use, it’s not possible for them to give even approximately accurate auto insurance quotes to consumers anonymously through their websites.
The best way to get auto insurance quotes online is to go to each auto insurance company’s website (and include an online independent insurance agency operating in your state, if available) and provide your personal information as requested. This blog post will review Insurance Zebra and Ratekick, and explain why they are a far cry from being the Expedia of auto insurance. Continue reading
New York Home Insurance Reviews 2014: 20 Major Companies & Their Three-Year Complaint Ratings
The home you own is most people’s biggest investment, so you want to make sure you protect it properly, by choosing the right coverage with a good homeowners insurance company, having a reputation for acceptable customer service, and a consistent history of maintaining a better than average complaint record each year. To accomplish this goal, you need to know the major companies offering home insurance in your state and their complaint information. This review will show you twenty major insurance companies insuring residential property in New York, and each company’s complaint ratings, based on home (homeowners/condo/renters/mobile home) insurance complaints filed with the New York insurance department for the last 3 years of 2010, 2011, 2012, & 2013. Continue reading
Who Needs Life Insurance? Do You Really Need Life Insurance?
Who Needs Life Insurance? Do You Really Need Life Insurance? As I previously wrote about in my blog post, When is the best time to buy life insurance? The best time to buy life insurance is when you need it. If you need it, the best time to buy it is now. It’s human nature to procrastinate. You may get a term life insurance quote estimated to cost $35 a month for a $500,000 death benefit. But you may say to yourself, “I’ll wait until next year, when my car is paid off and I have more room in my budget to buy life insurance. I’m healthy now, and my agent says it will cost about the same if I buy it next year, so if I wait a year or two, I can save $420 a year by putting it off.” Some people use this type of thinking to keep avoiding buying the life insurance they need, until its too late. Continue reading
New York Auto Insurance Reviews 2013: The 20 Largest Companies & their NY State Complaint Records & Rankings
This review will show you the twenty largest companies insuring private passenger vehicles in New York, ranking them from best to worst, based on their number of upheld complaints filed with the New York State Department of Financial Services. Most consumers fail to check the complaint records of their insurance companies, and are unaware of all the major auto insurance companies in their state. The information I provide in this review not only helps you evaluate your auto insurance company, it helps you know about the other leading companies, so you can shop for lower rates and better service. I update this review or write a new review with the latest complaint statistics each year, so bookmark or place my website in your favorites! Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Age 50 – 59 Review: The Best Rates for People Age Fifty through Fifty-Nine (and older)
This term life insurance age 20 – 29 review will show you the best prices for people in their fifties. Using the pricing information in this review can help keep you from overpaying for your term life insurance. However, if you are age 50 years or older, you should question whether you should be looking to buy term insurance or a permanent life insurance policy. If you follow anyone writing about personal finance, almost all of them say the only type of life insurance anyone should buy is term life insurance. This may be the best strategy for many people in their 20s, 30s, & 40s, trying to “buy term and invest the difference.” When you are younger, term life insurance is inexpensive, so you can buy enough term life insurance to cover you during your working years, and use the money you would have used to buy the more expensive permanent life insurance, to invest in the stock market to get a better return. For example, say you buy a $750,000 30 year term life insurance policy at age 32. By the time the policy expires when you are 62, your kids are grown, your mortgage is paid off, and the 30 years of investment returns has built a large retirement account your spouse can use should you die. Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Age 45 – 49 Review: The Best Rates for People Age Forty-Five through Forty-Nine
This term life insurance age 45 – 49 review will show you the best prices for people in their middle to late Forties. It’s difficult to find the best deal for term life insurance by searching for the lowest rates on the Internet. You may not qualify for the best rates you see on the Web, or the low rates advertised by some agents or life insurance companies. For example, $250,000 of term life insurance for as little as $22 a month, may cost a whole lot more money for you, when your application is approved by the life insurance company. You could be in very good health with no medical problems, and still not qualify for a life insurance company’s lowest rates. You can’t shop based on price until you know the best price for which you qualify, with each term life insurance company.
Many agents and companies you contact may brag about their competitive term life insurance rates, but some insurance companies charge much more than other insurance companies for the same term life insurance coverage. A $ 300,000 20 year term life insurance policy for a 46 old female non-smoker at standard rates costs $608 a year with Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation, $663 with Cincinnati Life Insurance Company, $680.52 with TIAA-CREF Life Insurance Company, and $816 with Guardian Life Insurance Company of America. Change one variable, like the amount of coverage, length of the term, the health class, age, sex, etc., & the life insurance companies with the most competitive rates will change. This blog article reviews the best term life insurance rates for men & women age 45 to 49, for smokers and non-smokers, so you know if you are quoted a competitive price, when you are shopping for term life insurance. Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Age 35 – 39 Review: The Best Rates for People Age Thirty-five through Thirty-Nine
This term life insurance age 35 – 39 review will show you the best prices for people in their middle to late thirties. It’s hard to shop for the lowest term life insurance rates on the Web. You may not qualify for the lowest rates you find online, or the teaser rates advertised by agents or life insurance companies. For example, $300,000 of term life insurance for as little as $20 a month, may cost a lot more for you, after your application is approved by the insurance company. You may be in good health with no medical conditions, but still not qualify for a term life insurance company’s lowest rates. You can’t shop based on price, until you know the lowest price you qualify for with each term life insurance company.
All life insurance agents or companies you contact will brag about their competitive term rates, but some companies charge a lot more than others for the same coverage. A $300,000 20 year term life insurance policy for a 36 year old female non-smoker at standard rates costs $335 a year with Ohio National Life Assurance Corporation, $361 with Hartford Life and Annuity Insurance Company, $381 with AAA Life Insurance Company, and $442 with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. Change one thing, like the amount of coverage, length of the term, the health rating class, age, sex, etc., and the companies with the most competitive rates will change. This review shows you the best term life insurance rates for men & women age 35 to 39, for smokers and non-smokers, so when you are shopping for term life insurance, you’ll know if the rates you are quoted are competitively priced. Continue reading
Louisiana Home Insurance Reviews 2013: The Major Companies, their Customer Complaint Records, & JD Power Ratings
If you want choose the best home insurance for you, you need to know the major companies offering coverage in your state. Your home is probably your biggest investment, so you want to make sure you choose a good home insurance company, with a reputation for good customer service, and a better than average complaint record. This review will show you the 20 leading home insurance companies in Louisiana, their complaint ratings based on home (homeowners/condo/renters/mobile home) insurance complaints filed with a state’s department of insurance for the last 3 years (2010, 2011, & 2012), and their claims & customer satisfaction ratings, if surveyed by JD Power. Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Age 40 – 44 Review: The Best Rates for People Age Forty through Forty-Four
This term life insurance age 40 – 44 review will show you the best prices for people in their early forties. It’s difficult to find the best deal for term life insurance by searching for the lowest rates. You won’t possibly qualify for the best rates you see on the Web or the low rates advertised by some agents or life insurance companies. For example, $300,000 of term life insurance for as little as $15 a month, may turn into a whole lot more for you, when your application is approved by the life insurance company. You may be in very good health, but still not qualify for a life insurance company’s lowest rates. You can’t shop based on price until you know the best price for which you qualify, with each term life insurance company.
Almost all agents and companies you contact will brag about their competitive term life insurance rates, but some companies charge much more than others for the same coverage. A $ 400,000 20 year term life insurance policy for a 40 year old female non-smoker at standard rates costs $530 a year with EMC National Life Company, $562 with United of Omaha Life Insurance Company (Mutual of Omaha), $619 with AAA Life Insurance Company, and $719 with Nationwide Life and Annuity Insurance Company. Change one thing, like the amount of coverage, length of the term, the health class, age, sex, etc., & the companies with the most competitive rates will change. This blog post reviews the best term life insurance rates for men & women age 40 to 44, for smokers and non-smokers, so you know if you are quoted a competitive price, when you are shopping for term life insurance. Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Age 30 – 34 Review: The Best Rates for People Age Thirty though Thirty-Five
This term life insurance age 30 – 34 review will show you the best prices for people in their early thirties. It can be hard to shop for the lowest term life insurance rates. You may not qualify for the lowest rates you find online, or advertised by agents or life insurance companies. For example, $500,000 of term life insurance for as little as $17 a month, may turn into a lot more for you, once your application is approved by the insurance company. You may be very healthy, but still not qualify for a life insurance company’s lowest rates. You can’t shop based on price until you know the lowest price you qualify for with each term life insurance company. Any life insurance agent or company you contact will brag about their competitive term rates, but some companies charge a lot more than others for the same coverage. A $500,000 20 year term life insurance policy for a 33 year old female non-smoker at standard rates costs $390 a year with Royal Neighbors of America, $495 with New York Life Insurance Company, $504 with MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company, and $530 with Pruco (Prudential) Life Insurance Company. Change something like the amount of coverage, length of the term, the health rating class, age, sex, etc., and the companies with the most competitive rates will change. This blog post reviews the best term life insurance rates for men & women age 30 to 34, for smokers and non-smokers, so you know when you are shopping if term life insurance rates you are offered are competitively priced. Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Age 20 – 29 Review: The Best Rates for People in their 20s
This term life insurance age 20 – 29 review will show you the best prices for people in their twenties. When shopping for term life insurance, its hard to know if you are getting a good deal. Although you may be in perfect health, many seemingly minor factors, such as a few extra pounds, taking a medication like an anti-depressant, higher than ideal blood pressure or cholesterol levels, or the health problems or early demise of close family members, can mean you won’t qualify for the lowest rates for all term life insurance companies, making it hard to shop based on the lowest price. Good life insurance agents are thorough when asking you about your health history, and do their best to quote you the price you are likely to qualify for, but the term life insurance rates you pay are ultimately decided by the insurance company, after reviewing your application and paramedical exam results, as usually required. Continue reading
Encompass Insurance Reviews: 2012, 2011, & 2010 Complaint Ratings for Auto & Homeowners Insurance
How is the customer service and claims handling at Encompass Insurance Company? How good is Encompass Insurance Company‘s auto insurance & homeowners insurance? Does the company have a lot of complaints? This review will help you answer these important questions and decide if Encompass Insurance Company is best for you! Continue reading
Louisiana Auto Insurance Reviews 2013: The Major Companies, their Customer Complaint Records, & JD Power Ratings
As frequent readers of my insurance company review blog know, some car insurance companies charge more than double as much as other car insurance companies for the same coverage. No single auto insurance company has competitive rates for all drivers. The only way to find the company with the best auto insurance rates for you, is to shop with all the leading car insurance companies. But the average person is usually not aware of all the major auto insurance companies in their state. Continue reading
New Jersey Home Insurance Reviews 2013: Complaint Ratings for all the Leading Companies
This NJ Home insurance company review gives you the 2012, 2011 & 2010 complaint ratings for the major companies insuring homes in the Garden State. It’s tough to find reliable insurance company reviews on the Web. Reading reviews of several people’s experience, or even two hundred people’s experience, are not enough to evaluate an insurance company with hundreds of thousands of customers, and tell you what your experience is likely to be with the company, if you insure with them. One person will love a company. Another person will hate the same company the other person loves. Unfortunately, no amount of research about a company’s customer service can guarantee you won’t have a problem. Even the most highly rated companies for customer satisfaction will have customers thinking they were treated unfairly, or the company did not properly settle a claim for them.
However, a smart insurance buyer reduces the chances of having a bad experience, by checking an insurance company’s JD Power ratings and complaint statistics for the company, before insuring with them. Although some states publish insurance company complaint statistics on their websites, few consumers check for their availability. New Jersey does not publish their home insurance complaint statistics, but national complaint data about the insurance companies insuring homes in NJ is available. This review will tell you if these NJ home insurance companies have an above-average, average, or below-average customer complaint record over the last three years, and their JD Power ratings, if they were included in a JD Power home insurance claims or customer satisfaction survey in the last three years (2013, 2012, & 2011).
Reading this review, and using it to select an home insurance company, can’t guarantee you will get great service or be happy with how your next claim is settled, but it gives you the information you need in one place, to help you make a smarter decision when choosing an home insurance company. How is your home insurance company performing? Check your company’s ratings in this review below. Continue reading
Term Life Insurance Rates: 65 Year Old Female Non Smoker
Term life insurance for a sixty five year old woman costs more than it does when a woman is in her twenties, thirties or forties, but it’s more affordable than one might expect. This blog post will show you the companies with the lowest rates for a ten year term life insurance policy for a 65 year old female, at different dollar amounts of coverage across four health rating categories, to help you shop for the right coverage for you & your budget. Continue reading