Common Myths About Car Insurance. What You Don’t Know Can Cost You.

November 1st, 2011

Along with the hot wheels, cool trim, leather interior and killer sound system, your sports car came with another line item add-on that wasn’t part of the MSRP: sports car automobile insurance. Insuring your shiny fast ride can add thousands of dollars to cost of ownership over the life of the car…unless you’re a savvy shopper. Here’s what you need to know to help you find cheap sports car insurance (or at least reasonably priced). For starters, different insurance companies have different definitions of what is and isn’t a sports car. This is typically based on a VIN (vehicle identification number) system published by the Insurance Services Office or the company’s own ranking system. Either syst

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Religious Groups Still Fighting Birth Control Mandate

November 1st, 2011

A new federal rule requires health insurers to provide birth control, for free, to their policyholders. This is because birth control is considered to be preventative care. Employers who offer employer sponsored health insurance cannot opt out of this mandate. Some religious groups are upset about this.

In August of 2011, a new health reform law was passed. This law included birth control into the category of preventative care. A previous law required insurers to cover all preventative health services at no cost to the policyholder.

Essentially, this means that health insurance policies must offer all forms of prescription contraception that have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration to policyholders for free.

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Florida Governor calls for residents to share insight on Citizens Insurance Group

October 31st, 2011

Florida Governor Rick Scott is looking for input from consumers on what to do with the state-run insurance company Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The company has come upon difficult financial times in recent years, much of which has been at the hands of fraud and natural disasters. The company was recently approved to raise rates on sinkhole coverage for homes as a way to offset the losses seen in years past. The new rates have spurred public outcry, which has led regulators to stagger the rate increase over the course of several years. Now, Scott is looking for ways to make the company viable in the future.

The Governor hopes to sell Citizens to a private company.

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Nation’s Newest Environmental Satellite Successfully Launched

October 26th, 2011

America’s newest polar-orbiting satellite roared into orbit this morning, setting the stage for enhanced weather data NOAA scientists will use to develop life-saving severe weather forecasts days in advance

The NPOESS Preparatory Project NPP satellite is a NASA Earth-observing satellite and features five new instruments that will collect more detailed information about Earth’s atmosphere, land and oceans NASA will use NPP as a research mission, while NOAA will use the data for short and long-term weather forecasting and environmental monitoring

In 2011, data from polar-orbiting satellites like NPP allowed emergency managers and communities to prepare for severe weather events Five days before a destructive and deadly tornado outbreak in Alabama and parts of the Southeast in April, NOAA forecasters were able to see the early atmospheric signs of the storm system developing and issue timely warnings

NPP will orbit Earth every 102 minutes, flying 512 miles above the surface, monitoring atomospheric conditions below The first of the NPP data will become available in about 90 days

 

What to do about smokers in your holiday cottage

October 25th, 2011

Apart from the fire risks – which could mean making a claim on your holiday property insurance policy -  allowing smoking in your holiday home could lose you repeat business. After all, who wants to stay in a property that smells like an old ashtray – especially when it’s advertised as non-smoking?

You may find, however, that despite putting up ‘No Smoking’ signs around your holiday home, installing  smoke detectors, and even putting a no smoking clause in your terms and conditions (T&C’s), you may still get visitors who smoke on your premises.

What can you do about smokers in your holiday home (when it’s forbidden)?

First of all, while your guest is in breach of their holiday rental contract with you, it is unlikely you could claim any recompense unless a financial penalty is actually stated within the booking contract.

However, deducting the cleaning and any deodorising costs from any damage deposit they have paid (make sure you send them copies of all cleaning receipts) may be one way to get around this. If you typicall

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Second quarter catastrophes bleeding into State Auto’s third quarter

October 23rd, 2011

State Auto Financial Corp. estimates that its third quarter 2011 results will include between $60 million and $63 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses, some from second quarter catastrophes.

STFC, which operates in Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, among other states, and Washington, D.C., said its third quarter pre-tax catastrophe losses include about $25 million of prior period development from second quarter catastrophes.

Catastrophic events during the third quarter included Hurricane Irene (about $16 million), wildfires, the East Coast earthquake and others.

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