Flood Insurance Rates may Spike
New flood insurance rate maps have recently been developed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for Oahu and Kauai. Homeowners on these islands with federally backed mortgages may now need to obtain flood insurance. And homeowners who currently carry flood insurance may see a dramatic increase in their flood insurance premiums. Check out the Honolulu Star Advertiser article below. In one example, the flood insurance premium for a homeowner could increase from $350 annually to $5,700 annually!!
http://www.staradvertiser.com/news/20100805_New_maps_could_hike_insura nce_cost.html
Tips to Save Money on Your Auto Insurance
Interested in saving money on your auto insurance policy? Check out the following article on some tips to save on your auto insurance premiums.
Lower Your Auto Insurance Costs
Automobile insurance premiums often take a big bite out of a family’s budget. You may, however, be paying too much for this coverage. The following are several approaches you can use to reduce your auto insurance costs.
- Choose higher deductibles, particularly if you currently have a low collision or other-than-collision deductible, such as $100 or $250. Increasing your deductible from $250 to $500 or $1,000, for example, can reduce your collision and other-than-collision premium by 15 to 35 percent.
- Eliminate collision and other-than-collision coverage on older, less valuable cars. If your car is worth less than $1,500, it may be wiser and cheaper in the long run to just retain this physical damage exposure. Used car valuations are available online at Kelley Blue Book.
- Maintain an excellent credit record, since insurance companies are increasingly using credit scores to price auto insurance policies. Consumers with poor credit often pay more for auto insurance.
- Buy a “low-profile” automobile. Before you purchase a new or used car, check into the auto insurance costs. Automobile models that are expensive to maintain and have higher theft and collision frequency rates tend to have higher insurance costs.
- Take advantage of multipolicy discounts by keeping your homeowners and auto policy with one insurer. Likewise, take advantage of multicar discounts by having all autos on one insurance policy.
- Seek out other auto insurance discounts (which can vary by state and by insurance company), such as defensive driving, good student, low-mileage auto, alcohol awareness training, air bags, antilock brakes, claim-free experience, and long-term customer.
Get more personal lines insurance and risk management tips and ideas from IRMI.
Copyright 2010
International Risk Management Institute, Inc.
Hawaii auto insurance rates seventh lowest
A recent Honolulu Star Advertiser article places Hawaii as the seventh lowest state for auto insurance rates. Massachussetts had the lowest rates and Louisiana had the highest rates. The article gave some good insight on why Hawaii rates were low. This has not always been the case. In the early 1990′s, Hawaii had some of the highest rates in the nation.
Check out the Star Advertiser article for details.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/business/20100617_Isle_car_insurance_pri ces_seventh_lowest.html
