Ready for Reading » state laws http://www.ready-for-reading.com Financial Services Articles Tue, 06 Apr 2010 02:10:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Will success in Connecticut make other states follow suit? http://www.ready-for-reading.com/insurance/will-success-in-connecticut-make-other-states-follow-suit.html http://www.ready-for-reading.com/insurance/will-success-in-connecticut-make-other-states-follow-suit.html#comments Tue, 01 Sep 2009 06:53:46 +0000 admin http://www.ready-for-reading.com/?p=635 If you look around these days, you’ll see a lot of bad news. More unemployment, more foreclosures, and more instability in life for simple people. This month has seen President Obama sign the new Stimulus Package into law, but that is somehow a bit distant. New laws may sound great, but it takes so long before we all get to see any results. That means state laws are more interesting. If they get passed, their effect usually is more direct and immediate. So what is happening in Connecticut? Well, there’s a bill going through the process aimed at reducing car insurance premiums for city residents – something that should be popular with everyone except the insurance companies and their shareholders. The plan is simple. All insurance companies licensed to sell policies have been allowed to use credit histories as part of their risk management scoring system to decide whether to write car and home insurance policies. They have never been allowed to reject business just because the applicant has a low credit score, but it has always been a significant factor. The Governor and Attorney General both believe the time has come to remove credit histories as a factor in the decision. The economy is weakening into what looks like a major recession. As more people are laid off, credit scores will fall. This means rising premiums at a time when people can least afford them.

Consumer groups argue that using credit history is pretty unfair because many of the “defaults” that appear on these histories are the result of predatory terms operated by credit card and other lenders. Even the most minor and technical of infringements can result in retrospective penalties designed to boost the lender’s profits. Such blemishes are not truly representative of a person’s overall responsibility in managing debt. Indeed, the use of histories by a wide range of individuals and organizations increases consumer distress as they are increasingly denied access to credit and other services. There are many consumers who pay less because they have good scores. Which is better – that the risk is divided equally among all policy holders or that those who represent the greatest risk pay more? Politically, can states insist that all the most creditworthy people pay more?

The bill is also about to eliminate the current territorial rating system that imposes higher premiums on city rather than rural drivers. The plan would call for equal treatment so that no matter where the car is garaged and driven, the same basic premium will be paid. Auto insurance is a for-profit business so there will always be arguments that the market will decide what represents a fair premium. With a recession looming, everybody wants cheap auto insurance. If this law passes in Connecticut, perhaps other states will follow suit and make the US a more affordable place for drivers.

]]> http://www.ready-for-reading.com/insurance/will-success-in-connecticut-make-other-states-follow-suit.html/feed 0 Insuring your business trough an agent or online service http://www.ready-for-reading.com/insurance/insuring-your-business-trough-an-agent-or-online-service.html http://www.ready-for-reading.com/insurance/insuring-your-business-trough-an-agent-or-online-service.html#comments Fri, 24 Jul 2009 13:47:02 +0000 admin http://www.ready-for-reading.com/?p=575 Getting insurance quotes and buying a policy without leaving your home with only a few clicks of the mouse is nothing new these days. Many insurance companies have sites ran online, and while the real-world negotiations are still prevailing, the number of businesses employing online insurance services is steadily increasing. In case a business owner follows certain tips on quoting and buying insurance online, this form of insurance purchase can offer significant saving options.

What you won’t find online is an insurance agent or broker that will offer valuable tips and solutions right when they are needed. It is said that having an agent or a broker to represent your insurance interests is a good investment for the business in the long run. On the other hand, the savings, offered by online insurance vendors can eliminate this disadvantage. What’s really needed is a closer look and a detailed comparison of online vendors and insurance agent services from different perspectives.

What the client gets

When employing the services of a real agent or broker there are certain advantages he or she may offer to the business:

  1. Pay visits in person to your enterprise.
  2. Undertake a financial analysis of your assets and liabilities to determine what kind of policy your business requires.
  3. Give advice concerning local and state laws.
  4. Represent your interest when filing claims.
  5. Suggest solutions for avoiding possible claims.

When getting your insurance online, you will get such services only in case the online vendor has a contract with a local insurance agent you will be referred to.

Selection of insurance providers

There’s no definite win here. On one hand insurance agents and brokers offer a limited number of business insurance providers. Agents in general are tied to a particular company, representing only its services. However, the knowledge and expertise in these services is very profound and vast, allowing you to receive very detailed analysis and suggestions regarding your policy.

On the other hand, insurance quote sites offer a far more diverse selection of insurance providers but without the profession in-depth look into the offers. It is up to you to decide which offer is good and which is not.

Quality and security of services

By looking at search results in Google for business insurance, you will clearly see that there are many well-established insurance companies offering their services online. But the number of questionable sites that have no valid proof of their quality and safety is far more overwhelming.

Here insurance professionals take their lead in terms of safety and quality because:

  1. Insurance professionals are regulated by the state.
  2. Insurance agents and brokers are accountable and should follow the insurer’s guidelines.
  3. Insurance professionals wield their own workers’ insurance.
  4. Insurance brokers typically analyze the financial situation of the enterprise before offering insurance services.

Conclusion

After taking such an analysis there is still no clear win in this battle. Both sources for business insurance have their pros and cons and it’s up to the business owner to decide what his or her business really needs and what is more welcome and why. As always, it’s a matter of personal choice within a particular situation.

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