Insurance World

Back in the days before computers, auto insurance was personal and subjective. The insurance agent actually talked to the man he knew in the main office, called in a few favors, and got their best customers the best rates. Male drivers under 25 were charged a lot. Young females, being perceived as less risk, were charged much less.

Now, in the computer age, auto insurance companies have large databases of accident and claims records. By number-crunching these records they can tell what type of person is more likely to be a good driver and what type of person is more likely to be an accident risk. This ‘Black Box’ technology gives them insights into the background and behavior of the people who they think should pay more for their auto insurance. For example, people who carry minimum limits of liability are actually a greater risk than those who carry at least 50/100 ($50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident). And statistics have shown that those with bad credit scores are more likely to be involved in accidents.

In Texas, the minimum liability limit on auto insurance is 20/40. Yep. $20,000 per person, $40,000 per accident. Not much is it? And if that weren’t bad enough, the minimum property damage is $15,000. Guess who makes up the difference if you’re in an accident that’s your fault?

In most states, auto insurance is regulated by the state. But that is only the beginning. The state uses tables of ‘loss ratios’, exposure, and other conjuring words, to justify what the auto insurance companies want you to pay. Every once in a while, just to throw you off, they will even announce a state-wide REDUCTION in auto rates. When they do, hold onto your wallet!

After the state sets the base rate, the individual companies negotiate with them to adjust their particular rates, claiming either a better or worse loss ratio than average. So, after the elections are over, the legislature allows exceptions, amendments, and endorsements to jack them back up to something the auto insurance companies can make a ton of money from.

And there’s more. Most states allow individual companies to set their own rules to determine who gets charged what. So, one auto insurance company rates a particular driver one way, while another company rates the same driver differently. Each company sets those underwriting rules.

So how are auto insurance rates determined? First, the state usually gets involved. Then companies toss the dice between staying competitive and making as much profit as they can for their stockholders. And finally, now that the ‘Black Box’ is here, auto insurance companies are taking a closer look at every driver. Career, credit score, past record, even the city you live in helps ‘drive’ the rates. They have even found that those who select low limits of liability are greater risks than those who select higher limits. So, by raising your liability limits, you may actually lower your auto insurance rate.

For some, the new ‘Black Box’ technology reduces rates by as much as 20% over those companies not using it. The bad news is, since credit scoring does play a part in ALL auto insurance rating, the worse your credit score, the higher your auto insurance will go. No more ‘discounts’, no more ‘loyal customer’ credits, and the like. You will be rated right down to your underwear, placed in a group of drivers almost identical to you, and charged accordingly.

Copyright 2006 Stacey Zimmerman

When you take out a mortgage on your home, the lender will require you to show proof of homeowner’s insurance on the property. The lender wants to protect their investment. However, whether or not you have a mortgage on your property or not, you should have homeowner’s insurance to protect yourself in case of loss.

The biggest mistake most homeowners make when getting homeowner’s insurance is purchasing coverage they don’t need. For example, living in a high elevated area should mean they you do not need to carry flood insurance. Many homeowners find themselves paying for flood insurance when there is no possibility of being flooded. However, if you live in an area that could easily be flooded, make sure you do carry this extra flood insurance on your property.

Another item to check on is how far away you live from the fire department, as well as a fire hydrant. The closer you live to either one of these could significantly reduce your rates. Your insurance agent should ask you for this information, however, if they don’t, make sure you give the information to them to see if it could lower your rates.

If you are like many homeowners, you may find that you have your life insurance with one company and your auto insurance with another. If you have all of your insurance policies with the same company, it could give you as much as a twenty percent discount on your insurance rates. You may also want to ask your insurance agent about how much you can save by raising your deductible on your homeowner’s insurance.

Another way to save on your homeowner’s insurance is to ask them what type of discounts you would be entitled to if you made changes to your property. By adding security measures, such as an alarm system or even double locks on doors and windows, may entitle you to several discounts.

If you are the owner of a dog, you’ll want to make sure your insurance agent is aware that you have one. Unfortunately, if you have a dog that is on the list of dangerous dogs to have, it may either raise your rates or they may not insure you at all. In order to protect yourself, however, you’ll want to check with them to find out where your dog fits in to the picture and you may end up making further security measures regarding your dog. A large fenced in area for your dog may help to reduce your rates.

Another important matter is renter’s insurance. This only applies to you if you have a rental unit in your home, but it will protect you and your renter’s for any loss of items due to an unforeseen incident in your home, such as theft or fire. Many landlords require their renters to provide proof of renter’s insurance before they move in. If they do not have renter’s insurance, the loss of their items may fall back on you.

The most important thing you can do to save money on your homeowner’s insurance is to price compare your home insurance once every year. Make sure if you have made any updates to your property, you update your current insurance company. Insurance companies, along with their rates, change quickly and if you’ve had the same insurance company for years, you might be surprised at how much you could’ve saved over the years.