When Drivers Should Check Other Car Insurance Quotes

When it comes to the premium drivers pay on their car insurance, certain events can affect the amount they pay. Whether if those events affect their car insurance rates in a positive or negative way, drivers can find out by checking the car insurance market at least once every six months.

Drivers are recommended to check the online insurance market in the following situations: 

• Driver's credit score changed. Insurance companies are allowed to take drivers credit score into consideration when determining their premium rates. Drivers with a good score will pay less, while drivers with bad credit score will pay more on their premium rates.
• State's laws have changed. The car insurance laws and the requirements are different in each state. These laws and requirements can change at any time, so it's important for the policyholders to be vigilant.
• Driver's has maintained coverage. If the policyholder is a new driver or a more experienced driver that has a coverage lapse, then the policyholder is considered a high-risk driver. High-risk drivers pay more on their premiums, and in order to get rid of the high-risk label, they need to maintain coverage for at least six months.
• Major life events. Several events that happen in the life of a policyholder can affect their premiums. Events, like getting married, moving to a low-crime neighborhood, or buying a safer car, can make the policyholder premium rates to decrease. Events, like getting divorced, moving to a high-crime neighborhood, or buying an unsafe vehicle, will make the policyholder premium to increase.
• Policy renewal time is getting closer. This the best time for a policyholder to shop for online quotes. Many rival insurance companies will try to lure the policyholder to their companies, by offering him all sorts of discounts and offers.

Happy Friday!

Insurance Claims at $9 Billion From California Wildfires

There are more than 28,000 claims for residential personal property, nearly 2,000 from commercial property and 9,400 in auto and other claims for the fires.

Insurance claims from last month's California wildfires already are at $9 billion and expected to increase, the state's insurance commissioner announced Wednesday. Because of this, many insurers have stopped issuing residential property insurance due to the risk.

About $7 billion in claims are from the Camp Fire that destroyed the Northern California city of Paradise and killed at least 86 people, making it the deadliest U.S. wildfire in at least a century. The rest is from the Woolsey and Hill fires in Southern California.

Collectively, the fires destroyed or damaged more than 20,000 structures, with the vast majority in and around Paradise. On Tuesday, state and federal authorities estimated it will cost at least $3 billion just to clear debris.

"As the claims get perfected, as individuals get access to their former homes and neighborhoods, as they dialogue with their insurance companies and share more information about the scope of their loss, we expect these numbers to rise," Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones said of the $9 billion estimate.

There are more than 28,000 claims for residential personal property, nearly 2,000 from commercial property and 9,400 in auto and other claims for the fires.

That's well above the number of claims filed following a series of fires that tore through Northern California's wine country last year. Losses from those fires were initially pegged at $3.3 billion but eventually grew to $10 billion.

While the Camp Fire destroyed about double the number of structures as the 2017 fires, home values in Butte County are far lower than those in Sonoma County. That's part of the reason total claims may seem low compared to the 2017 figures, Jones said. Median home values in Sonoma County are more than double those in Butte.

Jones advised home owners to be cautious of "fraudsters and scam artists" trying to take advantage of vulnerable communities.

He also said its time for California to start rethinking how and if it builds in fire-prone areas. Ken Pimlott, outgoing director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told The Associated Press this week the state should consider banning construction in vulnerable areas.

Jones said local governments may not be fully considering the long-term impacts of building in areas at high risk of fire, floods and rising sea levels.