CUSTOMERS PAY OVER ODDS BY DIRECT DEBIT ; Car Insurance Firms Hit Those Spreading Cost
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
DRIVERS could be paying up to 37 per cent over the odds for their car insurance by electing to pay by Direct Debit, it was claimed yesterday.Research by independent financial comparison website MoneyExpert.com found that an average fully comprehensive premium of pounds 762 could be bumped up to as much as pounds 1044 by spreading payments.Analysis also revealed that only 14 per cent of the 185 fully comprehensive motor insurance policies on the market do not charge extra for paying by Direct Debit....
DMV Giving Notice to Motorists With Lapsed Policies
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
MOTORISTS who thought they could pull a fast one by getting insurance to register their car and then canceling it better put the brakes on that strategy. A new law requires insurers to provide electronic notification to the state Department of Motor Vehicles when customers cancel their insurance. Starting today, the DMV plans to start sending notices to motorists who have let their insurance lapse....
State Auto Selects TeaLeaf to Ensure Optimal Agent Portal Usability and Effectiveness
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- TeaLeaf, the leader in Customer Experience Management, today announced that the State Auto Insurance Companies, a leading property and casualty insurance group, are using TeaLeaf CX solutions to diagnose and proactively respond to Web customer experience issues that may arise as agents are transacting on their business-to-business Web portal. By capturing and analyzing each agent's online session interactions on a 24/7 basis, TeaLeaf enables State Auto to effectively detect and diagnose obstacles that can impact agency sales and service.State Auto turned to TeaLeaf to enable efficient and seamless online interactions through superior web visibility....
Driving Without a Net
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
CALIFORNIA is a land of motorists, but more than 3.4 million people are driving illegally by not carrying auto insurance, despite a state program that offers insurance for under $400 a year. Only some 26,000 drivers have signed up for the low-cost program, whose roadblocks include minimal publicity, low commissions and a lack of interest or knowledge among some insurance agents. "The numbers are a little disappointing....
Rising Car Insurance
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
AVERAGE car insurance premiums have crept up this year and are set to continue rising.The average premium rose from pounds 462 in January to pounds 466 in July, figures from Sainsbury's Bank showed.Sainsbury's Bank estimates it costs around pounds 2,202 a year to keep a car on the road, with insurance the biggest expense after petrol....
Video From Medialink: Why You May Need Gap Insurance
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Newswire/ -- People carry auto insurance, in part, to protect themselves if their car is stolen or if it's damaged or destroyed in an accident. But, sometimes basic insurance coverage isn't enough and you may need something called "gap insurance."Auto insurance covers you for the actual cash value of your car - not how much money you actually owe the bank that loaned you the money to buy it....
Drivers 'Pay Over Odds'
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Motorists could be paying up to 37% over the odds for their car insurance by electing to pay by direct debit, it was claimed yesterday. Research by independent financial comparison website MoneyExpert.com found that an average fully comprehensive premium of pounds 762 could be bumped up to as much as pounds 1,044 for those deciding to spread payments by direct debit.(c) 2006 The Journal - Newcastle-upon-Tyne....
Insurance Going Up
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Average car insurance premiums have crept up this year and are set to continue rising, it was revealed today. The average premium rose from pounds 462.15 in January to pounds 466.63 in July, figures from Sainsbury's Bank showed. The average premium for men is now pounds 492.77 and for women it is pounds 428.92....
MONEY: Insurers Back in the Driving Seat ; Claims Inflation is Outstripping Premium Increases, As One Company Tries to Ensure the Insurance Business is Profitable. Jeremy Gates Reports
Monday, October 02, 2006
WHEN Norwich Union announced a big hike in motor insurance premiums - from 16% to 40%, depending on a driver's claims history - it entered territory where rivals have long feared to tread. There was little surprise, then, when Patrick Snowball, head of UK operations at Aviva, which owns Norwich Union, announced: "We are determined to lead the market on this and we would expect some sensible discipline in the market. "The pendulum has swung too far and rates have been too low....
GEICO Motorcycle to Sponsor Children's Charity Motorcycle Rally and Family Fun Day
Sunday, October 01, 2006
CHEVY CHASE, Md., Sept. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- It's time to rev up those engines and polish your chrome! GEICO Motorcycle, along with PNC Bank and PricewaterhouseCoopers, will host a motorcycle rally and family fun day to benefit two local children's charities, Children's Hospital and NIH Children's Charities in the Washington area.Proceeds from Saturday's rally will benefit the Bikes for Tykes charities, Children's Hospital and NIH Children's Charities and Children's Hospital of the King's Daughters (CHKD)....
We Trade in Free Banking to Pay for the Privilege of Perks We Don't Need ; Millions of Us Now Find Ourselves Holding Fee-Charging 'Packaged' Current Accounts. But Who Benefits?
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Not all packages are worth unwrapping. The perils of packaged, or fee-charging, current accounts have long been documented in The Independent on Sunday Money section. "With monthly fees as high as pounds 25 adding up to an annual fee of pounds 300, customers have to make sure they use the special offers and deals," says Sean Gardner of price-comparison website moneyexpert.com....
Low-Cost Insurance Programs in Slow Lane
Sunday, October 01, 2006
SMALL commissions paid to insurance agents are slowing the growth of the low-cost auto insurance program. The program is administered by the not-for-profit California Automobile Assigned Risk Program. Before the program was expanded this year, the assigned risk program began notifying insurance agents who offer high-risk insurance about the requirement to offer low-cost insurance, according to Karen Borawski, administrative manager for the assigned risk program....
Insurance.Com Marks Another Milestone With 350,000 Insurance Policies Sold
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Ohio-based insurance agency Insurance.com announced another important milestone in the history of the company."This summer marked the sale of our 350,000th policy sold since we launched our first online auto insurance comparison shopping platform in June 2001," announced Dave Roush, CEO of Insurance.com. "This latest sales figure, just a few months after our previous milestone, is a clear indication of how consumers are increasingly using the internet to shop for important products such as auto insurance."...
ASSURANCEAMERICA CORPORATION Announces August '06 Results Showing Continuing Profit Growth
Friday, September 29, 2006
Atlanta based ASSURANCEAMERICA CORPORATION (OTC BB: ASAM), today announced its unaudited financial results for August 2006 and the eight Revenues for the month of August 2006 increased 29% to $4.5 million,...
Sep 27, 04:34 PM: 21st Century Insurance Group Announces 2006 Earnings Call
Friday, September 29, 2006
21st Century Insurance Group (NYSE:TW) will hold an earnings teleconference for investors on Thursday, November 2, 2006 at 11:00 a.m. EST.Dial in number -- 1-800-599-9795Founded in 1958, 21st Century Insurance Group is a direct-to-consumer provider of personal auto insurance....
Drivers' Invalid Policies ; MONEY MAIL
Friday, September 29, 2006
DRIVERS who have taken out policies from a company called Double Easy Brokers are being told to arrange new car insurance. City watchdog the Financial Services Authority (FSA) warns that Double Easy Brokers, which traded as Easybrokers, was not authorised and had been offering invalid motor insurance policies. But because the firm was not authorised consumers will not be able to reclaim premiums from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the Financial Ombudsman Scheme....
VIRGINIA / Auto-Insurance Rates Fall; Many Factors Cited
Friday, September 29, 2006
NORFOLK - Some of the top auto insurers in the nation are reducing rates in Virginia.But companies are also better able to figure out who deserves a lower rate, said Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the industry- sponsored Insurance Information Institute. Last week, State Farm reduced its auto rates in Virginia by an average of 5 percent....
RECORD Money: DRIVING A BARGAIN ; Cut the Cost of Motoring By Shopping Around for Best Deals
Friday, September 29, 2006
THERE has been a lot of bad news for car owners recently and the cost of running and servicing a vehicle has never been higher.Sainsbury's Bank calculates the cost of running the average car has risen by more than seven per cent - from pounds 2053 to pounds 2202 - in the past year, mainly due to increasing petrol prices.And leading insurer Norwich Union has announced that drivers could face premium hikes of up to 40 per cent....
The Dominion Post, Morgantown, W.Va., Bob Hertzel Column: Finally, Some Buzz Around Scarlet Knights
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Sep. 26--IT PROBABLY IS nothing more than In those three words, he pretty much summed up everything there was to know about Rutgers football, which was nothing. Rutgers is the state university of New Jersey, a state known for such things as the highest cost of living in the United States, the highest cost of auto insurance, the highest property tax and the lowest football rating....
Viewpoints Longer Time is Not the Answer
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
The call by car insurers, road safety people and others to raise the minimum driving age to 18 leaves me astounded. In my opinion this will amount to this incompetent, interfering Government setting up another department to establish work for more civil servants in an attempt to justify their existence. The present driving test sets what is the minimum standard of driving competence....
Insider Info ; The Stories Behind the Stories
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Excellent Tunnel VisionThe Big Dig tunnel closings have been a headache for airport travelers and people who work along the South Boston waterfront, but it's been an apparent boon to at least one local business.Boston Mayor Tom Menino may not venture to Quincy very often, and now we might have a reason why.The mayor on Thursday spoke to a group of Boston high school students at State Street Corp.'s North Quincy campus, where about 100 of them had worked as interns this summer....
GEICO's Jon Coachman Named IASIU Investigator of the Year
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
HOUSTON, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ -- GEICO's Jon Coachman, a special investigator in Houston, was named 2006 Investigator of the Year by IASIU (International Association of Special Investigation Units) for his contributions to GEICO and to the insurance industry as a whole.Coachman received this prestigious award following his investigation that helped close down an auto insurance fraud ring in Houston. While researching medical claims from a local clinic, he discovered falsified medical information, fabricated medical reports, questionable accidents, and fraudulent billing of auto insurers....
CIS Blunder Leaves Motorists Uncovered - Report
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
The insurance arm of the Co-operative movement CIS has admitted to experiencing a "technical problem" that has left thousands of its motor policy holders technically uncovered and driving illegally.According to This is Money quoting the BBC as its source, the CIS made the administrative foul-up when it send out letters to around 2,000 policy holders telling them that their car insurance would be automatically renewed. Apparently CIS is now writing to the affected customers to inform them of the problem and the need for them to get in contact with the insurer to rectify the issue....
Money People: CASH CLINIC
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Q: I HAVE often wondered what happened to contributions I made to pension schemes for short periods years ago. Or you can call 0845 02 537 or apply online www.thepensionservice.gov.uk IF you bought car insurance from Easybrokers, you need to get new cover urgently....
Sep 21, 2006 10:44AM -- Fitch Affirms Progressive's Ratings
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Fitch Ratings has affirmed the 'AA-' Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and 'A+' senior debt ratings of The Progressive Corporation (Progressive; NYSE:PGR). In addition, Fitch has assigned 10 IFS ratings to capture all pooled and reinsured members of Drive Insurance Holdings, Progressive Direct Holdings, and Progressive Commercial Holdings. The ratings and Rating Outlook reflect Progressive's excellent operating performance, pricing and underwriting expertise, personal auto insurance franchise, modest catastrophe risk, conservative investment allocation, and good reserve adequacy....