When was the last time you compared the cost of your current auto insurance coverage against other providers or plans? Have you taken a look at the discounts available to you through your car insurance company? Have they even let you know that they offer discounts?
Questions, questions, questions! Realistically, however, consumers tend to avoid asking a lot of questions. The reason for this is that they are often limited in the amount of time that they have for doing things like buying auto insurance, or finding different auto insurance quotes to compare to one another. Some people don’t even have enough time to consider if their coverage is the best it could be, and they just stick with a provider because that is the easiest thing to do.
These are all reasons for finding a reliable car insurance “comparison engine” to see if there is a better policy, company or provider for your needs. A comparison engine is going to eliminate the need to call up various local or national auto insurance companies and then go through a “step by step” interview again and again with each customer service agent.
Let’s just consider a standard interview with a car insurance agent – they will ask the driver for information about the vehicles, about their driving record as well as those of any other individuals covered in the plan, they will do a credit check, and they will also take all kinds of details including all contact information. This cannot be done instantly, and usually takes ten to fifteen minutes to complete. When the interview ends the agent might have a list of options for the driver to choose, and if a comparison is desired the individual is going to have to write down the details each plan. Alternately, the agent might plan on emailing or even “snail” mailing a list of quotes to the individual.
As a driver makes call after call they will begin to develop a list of auto insurance plans to compare. Is this the efficient way to find car insurance quotes? No, because a good and thorough list might take someone a full day to put together, and many valid insurance providers may be overlooked. Additionally, most agents are not going to immediately note if the driver is able to access any discounts which can often see a policy reduced in cost by ten percent or more.
The best answer is for a driver to use a reliable online comparison engine to identify various car insurance plans and prices. The thing to remember is that not all engines will be the same, and it is only worthwhile to use one that is not promoting a single company but actually delivering information based on a true request for accurate quotes. This means the driver should be asked to provide the same details as in a standard person to person interview, but in the form of an online worksheet instead.
Source
Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Brits 'should haggle over car prices'
Brits could collectively save a total of £396.36 million if they were prepared to haggle on the price of a new car, a new report has suggested.
Research from Sainsbury's Finance has found that 19 per cent of people that are planning to buy a new motor are not going to try and negotiate a price - even though it could lead to saving of around £1,468.
However, 60 per cent of respondents said that they would try to haggle 'hard or very hard' over the cost of a new vehicle - a move that could help people beat the credit crunch, the organisation claimed.
Steven Baillie, head of Sainsbury's loans, remarked: "In the current economic climate, fewer people are looking to buy new cars."
He added: "This is one of the best times to haggle over the price you pay."
Meanwhile, Norwich Union recently launched a new service that allows customers to compare its car insurance quotes with that of competitors.
Source
Research from Sainsbury's Finance has found that 19 per cent of people that are planning to buy a new motor are not going to try and negotiate a price - even though it could lead to saving of around £1,468.
However, 60 per cent of respondents said that they would try to haggle 'hard or very hard' over the cost of a new vehicle - a move that could help people beat the credit crunch, the organisation claimed.
Steven Baillie, head of Sainsbury's loans, remarked: "In the current economic climate, fewer people are looking to buy new cars."
He added: "This is one of the best times to haggle over the price you pay."
Meanwhile, Norwich Union recently launched a new service that allows customers to compare its car insurance quotes with that of competitors.
Source
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
What You Need to Know About Your Insurer
After the sudden fall of American International Group, policyholders everywhere are asking the same question: How safe is my insurance company?
We all depend on insurance, from health coverage, life insurance, protection for our house and car, to our annuity in retirement. Every facet of our lives involves insurance, and we pay a large amount to make sure we will receive help when we need it.
There are two positive things about insurers. First, they are strictly regulated to ensure companies maintain the ability to meet claims, and this regulation is overseen by state insurance commissioners. Second, in the event an insurer is unable to meet its claims, states have a guaranty arrangement where all insurers would be required to contribute funds. When there is a multi-state life and health-company failure, the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations, or NOLHGA, coordinates claims. Similar guaranty associations exist for all insurance types.
It is important to realize that AIG's insurance companies are continuing to operate as normal. The insurance companies did not fail; the problems are with the holding company. The insurance companies are considered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC, to have sufficient liquidity to meet all claims. In fact, the NAIC has set up a special committee of commissioners overseeing AIG to ensure normal operations. Additionally, the NAIC will oversee any sale of an insurance company.
Source
We all depend on insurance, from health coverage, life insurance, protection for our house and car, to our annuity in retirement. Every facet of our lives involves insurance, and we pay a large amount to make sure we will receive help when we need it.
There are two positive things about insurers. First, they are strictly regulated to ensure companies maintain the ability to meet claims, and this regulation is overseen by state insurance commissioners. Second, in the event an insurer is unable to meet its claims, states have a guaranty arrangement where all insurers would be required to contribute funds. When there is a multi-state life and health-company failure, the National Organization of Life and Health Insurance Guaranty Associations, or NOLHGA, coordinates claims. Similar guaranty associations exist for all insurance types.
It is important to realize that AIG's insurance companies are continuing to operate as normal. The insurance companies did not fail; the problems are with the holding company. The insurance companies are considered by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, or NAIC, to have sufficient liquidity to meet all claims. In fact, the NAIC has set up a special committee of commissioners overseeing AIG to ensure normal operations. Additionally, the NAIC will oversee any sale of an insurance company.
Source
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
AIG shares jump on report of shareholder plan
Shares of American International Group Inc jumped as much as 43 percent on Monday, boosted by hopes that quick asset sales might allow the struggling insurer to repay an emergency bailout loan and stay out of the clutches of the U.S. government.
It was the third day of gains for the stock, which hit its all-time low of $1.25, just before the company was bailed out by the Federal Reserve with an $85 billion loan to help it recover from massive losses it suffered on mortgage derivatives.
Under last week's deal, brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the Federal Reserve would take an almost 80 percent stake in the insurer, diluting the existing shareholders' ownership.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, major shareholders are looking to organize a quick sale of assets and to raise capital in order to pay off the Federal Reserve loan, thereby keeping AIG independent, citing an unnamed person it said was familiar with the matter.
It did not name any shareholders in particular, but noted that AIG investors such as Bill Miller of Legg Mason and former AIG director Eli Broad banded together earlier this year in their successful push to remove then-AIG Chief Executive Martin Sullivan.
"We heard earlier that there was a group getting together to buy some assets," said Bobby Harrington, head of block trading at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut. The company has made no comment on its situation.
AIG's large and profitable insurance underwriting units -- which are separate from AIG's disastrous derivatives operation -- should get plenty of willing buyers, industry-watchers said.
"It's a soft market in the insurance industry right now, so a lot of people would give their eye tooth to own (parts of AIG)," said Andrew Barile, an independent insurance consultant, based in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He said the sum of all the parts of AIG, which underwrites almost every type of insurance in markets around the world, could be worth as much as $180 billion.
Source
It was the third day of gains for the stock, which hit its all-time low of $1.25, just before the company was bailed out by the Federal Reserve with an $85 billion loan to help it recover from massive losses it suffered on mortgage derivatives.
Under last week's deal, brokered by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the Federal Reserve would take an almost 80 percent stake in the insurer, diluting the existing shareholders' ownership.
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal on Monday, major shareholders are looking to organize a quick sale of assets and to raise capital in order to pay off the Federal Reserve loan, thereby keeping AIG independent, citing an unnamed person it said was familiar with the matter.
It did not name any shareholders in particular, but noted that AIG investors such as Bill Miller of Legg Mason and former AIG director Eli Broad banded together earlier this year in their successful push to remove then-AIG Chief Executive Martin Sullivan.
"We heard earlier that there was a group getting together to buy some assets," said Bobby Harrington, head of block trading at UBS in Stamford, Connecticut. The company has made no comment on its situation.
AIG's large and profitable insurance underwriting units -- which are separate from AIG's disastrous derivatives operation -- should get plenty of willing buyers, industry-watchers said.
"It's a soft market in the insurance industry right now, so a lot of people would give their eye tooth to own (parts of AIG)," said Andrew Barile, an independent insurance consultant, based in Rancho Santa Fe, California. He said the sum of all the parts of AIG, which underwrites almost every type of insurance in markets around the world, could be worth as much as $180 billion.
Source
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
AIG names Liddy as CEO, not planning liquidation
American International Group Inc, which narrowly escaped financial collapse, said it had named Edward Liddy as chairman and chief executive.
Liddy succeeds Robert Willumstad, who is leaving after three months on the job, and in the wake of AIG -- once the world's largest insurer -- agreeing to an $85 billion rescue plan from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
"My intention is not to liquidate the company," said Liddy, speaking with employees, according to a source who heard the comments.
Liddy also said AIG's insurance operations were well funded, and that the company's "mess is solvable."
AIG, at the end of 2007, had 116,000 employees in operations throughout 130 countries and territories.
As part of the federal bailout, AIG will have to repay monies borrowed from the government by selling assets or units.
Liddy said AIG had to move quickly to decide what should be sold, or risk being hurt further.
Liddy was formerly chief executive of large U.S. home and auto insurer Allstate Corp.
Source
Liddy succeeds Robert Willumstad, who is leaving after three months on the job, and in the wake of AIG -- once the world's largest insurer -- agreeing to an $85 billion rescue plan from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
"My intention is not to liquidate the company," said Liddy, speaking with employees, according to a source who heard the comments.
Liddy also said AIG's insurance operations were well funded, and that the company's "mess is solvable."
AIG, at the end of 2007, had 116,000 employees in operations throughout 130 countries and territories.
As part of the federal bailout, AIG will have to repay monies borrowed from the government by selling assets or units.
Liddy said AIG had to move quickly to decide what should be sold, or risk being hurt further.
Liddy was formerly chief executive of large U.S. home and auto insurer Allstate Corp.
Source
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Country's Largest Motorcycle Insurer Becomes Official Sponsor of Women's Motorcyclist Foundation
For 25 years, the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation (WMF) has been promoting the safe enjoyment of motorcycling among women. WMF has also dedicated itself to the fight against breast cancer, raising more than $2 million for Susan G. Komen for the Cure, the world's largest grassroots network of breast cancer survivors and activists. Now, Progressive has become the official insurer of WMF.
Whether it's providing motorcycle insurance or tips on safe riding, WMF and Progressive are both in the business of making sure female riders are top of mind," said Marcy Gray, motorcycle product manager at Progressive. "As a female biker, I understand the importance of organizations like the WMF, and am thrilled to provide resources to help further its mission."
About Progressive
The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, in business since 1937, is one of the country's largest auto insurance groups, the largest seller of motorcycle and personal watercraft policies, and a market leader in commercial auto insurance based on premiums written.
Source
Whether it's providing motorcycle insurance or tips on safe riding, WMF and Progressive are both in the business of making sure female riders are top of mind," said Marcy Gray, motorcycle product manager at Progressive. "As a female biker, I understand the importance of organizations like the WMF, and am thrilled to provide resources to help further its mission."
About Progressive
The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, in business since 1937, is one of the country's largest auto insurance groups, the largest seller of motorcycle and personal watercraft policies, and a market leader in commercial auto insurance based on premiums written.
Source
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Carmakers look for handout: ?Big 3' ask Congress for $50B in low-interest loans
At the close of a week that left Wall Street battered by the collapse of a major investment bank and government intervention to halt systemic bleeding in the financial markets, three of the nation's big automakers are waving white flags, too.
Top executives of the "Big Three" carmakers in Detroit -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC -- sent a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., this week asking Congress to release $25 billion in low-interest loans it authorized last year.
Congress authorized $25 billion in loans in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, which increases fuel economy standards for cars by 40 percent to at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
There has been no official action on the auto industry's request to expand the funding by another $25 billion. That remains in the balance as the nation digests a series of bailouts that began with Bear Stearns, followed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The automobile manufacturers say the funds would enable them to modernize their plants and answer consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week and Bank of America entered into a deal to acquire investment bank Merrill Lynch Inc. The U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Federal Reserve extended a loan to insurance giant AIG and unveiled a plan for the government to buy deep-discounted mortgage-backed securities that banks and other firms can't unload.
Estimated at $500 billion to $1 trillion, the bailouts are amounting to the largest in the nation's history.
Nicholas Perna, economic adviser to Webster Bank and visiting lecturer in economics at Yale University, said that if the government had allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fail, the damage could have been more severe. "Your house is going to be worth less even if you had nothing to do with it," he said of the ongoing subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis.
"Taxpayers are now in the mortgage business, the insurance business and it looks like we're going to be in the auto business," said Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist at DataCore Partners LLC in New Haven.
Car and truck manufacturers say they need the low-interest loans because their credit ratings have declined in an economy marred by job losses, record-high energy costs, falling home values and tight credit.
They have found allies in more than 70 members of Congress and 10 governors who say the health of the auto industry is critical to gaining energy dependence and creating jobs as clean car technologies are developed.
Peter Gioia, vice president and economist for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said the era of cheaper oil prices is gone, despite the current respite from declining per-barrel crude oil costs.
The survival of America's auto industry is linked to technology, he said. "What the auto industry needs to do in this country is compete with foreign manufacturers for high-mileage, reasonably priced, small cars," Gioia said.
A spokesman for Pelosi said that the $25 billion already authorized breaks down into $7 billion in loans with the rest in the form of guarantees. Congress is in discussions about releasing the funds either as part of the 2009 budget package or a second stimulus package.
Source
Top executives of the "Big Three" carmakers in Detroit -- General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC -- sent a letter to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., this week asking Congress to release $25 billion in low-interest loans it authorized last year.
Congress authorized $25 billion in loans in the 2007 Energy Independence and Security Act, which increases fuel economy standards for cars by 40 percent to at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
There has been no official action on the auto industry's request to expand the funding by another $25 billion. That remains in the balance as the nation digests a series of bailouts that began with Bear Stearns, followed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The automobile manufacturers say the funds would enable them to modernize their plants and answer consumer demand for more fuel-efficient vehicles.
The investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week and Bank of America entered into a deal to acquire investment bank Merrill Lynch Inc. The U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Federal Reserve extended a loan to insurance giant AIG and unveiled a plan for the government to buy deep-discounted mortgage-backed securities that banks and other firms can't unload.
Estimated at $500 billion to $1 trillion, the bailouts are amounting to the largest in the nation's history.
Nicholas Perna, economic adviser to Webster Bank and visiting lecturer in economics at Yale University, said that if the government had allowed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to fail, the damage could have been more severe. "Your house is going to be worth less even if you had nothing to do with it," he said of the ongoing subprime mortgage and foreclosure crisis.
"Taxpayers are now in the mortgage business, the insurance business and it looks like we're going to be in the auto business," said Donald Klepper-Smith, chief economist at DataCore Partners LLC in New Haven.
Car and truck manufacturers say they need the low-interest loans because their credit ratings have declined in an economy marred by job losses, record-high energy costs, falling home values and tight credit.
They have found allies in more than 70 members of Congress and 10 governors who say the health of the auto industry is critical to gaining energy dependence and creating jobs as clean car technologies are developed.
Peter Gioia, vice president and economist for the Connecticut Business & Industry Association, said the era of cheaper oil prices is gone, despite the current respite from declining per-barrel crude oil costs.
The survival of America's auto industry is linked to technology, he said. "What the auto industry needs to do in this country is compete with foreign manufacturers for high-mileage, reasonably priced, small cars," Gioia said.
A spokesman for Pelosi said that the $25 billion already authorized breaks down into $7 billion in loans with the rest in the form of guarantees. Congress is in discussions about releasing the funds either as part of the 2009 budget package or a second stimulus package.
Source
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)