Whenever you start thinking about insurance, the first thought tends to be about the risks of different types of traffic accident or the ways in which you might lose the vehicle. You make lists of collisions, vandals writing their names on your bodywork, thieves driving the vehicle away, floods carrying your car off, and so on. Then you get to all those other personal factors like where you live, what your credit score is, and so on. After a while, you wonder how you can hope to find cheaper cover when, so often, whether you make a claim or the amount of the damage has nothing to do with the way you drive. Now add in the fact that you have no control over the cost of gas or of how much the body shop will charge to repair any damage and there’s a temptation to give up. Except that’s a bit negative.

No matter what you may fear, insurance is really all about whether you are going to make a claim. Those who have the best track record, have the lowest premium rates. So don’t give up. If you have a defensive style of driving and avoid all the most obvious situations in which you may get into an accident, the insurer will reward you over time. Then you ask whether there’s any way in which you can speed up time. Continue Reading

Having a car is definitely a necessity in the US. The ability to travel across greater distances and the convenience of moving around a car gives us is definitely worth investing the money. However, some costs can definitely make this pleasant and useful object a bit expensive to maintain. Gas price is just a part of the problem, as you can always switch to a car with better gas mileage to save some money. But there’s one aspect that definitely annoys nearly all car owners out there – the necessity of insuring the vehicle.

The simple fact that car insurance is a must makes a lot of drivers think that they are made money on. Of course, having mandatory auto insurance helps maintain the order on the road with so many vehicles out there. By insuring your car you get the financial back-up for nearly any situation that may happen on the road. But sometimes this back-up comes at a price that’s not too wallet-friendly and that’s when car owners start questioning car insurance in general. Sure, getting rid of insurance altogether is not the smartest thing to do both financially and socially: you are acting irresponsibly towards other drivers who you may have an accident with and you risk ending up with enormous costs to cover out of own pocket in case the accident takes place after all. So what can be done about auto insurance in order to reduce its costs? Continue Reading

Over the last week, the international headlines have been dominated by the disaster in Japan. First came the earthquake registering 9.0 on the Richter Scale. This makes it one of the most severe earthquakes since accurate record-keeping began. Then came the tsunami. With only minutes, there was no evacuation. Instead, a wall of water some thirty feet high, swept everything in its path to destruction. Now we watch as Japan struggles with a nuclear disaster in one of its major power stations. At times like this, our hearts go out to the survivors. It’s one of the worst tragedies in a developed economy for the last ten years. But this is not just a time to reflect on how fragile the Earth is and how easily our civilization can be disrupted. We must also look to home and review the preparations we have made should there be local problems.

The West coast sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire and, at some point, there may be a major quake affecting California. We should wonder whether the nuclear power plants in the areas most at risk will fare better than those in Japan. Southern California proudly boasts the design for the San Onofre Plant will survive a 7.0 quake. As a word of explanation, every change in a whole number, say from 7.0 to 8.0 means the quake is ten times as strong. It would not hurt to look carefully at the safety issues at all plants close to areas at risk of a quake. Continue Reading

Let’s start off in New Hampshire. The first question is whether the design standards in modern vehicles make annual safety checks unnecessary. If you said, “yes”, you are with the thirty states that do not require any safety checks. The theory seems to be responsible drivers maintain their vehicles and are not a hazard on the roads. If there’s an accident, they pay more for their insurance – it’s a stick and carrot approach to social responsibility except it forces up the premium rates for all drivers. In states where there are annual checks, vehicles are better maintained, there are fewer accidents, and drivers pay lower rates. New Hampshire has just decided to move from one to two-year inspections. Now there will be thousands more vehicles on the road with poor brakes and defective front ends. Guess what will happen to the premium rates.

In Mississippi, there’s a bill to enforce the mandate by requiring drivers to produce proof of insurance before the tax collector issues a tag. Governor Haley Barbour is currently considering whether the new database will be open to the police to check the status of all drivers. If he does sign this bill into law, it will potentially reduce everyone’s insurance premium rates. The more people are forced into paying for the basic minimum liability policy, the less the law-abiding people will pay. Continue Reading

What’s in a word? Well, perhaps in this case, it’s the difference between insurance cover and no cover. Let’s start with the straightforward version which we might call a motor scooter. This is a two-wheeled, low-powered version of a motorbike and, despite very real safety concerns, their number has been growing steadily on our roads since we broke through the price barrier of $3 per gallon of gas. The reason is simple. It’s not difficult to get 60 or more miles to the gallon on a scooter. That’s rather better than the average vehicle. Add in the fact you will also save dramatic amounts on the auto insurance and it looks a good deal. The only problem is the number of accidents. Drivers seem to have great difficulty is actually seeing these nippy little things as they whizz in and out of traffic.

Changing the subject, you can’t avoid knowing we are facing an epidemic of obesity. Perhaps equally as serious is the increasing age of the population. As the boomers steadily pass the 60 mark, the average age is rising quite sharply. Those who work out these math sums tell us that, by 2025, there will be 66 million people aged 65 or more. Now let’s put together the picture by adding in the number of people who are born with disabilities or who are injured and therefore cannot walk around so easily. One of the things we pride ourselves on as Americans is our inventiveness. Knowing how many people might find it a challenge to move around the home or outside, there’s been a rush to develop scooters (for the record, the general term is an “electric mobility device”. They now come in a fairly standard four-wheel form, rather like a slimmed down golf cart and, in increasing numbers, you’re likely to see them on our roads and have to move out of their way on sidewalks and cycle paths. Continue Reading