So You Want Cheap Car Insurance?

Car insurance, along with home insurance, has been getting more and more expensive. And that trend is expected to continue, even if sometimes there is a break for a year or two. Some of it is due to higher costs to rebuild houses and repair cars. Some is due to all the lawsuits from car accidents, dog bites, trampoline spills, and so on. Some is due to outright fraud. And I’m not talking about padding bills a little, I’m talking about completely staged accidents that were intentionally done so that an insurance claim could be filed. In addition, things like mold, hurricanes, and other large losses are making it hard for insurance companies to be confident in their pricing.

Especially in the downstate area including Nassau and Suffolk Counties on Long Island, costs are high. In those areas fraud is worse, and repair costs are even higher. In addition a large part of the biggest claims in car insurance are for medical expenses, and we all know what has happened to those over the past decade.

Well, everybody wants cheap car insurance, but what can you do to get it? There are several ways to start. First is to shop around or have an agent (like us) who shops around for you. Maybe not every 6 months, because unless something drastic happens, but it pays to look at it every couple of years or so. You should also take the highest deductibles you can afford on your fire, theft, and collision coverages, especially if you have more than one car. The savings on one car, going from a $250 to a $500 deductible, is decent, but if you have several cars, the savings are multiplied, and the odds of you having a claim on more than one car in a given policy period are small.

Another thing you can do is take the National Safety Council Defensive Driver course which is offered all over and will save you 10% on most parts of your policy. Remember that you have to take this course every three years to continue getting the discount.

One thing you don’t want to cut back on is your liability coverages. For one thing, you need to be protected against the lawsuits that seem to happen every time cars meet by accident. But the second part of that is that insurance companies often do NOT give their best rates to people who carry ‘minimum coverage’. They have found over the years that people who want to protect themselves better make better insurance customers as well.

But these days, the real way to lower your rates for both home insurance and auto insurance is to have a good ‘insurance score’. And that will be the topic of my next post!

Welcome to our new Blog!

Welcome to our new blog. I am the 3rd generation owner of an insurance agency in Babylon, NY who has also been a computer geek since 1979. So blogging is not new to me, but writing one about insurance will be. You can see my other blog, which is mostly about our town, at www.aroundbabylon.com. It's a local news blog that I write after my daily walks around our Village.

This one will be different. Here I will try to inform and amuse with information on saving money and managing your insurance. I have told people for years that it's not just death and taxes that are the certainties in life, but also insurance!

Millions are Facing Squeeze on House Payments

""millions of Americans who stretched themselves financially to buy homes face a painful adjustment -- some could even lose their houses -- as monthly payments on adjustable-rate mortgages are reset higher.

In the hot housing market of recent years, many households took advantage of "affordability" mortgage loans -- heavily promoted by lenders -- that hold down payments for an initial period. Now the initial periods are coming to an end on many of these loans, leaving borrowers to face resets of their interest rates that can cause monthly payments to shoot up between 10% and 50%.

More than $2 trillion of U.S. mortgage debt, or about a quarter of all mortgage loans outstanding, comes up for interest-rate resets in 2006 and 2007, estimates Moody's Economy.com, a research firm in West Chester, Pa.

Most borrowers will be able to cope with the coming wave of resets, in some cases by refinancing with new loans, lenders and mortgage industry analysts say. But some borrowers will have trouble meeting the higher payments and may be forced to sell their homes or could lose their homes to foreclosures. A recent study by First American Real Estate Solutions, a unit of title insurer First American Corp., projects that about one in eight households with adjustable-rate mortgages that originate...........""

from Real Estate Journal

Millions are Facing Squeeze on House Payments

""millions of Americans who stretched themselves financially to buy homes face a painful adjustment -- some could even lose their houses -- as monthly payments on adjustable-rate mortgages are reset higher.

In the hot housing market of recent years, many households took advantage of "affordability" mortgage loans -- heavily promoted by lenders -- that hold down payments for an initial period. Now the initial periods are coming to an end on many of these loans, leaving borrowers to face resets of their interest rates that can cause monthly payments to shoot up between 10% and 50%.

More than $2 trillion of U.S. mortgage debt, or about a quarter of all mortgage loans outstanding, comes up for interest-rate resets in 2006 and 2007, estimates Moody's Economy.com, a research firm in West Chester, Pa.

Most borrowers will be able to cope with the coming wave of resets, in some cases by refinancing with new loans, lenders and mortgage industry analysts say. But some borrowers will have trouble meeting the higher payments and may be forced to sell their homes or could lose their homes to foreclosures. A recent study by First American Real Estate Solutions, a unit of title insurer First American Corp., projects that about one in eight households with adjustable-rate mortgages that originate...........""

from Real Estate Journal

Take the Challenge Essay - $250,000 Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has announced an Essay contest, where the winner may win a $250,000 mortgage...........

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage announced it will award up to $250,000 (after taxes) toward the purchase of a home to one person through its Take The Challenge™ essay contest.

The nation's No. 1 retail mortgage lender** will award the grand prize to the person who provides the most compelling first-person account of their pursuit of homeownership and who has either purchased a home in 2006, or has plans to buy a first home, second home or investment property in the next three years. The up-to $250,000 after-tax winnings must be applied to a home purchase and entrants must agree to have their essays shared.

Each essay will be reviewed by an independent panel of judges and the winner announced in March 2007.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage launched this contest as part of its founding sponsorship of The Great American Homeowner Challenge™, a nationwide educational effort in conjunction with financial coach and No. 1 best-selling author David Bach to inspire 10 million Americans to buy their first home, a second home or investment property in the next three years. Bach's latest book, The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner(TM), motivates renters and current homeowners to reach their financial goals through homeownership.

Through the essay contest, Wells Fargo intends to unearth motivational stories of personal and financial success through homeownership. "We want the essays written for the Take The Challenge contest to inspire others on the road to a home purchase," said Cara Heiden, division president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "This is a great way for both renters and current homeowners to publicly express how owning a home can make a difference in their lives."

from RIS Media

for contest information here is the link: Wells Fargo

Take the Challenge Essay - $250,000 Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has announced an Essay contest, where the winner may win a $250,000 mortgage...........

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage announced it will award up to $250,000 (after taxes) toward the purchase of a home to one person through its Take The Challenge™ essay contest.

The nation's No. 1 retail mortgage lender** will award the grand prize to the person who provides the most compelling first-person account of their pursuit of homeownership and who has either purchased a home in 2006, or has plans to buy a first home, second home or investment property in the next three years. The up-to $250,000 after-tax winnings must be applied to a home purchase and entrants must agree to have their essays shared.

Each essay will be reviewed by an independent panel of judges and the winner announced in March 2007.

Wells Fargo Home Mortgage launched this contest as part of its founding sponsorship of The Great American Homeowner Challenge™, a nationwide educational effort in conjunction with financial coach and No. 1 best-selling author David Bach to inspire 10 million Americans to buy their first home, a second home or investment property in the next three years. Bach's latest book, The Automatic Millionaire Homeowner(TM), motivates renters and current homeowners to reach their financial goals through homeownership.

Through the essay contest, Wells Fargo intends to unearth motivational stories of personal and financial success through homeownership. "We want the essays written for the Take The Challenge contest to inspire others on the road to a home purchase," said Cara Heiden, division president of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage. "This is a great way for both renters and current homeowners to publicly express how owning a home can make a difference in their lives."

from RIS Media

for contest information here is the link: Wells Fargo

new credit score simplifies credit process

The Consumer Credit Industry is developing a new type of Credit Score......

The nation's three consumer credit-reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- today jointly announced the introduction of a new credit score that aims to simplify and enhance the credit process for consumers and credit grantors.

The new VantageScore leverages shared data from all three companies and analyzes it to arrive at a score. Under the new scoring system, credit score variance between credit-reporting companies will be attributed to data differences within each of the three consumer credit files and not to the structure of the scoring model or data interpretation.

"As markets have matured, so have customers' needs," said TransUnion's Chet Wiermanski, one of the creators of VantageScore and vice president of analytics for the company.

The score analyzes data at the same point in time on the same consumer records from all three national credit-reporting companies. VantageScore was developed using a national sample of anonymous credit information of approximately 15 million consumers and uses a score range of 990-501.

"By developing a patent-pending approach to consistently interpret the credit information stored within each credit repository, also referred to as characteristic leveling, any credit scoring differences between the credit-reporting companies can be attributed to data differences in a consumer's credit file rather than data interpretation -- as is the case in most scoring models today," said Wiermanski.

from: Loans USA

new credit score simplifies credit process

The Consumer Credit Industry is developing a new type of Credit Score......

The nation's three consumer credit-reporting companies -- Equifax, Experian and TransUnion -- today jointly announced the introduction of a new credit score that aims to simplify and enhance the credit process for consumers and credit grantors.

The new VantageScore leverages shared data from all three companies and analyzes it to arrive at a score. Under the new scoring system, credit score variance between credit-reporting companies will be attributed to data differences within each of the three consumer credit files and not to the structure of the scoring model or data interpretation.

"As markets have matured, so have customers' needs," said TransUnion's Chet Wiermanski, one of the creators of VantageScore and vice president of analytics for the company.

The score analyzes data at the same point in time on the same consumer records from all three national credit-reporting companies. VantageScore was developed using a national sample of anonymous credit information of approximately 15 million consumers and uses a score range of 990-501.

"By developing a patent-pending approach to consistently interpret the credit information stored within each credit repository, also referred to as characteristic leveling, any credit scoring differences between the credit-reporting companies can be attributed to data differences in a consumer's credit file rather than data interpretation -- as is the case in most scoring models today," said Wiermanski.

from: Loans USA

1031 tax exchange for real estate investors

1031 tax exchange for real estate investors
Title Issues for 1031 Exchange
This is a great article for real estate investors from Realty Times. Here is an excerpt from the article:

One of the basic requirements of a 1031 exchange is you have to take title to the new property in the same manner that you held title to the old property.

The IRS means the same tax identification number or social security number by "same manner." This means that if Sue owned the purple duplex she sold in her individual name, she can not have her corporation take title to her new property because she has a social security number and her corporation has its own tax identification number and files a separate tax return.

While this concept seems simple enough, it is probably one of the most problematic areas of 1031 law. The reason for many is that they own property in partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs).

Let's say Fred owns a one-third interest in the FGH Partnership. The partnership owns a building which it is selling for $300,000. Can Fred take his share ($100,000) and exchange in a building in his name only? No -- because the partnership is the tax return that owned the old property, not Fred's individual income tax return. Only the partnership may do the exchange.

What happens if Fred's partners, George a........

we are not tax experts. for tax advice consult an attorney

Read the rest of the article here: Title Issues 1031

1031 tax exchange for real estate investors

1031 tax exchange for real estate investors
Title Issues for 1031 Exchange
This is a great article for real estate investors from Realty Times. Here is an excerpt from the article:

One of the basic requirements of a 1031 exchange is you have to take title to the new property in the same manner that you held title to the old property.

The IRS means the same tax identification number or social security number by "same manner." This means that if Sue owned the purple duplex she sold in her individual name, she can not have her corporation take title to her new property because she has a social security number and her corporation has its own tax identification number and files a separate tax return.

While this concept seems simple enough, it is probably one of the most problematic areas of 1031 law. The reason for many is that they own property in partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies (LLCs).

Let's say Fred owns a one-third interest in the FGH Partnership. The partnership owns a building which it is selling for $300,000. Can Fred take his share ($100,000) and exchange in a building in his name only? No -- because the partnership is the tax return that owned the old property, not Fred's individual income tax return. Only the partnership may do the exchange.

What happens if Fred's partners, George a........

we are not tax experts. for tax advice consult an attorney

Read the rest of the article here: Title Issues 1031

Kentucky Motorcycles, Stolen or Crashed

kentucky motorcycle insurance, motorcycle insurance

If you think you'd be more likely to have your motorcycle stolen if you lived in Chicago versus Wichita, who could blame you? After all, it's a much bigger city. The same goes for crashes; no one could fault you for assuming that the bigger the city, the more the traffic congestion and therefore the greater the odds of having an accident. But that's not always the case, according to The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, which insures more motorcycles than any other insurance group in the country.


Drive Insurance from Progressive reviewed claims data on more than two million motorcycles insured over the past three years to determine the likelihood of a motorcyclist getting into an accident or having a bike stolen. The analysis focused on the 89 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 and higher.

The study found Honolulu riders are most likely to have their bikes stolen, even though it's the 53rd largest metropolitan area. In fact, a motorcyclist in Honolulu is four times more likely to have a bike stolen than is a motorcyclist in Chicago or Detroit, which are the third and seventh largest metro areas in the country, respectively.

Similarly, though Baton Rouge ranks 75th in population, it ranks third when it comes to the likelihood of a rider there having a motorcycle crash. And, a motorcyclist in Philadelphia, the country's fifth largest metro area, is 36 percent less likely to have an accident as one in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metro area, which is the 47th largest.

One metropolitan area where the statistics are more in line with what you might expect is New York; it ranks number one both in population and in the likelihood of motorcycle collisions. And, while three metro areas rank among the most likely for both thefts and collisions (New York, Norfolk-Virginia Beach, and San Diego), only one - Cincinnati - ranks among the least likely for both.

from Drive Insurance from Progressive

Kentucky Motorcycles, Stolen or Crashed

kentucky motorcycle insurance, motorcycle insurance

If you think you'd be more likely to have your motorcycle stolen if you lived in Chicago versus Wichita, who could blame you? After all, it's a much bigger city. The same goes for crashes; no one could fault you for assuming that the bigger the city, the more the traffic congestion and therefore the greater the odds of having an accident. But that's not always the case, according to The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, which insures more motorcycles than any other insurance group in the country.


Drive Insurance from Progressive reviewed claims data on more than two million motorcycles insured over the past three years to determine the likelihood of a motorcyclist getting into an accident or having a bike stolen. The analysis focused on the 89 U.S. metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 and higher.

The study found Honolulu riders are most likely to have their bikes stolen, even though it's the 53rd largest metropolitan area. In fact, a motorcyclist in Honolulu is four times more likely to have a bike stolen than is a motorcyclist in Chicago or Detroit, which are the third and seventh largest metro areas in the country, respectively.

Similarly, though Baton Rouge ranks 75th in population, it ranks third when it comes to the likelihood of a rider there having a motorcycle crash. And, a motorcyclist in Philadelphia, the country's fifth largest metro area, is 36 percent less likely to have an accident as one in the Norfolk-Virginia Beach metro area, which is the 47th largest.

One metropolitan area where the statistics are more in line with what you might expect is New York; it ranks number one both in population and in the likelihood of motorcycle collisions. And, while three metro areas rank among the most likely for both thefts and collisions (New York, Norfolk-Virginia Beach, and San Diego), only one - Cincinnati - ranks among the least likely for both.

from Drive Insurance from Progressive