Entries from June 2010 ↓

When you start off on your tour of the internet, one thing becomes clear almost immediately. If you use the free online search engines, you can get a flood of quotes into your inbox. All the major auto insurers are tied into one or more of the search engines and they all respond to searches with their quotes. This buries you under a mountain of information. There just is not enough time to follow up every quote on every changed variable. Assuming, of course, that you got quotes using different factors, e.g. changing the amount of the deductible, how many miles a year you drive, and so on. The only way you can work out how to get the maximum discounts is to play with the system. So, if you are starting the process of finding a new vehicle to drive, first check out the premium rates on all the makes and models you are thinking about buying. You will be surprised by big the differences are. Then look at payment methods for the insurance. There are discounts available if you pay the premium as an annual lump sum. Should you bundle the home with the auto insurance? This can save at least 10%. Insure more than one vehicle? There are so many options giving you a discount, you need to work your way through multiple searches to understand how much money can be saved.

Talk to your friends and there is likely to be one suggestion they all make. Go for the maximum deductible. This gives you the biggest single discount. OK. So they are advising you to self-insure. Instead of looking to the insurance company to pay all your claims, big or small, you are signing up to a deal where the insurer only pays the big claims and you pay all the small claims. Look back over your driving career and talk to your family and trusted friends. Find out how many accidents they have had and roughly how much damage was caused.

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Summer time means water fun. I have a family that every member was probably born in the water. From surfing to swimming, we always hit up the beach and the pool for summer. The beaches here are like the ones you always see on Direct TV; gorgeous, white sand with crystal blue waters. Unfortunately, that seems to be everyone else’s idea at some point as well.

How do you alleviate this problem? It’s simple; go whenever no one else is thinking about going. Go early in the morning with the whole family or late at night with just your husband. Have you ever been to the beach on a rainy day – it’s so much fun. Rainy days are great for getting cool and that’s one thing water is good for in the summer. Have you noticed water always seems to be 10 degrees colder in the summer no matter where it’s coming from? That’s the best part; water is such a simple thing to have, especially when you’re at the beach. You can take lunch, board games or water guns; it doesn’t make any difference because just being there seems to turn you into a free spirit. Build a sandcastlewith your sweetie or try out your hands at some original sand art. The beach is a great place to be in the summer.

There are times when you get an overview and then it hits you, “Somethings just don’t add up.” Well, you remember Wellpoint, don’t you? This is the friendly company that, around January or February, announced it was going to increase premium rates by up to 39% in a number of states around the Union. President Obama got himself all worked up, citing them as the real reason why all the Democrats in Washington should band together and take a stand against the insurance industry. Then, sure as eggs is eggs, there was a stampede to get the healthcare reform bill to the President for him to sign it into law. Those Democrats sure did have fun beating on Wellpoint. So the big question is what happened next? Here’s one of the largest corporations in the insurance market demanding premium increases. Did it get its way?

The answer starts off in California where the maximum rate of 39% was due to take effect. The state referred the proposed increase to independent auditors for an opinion. The answer came back negative. It seemed Wellpoint couldn’t add up. Well, that’s oversimplifying things a little. But the reality is that the numbers Wellpoint offered to support their premium increases were based on some very shaky mathematical assumptions. When news of the report became public, Wellpoint withdrew the proposed increase. Acting on this, Kathleen Sebelius who is Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services sent out a letter to all state insurance commissioners encouraging them to review every proposed premium increase. This is the first sign that the balance of power is shifting against the insurance industry and in favor of the consumer. For too long, insurance companies have hidden behind complicated mathematical explanations and gamed the system. With the Affordable Care Act now law, Sebelius is encouraging every state to give itself the power to approve rate increases. The first sign of continuing good news for consumers comes out of Connecticut where Attorney General Blumental forced an audit of Blue Shield and Anthem Blue Cross, both Wellpoint subsidiaries. Connecticut’s Insurance Commissioner Sullivan rejected these companies requests for increases last year. It seems likely the same thing will happen this year. Continue reading →