There’s a very disturbing trend in vehicle design coming out of Japan and Europe. Unlike Americans who prefer the maximum possible metal around them like a cocoon when they drive, Japanese and Europeans are physically smaller people. They can get into tiny boxes on wheels that look like the type of die-cast Johnny Lightning toys we had as kids. Obviously they don’t eat as much over there. Anyway, these strange things like the Smart Fortwo and other not quite as small vehicles, are now appearing on our city roads. So, they are easy to park and they do an amazing number of miles per gallon. But put them on the same road as SUVs and you have a Goliath vs David problem. In Biblical terms, small may be agile and can get out of trouble fast, but in a straight head-to-head, the mismatch in height is going to be fatal. The problem is that the bumpers don’t match up. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has just published a study based on its crash test data. Even very low speed collisions between vehicles of different heights produces big differences in damage.

As a statement of the obvious, SUV bumpers are set higher on the vehicle and they run over the bumpers on little cars and cause thousands of dollars in damage. Why? Because the SUV bumpers are hitting a part of the smaller vehicle’s body not designed to withstand a collision. What makes the danger worse is that side impact crashes can affect the deployment of the airbags. In any event, if airbags are deployed in a cheaper vehicle, this usually means the insurer decides to total it. Continue Reading

Somewhere lurking away in one of those Christmas carol CDs is a happy chorus along the lines of , “Winter is a coming in, so loudly sing tra la. . .” or hey-nonny-nos to that effect. It’s all supposed to reassure you that all this white stuff falling out of the sky is great Christmas decoration and there’s nothing to worry about as those icicles form on the power lines. Ah, if only t’were so. The weight of snow on your roof can find any weakness. Come the thaw and melt water can seep through into lofts, bring down ceilings. That’s assuming the ice hasn’t burst your pipe before the thaw. All this good cheer should reinforce the basic message that a little prevention will keep you warm and the house secure.
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In Europe there are a lot of safety options for cars that feature both standard and additional equipment. But it’s not the same in the US. What are the reasons for that? Some insurance specialists think that it’s the lack of tort reform that puts auto insurance in the US into such a situation.

But what is a tort reform in the first place and what it has to do with auto insurance? Tort reform is a general term that refers to a change in the US civil justice framework that is required to provide a limitation of tort litigation and damage. If the reform will be applied then the negative effects litigation has on the economy will be significantly reduced.
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It may be the recession, but that never gets in the way of a good party. Whether it’s the traditional blow-outs like Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year, or just a cookout with a few friends standing around the BBQ nursing cans of beer, there’s a potential problem if you are a little too generous with the alcohol. And, let’s face it, we all need a little sustenance to be able to face each new day. Not as a slippery slope into alcoholism, of course. But just to unwind, shooting the breeze and nibbling on a chicken wing (hopefully dead).

Now, as if there wasn’t enough to worry about, those activist judges have started to get at us partiers. Those Brits used to have something with the idea of their homes as castles. High walls to keep out the local sheriff, his deputies and any passing members of the DEA. So, what’s the problem? Well, let’s suppose you are passing around the cans or pouring into glasses. Everyone is getting gently mellow. Are you going to let them all drive home? What happens if one or more of your guests is involved in an accident on the way home? Continue Reading

It is no secret that the insurance game can be a very expensive one, as it is one of the most lucrative industries in the world today. When it comes to car insurance however, it can be difficult to decide what insurance company is right for you and your family. When you are looking for car insurance, you want to find a company that offers you a number of benefits at the price you can afford. But what are those benefits exactly? Often enough people just look for the lowest price, but this may cost you down the road. When you are doing research on car insurance companies, you want to make sure they offer you the benefits that you will need that will protect you in the event of crisis. Here we will discuss exactly what those benefits are, so you know what to look for when you are trying to get the best car insurance policy.

A high payout frequency is the first benefit you want from an insurance company. What this means in laymen’s terms is that you want a company that isn’t going to give you a hassle if you ever need to make a claim. Insurance companies make money on insurance premiums, and they lose money on insurance claims. So they try to increase their number of policies and decrease their number of claims to pay out to ensure they maintain a profit. This may not be good news for you when you are looking for car insurance. When you are researching your companies, you want to find a company that has a high payout frequency. What good is a car insurance policy if they are going to make your life difficult during the claims process? Continue Reading