How the gas price effects the insurance industry in New York

Here is a great article in our local newspaper reporting how the increase in gas prices translates into lower insurance premiums due to reduced traffic:

"Insurance regulators say high prices at the pump may help keep a lid on New York's auto insurance rates, which are the third highest in the country.
Insurance Superintendent Eric DiNallo says Geico agreed to withdraw a rate increase request for most of its customers after the Insurance Department questioned how higher gas prices are reducing auto travel in New York. He says federal data shows New Yorkers drove 500 million fewer miles in May than in the same month last year, so it stands to reason insurers costs would be lower because of the reduced traffic.
DiNallo says all insurers now must justify their rate-increase requests in light of the reduced traffic, and he expects others to follow Geico's lead.

Story posted in the Times Herald Record on August 6, 2008.

EVEN WITH THE GECKO, PEOPLE STILL WANT THE PERSONAL TOUCH!!

The recent JD Power and Associates 2008 Insurance New Buyer Study finds 55 percent of all new auto insurance sales are handled by local agents. They study also finds that buyers who purchase their auto insurance policies through local agents give significantly higher average satisfaction scores compared with those who purchase policies from call center representatives or via Internet channels.

So no matter what you hear on the radio from a certain talking reptile, people still prefer spending 15 minutes with a human that they know and trust rather than a call center or website. An independent agent has access to numerous companies which allows the consumer to know that they are truly getting the most comprehensive policy at the most competitive price. If you are working with an agent who is writing for one specific company(ie.. State Farm) then it really limits the policy type and pricing that can be obtained.

THE MISNER AGENCY is and independent agent. Please call us today for all your insurance needs.

CONGRATULATIONS M&M AUTO GROUP

Congratulations to Howard and his staff at M&M auto group for winning the prestigious 2008 Pride Award as the Sullivan County Business of the Year.

Please check out their website at www.mandmautogroup.com for all your car buying needs.

MORE INFORMATION ON RENTAL CAR COVERAGE

I know this is the second post about rental cars, but we always seem to get calls on Rental Car Coverage. Someone in our office noticed this great "top ten" list that was put out by New York Central Mutual regarding Rental Coverage....

1. An insured is covered for damage or loss to their rented vehicle under the private passenger automobile insurance policy whether they are renting for work or personal purposes.

2. The policyholder should list anyone other than the renter who might be driving the rental vehicle. If an accident occurs with a driver other than the renter or one of the authorized drivers listed, the insured's policy might be held responsible for property damages that would normally be covered under the rental vehicle's policy.

3. The policy only covers damage to the rental vehicle if the contract is 30 continuous days or less. If a policyholder has an accident with the rental vehicle and the contract is more than 30 days, they will be held responsible for all the damage to the rental vehicle.

4. Renting a vehicle with a major credit card may also provide the necessary coverage. The policyholder should check with their credit card company.

5. Rental car companies are not permitted to "block" an insured's credit card if they decline to purchase the collision damage waiver or optional vehicle protection in states that offer them.

6. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT THE POLICYHOLDER INSPECTS THEIR RENTAL CAR CAREFULLY BEFORE LEAVING THE LOT AND UPON RETURN OF THE CAR.

7. If and insured damages their rental vehicle, they must notify their insurer immediately to give the insurer time to inspect the vehicle.

8. The policyholder should not allow a rental car company to charge any damages to their credit card. The insured must insist that the company bill them directly or contact their insurance company.

9. Just remember that an insurer can deny coverage for a loss that results from an intentional or irresponsible act.

10. The renter must read and question anything they are asked to sign. They should also keep copies of all notices and documents that they receive from the rental company, including the contract.

Any teenage drivers in the house?

Connecticut’s Department of Motor Vehicles, in conjunction with the Connecticut Teen Safe Driving Partnership, has encouraged the use of the "Parent-Teen Driving Contract." This contract can be used by New York state parents and teenagers as well. Parents should read the contract, discuss it with the teenage driver in their family, come to an agreement, and use it to help promote safe driving practices.

WHAT COLOR CAR ARE YOU DRIVING???

Here is a very interesting article from AOL money and finance:

Do people with red cars really get more
speeding tickets than those with blue cars?
Do car insurance companies use the color
of your car to determine your rates? Do certain
colors increase your chance of an accident?
What does the color of your car SAY
about your personality?
How Fast IS That Red Car?
According to the Web site
Colormatters.com, there may be some
truth in the urban legends surrounding car
color and speeding tickets at least anecdotally.
Visitors to that site say that when they drive
red cars they seem to get more speeding
tickets. Although there seems to be no official
statistics kept for such things, and the
police aren’t talking about it, the stories reinforce
the urban legend that many have
heard.
In general, driving the speed limit is usually
a good idea no matter what color car you
drive. If you keep your red car at or near the
limit, the chances you will get a ticket are
much smaller. In fact, they are probably exactly
the same as the guy next to you driving
the speed limit in his purple car.
Color and Personality
In Great Britain there was actually some research
done that suggested that the colour
(they really like that spelling for some reason)
of your car says something about your
personality type. And accordingly, based on
your personality type, your likeliness to be
involved in an accident (in the United Kingdom
at least). That research showed that
black cars are twice as likely to be involved
in crashes as creamcolor
cars. Whether
this is true in the United States is unclear.
Here is what it said about certain car colors
(listed in order of most dangerous to least)*
Black cars denote an aggressive personality
or someone who’s an outsider or rebel.
Silver cars indicate someone who’s cool,
calm and slightly aloof.
Green cars can often be chosen by people
with hysterical tendencies.
Yellow cars signify someone who is idealistic
and novelty loving.
Blue cars are chosen by the more introspective,
reflective and cautious driver.
Gray cars represent those who are calm,
sober and dedicated to their work.
Red cars denote those who are full of zest,
energy and drive and who think, move and
talk quickly.
Pink cars are chosen by gentle, loving and
affectionate drivers.
White cars represent statusseeking
extrovert
drivers.
Cream cars are the least likely to be involved
in accidents and denote selfcontained
and controlled owners.
The Color of Money
What about the car insurance rates question?
Does your car insurance company use
color to determine your premium? The answer
is no.
Some people have suggested that insurers
use the Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN) to determine the car color and use
that information, in part, to set the rate for
each car. But the fact is that car color is not
one of the details encoded into a VIN. So
technically, unless they ASK you the color
of your car when you buy your car insurance
policy, they really have no idea what
color it is. What color it is, and thus has no
affect on your rate.
Additionally, according to an article in the
Chicago SunTimes
in 2005, despite the
mistaken belief by 25 percent of drivers
that color affects your car insurance rates,
it really has no effect on your insurance at
all. Factors like year, make, model, body
type (of the car, not YOU) and engine size
are taken into consideration along with the
driver’s personal information.
So, if you want that little red sports car, go
right ahead and get it. Does it mean you are
full of zest, energy and drive and think,
move and talk quickly? Only you can answer
that.
The fact is, if you keep the speed of that little
red number somewhere around the
posted limit, stop at red lights, yield to oncoming
traffic, and make your cell phone
calls when you are stopped, you will probably
do a lot more for your car insurance
rates than any color ever could.

Wedding Season is coming..

When someone invests a large amount of money in something, it just makes sense to insure it. With the average wedding costing close to $28,000, it is not surprising that more and more people are choosing to insure their "BIG DAY". Just a few of the facts that were included in the American Wedding Study of 2006: More than 44,000 weddings took place every weekend and included 23 million bridesmaids and groomsmen. All brides and grooms expect that their big day will be a fairytale; however, that sometimes is just not the case. With so many pieces of the puzzle(IE. Caterer, DJ, Flowers) needing to be meticulously timed and prepared it sometimes can be a recipe for disaster. This is the main reason that many couples are choosing to insure their wedding. One of the biggest insurers of weddings is Travelers and here are a few things that are covered in their wedding policy:

-The wedding dress vendor went out of business before shipping the bride's dress the week of her wedding. The bride in turn lost her deposit, had to search quickly for a replacement dress, which cost a little more than the original, and arrange for Alterations. The Travelers wedding insurance policy can cover extra costs associated with purchasing another dress.

-The venue reported that it inadvertently double-booked the time for the wedding. The couple had to decide whether to have the wedding earlier that day at the same venue; or wait several weeks. The Travelers policy would cover extra costs and lost deposits.

- The photographer turned out to be a fraud. To ensure the couple has some keepsake memories, the policy can assist with the costs associated with reconvening the wedding party so that new photos can be taken. (I personally know someone that this actually happened too.)

When you consider the ever increasing costs of weddings these day, it is a no-brainer that you should spend the $200-$800 that it costs for this coverage. There is minimal information that is needed and a quote can be generated fast so please give us a call today to inquire about this important coverage to make sure your wedding does not contribute to the growing divorce rates.

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT... IT IS FLOOD SEASON

Well, it is flood season again and I bet less than a quarter of the people who really need coverage have coverage. Most people believe that unless their mortgage company requires flood coverage they do not need it. Well, you could very well be wrong. Take for instance the floods that happened in Livingston Manor. Everyone thought after the first flood it would never happen again. Well guess what? IT DID... Even business owners and homeowners whose properties have not flooded in 50 years are prone to the big one. Can you watch the weather forecast, see that it is going to pour for a week straight and get coverage right away? That is NOT the case. Flood insurance has a 30 day waiting period before it goes into effect. You NEED to contact us right away to obtain a flood quote!!! It is no obligation for you to obtain a quote; however, it will put your mind at ease if you at least inquire to see what the coverage costs and covers.

ATTENTION CONTRACTORS!!!!

A new law requires a safety course for contractors who do PUBLIC WORK where the total cost of all work performed under the contract is at least $250,000. The law takes effect in July 2008, and requires all workers to be certified as having completed OSHA's 10 hour safety course prior to performing any work on the project. It is believed that this new law will improve the general safety and health of all labors, workers, and mechanics by directing them to take the safety course. The ten hour course provides employees with the proper safety methods to be used during construction, reconstruction, maintenance and repair of public work. The basis of the bill is that accidents on the job site will decrease when employees are aware and apply the proper safety measures during work.



The implementation of these safety recommendations can also help to REDUCE your insurance costs by reducing the number and severity of job site injuries and accidents. If you need more information on the safety course here is the OSHA website: http://www.osha.gov/

WE ARE FINALLY GOING GREEN!!!

I am ashamed to say that ever since 2002 we have been trying to create a completely "paperless" office. We have debated how scanning all of our documents would effect or workflows, transactions, and most important our comfort level. In the insurance world everything is driven by paper. Many insurance companies claim that they have gone paperless, when in fact they have just passed the paper, along with its costs and work, down to the agent. There is nothing worse than seeing stacks of paper that need to be manually put in each client's corresponding file piling up for weeks on end until someone gets so sick of seeing it that they put it away. In a perfect world it would be put away the same day that it was recieved and transacted; however, who works in a perfect world?





So last month we finally decided to purchase a heavy duty scanner, revise our workflows, and finally set off into the paperless world. It created a lot of apprehension within the office, but it needed to be done. As the younger generation in the office it sounded like a no brainer to be able to access every piece of information and with of a click of the button have it show up on your computer screen. No more stacks of papers, no more broken nails from filing, and no more ugly filing cabinets... We recieve the paper, scan it into our computer system, and then shred the paper. We are happy to report that after working out the kinks and scanning for the past three weeks it has been nothing but a success. Looking back at all of our worries and concerns is now comical because it HAS worked so well...

SHOULD YOU PURCHASE RENTAL CAR INSURANCE??

I saw this great article on CNN.com today regarding whether a consumer should purchase the insurance coverage that is offered by rental car companies. Please read the article and if you have any questions contact us or your credit card company.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TRAVEL/traveltips/02/21/good.question.ap/index.html

Are Workers Compensation Costs "Hurting" Your Bottom Line

Many businessowners believe that all of their insurance costs are out of their direct control. Well you may be wrong if this is what you believe. One type of coverage that the businessowner can control or influence is their workers compensation costs. Workers compensation reforms of 2007 enacted by Governor Spitzer have driven down the cost of workers compensation insurance. How can your business take advantage of the reduced workers comp costs?? Understnding loss-sensitive premium elements is the first step. Two key factors determine workers comp. premium: manual rates applied to your payroll, and your company's individual accident experience rating modification ("mod"). The experience rating method takes into account that although similar employers pay the same basic manual rates, they have different loss histories and may not have similar commitments to safety. The plan adjusts for those differences by modifying the overall premium paid by the businessowner. If when your losses are calculated and are less than average for your type and size of business the workers comp. board applies a Debit or Credit "mod". Of course a debit means increased premiums and a credit means a lower premium.

Three ways to control your experience mod and lower your premiums are: Make Accident Prevention Your Strategy, Pay Small Claims, and Develop a Formal Safety Plan. The Labor Dept. says that it takes four complete policy years for the experience mod to benefit from reduced claims and better safety. The key to reducing your workers compensation costs is to develop and implement a safety plan for your business. Start small with: machine guarding, housekeeping and OSHA compliance. Most importantly be PATIENT. It will take time to see results, but if done correctly it can results in thousands of dollars of premium reductions!!!!

The Crazy World of Insurance

As a young third generation insurance person doing business in the ever changing insurance world, where consumers have many different avenues with which they purchase insurance, I think it is time to bring our agency out of the dark ages and into the blogging world. Insurance is not the most exciting topic to read (or write about) for that matter; however, from our agency's perspective, we believe that an educated consumer is key to solidifiying the need to maintain a relationship with an agency (a human) as opposed to a Gecko or a person in Bangledesh speaking broken English who could care less if you have the proper insurance coverage. With over 5,000 customers, we believe that we can continue to provide any client with the most comprehensive coverage at a competitive price as we have been doing since 1928.



I will do my best to update the blog daily to include the latest insurance news, new products, and even feature some of the customers that we have provided great service and coverage for. As this is also a blog for a business, I may even be able to point out a coverage that you may have not even thought of and make a sale as well.