In the continuing fight against auto insurance fraud, New York legislators have passed three new bills that will impose serious penalties on those committing crimes. The bills were passed by the state’s Senate late last week and will be heading to the Assembly for further consideration. Lawmakers are considering auto insurance fraud one of the state’s most serious issues. According to the Senate, fraud costs the state more than $1 billion every year and deals untold damage to the auto insurance industry. These damages translate into higher premiums for consumers…
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IIHS names 2013 Mazda CX-5 compact crossover SUV its “Top Safety Pick”
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) has given the highest safety rating to the new compact crossover SUV, the 2013 Mazda CX-5, and has named the vehicle its “Top Safety Pick”. After undergoing the four IIHS tests, the Mazda CX-5 received a “Good” rating each time, which is the highest possible crash safety rating. According to the Mazda North American Operations president and CEO, Jim O’Sullivan, this vehicle is the first from the manufacturer “to receive the full suite of SKYACTIV technologies, which focuses not only on fuel efficiency…
Read MoreRanking the states by the cost of auto insurance coverage
According to the Insure.com study results, which have only just been released, Louisiana is the state in which it is most expensive to insure a vehicle in the entire country, whereas Maine enjoys the lowest insurance rates in the U.S. The average annual cost of insuring a car in Louisiana is $2,536, whereas in Maine the average cost is only $889. The issues that have been driving the rates higher in many states includes the insurance laws within those states, larger numbers of drivers without insurance, the number of different…
Read MoreErie Insurance survey shows customers distracted from coverage by amusing advertising
Erie insurance has released the results of its latest survey that has shown that insurers have released so many humorous ads that are focused on the price of their products that consumers have been distracted from the actual coverage. Among the participants in the survey, 68 percent said that the majority of the funny auto insurance ads were focused on the money savings they provide. Though these same respondents said that the coverage that a policy provides is the most important thing to consider when buying insurance, 74 percent said…
Read MoreAmerican housing market shows first signs of rebounding benefiting insurers
To the benefit of many insurance companies, the housing market in the United States is beginning to show some signs of recovery as mortgage companies begin their reappearance. New home loan guarantor, NMI Holdings, has just announced its hiring of the FBR & Co. investment bank in order to help in the raising of $550 million following the collapse of three of its competitors that were taken down by record homeowner defaults. Only one out of those three competitors remains anywhere above credits at a junk grade. Equally, Essent Guaranty…
Read MoreDepartment of Health and Human Services says that health insurance rates are too high in nine states
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced that health insurance rates in nine states are far too high to be reasonable. HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has determined that these rates are excessive under the authority granted to the agency by the Affordable Care Act. The law gives federal and state insurance regulators the authority to review health insurance rate increases of 10% or higher and determine whether they are necessary. The insurance companies in these nine states will be requires to justify their rates or make changes…
Read MoreReport shows that more insurers are looking to automate their underwriting process
Strategy Meets Action (SMA), a research and consultancy firm serving the insurance industry, has released a new report concerning underwriting practices in the industry. The report, “Underwriting Automation: Insurer Plans and Trends,” notes that insurance companies are making a move to completely automate their underwriting process. The report draws upon data collected by SMA from 144 insurance professionals throughout the industry. This trend may be a result of insurers being unable to meet underwriting goals due to flaws in their systems. Of those participating in the survey, 21% claimed that…
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