Your New Auto Insurance

After years of debate, changes have been finalized for Floridas PIP auto insurance.  According to Tampa Bays Fox 13 News, Jeremy Campbell says Car insurance changes (are) coming soon.  Rick Scott, Governor of Florida, signed a bill this week that will take effect on July 1st of this year.  Auto insurance companies and lawmakers have been working for years to battle fraud related to Floridas Personal Injury Protection (PIP) insurance.  They say that these changes will help to lower auto insurance rates because the fraud was out of control.

What will the new bill change?  First of all, Florida drivers will have to seek medical attention for any injuries related to an automobile crash within fourteen days of the occurrence.  At one point, there was no cap on the amount of time that could lapse between an accident and receiving medical treatment.  Unfortunately, some drivers were abusing the PIP system and seeking treatment for injuries or medical conditions unrelated to the crash quite a time later.

Drivers will also have to seek this medical attention from a certified medical doctor or dentist.  They cannot go to see a chiropractor or a holistic type of healer for care if they have been injured in an automobile accident.  The amount of benefits you can be paid has now been capped at $2,500, unless a certified doctor says that you have an emergency medical condition.  The cap used to be $10,000, so this is quite a significant change.  If you live in Florida and need to use your PIP insurance, make sure to have your claim documented by a medical professional within fourteen days of your accident.

Two companies are raising their Pennsylvania auto insurance rates, according to Matthew Morisset of Online Auto Insurance News.  In Nationwide, Erie raising rates for some Pennsylvanians, we learn that customers with certain good ratings will not see increases.  The Pennsylvania Insurance Department made the rate filings public for Nationwide and Eries projected increases.

Nationwide auto insurance operates three companies within Pennsylvania, but only one of them is currently writing new business.  Nationwide Affinity will be raising rates 7.9% for 202,000 new and existing customers.  Just last September, their customers saw average rate increases of 5%.  Customers renewing their policies with Nationwide Insurance Company of America will see an average increase of 6%, while Nationwide Mutual customers will see their rates increase 1.9%.  While the three companies will increase their money coming in by $18.04 million, $7.98 million, and $5.88 million respectively, their costs and payouts have skyrocketed as well.

Erie Insurance Company will be increasing rates 2.9% for their new and existing customers.  This will effect 16,900 people starting April 1.  Erie Insurance Exchange customers will actually see a small decrease of .1% in their rates.  This gives 823,000 drivers something to smile about and will decrease cash inflows to the company by $528,000.  If your auto insurance company is changing your rates, make sure you know the details and shop around for different coverage if you dont agree with an increase.

Many people lend their vehicles to friends and family members they trust without giving it a second thought, but this decision can lead to major consequences without the right auto insurance coverage. Determining whether or not your auto insurance will cover a friend driving your car will vary from policy to policy. At the very minimum, the law requires you to purchase liability auto insurance coverage. Liability insurance would cover you from the expenses that you would be liable for in the event that you are involved in an auto accident that causes property damage or bodily injury to another party involved.

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According to multiple company press releases through Business Wire, Progressive auto insurance is hiring in Tampa, Colorado Springs, Austin, Cleveland and Phoenix.  Floridas unemployment rate is close to 10%, so opening up 390 jobs in Tampa is a big boost to the economy.  The positions run throughout sales, claims and service at the Riverview contact center.  Progressive is known for being a great employer partly because of their on site fitness and medical facilities as well as a casual dress code.  The St. Pet

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Whether you’re looking for insurance for your new car, or you’re already insured but want to see if you can find a similar policy with better rates, why not compare auto insurance online? Instead of requesting quotes from each individual insurance carrier, you can request multiple quotes at once when you compare auto insurance online. All you have to do is fill out your information in the online form and you’ll receive instant quotes from a number of top insurance carriers in the nation. Of co

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The continuous stream of auto insurance commercials on TV bragging about their lower rates may have consumers believing rates are down.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  Auto insurance rates have increased about 10% between 2008 and 2010 based on smartmoney.coms report from the Insurance Information Institute.  It doesnt stop here.  Rates are expected to rise further this year by around 4%.  In the last 10 years, rates have risen by 30% causing financial strain on millions of Americans.

The executive director of advocacy group Consumer Watchdog, Douglas Heller, points out that this is a very different picture than what is painted in the media.  Man

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