Post Date October 30, 2013 – A driver in Minnesota is facing the possibility of not being able to hit the road again as his license and auto insurance was cancelled not due to constant over speeding nor for maniac-driving behavior, but because of always getting cited for slow driving.

The driver does not agree with the loss of his Drivers License and Auto Insurance

Gary Constans, a resident of Lester Prairie Minnesota has been losing his court battles to keep his driver’s license.  Just recently, the state’s Court of Appeals had decided not to return Contans’ driver’s license who had earlier lost it for slow driving over and over again on the Minnesota State Streets and Highways.  Now 59 years old and a retired postal worker, Constans does not understand why authorities and his auto insurance company in Minnesota are having a problem with the way he drives. Constans said that he does not drink nor smoke while driving, and he is driving slow so as to save on fuel and also to avoid hitting animals. By the speed his going, Constans said believes that he will have enough time to hit for the brakes should an animal would cross his path therefore would avoid accidents.

Before losing his driver’s license and his auto insurance was cancelled, Constans had received nine warnings with regards to his slow driving. A report from a local newspaper said that in one of those warnings, the police caught Constans driving in a speed of 30-45 mph on a highway that has a 55mph speed limit.  Not ruling favorably to Constans, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said that the driver have disregarded the state’s traffic laws and by that his driving behavior had poses a  greater dangerous driving conditions for others using the same streets and highways.  The court said in its decision that to uphold the revocation of Constans’ license, the decision of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety commissioner to revoke his license was not arbitrary or unreasonable.

Post Date October 23, 2013 – Sending your kids to college can be an emotional time for any family. Most parents are absorbed with what things to prepare for and how to ensure their child’s protection and well-being while away from home. Having adequate auto insurance and homeowners insurance in place is one way to protect your kids financial well being. Most colleges and universities will require Auto Insurance and a Homeowners Insurance Policy be in place if the student is staying in the on-campus dormitories.

Auto Insurance and Homeowners Insurance is an issue when sending your kid to college

InsureDirect.com provides these few simple tips with regards to the insurance coverage necessary to for your college age kids and what parents must concider and obtain.

If you are sending your child away to school with an automobile, it is very important that you check with your auto insurance agent as to what coverages would be best suitable for both you and your child.  Maybe you will have to decide whether to keep your kid’s car on your family’s policy or buy your child his or her own auto insurance. What to consider here is the rate difference between having a separate policy. Also, if your childs grades are exceptional, you may want to inform your Auto insurance and Homeowners Insurance company about generous discounts which may be available to you.

Renter’s and Homeowners Insurance is also a very important insurance coverage for a child away at school. Our children will be bringing with them some very valuable items such as computers, televisions and in many cases expensive clothing. Depending on the policy, these possessions would still be covered by your Renters or Homeowners Insurance if the they are living on campus. However, many cases, if your kid is living in an apartment not on campus, a Renters or Homeowners Policy may no longer cover these possessions. It is in this situation that you may consider buying a seperate renter’s insurance for your student.

Health Insurance is another coverage you need to consider.  Review your health insurance, policy to insure your child is still covered. It is important to know whether the health services providers associated with your policy can provide cover in the locality where your child is going to study, or if not, if there are associated health providers nearby. You may also check student health insurance plans if you found out that your health care package may not suffice in your child’s situation.

Post Date October 19, 2013 – It has been said that the Affordable Care Act popularly known as Obama Care will provide an affordable coverage through the health insurance exchange.  The health insurance exchange program will make health insurance premiums to increase to almost 50 percent more than what some are paying today.

Health Insurance Exchange is no bargain…..

The sad truth is individuals who will be buying health insurance through many of the Federal government’s health insurance exchange programs next year will have to pay an average of 41 percent more than they have paid for Health Insurance in the previous year. The State of Ohio has long been considered a very competitive for health insurance, auto insurance and Homeowners Insurance. Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor said that the level of diversity which had made health insurance prices in the state to be low has been outlawed by the Affordable Care Act. Ohio’s health insurance rates and premiums are soaring higher, and even going higher than other states that have long had pricey health insurance rates. The expected 41 percent increase on individual health insurance exchange plans Is based on the premium comparison reports from Ohio insurance companies in 2012. The ODI also said that aside from individual exchange plans, exchange plans for small businesses will also suffer an increase of 18 percent in average. According to the ODI, the current premiums in the individual market have an average cost of $239.29 per month. This is expected to increase to $332.58 next year. For small businesses, the current average premium is $341.03 per month but may become $401.99 next year. The reason for this increase is the cost of providing health insurance (or claims) that the Health Insurance exchange will face. Accordingly, based on the rate filings approved by the ODI, the average cost in providing coverage for individuals next year under the new Health Insurance exchange will be $409. The current cost of providing health insurance coverage today in Ohio is only at $223.

Post Date  October 5, 2013 – The severe thunderstorms which have caused flooding and tornadoes in Ohio in July of this year caused at least $72-million in Homeowners losses. Of course this will have an effect on Ohio Homeowners Insurance Rates.

Ohio Homeowners Insurance and Car Insurance Policies experience rate insurance

The storm systems in Ohio produced excessive raining and high winds for two full weeks. The storms caused the downing of a large number of power lines and trees, causing losses for both Ohio auto and homeowners insurance.  As a result Ohio Homeowners Insurance Rates are  to rise. Based on data from Ohio Homeowners Insurance companies which represent more than three quarters of Ohio’s homeowners and auto insurance markets, damages could be around $71.5-million to $84.8 million. Said insured losses estimate does not include flood-relates losses as these are covered under the National Flood Insurance Program. This information was compiled from 26 Ohio Homeowners Insurance companies. Each Ohio Homeowners Insurance company’s losses vary from $35,000 to more than $10.6 million. To date,  Ohio Homeowners Insurance claims from the July incident are estimated to have reached around 16K. More than 3/4’s of these Ohio Homeowners Insurance claims . As for the Ohio auto insurance, there are 1,598 claims or almost 10 percent of the total claims from the incident. Business-related claims are numbered to around 2,824. However, the said estimates is not the actual insured losses in Ohio as the OII only surveyed its member companies which only account to around 76 percent of the insurance market in the state. But, the actual insured losses are likely to be closer to the OII’s estimates. The incident on July is being considered as the 10th worst major natural disaster to have hit the state since 2011. The tornadoes that struck Ohio include an EF-1 in Huron and Seneca counties, an EF-0 in Huron and Sandusky counties. These tornadoes were also matched by flashfloods in different parts of the state.