For many drivers, trying to figure out where auto insurance premiums are headed is like trying to catch butterflies: just when you get close, they fly off in another direction.

Many indicators that analysts typically use to forecast premiums have been in flux. Highway miles driven nationally have risenbut not as much as last year, and the millions of unemployed drivers are using their cars less than ever. The number of fatal accidents has steadily fallen, but the cost of medical care and car repairs has risen. Auto insurance-related fraud has made a comeback, but tort reform in some states has reduced the number of legal settlements stemming from accidents.

“There isn’t a nice clean trend,” said Brian Sullivan, editor of the Auto Insurance Report newsletter. “Instead, you have a churning sea,and companies have no idea what to do with it.”

Statistics on premiums are slow to be collected, which makes forecasting difficult. Through 2009, the average amount that families spent on auto insurance fell for five consecutive years, but rates in some parts of the country started to inch up in 2010.

Given the likelihood that rates will rise furtherin some regions, analysts say consumers should review policies to seek ways to offset any increases. A recent survey by Consumer Reports, for example, indicated that 14 percent of subscribers would have saved money if they had switched insurers.

But experiences vary widely. Unlike, say, the price of new cars, insurance premiums are based largely on the driving habits, financial wherewithal and the value of the car. States also regulate premiums, so rates differ widely among and within states. Drivers who live in areas where the car theft rate is high are likely to pay more than those who live in safer neighborhoods.

Kirstie Hague, who moderates forums at Edmunds.com, said that drivers who post online comments about their auto insurance premiums tend to say they are paying more for insurance these days, though a handful also say they have received deep discounts of late. Some drivers also complain that their rates went up with no warning or explanation from insurers.Though she considers the $85 a month she pays to insure her 2003 Infiniti G35 expensive, Ms. Hague has stuck with State Farm because she likes how the company has handled her claims.

“I’ve had this agent for 20 years,and I’m comfortable with him,” she said.

Her experience is not unusual. Ac- cording to Jeremy Bowler, an analyst at J. D. Power & Associates, 9 out of 10 customers renew their existing policies. Many consumers, he said, are willing to pay more for their coverage if they believe they are getting adequate service. Still, the economic downturn has had a notable impact on drivers, especially those who have lost jobs, said Robert P. Hartwig, president and chief economist of the Insurance Information Institute.

“The frequency of accidents has also fallen because people cut down on vacations, going out less to the mall and commuting less,” Mr. Hartwig said. Of course, “as soon as the economy recovers, people will get back in their cars.”

Still, consumers who are driving less can inquire about discounts, and they can ask about technology that lets in- surers monitor the miles they drive, a pay-as-you go insurance plan offered by Progressiveand other insurers.

Drivers are holding onto cars longer, and older cars cost less to insure. Over the last year, the average age of cars on the road rose by 4.5 months, to 64 months, according to R.L. Polk & Com- pany, which compiles automotive data.

Some drivers drop collision coverage because the cost of fixing old cars often exceeds their value. John Swigart, chief marketing officer of eSurance, said that since the economic downturn,the number of policyholders who carried only liability coverage had jumped 10 percent. “You can chop off 30 to 40 percent of your premiums by not covering your car when it gets damaged,” he said.

In addition to the growing number of older cars on the road, the percentage of uninsured drivers rose to 18.1 percent in 2009, from 17.4 percent a year earlier, according to CNW Research. The economy is a big reason: a percentage point increase in the unemployment rate leads to a rise of 0.75 percentage point in the number of uninsured drivers, said Michael McShane, a risk management professor at Old Dominion University.

The rise in the number of uninsured drivers has prompted more consumers to buy uninsured or underinsured mo- torist insurance, which covers medical costs and car repairs if the policyholder is struck by someone without coverage.

Another result of the economic downturn, analysts say, is that companies are increasingly using so-called insurance credit scores to help them determine a driver’s potential risk. These scores are determined using a blend of more than two dozen indicators, including financial credit scores — and for many people, these have dropped.

“Credit scores are a very large part of how they determine your credit-based insurance score and your rates,” said Jeff Blyskal, a senior editor at Consumer Reports, who said consumers should ask to be rescored by their insurers every year. “You’re talking about thousands of dollars of difference from the top to the bottom.”

- nytimes.com -

You’ve spent years and a lot of money on your collection – but have you thought about insurance? What happens if something happens to your collection? What happens if a natural disaster strikes, will your insurance cover the loss of a collection? What about a simple case of clumsiness? Will your current insurance cover accidental breakage of a single piece or two?

Unfortunately the answer is not always good news. Yes, if you have home owners insurance your collection will most likely be partially covered, but it could be lumped in with other personal property, such as furniture, lamps. Dan Ramsey of IIAOK, says to ask yourself “Do I own or collect anything that is unusual, of extraordinary value, or special interest? If the answer to this question is “yes”, more than likely you need to discuss this matter with your insurance agent.”

Talk to your homeowners insurance agent to find out if a special rider or separate insurance policy can be written for your collection. Or you might want to do it through an insurance company that deals specifically with collectors.

Separate Policy with Homeowners Insurance Company

For several years I had a separate insurance policy (connected to homeowners insurance) to cover a glass ornament collection. The policy had a lower deductible limit than homeowners policy, but to be honest it was a bit of hassle keeping up with the listing of each separate item when it was purchased. I felt the price was reasonable, winding up to be about the price of one ornament.

Policy with Specialist Company

Another insurance option is completely separated from the homeowners or rental policy one might have. The policy is purchased from an insurance agency that specializes with antique and collectibles. The policies will cover your collections, be it stamps, coins, pottery or even muscle cars. Since the agencies are set up to insure antiques and collectibles, a policy holder will be dealing with a knowledgeable person when and if a claim is made.

Prices for this type of insurance ranges from $48. to $75. per $10,000, a small price to pay for piece of mind.

Two well-known companies that insure collections are: American Collectors Insurance and Collectibles Insurance Services, LLC. The companies offer similar products from different insurance companies. The few small differences in the policies will help you make the decision on which one is the best fit for you and your collection.

The most important differences appear to be rates, claims on breakage/theft of multi-piece or pair items and deductibles.

- about.com -

Many health insurance providers exclude coverage for any “out of the norm” activities they deem to be too risky. If you plan on engaging in any activities which could potentially be hazardous, you should check your policy to see if coverage applies. If the activity is excluded, you need adventure insurance.

Here are some potential activities you should always verify health coverage for:

* Hang gliding- a glider you hang from
* Rock Climbing- you are what you climb
* Skydiving- your best bird imitation
* SCUBA diving- like sky diving except lower
* Auto Racing- should only be done on closed courses
* Para-sailing- makes a great picture for this year’s holiday card
* Spelunking- aka. cave exploration
* Bungee or Base Jumping- aka. adrenaline overload.

You already know if you have some daredevil in you, so don’t let your lack of preparation opt you out of the experience of a lifetime. Get adventure insurance and get living.

- travelinsurance.org -

Business insurance companies create some of the most comprehensive websites on the internet in terms of information for customers and potential customers. Bigger is not always better, but by reviewing some of the largest insurers’ websites you can find information about programs and specialties offered by each company and get a sense of what business insurance is available for your business.

American International Group

American International Group, or AIG, is the largest property and casualty insurer in the United States. AIG is also one of the largest companies in the United States placing 10th on the Fortune 500 list of companies in 2007.

AIG’s website is helpful and easy to navigate. The homepage includes a drop-down menu where the visitor can choose company size and review business insurance products available from AIG for that size company.

Berkshire Hathaway Group

The Berkshire Hathaway Group is a holding company for many, many different companies. A number of these are insurers, including GEICO and the United States Liability Insurance Group. The link above takes you to the list of Berkshire companies. Check out the USLIG site. Specific industries are listed on the left and this can be a big help in organizing what types of insurance your business may need. Also, note that USLIG has an Artisan/Trade Contractor insurance package and a child care package.

Allstate

Allstate is the third largest property and casualty insurer in the United States, but it is hard to get a read on how much of that is devoted to commercial insurance and how much is personal lines. Their site give a list of business insurance coverages that they provide and a phone number for a quote.

Hartford Financial Group

The Hartford has been in business for nearly two hundred years, but it is operated as a cutting edge insurer with one of the highest approval ratings among customers. I particularly like this website because it provides information, options, suggestions and links to local agents and brokers. The Hartford also has a home based business program that is endorsed by the AARP.

The Travelers Companies

Travelers is a good option for those companies that can meet Travelers underwriting guidelines. The website is very informative with a very good description of their business owners policy program. Travelers focuses a great deal on risk management. As an example, Travelers has partnered with a company to allow its insured immediate access to up-to-date material safety data sheets online and by facsimile.

Liberty Mutual Insurance

Liberty Mutual is another large insurer (like Allstate) that derives a substantial amount of premiums (my research indicates 44%) from auto and personal lines. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but when you review their website you’ll notice that “business” is placed last on its link list. Liberty has been trying to expand internationally and, overall, its website is helpful.

Nationwide

What can I say, I’m an Ohio native and any company that brings hockey to Ohio is top in my books! Nationwide premiums often rank among the highest, but its customer satisfaction rates are very high as well. It is primarily a property and casualty company and personal auto and homeowners is a large portion of its business. But, it has a strong commercial auto business and commercial business is reported to represent somewhere between 15 to 20% of property and casualty premiums. Good website, but the site pushes you to its life and financial planning section – which happens to be another big section of its business.

Progressive

Another Ohio company, Progressive is predominantly an auto insurer. Not a very helpful site for the business insurance purchaser, there is a link to its commercial auto division at the bottom of the site. It is unfortunate that Progressive does not stress their commercial auto business on the main website because it is a good choice for small truck fleets.

Loews Corporation (CNA)

Loews Corporation makes it to this list because its subsidiary, CNA Insurance, is one of the nation’s largest insurers. I find the website difficult to navigate. Not very helpful, and that is unfortunate because CNA has a number of small business programs and commercial products that are excellent. CNA is an especially good choice for design and construction professionals.

Disclaimer/Bias: Your guide worked with CNA as an associate with an outside counsel of CNA.

Chubb

Rounding out our list is Chubb Insurance. Chubb started as a marine commercial insurance company and it sticks with those roots by offering some really excellent commercial products. The company consistently receives high customer satisfaction ratings. I like a website that puts business insurance first and provides a lot of information. Chubb Business insurance is sold through independent agents and brokers and so its pricing is competitive. Chubb claims to be an industry leader in specialty insurance and the site lists a number of specialty programs.

- about.com -

The cellphone falls into the toilet. Your daughter gets the flu the day before you were leaving on safari. Your dog tears his ACL wrestling with another pooch. At any time, the events and accidents of daily life can threaten to put a serious crimp in your style – and a dent in your wallet.

Good news: There’s insurance for that. The market has exploded recently for what are called “non-essential” insurance policies – electronics, plane tickets and vet care are common. Veterinary Pet Insurance reports a 35% increase in pet insurance policies from 2005 through 2010, and a 2% increase over the last year alone. Statistics for the other policies aren’t tracked, although now that nine out of 10 Americans owns a cellphone, insurance for those gadgets is more common, as well. “It is hard to escape a transaction these days without someone trying to squeeze a few more dollars from you for some form of ‘protection,’” says Allan Keiter, the president of MyRatePlan, a comparison site for household products and services. And more could be on the way.

What’s behind the proliferation of policies? For the companies that write them, they can be extremely profitable, says John Rost, founder and chief executive of Fiesta Insurance Franchise. Insurance is designed so we can all pay a little bit so that a small fraction of us can be covered in the event of a disaster. But many of these non-catastrophic policies don’t quite work that way. Between premiums and the deductible, customers with cellphone insurance could end up paying the insurance company more than it would cost to buy a new phone outright. And acccording to some estimates, the profit margin on extended warranties – basically, a form of insurance to protect your gadgets beyond what the manufacturer’s warranty covers – is a whopping 50%.

But there’s an alternative to shelling out monthly premiums: saving enough money to provide your own “insurance,” so that in the unlikely event of an emergency, you can cover your own losses. This doesn’t make sense when it comes to events that could bankrupt you or your family – self-insuring your home, health or life is not wise, experts say. But in some of the most popular non-essential insurance categories, it can make sense.

Cellphone insurance

With average premiums around $5.64 per month, according to Citizens Utility Board, cell phone insurance is cheap. But even with the coverage, losing your phone can still be expensive. The policies usually require a deductible of up to $100, in addition to the premiums, and there are often exclusions for common mishaps like cracked screens. Plus, some cell phone issues are covered by the manufacturer’s warranty anyway, the average cell phone isn’t all that expensive, and the insurance company might replace your phone with a refurbished model rather than a new one. “It’s not worth it,” says Schwark Satyavolu, co-founder and CEO of BillShrink.com.

Cost to “self-insure”: $100 – $600. To cover yourself, you simply want to save enough to replace or repair your phone. The average phone repair usually ranges from about $30 to $100, but new phones without a contract are more expensive. Standard phones cost $189 on average, while BlackBerries, iPhones and other smartphones can run up to $599, according to an October 2010 BillShrink.com analysis.

Best (and worst) candidates: If you own an inexpensive phone or you’re unlikely to damage or misplace your fancy gadget, self-insure. Who should get coverage? The clumsy, teenagers and anyone else likely to lose or break an expensive phone.

- smartmoney.com -

That could be anything from driving less than the average number of miles per year to quitting smoking.

Certain types of people — senior citizens, for instance — also are eligible for price cuts. You’ll also save by installing certain safety or protective equipment in your home.

There’s one catch: You have to ask. By one estimate, consumers lose some $300 million a year by not taking advantage of discounts.

Here are some other money-saving tactics:

Combine coverage. Because it’s cheaper to service two policies from the same customer, insurers often cut premiums up to 15% if you link auto and homeowners policies.

Sweat the small stuff. Frequent claims are red flags for insurers; some won’t renew policyholders with more than two claims in three years. So try to carry more of the risk by covering claims under $1,000.

Also: Try to boost your credit score. Many insurers give better rates to homeowners with good credit histories.

- money.cnn.com -

Auto Insurance companies oddly enough were the first people to realize this trend and then favor women. Since insurance is all about risk assessment, it is only fair that lesser risk is recognized and given benefits. It is for this reason that they offer specialist insurance for women and allow them to pay lower premiums and more perks. This proves further that women really are less risky, or why else would insurance favor them.

Flashier the car, the more likely it is to catch the eye of a thief. Same goes for a modified or one with an upgraded engine. These additional features make the car high risk and therefore expensive to insure. Studies from SIRC show that men are more likely to get such cars so specialist insurance for women gives them the benefit for non flashy car insurance.

With many thanks to internet we must admit that it has made our life easier by very much. All you need to do to find good insurance is log on to the internet and search away. There must be some companies that you’ve heard of, some that have been referred by friends, so try these first and you’ll get a good insurance policy without the hassle of using Yellow Pages, or multiple trips all over the city. With the advent of online custom insurance, i.e. insurance depending on your particular case, all you have to do is be an attentive searcher.

The online insurance comparison sites collate the data from all over the web and present to you in a clear and distinct format. Moreover they will the review a company’s reputability before displaying their name on their website, so you can be assured of a good service. If you make your decision, these sites have links that will take to the actual application pages and you can buy you insurance there and then.

While accidents are inevitable, it will help to have a good insurance backing you. Either sex can get that just by showing a little more responsibility of their car, even an insured one. For example, park it in a safer place, don’t take unnecessary risks, and installing anti-theft devices will show your insurer that you care about and value your car, are less of a risk, so they will care about you with a lower premium.

- theinsuranceqoutes.com -