Can the Latest Tech Lower Your Car Insurance Rates?

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With the rise of safe driving technology, one question on everyone’s mind is how will this affect insurance rates? Many are hopeful that better collision prevention will, in turn, reduce premiums. While others are concerned that the increase in tech costs will outweigh the potential benefits.

These days, people have high expectations for what technology can do for them. People also expect it to help them save money – and there are precedents to back this assumption up. Better technology has allowed for energy (and thus cost) saving alternatives, among other options. 

According to a study run by PwC, up to forty-one percent of consumers would walk away from an insurance company that failed to offer high-quality digital capabilities. In other words, if their insurance isn’t going to work with their tech, they’re not interested.

Making Drivers Safer

People today have access to technology that makes them safer. Motion and range sensors combine to create collision prevention technology, while cameras help drivers watch their blindspots.

It’s easy to assume that the tech designed to make us safer actually works. Studies have shown that while some technology has worked hard to make us safer – other forms provide too much distraction. In other words – the technology is only effective when those behind the wheel are also trying to be safe.

Additional Expenses

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question. Yes, driver safety tech can help keep people safe – and thus, theoretically should reduce car insurance premiums. However, upon closer inspection, there’s one glaring problem with this premise.

The technology used to make drivers safer does not come cheaply, which means that when accidents do happen, the overall repair and replacement costs are higher. This means that most drivers are not likely to see a significant drop in their premiums.

Reducing Costs

Thankfully, there are a few alternatives for reducing insurance rates. For example, drivers can opt into customized insurance plans. In other words, a driver grants permission to have all of their driving data compiled and turned into one concise plan – no need to pay or unneeded insurance.

A study from the University of British Columbia found that people are not only willing to have insurance companies monitor their driving for customized plans – but they’re safer drivers because of it. It turns out that knowing somebody is watching your every move is all it takes to make a driver just a little bit more cautious. 

Who Pays for Maternity Insurance?

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Amigo MGA LLC Who Pays for Maternity Insurance-Lots of questions, controversy, and uncertainty has resulted from the Trump administration’s proposed replacement to Obamacare, also known as the Affordable Care Act. Under President Trump’s proposed health care act, entitled the American Health Care Act, federal stipulations on funding and coverage would be rolled back, potentially reducing coverage to Americans in need and raising expenses.

GOP Congressman John Shimkus from Illinois has been a vocal advocate of the American Health Care Act. He publicly denounced Obamacare’s individual mandate, claiming it was preposterous for men to be charged for maternity and pregnancy insurance, since they can’t directly tap into the benefits of such coverage. This statement in particular has ignited a debate among legislators and their constituents about the very purpose of taxes and the logistics of health care coverage.

Maternity insurance was named as one of the ten essential areas of coverage former president Obama included in his healthcare bill in 2014. Usually, maternity or pregnancy policies will help cover or defray the costs of prenatal care, delivery, recovery, and outpatient services. These policies will often also cover counseling for lactation, postpartum depression, and other conditions that accompany childbirth. As per the ACA, insurance companies had to cover pregnancy and maternity.

Congressman Shimkus argued in March that it was silly for men to have to chip in for maternity insurance, since to his knowledge, no men had ever given birth. The video footage of his observing this before Congress went viral, with some lauding his bravery and others accusing him of undermining essential reproductive rights and coverage.

While the congressman technically correct, the function of insurance is not necessarily to cover only what one person needs. For health insurance specifically, costs per person are calculated by pooling risks and divvying up the “average” cost among everyone with a plan. In the end, everyone winds up paying for some coverage they don’t need, but by the same token, they pay less for the coverage they do need. A woman, for example, may very well take advantage of pregnancy coverage, but will likely never need to purchase viagra or be treated for prostate cancer.

Those opposed to the ACHA have called on the heartlessness of those who want to opt out of paying for insurance that will benefit the “greater good,” comparing Shimkus’ proposal to someone asking to be exempted from taxes that help build a bridge the individual will never use in their lifetime. However, as we have discussed elsewhere, insurance is, in fact, an industry. While maternity insurance does help defray the cost of hospital births, it can urge women away from seeking a more cost-effective form of prenatal care including midwives and doulas.

If the ACHA passes as it’s written, maternity insurance would no longer be covered by the vast majority of insurance providers. Most standard healthcare policies do include childbirth, but not all of them.

Insurance and The Gig Economy

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Insurance & The Gig EconomyThough the name has been hotly contested, there’s no debate that the gig economy, or the private-citizen-to-private-citizen trade of goods and services, is alive and thriving. From cars to dwellings to clothes to furniture to even friends, app developers have helped facilitate the expansion of a market that lets regular people sell or rent their stuff or labor to strangers online. On the whole, the results have been wonderful. Sellers are finding new, creative ways to bring in extra income, and buyers are happy to spend extra money for a better, more personal experience.

Some dubious scenarios surrounding accident and theft coverage for the sellers in these situations, specifically regarding who’s on the hook for costs, have arisen. One woman publicized a horror story of an AirBNB gone bad when she rented her beautiful condo and returned to find her house trashed, her stuff ransacked, and her memories scattered all over. A man who took odd jobs on Airtasker discovered while he was on a gardening job that the house where he was worked had asbestos. These incidents and more beg the question: Who’s on the hook for insurance in the gig economy?

Insurance agencies got hip to Uber quickly and discontinue the policy whenever a driver has the app open, although Uber allows a small amount of coverage while they’re on the app. AirBNB used to offer nearly no protection whatsoever, but now offers some protection from rare vandalism and theft. Airtasker offers a little insurance to its workers as well, but its policy has a lot of caveats as to which tasks it will offer worker’s compensation for; for example, the business will not offer insurance coverage to building jobs, fitness training, taxi driving, and other “risky” jobs.

The classic argument that the apps offer in court when they’re sued for insurance liability is that the people who use the app do so willingly knowing full well that the coverage is minimal. Furthermore, if a person were doing handiwork for a neighbor without the facilitation of the app, the worker would not expect any sort of compensation in the event of an accident.

Still, there’s a clear void in the market for who’s responsible for accidents that are incurred in the gig economy. Welcome Bunker, an insurance agency that handles the leg-work for freelancers, independent contractors, and other who don’t have employers to cover their risks. Put most simply, Bunker allows contractors and employers to get on the same page regarding required insurance and proof of coverage. While it doesn’t necessarily offer insurance, it does ensure that the employee is covered enough to prevent suits on either side. While the site is still rather young, it’s starting to help fill the coverage void for non-traditional workers.

As the gig economy grows and diversifies, insurance will continue to play catch-up, but if you’re participating in the gig economy either as a buyer or seller, you need to know what you’re covered for on your personal policy and the company’s policy.

Questions to Ask Before Buying Auto-Insurance

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If you’re thinking about purchasing auto insurance, which we highly recommend you do, there are many factors that determine the price and what you are getting. Here are 5 questions you should always ask yourself before you decide on auto insurance, that may actually help lower the insurance rate:

How much do you drive each week?

This plays an important role in deciphering whether or not you should be taking public transportation to work or wherever you go on a consistent basis. Taking public transportation often helps lower your car insurance.

Can you offer a higher deductible?

Often times, if a person can pay a higher deductible, he or she will pay a lower price each month, which can end up saving you a lot of money in the long-run.

Do you have a good credit score?

This one probably doesn’t come as a surprise to you – bad credit often means you will be charged at a higher rate. This is mostly because auto insurance companies predict that if someone has bad credit, they will probably file a claim after an accident.

How old is your car?

Older cars will generally have higher insurance costs due to safety reasons. If you drive a car that is over 15-20 years old, you might want to think about dropping collision coverage because the monthly premium will most likely be more than the replacement value.

Do you work for a professional group or organization?

Check to see if your company has insurance discounts to offer you – this can save you a lot of money. Most companies will have some sort of employee benefits that you might be able to use for auto insurance. Always double check.