Property and Casualty Insurance

Allstate Home Insurance

The New York State Department of Insurance (DOI) just released the 2008 Annual Ranking of Automobile Insurance Complaints. The report has been issued to help consumers find the automobile insurer that best meets their needs. You can use this report to compare the ranking of the insurance company you are doing business with now, or check another company you may be considering.

This report analyzed data collected from 2006 and 2007. It only ranks companies doing business in the State of New York. However, as New York is a heavily populated state, with both big urban centers and big suburban areas, the report can be considered a good representation of insurance company performance nationwide.

How The Ranking Works

The insurance companies are ranked on a complaint ratio. The ratio is calculated by the number of complaints upheld against companies as a percentage of their total private passenger auto business.

Insurers with the fewest upheld complaints per million dollars of premiums are shown at the top of the list. The companies with the highest ratio of complaints are ranked at the bottom.

Other Information to Consider

The ranking of an insurance company is important, but it is only one characteristic that consumers should weigh when considering doing business with an insurance company. Others are:

o Referrals from friends, relatives, neighbors or co-workers about the experiences they had with their insurance companies

o Price of the premium versus perceived value

o Search the Internet for other ideas

o Check your state’s DOI website, which may contain valuable consumer information about companies doing business in your state.

What The Ranking Does and Does Not Contain

o Private passenger insurance is the only type evaluated.

o It only includes the complaints referred by consumers to the DOI. It does not include complaints made directly to the insurance companies.

o Complaints are “upheld” when the DOI agrees with a consumer that an insurance company made an inappropriate decision.

o Information from prior years is included in the tables so consumers can see if the company has improved or gotten worse.

o All companies with at least $10 million in premium in 2006 and 2007 are included in the ranking. Insurers with less than $10 million were included if they had 10 or more complaints against them.

Top Three Most Common Complaints

1. Monetary settlements – settlement amount is too low.

2. Policy terminations

3. Promptness of insurance payments

2007 Auto Complaint Listing (ranked lowest number at top, higher as you go down)

1. Mercury General Group

2. American Express, Amex Assurance, IDS Property Casualty

3. Eveready Insurance Co.

4. Electric Insurance Group

5. Amica Mutual

6. Preferred Mutual Insurance Co.

7. United Services Automobile Assurance Group (USAA)

8. Chubb

9. Utica Mutual

10. State F*arm

11. Central Services Group, Central Insurance Group, NY Central Mutual Fire Ins.

12. Main Street America Group, National Grange Mutual

13. Progressive

14. Liberty Mutual

15. Kingsway Insurance Group, Lincoln General Ins.

16. Response Insurance Group

17. Nationwide Insurance

18. American Modern Ins. Group, American Family Home Ins.

19. St. Paul Travelers

20. Unitrin Group, Kemper

21. Erie Insurance Group

22. Berkshire Hathaway Insurance, GEICO

23. Allstate Insurance

24. The Hartford Insurance Group

25. Hanover Insurance, Citizens Ins., Allmerica Financial Alliance

26. Metropolitan Group

27. American National Financial Group

28. Allianz Insurance Group

29. GMAC, Integon, MIC P&C, National General Ins. Co.

30. Zurich Ins.Group, Foremost, Maryland Casualty

31. Hannover RE Group, Clarendon National

32. State Wide Insurance

33. White Mountains Group, OneBeacon, Esurance, Auto One Ins.

34. Countrywide Insurance

35. Safeco Insurance Group

36. American International Group (AIG)

37. Tri-State Consumer Ins. Group

38. Interboro Mutual

39. Infinity Property & Casualty

40. Long Island Insurance

Conclusion

If your auto insurance provider is not shown on this list, it could be that they don’t sell insurance in New York. Or, it could be that their number of complaints is worse than the company in the #40 position!!

Think about this statement, my friends.

The only thing that truly matters about your auto insurance is what happens when you submit a claim. Claims are about KEEPING PROMISES. When the insurance companies don’t keep their promises, the complaints pile up!

So, why would you EVER consider doing business with any insurance company LOWER than NUMBER 10 on the list?

If you are one of the unfortunate people who experience an automobile loss of any kind, you’ll need to know how to handle your insurance claim so that you maximize your recovery. I’ll even be so bold as to say this: If you do not use the strategies for submitting a claim found in my book, you will not collect all the money you are entitled to collect. You will need to know how to take control of your insurance claim, and add hundreds or even thousands more dollars to your claim settlement. For more information, check out the website shown below in the Resource Box.

Umbrella Insurance?

I was thinking of getting umbrella insurance. The problem is my auto insurance (progressive) and my home insurance (allstate) don’t have this option. Should I try and get the policy seperately from someone else or should I switch my auto or homeowners insurance?

You mean, an umbrella liability policy.

Although Progressive doesn’t write it, I was under the impression that ALLSTATE does. Did the agent flat out tell you, they don’t write umbrella policies? Or is their policy an “excess liability” policy?

MOST companies have moved from an umbrella form to an excess form. So that might be the issue. But some companies – which might include allstate – require that both your auto AND your home must be with them, in order to write the umbrella.

Progressive doesn’t write home or umbrella or excess, so you’d have to move everything with Allstate. I’d recommend that.

The alternative is getting a stand alone excess policy from a company like RLI Insurance – through a local agent. But it costs a LOT more than the excess or umbrella policy would with Allstate.

Discuss your options with the Allstate agent first. If you have to shop around to an independent, you might want to see what a Travelers agent can do for you.

Allstate Adds a villain, with car insurance as the hero of the actor Dean Winters is a portrait of Mayhem, personified the dangers daily driver are confronted.

Property And Casualty Quotes

IFA Insurance Company Launches New and Improved Auto Insurance Web Site
IFA Insurance Company has launched a new version of their award winning Auto Insurance Web site. The full-service Car Insurance web site offers consumers new and improved methods to research, purchase, and manage their Auto Insurance policy directly from the web. (PRWeb Jun 11, 2010) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/06/prweb4115484.htm

Your State’s Department Of Insurance

What happens if you have a complaint regarding your life insurance carrier, plan, or broker or just want additional support beyond what is offered by your carrier? That’s where the Department of Life Insurance comes into play. Let’s take a look at how this department functions and what questions you can ask there.

First, it’s important to understand that the Department of Insurance and their authority is administered State by State. Each State will have it’s own Department of Insurance and different rules/options apply. You can quickly find your department by typing in to Google, “Department of Insurance” followed by your State. The other point to notice is that all insurance types are grouped together under one heading. Each state treats how these are broken out a little differently but Health and Life can generally be found under a separate license (for the broker) and heading from what is traditionally termed “P&C” or Property and Casualty. The best way to think of it is that one pertains to insurance that applies to people (health, life, long term care, etc), while the other applies to insurance of property or things (and the liability that may result from them) such as car, home, etc. Let’s take a look at what the Department of Insurance governs as it pertains to life insurance.

The life insurance departments are primarily geared around three key functions. All are loosely tied to protecting the consumer but in different ways. The first deals with the insurance carriers and their business in the State. In effect, the Department of Insurance acts as the authority through which an insurance carrier operates and markets insurance in the State. Rate increase, practices, marketing etc generally flow under the auspices of the Department of Insurance for that given State. Depending on the depth of your State’s Department, you may find report cards on how the carriers rate in comparison to each other across different metrics such as complaints, satisfaction, network breadth, etc. This can be a handy tool but as a life insurance broker, we feel there’s nothing better than dealing with the carriers day in and day out to know who is worth considering. There are carriers we just won’t deal with even though they are in good standing with the DOI due to their history of being difficult to deal with. Experience as a life insurance broker with an unbiased approach can be your greatest asset.

This brings us to our second function. The Department of Insurance also acts as the authority agent for licensing insurance agents and brokers. They dictate the requirements for obtaining licenses, maintaining licenses (including ethics and continuing education requirements), and disputes or complaints. You can look up the status of a particular life insurance agent from their website as well as lodge a complaint. Since most people purchase life insurance through agents, this is an important check to make sure consumers are getting the best representation. The carrier provide the insurance product but ultimately, it’s the agent that helps guide them through the process of finding the right plan and applying for coverage…both of which are multi-faceted and complex operations.

The final piece is tied into the first two in that the core role of the Department of Insurance is to be the consumer’s advocate. This is the place to find information both general and detailed about the market, file complaints or request information regarding carriers and agents, and learn tips and insight into the very complex world of insurance of all kinds. There may be specific information on how insurance carriers will treat swine flu vaccinations or information pertaining to new flood insurance requirements. Each State’s legislature is constantly passing new laws and bills that govern the way insurance functions in that particular State. The Department of Insurance is the main point of dissemination for how these bills will affect the residents of that State as it pertains to insurance. There can be general news alerts as to fraud or scams affecting the insurance market. There may even be specific information for Seniors regarding Medigap insurance (although a Federal program) or more complex life insurance options such as annuities and whole life.

The Department of Insurance is a valuable resource to help protect consumers and insure the proper functioning of the insurance market in each State.

State Farm Home Insurance
neighbors tree fell during storm causing damage to my home, should he pay?

my insurance company State Farm is saying that because I did not have flood insurance, that I am not covered. But it was the tree that fell that created the flood. And I am covered for trees falling on the property
and the dammage it caused to my home. State Farm has Not Been There Like A Good Neighbor.

There is only one way that the neighbor can be forced to pay. If the tree was dead or unhealthy and it was known by him and you before it was blown over in the storm. And, you also would have had to complain about it to city officials so they would be aware. Other than that, if the tree was healthy, no he is not responsible for the simple reason that it was “an Act of God” and that’s a legitimate cause and statement that is in the code book. Acts of God do not make the homeowner responsible for damage or injury incured during such an event….It would be no different than if a bolt of lightning struck and broke the top off and it crashed onto your house. It is all the same thing… An Act Of God! You need to get on your insurance company to stand by their coverage that is where the big problem lies.

…Billy Ray

(State Farm Auto Insurance) Get The *CHEAPEST* Car Insurance

What State Farm Florida Policyholders are Doing Today – Before Their Policy is Cancelled

State Farm Florida announced in January that it is leaving the Florida Property And Casualty Insurance Market. The only items yet to be determined are the details of the withdrawal plan and the timing around when the policy cancellations will begin.

Front and center are the estimated 700,000 State Farm Florida home insurance policies that are expected to be cancelled over a two year period – that’s over 29,000 policies that will be cancelled each and every month for two years. No matter how you look at it, this is probably the most significant shock and disruption to the Florida home insurance market in history – and it could not be happening at a worse time.

For starters, many of those State Farm Florida home insurance cancellations will begin at almost the exact same time that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation will begin raising its rates in 2010 as required by state law.

Although dumping on big insurance in Florida has become one of our favorite things to do, here are some little known facts that won’t ever make the coverage of State Farm Florida’s planned withdrawal from the state:

State Farm Florida policyholders love this company, its customer service, the multiline discounts, and the overall speed at which the company responded to the Florida hurricanes of 2004/2005.

When State Farm Florida policyholders are asked to rate their satisfaction with State Farm on a scale of “1-10″ many give them a satisfaction rating of “10″ even if their policy is being dropped by the company!

Although State Farm Florida’s 47% rate increase was turned down prior to their withdrawal announcement, most of the data that we are collecting says that the annual premiums State Farm Florida policyholders are paying are among the lowest in Florida – due in part to the multi-line discounts for auto, home, and life along with major wind mitigation credits that many customers are receiving.

None of the above changes the fact that State Farm Florida is leaving the Florida home insurance market. Given this reality here are some things that you need to be aware of if you are a customer of State Farm Florida and you want to take action in response to this announcement.

First you need to realize that your State Farm Florida Insurance Agent is not currently allowed to present you with any other Florida home insurance companies for you to consider except for Florida’s state run insurance company of last resort – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation – which by its own admission is currently underfunded and overly dependent on borrowing in unfriendly bond markets to pay major hurricane claims.

As you look for companies to replace your State Farm Florida home insurance policy, many of you will be facing increases that range from 70% to over 200% on your annual premium.

Watch for dramatic differences as you move to a new Florida homeowners insurance company – both in terms of the size of the financial surplus it has available to pay your claim and in the headcount it has available for customer service and claims processing. State Farm Florida has more surplus available to pay claims than most of the 40 companies that are still writing new Florida home insurance business combined!

Much of the advice that you’ve received as a State Farm Florida policyholder has been that you should not take any action now and that you should wait for your Florida home insurance cancellation notice. If you take that advice you could be very sorry in Florida’s dysfunctional home insurance market:

For starters, you’ve heard about many Florida home insurance companies that want to pick up your State Farm Florida home insurance policy. Don’t assume that there will be plenty of policies with a new company to go around when your State Farm Florida policy is cancelled.

Some of the companies that initially stated their interest in picking up State Farm Florida policies have tightened up their underwriting guidelines and become more selective about the kind of homes they will accept. Since the State Farm Florida exit announcement, two companies that had expressed interest in taking on some of the policies have had their licenses temporarily suspended.

Many of the State Farm Florida policies being cancelled are homes that were built between 1950 and 1981 – prior to the higher wind standards in the Florida Building Code improvements made in the 1990′s – not exactly the kind of homes that Florida home insurance companies are going to be anxious to cover.

Because of the financial shortfalls at both Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, if there is a major Florida hurricane during the 2009 season, don’t expect any companies to be willing to pick up your policy when State Farm Florida cancels it starting in 2010.

Here’s what you should do right now if you are a State Farm Florida home insurance policyholder:

Don’t wait for your cancellation notice – start shopping for a new company right now!

Contact multiple Florida independent insurance agents who can present you with multiple home insurance companies and try to find a new policy before the 2009 hurricane season starts on June 1st.

Do in depth research on all of the Florida home insurance companies you are considering. If you receive a letter from a company offering to pick up your policy, don’t accept their offer until you have thoroughly investigated them.

Don’t accept your State Farm Florida home insurance policy being moved into Citizens Property Insurance Corporation unless you have personally done the research and confirmed that there aren’t any private Florida home insurance companies who want to cover your home.

Finally, as someone who knows the score in the Florida homeowners insurance market, you know that finding a new company in Florida has never been easy – from the time of Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and continuing through to today.

That’s why you have to start shopping for a new policy now. Don’t wait until your State Farm Florida policy is cancelled. If you do, you’ll have the unpleasant experience of scrambling and competing with 29,000 other State Farm policyholders who will be looking for a new Florida home insurance policy at the exact same time that you are.

It’s a game of musical chairs that you have to avoid at all costs!

Property Insurance Quote

How to Examine Your Free Car Insurance Quote

It pays to get a free car insurance quote but you have to make sure that you know what you’re looking at before you buy. Whether you shop online or face to face with a representative, getting the best premium does not always mean you got the best price. If that seems a bit odd, it isn’t. Many times companies and representatives use standard coverage when they quote auto insurance. Their standard coverage isn’t necessarily the same as everyone else’s.

When you request a free car insurance quote, whether it’s online or in person you need to be very specific about what you want the representative to quote. If you presently carry single limit liability coverage of $300,000 and someone quotes split limit coverage of 50/100/20 you aren’t comparing the same thing.

Split limit coverage has three numbers. The numbers are in thousands. The first number is the maximum amount that they’ll pay for each person injured in an accident. The second number, the 100 is this case, is the total amount they pay for bodily injury and the third number the 20 is the amount that the company pays for property damage that you caused to another. The single limit is the total that the company pays for property damage and bodily injury. If one person is injured and there’s no property damage, which could happen if you hit a pedestrian, then they would have access to the full $300,000. In split limit the maximum the company pays one injured party is only $50,000 in this scenario. You easily see the difference. What if you have a split limit of 300/300/100 and someone tries to sell you a single limit of 300,000? The split limit is better because you have $100,000 more insurance. It is just for property damage, but it doesn’t come off the $300,000 that you have for bodily injury.

Make certain that the uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage is equal for all free car insurance quotes. You and your passengers receive this money if someone that doesn’t have insurance hits you.

The comp (comprehensive) and collision section is easier to compare. The deductibles must be the same for both sections or you aren’t comparing the same thing. If you have a lower deductible on the policy you carry and someone quotes a lower price for insurance, but the deductible is higher, it may not be a bargain. The higher the deductible goes, the lower the cost of the insurance becomes. Your present company also lowers its price as the deductible increases, and they actually could be lower than the free car insurance quote you just received.

Check whether there extra coverages on your policy that aren’t included in the free car insurance quote. Towing and car rental are two that appear frequently. These items cost premium dollars and if omitted, and of course bring the price lower.

If a representative suggests you adjust your coverage and it sounds like a great idea, get a new quote from the competitors, including your own company.

The most important thing when you get a free car insurance quote is to start soon enough so you can apply for coverage a month before your policy premium comes due. This gives the new company time to evaluate your driving record and make decisions on the real cost of the policy and whether they want you as their customer. If the rate increased after underwriting, you still have time to cancel the new policy without charge and keep your old one.

Constitutional Court sets date for McBride hearing
The Constitutional Court will hear an application by the Citizen newspaper in May on whether it is defamatory to refer to Robert McBride’s apartheid-era crimes.