Bizarre- Allstate “study” suggests that zodiac signs show differences in accident rates. From an article in Insurance Networking News, individuals born under the sign of Virgo are 700% more likely to have an accident than those born under the sign of Scorpio. WHAT???
I can’t help but be appalled by this announcement from Allstate. I hope that the article from Insurance Networking News is just wrong. http://www.insurancenetworking.com/news/claims_zodiac_auto_insurance_underwriting_Ophiuchus_Allstate-27005-1.html
As an example, of what is being alleged:
- “…Allstate decided to compare its claims data against the revised zodiac calendar, and came to a few conclusions. Virgos, known to be critical, meticulous and reserved, are also more likely to get into a car accident, while Scorpios are least likely. Over the past year, Virgos were nearly 700% more likely to be in a car accident when compared to the determined and aware Scorpio, the best drivers in the study.”
Jaw-drops.
I still cannot find the study or even a mention of the study directly from Allstate, but these same comments were all over the news media last week.
And now I find followup to the above referenced article where Allstate allegedly clarifies their findings. First, it says that Allstate has removed the study from their website. Secondly,
- “Astrological signs have absolutely no role in how we base coverage and set rates. Rating by astrology would not be actuarially sound.” http://www.insurancenetworking.com/news/underwriting_claims_allstate_auto_insurance_zodiac_signs-27015-1.html?ET=insurancenetworking:e1626:63839a:&st=email
Yet the article linked above doesn’t even begin to suggest that they made an error in their analysis, or that the analysis was a joke.
All I can say is that we love Virgo’s at Al Bourdeau Insurance Agency. We love Scorpio’s too. Now you see why it is really important to shop your insurance!
Being a “member” can have a major downside. If you are a member of a homeowner association or a condominium association, you could find yourself on the hook for expenses for which you were totally unprepared. I’m talking about Loss Assessment. Your home/condo association might own and maintain shared spaces used by all members: a pool, a lake, a road, a recreation center. Losses connected with these shared spaces might be charged back to you. Make sure that your PERSONAL insurance policy is designed to protect you from such losses.
Loss Assessment refers to the situation where a home or condo owner is billed for certain unexpected expenses incurred by their association. All condo owners are members of their condo association. Home owners are often members of a Home Owners Association. These associations are typically the entities that own and maintain shared spaces that are used by all members: a pool, a lake, a road, a recreation center. Let’s suppose that a playground owned by the association was severely damaged. One would hope that the Association would have an insurance policy in place to cover this loss. What if it doesn’t? What if the loss exceeds the limit of the policy? What if the loss is not covered by the policy? What if the association is sued for injuries on the playground equipment?
The bottom line is this. Such associations can easily incur costs not covered by the Association’s insurance policy. When this happens, the Association will typically assess its members to cover the cost. Maybe the Association carries a $500,000 liability policy, and is sued for $750,000. That’s $250,000 not covered by insurance. If there are 50 condos/homes in the association, each could be billed for $5,000 to pay their portion of the expense.
If you, the home/condo owner is assessed for losses, then where are you going to find that money to pay the assessment? You savings account? Your child’s college fund? A better place to look is in your personal homeowner or condominium owner insurance policy.
Most homeowner and condominium owner insurance policies have a small built-in amount to cover loss assessment, and it would normally appear as a line item on your insurance policy declaration page. The built-in amount varies from company to company, often between $1,000 and $2,500.
How much do you think you should have? That’s not a question we can answer but you should consider what kinds of community resources are maintained by your association, how dangerous those resources might be, and you might even want to ask what is covered by your association’s insurance policy.
But consider this. I just peeked at the cost of $50,000 of Loss Assessment coverage on one of our homeowner policies. The cost of $50,000 of protection was $13. That’s a tremendous protection for very little money.
Read a little more about some other examples of the value of this neat little coverage in the article below!
The Value of Loss Assessment Coverage
By Joel W. Meskin, Esq
http://njcooperator.com/articles/271/1/The-Value-of-Loss-Assessment-Coverage/Page1.html
It appears that on 12/16/2010 a new law went into effect that allows for you to take a driver improvement class to have a moving violation kept off your driving record! It doesn’t look like you can erase old tickets, but a new (minor) violation might be fixable. Read more on the blog for some of the details from the new law and a link so you can read it yourself!
Here’s what appears to be the crux of the law:
- Sec. 320d. …. the secretary of state shall not enter the points corresponding to a moving violation committed by an individual … on the individual’s driving record or make information concerning that violation available to any insurance company if the individual attends and successfully completes a basic driver improvement course …. within 60 days ….
Now those dot-dot-dots up there create all kinds of “exceptions” and “conditions” to when this can all happen. For one, the violation has to be minor, like 3 pts or less. You have to have a relatively clean driving record. It was the only ticket received for that incident. You’ve never done the driver improvement course before. Etc. When you add it all up all the conditions, it might look like your chances of benefiting from the law are small or that it’s too complicated.
Well here’s some food for thought.
First, the law seems to require that Secretary of State to advise you that you are eligible to get the ticket erased. So it doesn’t look like you have to worry about all these conditions.
Second, the insurance cost associated with getting a ticket can be STEEP. If you do have the chance to erase one, it is going to be worth it. Tickets add cost to you insurance for 3-5 years!
Lastly, young drivers tend to be the worst drivers and are therefore the most expensive to insure. If you are or have a young driver, and that young driver is ticketed, cross your fingers that you get a chance to erase it under this law.
I’m not sure how much of an impact this law will have in the end, but knowing about it might prompt you to act when this bad news comes to you. And in the end, a little extra drivers education can only help. It’s really about safety when it all comes down to it.
Read the actual law at the link below:
http://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2009-2010/publicact/pdf/2010-PA-0289.pdf
Some helpful tips to protect against identity theft
During the holidays, it is easy to drop your guard and find yourself a victim of the ever increasing risk of Identify Fraud. Don’t wait to become a victim. There are actions you can take that can lessen the risk of being defrauded. You can further protect yourself by purchasing Identify Fraud Insurance, a type of insurance policy that pays to help you put your life back together after being defrauded.
Below are some simple tips that can help lower your chances of being a victim!
- Shred any papers that have your name, address and account numbers on them, especially credit card, debit card and bank account information.
- Don’t leave credit cards or checkbooks lying around. Some experts say we are most likely to be victimized by friends and relatives.
- Don’t put outgoing bills in your mailbox and never put the flag up for collection. This is a signal for thieves who can drive by and steal from your mailbox.
- Secure your home internet connection with encryption, especially if you do a lot of online shopping.
- Don’t click on links in emails that come to you unsolicited from retailers. Most of these are phishes, or fraudulent emails, which will take you to a fake website where crooks can steal any information you enter.
Have a safe and happy holiday season!
Review your Health Insurance ‘Explanation of Benefits’
An article on Examiner.Com got my attention (http://www.examiner.com/health-news-in-phoenix/to-prevent-fraud-check-your-eobs) . A couple stole the identities of 128 patients and the tax ids from a handful of doctors. They then proceeded to file false claims for various procedures and collect the insurance monies. This couple might have been stopped much more quickly if any of the 128 patients had been monitoring the “Explanation of Benefits” (EOB) received from the health insurance company after any claim is filed. While such claims are fraudulent and don’t get paid directly out of your pocket, they might still impact you by depleting your benefits or creating false medical histories that later result in you being unable to obtain health insurance or life insurance! Take a peek at your EOB and know what is being charged against your policy!
Don’t Miss Out on the Halloween Treats!
Don’t forget to follow Al Bourdeau Insurance Agency’s Facebook Page! Delicious, fun, and sometimes spooky recipes are being uploaded constantly through the month of October! Impress your friends with one of our Halloween Treats!
Al Bourdeau Insurance Agency Facebook Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Al-Bourdeau-Insurance-Agency/133318536683483?ref=ts
Insurance fraud costs all of us
Questionable insurance claims rose over 52 percent in the first half of 2010, according to a group dedicated to raising awareness about the cost of insurance fraud.
To increase awareness about this crime, Gov. Jennifer Granholm has declared this week, Oct. 10-16, as Insurance Fraud Awareness Week in Michigan.
“Many people wrongly believe that insurance fraud is a victimless crime,” said Lori Conarton, Communications Director, Insurance Institute of Michigan. “However, they are wrong. We all pay for this crime through our insurance premiums.”
A study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau found that questionable claims for excessive medical treatment, auto glass claims and staged accidents all rose significantly during the first six months of 2010.
Read more details here! (http://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/519109.html?nav=5004)
Refrigerator hoses are common cause of serious water damage
Melanie found a puddle of water on the kitchen floor, but discovered a much larger problem when she investigated. Going downstairs, she found water pouring out of the soffit, running down a wall and spilling everywhere. Half of the ceiling tiles were saturated and had fallen to the floor. Melanie guesses that the refrigerator water hose had begun leaking 4-5 days before. The damage was extensive. Read move about this disaster and how you can avoid it!
http://www.wxyz.com/dpp/money/consumer/dont_waste_your_money/could-the-waterline-going-to-the-back-of-your-refrigerator-be-an-accident-waiting-to-happen%3F
Warren is glad he’s back. REALLY glad he’s back.
This little story is from John Bell, one of our many great agents. There are a lot of ways that we bring value to our customers, but sometimes it just boils down to the fact that we can save you a lot of money. Such is the story of Warren. “Warren was a client of ours and last year and moved his polices to All*. He called me a few weeks ago wanting a quote for his auto and condo. Said he was unhappy with the service and wanted to come back to Al Bourdeau Insurance. I put together a package with Citizens. When he called originally he did not have his current policy but last year his premium was $1,451/yr on the auto and $431 on the Condo. My quote for the auto was $727/6 mo. or $1,054/yr and $295 on the Condo. The savings for both was $533 per year. We set the appointment up last week and when he came in today, he brought his newly received auto renewal which now was $1,934.18!! Now his total savings jumped to $1,016!!!! He was very happy and said, “I should never have left”. I told him that even though he left All*, he would still be in ‘good hands!’ “
iPhone plunges to death from hot air balloon
Admittedly, “plunges to death” might be a little dramatic, but that is apparently but one example of the many unusual iPhone claims reported to U.K. gadget insurer ProtectYourBubble. If you ask me, these explanations could just as easily have been offered up by kids as reasons for not turning in their homework assignments. I guess we just never grow up!
The top 10 most bizarre iPhone Claims from ProtectYourBubble:
1. I dropped it from a hot air balloon
2. I lost it while skydiving
3. It broke when my son used it as a table tennis racket
4. I lost it while building a sand castle for the kids
5. I accidentally buried it in the garden
6. It fell into the kettle
7. I dropped it in a food blender
8. My dog chewed it to pieces
9. Juice from a defrosting piece of meat leaked into it
10. It flew out of the car window
We do get frequent calls asking for gadgets like iPhone, and similar devices to be added to the homeowners policy. Sometimes this can be done. The cell phone providers often offer insurance plans at the time of purchase, but other less expensive alternatives exist. One thing to consider is that replacing a phone can be costly. For example, where you might pay $299 for a new iPhone4 with a two-year contract, you might need to pay the full retail price of $599 or $699 to replace a phone in the middle of the contract.
It’s at least worth reading about your options.
Of course, having us look at your home and auto insurance could save you enough to buy that new iPhone. Food for thought!
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