Tips For Choosing Your Auto Insurance Company

In case of car accident, it is nice to have a safety net. Of course it is standard that once you buy a car, you must also purchase auto insurance. But what if the company where you buy your auto insurance policy is taking too long to process your claim? And what if the company does not recognize your claim at all? You see, having an auto insurance policy is not enough, not to mention, useless if you disregard the possibility that the insurance company you have chosen is unreliable.

With this, it is only proper to discuss the factors that need to consider when choosing an auto insurance company.

The first thing you should do before signing up for a purchase is to know if the insurance company is reliable or not. Auto insurance company can be considered reliable if it is paying the correct claim with the correct amount at the fastest time possible. To know this, you can check on the website of your state's department of insurance. Posted in this website are the complaints of costumers with respect to the number of claims filed in a year.

One particular site that would certainly help you in selecting the best auto insurance is the J.D. Power and Associates website. This organization collects data from policyholders across the country. The J.D. Power and Associates also asks from these policyholders the grade-rating of their insurance company in terms of claims, handing, price, satisfaction with the representatives, coverage options, and the overall experience with the company.

The company's grade-rating from costumers are very important factor to consider since you will never know when you will have to file a claim at the same time, get a result as soon as possible. It does not mean though that once a company receives complain, you are already gambling your money if you decide to purchase an insurance policy from them. The thing is, all companies can get complaints once in a while but consider those with the least number of complaints and the highest rating from their costumers. Also, consider the insurance company that ranks the highest in all aspects.

Then, you need to know the financial strength of the auto insurance company. As a reference, take of the Standard & Poor's ratings and the A.M. Best. These two companies publish the financial strength rating of every insurance company in the United States. What is the importance of this? The financial strength of your possible auto insurance company determines if it has the capacity to settle or to pay for claims. Thus high financial strength rating means a wiser choice.

Consider also the price of the premium they offer and the choices of policy they have. Premiums matter much whether or not you are a frugal costumer.

The next thing you should consider in selecting your auto insurance company is the number of accredited body shops that is recommended by the particular company. Consider the distance of them from your place. This could be a minor consideration but once you are in the situation where you need your car to be repaired, then location is significant. Also, make sure that these body shops have the right equipment and expertise that will effectively answer any future need of your car.

Now that you know these things, you are ready to choose your auto insurance company.

7 Tips On Getting The Right Flood Insurance So You Can Stay Prepared This Winter

�Purchasing flood insurance is not something you want to rush,� notes David Beavers of the Water Damage Team. �To properly protect your investments you should take the time to properly prepare before purchasing flood insurance, as rates limits and coverage alter drastically between insurance companies. To help you prepare for your search, please enjoy the following list of tips for finding the right flood insurance.�

1. Assess your Home�s Risk
A nation wide insurance company stated that one third of the flood claims they get come from homes not in a flood prone area. It�s important to consider your real risk for a flood of any kind, and how high if a risk it is. Depending on your homes propensity to flood, the policy you choose should adjust to it accordingly. You can go to the governments flood site, FloodSmart.com, to get a better idea of your homes risk for flooding as well as some estimates for price ranges you should be expecting.

2. Don�t Wait
It takes awhile to finalize the process of getting flood insurance, and if a flood occurs during that process it�s not likely that you will receive coverage. If you are considering this type of insurance, then make sure you plan to purchase it well before flood or even rain season. Unfortunately, the majority of homes in Louisiana had no flood insurance during hurricane Katrina, and government handouts only go so far.

3. Educate Yourself on Limits
Before signing anything, make sure you know your home well and they type of flood damage it could incur. Then carefully evaluate your flood insurance proposal and make sure you are fully covered for any and every area of concern. While some insurance companies have limits to the amount they�ll refund you for damages, some will cover your home and it�s possessions to the full extent. Do not be afraid to ask questions, express concerns, or criticize rates and limits. This is your home, life, and family you�re dealing with so it�s okay to be a little pushy to make sure you�re getting what you want when you pay for it.

4. Ask About Rate Increases
No one wants to think about their rates increasing in the future when they�re first taking on a new bill, but it is important to remember that your flood insurance rates could very likely rise and you will be expected to pay the difference. Luckily, now that you know this you can take a look at rate limits for each insurance company you consider, and factor them in.

5. Preparation is Key
The more knowledgeable and prepared you are when choosing flood insurance, the more likely you are to make the perfect choice for you. Before going in to question agents, make a list of things you�d like to ask and know. It�s easy to get flustered and forget important things when you�re talking to a smooth talking insurance agent who knows how to make a sale. Know what exactly you�d like protected from a potential flood (just the home, or all possessions or vehicles as well?) and what your budget is. Look online before going out to et a good idea for insurance rates for your area.

6. Ask Neighbors
Don�t be shy to ask neighbors and friends living nearby if they have flood insurance and which company they purchased it from. Make sure to ask multiple questions from overall satisfaction, to reliability and rates. The best reviews are from the customers themselves as opposed to the company trying to sell their stuff.

7. Do Not Rely on Handouts
Although it�s true people living in high-risk areas have the right to government aid in a natural disaster, they aid is very limited. Very limited. If you live in one of theses areas and thus think you don�t need insurance, know that you�ll receive some help but you may lose your home and possessions in the process, as the government is not likely to replace them.


The Water Damage Team is a nation wide disaster restoration company, with years of experience in water removal and water drying. As well as storm damage clean up, contaminated water removal, structural drying, debris removal and mold remediation.

Zacks estimates Willis Group Holdings EPS

Best insurance stock today - Zacks estimates Willis Group Holdings EPS : Willis Group Holdings plc (WSH - Analyst Report) reported fourth-quarter 2012 adjusted net income from continuing operations of 45 cents per share, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a penny. Results were in line with the year-ago earnings.

Including goodwill impairment charge of $2.62 per share, write-off of unamortized cash retention awards of 79 cents, 2012 cash bonus accrual of $1 per share, insurance recovery of 2 cents, loss on disposal of operations of 1 cent, deferred tax valuation allowance of 64 cents and dilutive impact of potentially issuable shares of 6 cents, Willis Group incurred a loss of $4.65 per share, compared with an income of 14 cents in the prior-year quarter.

Operational Performance

Total revenue in the quarter increased 6.3% year over year to $871 million due to higher commissions and fees. Commissions and fees improved 7% year over year to $867 million in the quarter.

Investment income plummeted 100% year over year to $4 million, attributable to lower net yields on cash and cash equivalents.

Total expense shot up 123% year over year to $1.6 billion, primarily due to an increase in salaries and benefits, and goodwill impairment charge.

In the quarter under review, adjusted operating income was $166 million, up 8.5% year over year. Operating margin expanded 40 basis points to 19.1%.

Quarterly Segment Update

Global: Organic growth in commissions and fees was 11.6% in the quarter, while reported growth was 11.3%. Organic growth was primarily driven by better results across all lines of business.

Operating margin was 19.7%, expanding 340 basis points year over year.

North America: Commissions and fees, on an organic basis, grew 5%, while on a reported basis grew 4.7%.

Operating margin in the quarter contracted 250 basis points to 17.2%.

International: On an organic basis, commissions and fees increased 7.4% year over year, while on a reported basis, it increased 6.4%. Latin America reported strong double-digit growth, while Europe and UK reported mid-single digit growth. Asia recorded low single-digit growth.

Operating margin was 23.6%, contracting 270 basis points.

Full year Highlights

Adjusted net income from continuing operations of $2.58 per share were in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate. Earnings declined 5.8% over 2011.

Including goodwill impairment charge of $2.60 per share, write-off of unamortized cash retention awards of 78 cents, 2012 cash bonus accrual of 99 cents, insurance recovery of 3 cents, loss on disposal of operations of 2 cents, India JV settlement of 6 cents, write-off of uncollectible accounts receivable balance and legal fees of 5 cents, deferred tax valuation allowance of 64 cents and the dilutive impact of potentially issuable shares of 6 cents, Willis Group incurred a loss of $2.58 per share, compared with an income of $1.15 in 2011.

Cost Savings Initiative

Management is reviewing the organizational design and expects to reduce headcount. The review will be completed in the first quarter of 2013. As a result Willis Group expects to incur a pre-tax charge of about $35 million to $45 million in the first quarter of 2013.

Nevertheless, beginning in the second quarter, the company expects to realize cost savings, primarily through headcount reduction, of approximately $20 million to $25 million in 2013. Moreover, it expects annualized cost savings of approximately $25 million to $30 million.

Financial Update

Willis exited 2012 with cash and cash equivalents of $500 million, up 14.7% year over year.

Long-term debt slid 0.7% to $2.3 billion from 2011 end.

Cash flow from operating activities in 2012 was $524 million, up 19.4%.

Dividend Update

In Feb 2013, the board of directors approved a 3.7% increase in the quarterly cash dividend. Willis will pay the increased dividend of 28 cents on Apr 15, 2013 to shareholders of record as on Mar 29, 2013. The annualized dividend comes to $1.12 per share.

Performance of other insurance brokers

Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc. (MMC - Analyst Report) reported its fourth-quarter 2012 operating earnings of 52 cents per share, in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.

However, the results were slightly higher than the year-ago quarter�s earnings of 46 cents per share.

Arthur J Gallagher & Co. (AJG - Snapshot Report) reported earnings of 39 cents in the fourth quarter, a penny above the Zacks Consensus Estimate and up 11% year over year.

Aon plc (AON - Snapshot Report) posted earnings of $1.27 per share, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 1.6% and the year-ago earnings by 31%.

Zacks Rank

Willis Group currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold)

UIHC insurance will release financial result Q4 February 27 2013

UIHC insurance will release financial result Q4 February 27 2013 :  United Insurance Holdings Corp. (Nasdaq: UIHC) (the Company), a property and casualty insurance holding company, announced today that it expects to release its financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2012, after the market closes on Wednesday, February 27, 2013. The Company will conduct its quarterly conference call to discuss those results and review the outlook for the Company on Thursday, February 28, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Company invites interested parties to participate in the conference call.

Webcast

To listen to the live webcast, please go to www.upcic.com (�Events and Presentations�) and click on the conference call link, or go to: http://upcic.equisolvewebcast.com. This webcast will be archived and accessible through the Company�s website for approximately 30 days following the call.

About UIHC and UPC Insurance

Founded in 1999, UIHC is an insurance holding company that sources, writes and services residential property and casualty insurance policies using a network of independent agents and a group of wholly owned insurance subsidiaries. UPC Insurance, the primary operating subsidiary of UIHC, writes and services property and casualty insurance in Florida, South Carolina, Massachusetts and Rhode Island and was recently licensed to write in North Carolina. From its headquarters in St. Petersburg, UPC Insurance�s team of dedicated professionals manages a completely integrated insurance company, including sales, underwriting, customer service and claims.

Zurich Insurance Net capital gains on investments 2012

Best Insurance stock - Zurich Insurance Net capital gains on investments 2012 : Zurich Insurance Group AG, Switzerland�s biggest insurer, said fourth-quarter profit rose 82 percent after higher capital gains on investments.

Net income increased to $983 million from $540 million a year earlier, the Zurich-based company said today in a statement. That beat the $521.1 million average estimate of 13 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Business operating profit fell to $540 million from $983 million in the year-earlier quarter.


Zurich Insurance will keep its dividend unchanged at an 11- year high of 17 Swiss francs ($18.52) a share, after increasing the payout to that level in 2010. Net capital gains on debt and equity investments were $1.04 billion in the fourth quarter compared with a loss of $78 million in the year-earlier period.

�Results were better than expected, but only on the bottom line, which was clearly due to higher realized capital gains,� said Daniel Bischof, a Zurich-based analyst with Helvea. �For me the operating profit is more important, and there they were rather disappointing because of the general insurance business.�

Net capital gains on investments totaled $2.2 billion in 2012, driven by sales of debt and equity securities.

�We continue to execute our proven strategy, growing our business in emerging markets while delivering a resilient performance in mature markets,� Chief Executive Officer Martin Senn said in the statement today. �This strong underlying profitability ensures we remain well positioned to continue to deliver for our customers, employees and shareholders in 2013.�(source http://www.bloomberg.com )

Competition of Insurance Companies

Information about the insurance market at a glance

Local private insurance companies dominate the insurance market more common than joint venture (joint venture). Increasing the market share of local insurance companies than a joint venture because it is generally a joint venture targeting specific markets and market different from local insurance companies.

Local insurance companies dominate because more aggressive market penetration into areas while the joint venture only big city.

Five force model is a business strategy that is used to perform the analysis of the industrial structure. The analysis is based on five competitive forces are:

The threat of a substitute product
How dyantolife substitution for insurance? Are consumers can easily obtain substitute goods? The more close substitutes, then the customer can switch easily. Force is influenced by several factors such as switching costs, the tendency for substitution, product differentiation, and more.

The threat of the entry of new competitors
How difficult / easy for new competitors to get into your industry? This force is influenced by the brand equity, the barriers to entry such as patents, etc., distribution, or core competence of a particular skill, economies of scope, cost advantage, and more.

The bargaining power of customers
How is the strength of your customers? This force is influenced by: the number of buyers, the concentration of buyer, buyer switching costs, availability of items, big order buyers, price sensitivity, degree of differentiation, and so on.

With marketing and market penetration tactics that many insurance markets so customers can get a lot of choices to purchase insurance in addition to our company, if the acquisition or marketing teams are not careful in taking the market it will compete.

The bargaining power of suppliers
Supplier is the place where we purchased inputs used for production materials. Force is determined by several factors including: cost of switching to another supplier, supplier number, supplier concentration, availability of input substitution, differentiation level inputs, up to the level of supplier relationships.

• Supplier of insurance companies over the custodian bank. If the number of custodian banks more so we could have more alternatives in choosing a bank and custodian banks could choose higher interest rates, lower costs and better service.
• The selection of investment products as much as return on bonds, mutual funds, money market, equity could be an alternative choice of investment companies that can return a higher member.   

The intensity of competitive rivalry
How does the intensity of competition in the insurance company? The more the number of competitors, with quality products and competitive prices, the higher the level of competition. Force is determined by several factors, including: the number of competitors, the difference in quality, customer loyalty, product differentiation, price differences, exit barriers, and so on.

The negative side of bank mortgage insurance

The negative side of bank mortgage insurance : Mortgage life insurance isn�t very popular and it has more than a few detractors. For one thing, the premium payments typically remain constant even though your death benefit drops. What seemed like a bargain when you first took the insurance, and your mortgage, becomes less so as the loan balance and the insurance death benefit drop.

Another concern is that the insurance benefit will be payable to your lender upon your death, not to your dependents. That limits the desirability of having this type of insurance.

While it may be good to have your mortgage paid off upon your death, your dependents may have other, more pressing concerns. They will not be able to address those concerns with a mortgage life insurance policy. read How does mortgage life insurance work

Is it worth having?

For most people mortgage life insurance shouldn�t be necessary. You can instead take the largest term life insurance policy you can afford and use part of the proceeds to payoff the mortgage on your home at your death, if that�s what you and your survivors agree upon. However your dependents will not be locked into paying off the mortgage, should they decide against doing so.

A straight term life insurance policy give them the flexibility to allocate the money wherever it�s most needed. Maybe that�s the mortgage, and maybe it�s not, but they�ll have that option.

If you don�t have a whole lot of confidence that your survivors will allocate the life insurance proceeds wisely, then mortgage life insurance can be a consideration. Since the proceeds will be allocated directly to payoff the mortgage event of your death, you will be able to know that it will happen as you wish.

Your survivors might still blow through other insurance proceeds, but at least you can know that the mortgage on a house will be paid for.