Get Out Of Debt

This month, it’s been slightly disconcerting to see stories about Rep. Michele Bachman and a New York rabbi agree the earthquake that hit the East Coast was the work of the Old Testament God. The rabbi claimed God was upset that New York had legalized same sex marriage. Bachman said God was warning Washington politicians to cut back on spending. Frankly, the idea a candidate for the President of our great nation believes she has a hotline to God should ensure mental health treatment is available to all those who have so far voted for her. The rabbi can presumably count on his flock for continued support. This year has seen a remarkable number of natural disasters and attributing them to divine intervention is unhelpful.

That said, one of the consequences of all this disaster has been a rise in the premium rates for insuring property. Private insurers have already shown themselves unwilling to continue insuring against flooding, leaving it to the federal and state programs. With the increase in the number and severity of hurricanes and tornadoes, rates have also begun to rise in the states most at risk. As weather events grow more extreme, the ground has now started to show signs of damage. Geology used to be one of these sciences no one was interested in. Now experts are in demand to explain why long periods of drought followed by intense periods of heavy rain can cause mudslides. The science of the sinkhole is also developing rapidly in states like Florida. For those of you who live on solid ground without the risk of earthquakes or the less dramatic collapses, it may seem unlikely the ground can literally just disappear into a hole. Yet, in the space of an hour, a patch of ground can subside or open into a fissure. Houses built on this ground can be wrecked without the possibility of rebuilding.

It’s a standard term of mortgages that the owners carry a valid policy of insurance on the property. The lenders want reassurance the security for the loan is protected from all the usual forms of damage. Until a few years ago, this was not such a burden but, first the withdrawal of flood protection, and now the limitation of wind damage, is making life increasingly difficult for the home owner. Mortgage lenders are not the most forgiving of people. If owners fail to put a valid home insurance policy in place, the lenders buy cover at whatever rate they can find and add the premium, plus an administrative fee plus interest to the capital of the loan. This has produced some spectacular growth in the amount alleged to be owed on some mortgages. Take the cost of sinkhole insurance in Florida as an example of the problem. Private insurers don’t want to insure so Florida created the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Until this year, it could not increase the premium by more than 10% a year. Now we see some counties where the risk of subsidence is the highest being asking to pay more than 2000% increases. Not surprisingly, those holding home insurance policies have said they can no longer afford the rates. Over time, this will force the mortgage lenders to repossess for default – not the most desirable of outcomes.

The world is full of people who have no respect for you or your property. Although crimes of violence have been falling, it’s still dangerous to walk alone at night in some neighborhoods. It’s the same with vehicles. Some were clearly designed with thieves in mind. This can be something red with jaw-dropping acceleration – a vehicle much prized by the young driver who wants a thrill and enjoys racing with local law enforcement officers. Or it can be a high-end vehicle on a list given to professional thieves who either want to export the car or break it for parts. Or it can just be simple to steal and so the easiest way to get home after a night drinking at a local bar. Naturally, the manufacturers of the expensive hardware also spend a lot of money on security. In theory this makes it difficult for the thieves to drive it away. Even if they succeed, there are GPS transmitters to help law enforcement officers track its movements. Many such vehicles are either simply damaged by unsuccessful thieves, or recovered still in one piece

Car theft rates are often tied to ZIP codes. When a town or neighborhood sees an increase in vehicle-related offenses, it’s often a signal of economic and social decline. If funding policies fail to address the causes of this decline, the whole area can rapidly go downhill with all those who can afford it moving out and businesses closing down. A vicious circle then chases the neighborhood down to the bottom. This is one of the reasons why insurers take ZIP codes into account. It’s a fact of life there are more claims from these areas.

This month has seen the release of two reports on vehicle theft rates by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) and the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). They give us a picture of theft rates falling nationally as the design of security systems improves, but with the same areas reporting stubbornly high numbers. It seems there’s local pride in being able to steal more vehicles than anywhere else. The HLDI identifies the Cadillac Escalade as the most stolen brand. The NICB decides the winner is the 1994 Honda Accord. The reason for the difference is the way in which the two national bureaus collect their data. The NICB relies on the police to collate all the reports of vehicles stolen, whereas the HLDI relies on claims data supplied by the insurance industry. In theory, the numbers should tally and produce the same winning brand. After all, it’s a requirement of making a claim that the insured should report the vehicle stolen. But not all the vehicles reported stolen are then the subject of an insurance claim – this requires a comprehensive policy and many people now drive with only a liability policy, particularly when the vehicle is older and not expensive to replace. So look at the lists of the most easily stolen vehicles before you buy. When the car insurance quotes come in, you will save money. If you do buy a vehicle easily stolen, fit anti-theft devices and then get a new set of car insurance quotes to see how much you can save.

In the good old days before there were organized police forces, it was left to a few individuals to enforce the law. When they proved inadequate, there were feuds and vigilante action by the victims. Obviously, this fighting disturbed everyone, so states slowly got into the law enforcement business, recruiting and training people to keep the peace and identify criminals. Today, we rely on state and federal policing agencies, supported by CSI and other forensic agencies. But there’s been a fundamental and unchanging truth from the early days. More people avoid detection and profit from their crimes than are caught. That’s why the courts are forced to use deterrent sentencing. What judges are saying to potential criminals is there will be long periods of imprisonment if they are caught. The irony is that, if people were sure they would be caught, lighter punishments would be sufficient. It would cost us less to keep all these people in jail. Our society would be safer.

So why is it so difficult to detect fraud? Surely dishonesty should be obvious to an experienced insurance company? Well, sadly, detecting which claims are fraudulent is not easy. Let’s take a simple question. Both drivers involved admit there was an accident. One driver submits a medical report showing neck injuries. On what basis should the insurer challenge the medical report? Well, detailed investigation might show this particular clinic advertises for people to report accidents to them. Or this clinic may consistently be receiving business through referral networks. Either way, the clinic is found to specialize in the treatment of traffic accident injuries. This could make them highly skillful and deserving professional respect, or it could suggest the clinic exaggerates the injuries for its own profit when it bills for treatment, paying commission to referral agents and passing only some of the benefit on to “patients” who get settlements for their injuries. Is an insurer supposed to get a second opinion from an independent doctor on every patient from suspect clinics? Or suppose someone wants to get out of an auto loan so stages a small accident and pays a repair shop to set off the air bags and certify more serious damage so the vehicle will be totaled. If this is a one-off event and there’s no pattern to suggest this repair shop is dishonest, why should this particular claim set off alarm bells?

There’s no doubt the level of fraud has been at epidemic levels for a decade and more. Several billion dollars a year are being sucked out of insurance companies by criminals. In turn, all these losses are passed on to us in higher car insurance rates. This makes insurance fraud a political issue, albeit mainly in the no-fault states where the levels of dishonesty seem to be higher. Although there’s a National Insurance Crime Bureau established with the task of coordinating the fight against fraud, there’s little sign of success. It will take a major cultural change to deter people from this type of crime when the chances of being caught are so low. Even when staffing levels are improved by the insurers and the law enforcement agencies, there’s little observed change in behavior. The fraudulent claims keep coming in and the auto insurance quotes keep rising.

When it comes to getting auto insurance quotes for a teen driver most people will definitely be displeased by the fact that cheap and teen auto insurance quotes are considered as antonyms in the car insurance industry. Drivers younger than 25 years old tend to get the highest auto insurance quotes possible and often end up paying twice the amount a typical 40-year-old would pay for his car. Why is that so? And what can be done to give a young driver an opportunity to get affordable auto insurance that wouldn’t be a burden to his or his parents’ budget?

First of all, let’s look at the causes behind such an apparent injustice that makes young drivers pay the highest insurance rates possible. Car insurance providers base the calculation of their auto insurance quotes on a precise assessment of how it is likely for the driver to end up in an accident and file a claim. From this point of view teen drivers are the most risky group because they tend to produce more claims than any other age group and have the most serious accidents because of their risk taking behavior. The statistics prove it and show that teens produce more accidents with more damage in all states. That’s why insurance companies give teens the highest rates possible. Of course, not all teens are bad drivers. But since there are more inexperienced car owners that produce crashes in this group everyone making part of it ends up paying more for insuring their vehicle.

Now, what can you do to avoid having higher auto insurance quotes when you are a teen? There are several strategies that can help you reduce your insurance costs and you can actually combine them in order to raise the chance of getting an affordable policy. Consider the following options:

Ask your parents to include you into their policy

Being a written driver with your parents, who usually have lower premiums will reduce your insurance rates as well. Sure it will raise their premiums a bit but it will still be more affordable than having separate policies. The downside of this option is that you won’t be able to accumulate your own no-claims discount while being a written driver. And if you are a good driver with no insurance claims that sure is disappointing.

Be a good student at school or college

If you have the potential of getting good grades at school or college now you have another reason for doing it. Most insurance providers offer substantial discounts to students with an average of B and higher. You will be required to provide a copy of your grade report periodically but this paperwork will give you lower auto insurance quotes, so it’s really worth it.

Shop around

Shopping around is the easiest thing you can do with all those sites letting you compare auto insurance quotes online. It takes only a couple of minutes and you will get all the information you need to buy the right policy from the right provider. Just make sure you know exactly what coverage types you want to get before shopping around. Define your needs first and then get busy comparing auto insurance quotes.

The insurance industry is one of the most profitable and investors, not surprisingly, want to see those dividends continue. This is not to suggest the insurers were ever charitable in their intentions. Insurance has always been a business in the real sense of the word. The result is the wording of the policies allows the claims adjusters some wriggle room when it comes to deciding which claims to honor. In another article on this site, we note the insurers have grown increasingly reluctant to cover flooding. Most of the coastal areas where high tides combined with strong winds can overcome sea defenses, and all areas formally designated flood plains, are now no-go for private insurers. Yet, you will still see standard terms for wind and water damage. This creates the impression you have some protection while allowing the insurers to argue they are not liable at all should you claim or only liable for a small percentage of your losses.

This is all smoke-and-mirrors. You can see a listing of perils covered which will include wind damage but, when you look at the clause on deductibles, you will probably find there’s a mandatory hurricane deduction. Unlike the auto insurance policies, this is not a fixed amount. These deductibles are a percentage of the value of your home and some insurers pitch the deductible up to 5% of your home’s value, e.g. $15,000 if your value is $300,000. For homeowners to have to find 5% as a lump sum to trigger the payment of the rest of the claim can be a major financial strain.

Now let’s comes to the theme of this article. One of the reasons why the claims process can slow down to a snail’s pace is disagreements over the difference between wind damage and water damage. The majority of policies exclude or restrict water damage. So, as an example, suppose a strong gust of wind removes the roof from your home. That’s clearly wind damage and the cost of rebuilding will usually be covered. Why “usually”? When the wind exposes the timber frame of your home, it can get wet and this can cause the frame to warp. Now the question is whether replacing the frame is responding to the damage by the wind or damage caused by the subsequent rain. You argue that the timber would not have gotten wet had the roof not blown off, so the main cause is the wind. The insurer argues the wind did not cause the timber to twist out of shape. That was the rain.

It would be good if all such arguments could be quickly resolved but, after Katrina, insurers are more defensive faced with large weather events. Worse, they have also been reducing the number of claims adjusters and everything now takes longer. This puts a heavy burden on home insurance policyholders. You’re often forced to take emergency measures to protect your property, e.g. when the roof blows off. Keep a detailed photographic record to show the before and after situation, keep all the invoices and bills for the materials and labor, and make sure you keep a constant stream of updating messages going to the home insurancecompany. It must always have the chance to monitor this work.