car-insurance

(Scoboco)

Beware "Vanishing Deductibles" In Car Insurance
By Phil Villarreal on April 13, 2012 11:15 AM   65 Comments
Some insurance agencies are enticing customers by offering "vanishing deductibles" on car insurance policies. Purportedly meant to encourage safe driving, the plans take, say, $100 off customers' deductibles for each year they don't file a claim. For example, if a customer's deductible starts off at $500 and five years pass without a claim being filed, the deductible vanishes completely and the customer doesn't have to pay anything when he finally files a claim. More »

(Nathan Huth)

Owning A Smaller, Cheaper Car Doesn't Necessarily Mean You'll Pay Less For Insurance
By Mary Beth Quirk on February 14, 2012 1:00 PM   79 Comments
Thinking you've scored a great deal by buying a smaller, cheaper car might not be entirely correct, as one report indicates owners of such vehicles might end up paying more in insurance than some of their fellow drivers. More »

(niteflytes)

Drive Through Hoops To Save Money On Insurance
By Phil Villarreal on December 16, 2011 9:45 AM   44 Comments
Of all the regular costs that dog car owners, liability insurance is among the cruelest. You only get the best rates if you never file claims, so careful drivers end up subsidizing the costs incurred by reckless ones. The best drivers can hope for is to find the lowest rate by shopping around and taking advantage of every discount. More »

(macmedics)

How Removing Your Late Spouse From A Car Insurance Policy Raises Your Premiums
By Laura Northrup on November 18, 2011 11:30 AM   98 Comments
Statistically, married people are safer drivers than unmarried people, and car insurance premiums vary accordingly One of the things that Dan had to take care of after his wife died was taking her off the car insurance policy. While the GEICO employee he spoke to was very kind and helpful, his new premium caught him by surprise. Removing his wife from the policy didn't cut it in half: it raised it by ten percent. More »

Farmers Insurance 'Totals' Dog After Car Accident
By Laura Northrup on August 17, 2011 9:00 AM   129 Comments
Sasha, a 9-year-old Lab mix in Colorado, was hit by a minivan while walking her human last week. She survived the accident with damage to her liver, lungs, and diaphragm that may require surgery. While her person clearly considers her a family member, the law and the driver's insurance company see things differently. Injuries to dogs are property damage, and the company "totaled" out the dog. They did not haul her off to a dog junkyard to be used for parts. More »

(Studio d'Xavier)

Car Insurance Companies Keep Calling With Rate Quotes I Never Asked For
By Laura Northrup on March 17, 2011 9:00 AM   26 Comments
James thinks that he might be the victim of a scam. Or a prank. Something strange is going on, with fraudulent credit card charges and phone calls from car insurance companies that he never requested. He's not sure whether the two things are even related, or what they could mean. More »

(So Cal Metro)

Does The Hertz Claims Department Really Exist?
By Laura Northrup on February 4, 2011 12:30 PM   43 Comments
Have you ever tried to reach the "claims department" of Hertz? Mark was in a car accident with a Hertz customer, and isn't able to get hold of anyone. Either this department is grossly understaffed, or it doesn't exist. More »

(Karen_Chappell)

Insurance Companies Data Mine Your Death
By Ben Popken on November 19, 2010 12:05 PM   50 Comments
Everything from what magazines you buy to how much television you watch could be used by insurance companies to determine whether you're a risky client or not, and when you might die. More »

(frankieleon)

How Is A Dump Truck Crashing Into My Parked Car My Fault?
By Laura Northrup on September 22, 2010 9:00 AM   111 Comments
Somewhere in upstate New York, a mysterious dump truck rolled down a hill, hitting Jennifer's partner's vehicle and one other car. While it's wonderful that no one was hurt, now the incident has turned into a consumer issue. The truck owner's insurance company doesn't want to accept fault for the incident, leaving Jennifer's partner to file a claim against his own meager insurance. How, she wonders, can they fight back? More »

(afagen)

Geico's Money Pile Isn't Watching The Divorced
By Phil Villarreal on June 2, 2010 1:00 PM   138 Comments
Natalie separated from her husband and called Geico about separating her car insurance from her soon-to-be ex, but was told the rate would go up quite a bit. She's feeling discriminated against: More »

Join Church Of Nationwide Insurance, Get Accident Forgiveness
By Laura Northrup on March 17, 2010 11:00 AM   69 Comments
Sean received an exciting promotional letter from Nationwide Insurance a few weeks ago. Did you know that Nationwide has its own imaginary patron saint? It's true! Is this mailing a lighthearted way to sell the idea of "accident forgiveness," or a culturally and religiously insensitive ad campaign? Sean thinks it's the latter. What do you think? More »

(Photo: simondhweller)

Tell Car Insurance Company You're Driving Less, Save On Premiums
By Phil Villarreal on January 26, 2010 10:38 AM   44 Comments
It almost seems like a bad joke from a Geico commercial: I lost my job, but the good news is I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance! More »

(Photo:diaper)

AAA Canceled My Bro's Insurance Without Telling Him
By Phil Villarreal on December 10, 2009 8:00 AM   144 Comments
Adam says his brother thought he had car insurance through AAA, but discovered when he was pulled over that the company had dropped him without notifying him. Then he got stuck with two $600 tickets in the same day for driving without insurance. More »

How To Pay As Little As Possible To Insure Your Jalopy
By Phil Villarreal on June 29, 2009 5:50 PM   92 Comments

—>Despite what certain geckos would have you believe, the art of saving money on car insurance goes beyond doing whatever television commercials tell you to do.   More »

When your credit score sustains a dent, make sure your car doesn't. Because higher car insurance is just what you need when you've lost your job. Auto insurers use customers' credit scores as part of the formula to determine premiums. Shop around—different companies assign different weights to credit score in their calculations. [MainStreet.com]  More »

Progressive Has No Notion of Christmas Spirit, Announces Yule-tide Rate Increase
By Alex Jarvis on December 26, 2008 3:00 PM   61 Comments

—> According to an Email received by reader Jessica, Progressive Auto Insurance is increasing rates for New York Customers by nearly 20%. And the best time to announce this? Christmas day, of course!  More »

Personal Finance Roundup
By Ben Popken on September 4, 2008 4:00 PM   3 Comments

—>Four Ways to Improve Your Resume [Yahoo Hotjobs] "Here are four tips on how you can power up your resume for today's more competitive job search arena."

You're dead: Where's your 401(k)? [MSN Money] "If you should die before spending all your hard-earned retirement savings, any number of things could happen to the remaining money. Don't let it fall into the wrong pockets."

7 Secrets to Picking Great Funds [Kiplinger] "These methods will help you choose wisely and give your portfolio a boost. Some may surprise you."

When Should You Downgrade Your Car Insurance? [The Simple Dollar] "How do you know when the time is right to downgrade your car insurance?"

4 Ways to Reduce a Gadget's Power Drain [Smart Money] "Here are four ways to cut your gadgets' energy consumption."

— FREE MONEY FINANCE (Photo: PaulBarwick)  More »

Personal Finance Roundup
By Ben Popken on July 24, 2008 4:00 PM   8 Comments

—>The smartest advice I ever got [CNN Money] "40 great minds share the best money lessons they ever learned."  More »

State Farm: This 1963 Chrysler Newport Is Not An Antique, Unless You Give It A Fresh Coat Of Paint. What?
By Carey Alexander on July 13, 2008 6:30 PM   95 Comments

—>Humphrmi's 1963 Chrysler Newport has antique license plates, meaning he can't drive to or from anywhere other than car shows, shops and parades; but State Farm won't insure the car as an antique unless it gets a new coat of paint. "You have to paint the car," they said, to avoid a 33% higher premium. Does this strike anyone else as insane?  More »

State Farm: This 1963 Chrysler Newport Is Not An Antique, Unless You Give It A Fresh Coat Of Paint. What?
By Carey Alexander on July 13, 2008 6:30 PM   95 Comments

—>Humphrmi's 1963 Chrysler Newport has antique license plates, meaning he can't drive to or from anywhere other than car shows, shops and parades; but State Farm won't insure the car as an antique unless it gets a new coat of paint. "You have to paint the car," they said, to avoid a 33% higher premium. Does this strike anyone else as insane?  More »