So you want to buy insurance. Great. Maybe you need it. Maybe you want to protect yourself. Maybe it is a combination. What do you consider when buying insurance? Here are some basic things to consider when determining who to…
Posts Categorized In: Insurance Operations
How Consumers Are Charged for Auto Insurance
An Op-Ed piece out of the San Francisco Bay Area asks that insurance rates be fair to all. The piece is premised on a Consumers Union study that found that insurance rates change by zip code. That is probably not…
COLOSSUS: Can it evaluate your injury?
Many, if not most, insurance companies are currently using a software program called Colossus. Colossus was designed to figure out what every case is worth. The developer realized that each adjuster would settle a claim for a different value, and…
A Bad Decision from West Virginia – Insurance Coverage for Free
As you probably know from reading this blog, I am pr0-consumer. I believe that the insurance companies do not hold up their end of the bargain – primarily through treating their customers poorly. However, there is a time and a…
3 Myths about Insurance
MSN has a great article about insurance myths. Here are their 3 top insurance myths: Your benefits should be equal to your premium payments Insurance should cover events that are likely to happen Insurance is a rip-off, so you should…
National Catastrophe Insurance?
I have previously posted on the California Insurance Commissioner’s attempts to change the system for covering natural disasters, called catastrophes in the insurance business. On Thursday, insurance industry leaders met to discuss a federal insurance program. Proponents want this to…
Who to insure with?
I was reading through Google groups (which can be fun reading!) today and there was a discussion about what insurance company people should get. One person was looking for insurance and others were chiming in with their opinions. The answer…
Workers Comp Insurance Revisited
Today’s Sacramento Bee has an editorial from Dan Weintraub about how the California inititiative process works because workers comp rates have come down. (Here is a link to the article that does not require you to subscribe.) The problem with…
Allstate Creates a New Ad Campaign
Allstate Insurance has started a new campaign aimed at “waking Americans up to Catastrophes.” Allstate wants to: Strengthen first responders. Better understand the growing risks. Rebuild smarter and stronger. Create catastrophe funds. Okay, I cannot argue with the premise that…
Insurers Raising Premium
Once again, insurance companies are raising rates. I say once again, because this seems to be a pretty common theme. This time the excuse is the hurricanes that hit the gulf coast. Insurance companies made $30.8 billion in profit last…