Many Working to Save Massachusetts Auto Insurance Appeal Board

Massachusetts' Insurance Commissioner wants to eliminate the state's independent auto insurance appeal board, citing cost and a move towards a more competitive insurance market. This proposal doesn't sit well with many consumers, legislators, and even insurers, according to an article in The Republican. If the board is eliminated, policyholders will instead have to appeal their claims to the insurance companies themselves; consumer groups fear that is unfair and will create bias towards finding the motorist at fault in order to avoid paying accident claims.

However, the insurance commissioner claims that the change will actually benefit consumers, because they will no longer have to pay a fee to appeal and will have state oversight of insurance companies; not to mention the opportunity to shop around for auto insurance quotes from multiple insurers.

On average, the board of appeal has found in favor of the consumer about half of the time, saving drivers thousands of dollars in premium surcharges. The surcharges can appear on their records for up to 6 years!

A bill is currently pending in the state legislature to save the appeal board. As of now it will remain open for several months to deal with its backlog, but no new appeals may be filed after April 1st.

Lost Your Health Insurance? Tips to Deal With It

The Columbus Dispatch has some tips for people who have been laid off and are currently uninsured. These suggestions can save you money on your health care:

• If your health insurance hasn't yet ran out, get any necessary tests done before it does.
• Ask your doctor to prescribe drugs with a generic equavilent, and request them from your pharmacist. Some stores sell some generics for just $4!
• Buy a prescription drug card that gives you discounts on medications.
• Get coverage through a high-deductible health insurance plan, which will protect you in a catastrophe with lower premiums than typical health insurance.
• Find out if the pharmaceutical company/ies that makes your medication(s) has a free drug program, such as PPaRX, for lower income individuals.
• Negotiate with your doctors for lower rates and/or an affordable payment plan for services. Many doctors are surprisingly open to that.
• See if your doctors can give you some free samples of prescription medication, given to them by the drug companies.

Remember to check out health insurance rates in order to become reinsured as soon as possible. Some plans could be more affordable than you think.

16% Of Drivers Will Be Uninsured in 2009, Predicts Insurance Research Council

In Newsday, Tom Incantalupo reported that the Insurance Research Council, and industry group, is predicting an increase in uninsured drivers for 2010. Their projection is that 16.1% of all drivers in the United States will be driving around without auto insurance, an increase from 13.8% in 2007.

The IRC blames this state of events on the economy, because consumers are trying to cut back on expenses. With the unemployment rate rising at a similar clip, it’s somewhat understandable that keeping up with your auto insurance premiums may fall to the wayside. Still, it’s a bad idea to let your policy lapse. For one, when you eventually buy insurance again, your premiums could see a sharp increase. Not only do uninsured drivers risk fines and other legal punishment in most states; they also cause the rates of insured drivers to go up when they’re involved in a crash, Tom says.