The most stolen Cars

The Most-Stolen Cars

To determine the vehicles with the highest theft rates in the country, the Highway Data Loss Institute looked at only insured passenger vehicles between one and three years old. Then they calculated which insurance claims were filed for each particular model of vehicle, and the size of the payment for each claim. By comparing the number of claims to the number of cars insured, the process indicates vehicles most likely to be targets of theft, because it takes into account a given model's total exposure to the road.

The average claim frequency for all passenger vehicles is 2.1 claims per 1,000 insured vehicle years, with an average loss payment of $6,883 per claim. Insured vehicle years are measured as one vehicle insured for one year or two of the same vehicle insured for six months each.

Car Insurance

If you have any questions at all about what to do in order to get the right car insurance policy, how to keep your premiums as low as possible or what to do if you're involved in an accident and need to make a claim, our car insurance guide is a great place to start.

Here  we're dedicated to driving down the cost of your motor insurance, and we've covered some of the most common questions and concerns encountered by our customers in the following pages. An introduction to car insurance Of all the financial products owned in the UK, car insurance is one of the most common. The reason for this is simple: to drive a vehicle on the road legally it needs to be insured, and with 26 million cars on our roads, that's a huge number of people insuring a vast number of vehicles.

Insurance Definition

1.  the act, system, or business of insuring property, life, one's person, etc., against loss or harm arising in specified contingencies, as fire, accident, death, disablement, or the like, in consideration of a payment proportionate to the risk involved.
2. coverage by contract in which one party agrees to indemnify or reimburse another for loss that occurs under the terms of the contract.
3. the contract itself, set forth in a written or printed agreement or policy.
4. the amount for which anything is insured.
5.  an insurance premium.
6.  any means of guaranteeing against loss or harm 

Insurance or Assurance, device for indemnifying or guaranteeing an individual against loss.

Reimbursement is made from a fund to which many individuals exposed to the same risk have contributed certain specified amounts, called premiums.

Payment for an individual loss, divided among many, does not fall heavily upon the actual loser. The essence of the contract of insurance, called a policy, is mutuality.

The major operations of an insurance company are underwriting, the determination of which risks the insurer can take on; and rate making, the decisions regarding necessary prices for such risks.

The underwriter is responsible for guarding against adverse selection, wherein there is excessive coverage of high risk candidates in proportion to the coverage of low risk candidates. In preventing adverse selection, the underwriter must consider physical, psychological, and moral hazards in relation to applicants.

Physical hazards include those dangers which surround the individual or property, jeopardizing the well-being of the insured.

The amount of the premium is determined by the operation of the law of averages as calculated by actuaries. By investing premium payments in a wide range of revenue-producing projects, insurance companies have become major suppliers of capital, and they rank among the nation's largest institutional investors.

Big Rigs Drive Big Risk For Passenger Vehicles

When a big rig truck and cars collide, the laws of physics determine the outcome. Most often, the passenger vehicle bears the brunt of the damage.

The Insurance Information Network of California, the California Highway Patrol, the San Diego Police Department and the California Trucking Association have joined forces to focus attention on truck and passenger vehicle driver safety this Labor Day weekend. In a live demonstration held today at Balboa Park, expert drivers highlighted the dangers of big rig blind spots and their physical stopping distance, which is much greater than that of a passenger car. In advance of the holiday weekend, CHP officers also reinforced the need for drivers to safely share the road with big trucks.

Trucks often weigh 20-to-30 times more than an average car and have a harder time maneuvering around an emergency situation. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety estimates that 3,163 people died in truck collisions in 2009. Of these deaths, 14 percent were truck occupants and 70 percent occupied non-commercial cars and trucks. The CHP also estimates that at least half of the 17,000 car-versus-big rig collisions in 2009 were caused by drivers of the cars.

“Motorists need to know that sharing the road with a big rig requires not only patience , but also an understanding of how to recognize and avoid trucks’ blind spots,” said IINC Executive Director Candysse Miller. “Truckers in California maintain the highest standards of safety and need the help of passenger drivers to keep the roads safe,” added CTA president Al Garcia.

“Big rig trucks also drive on our city streets and drivers need to use the same caution as they do on the highways,” said SDPD Assistant Chief Manny Guaderrama. “The number of trucks using the California highway system will inevitably increase over the coming years,” said CHP Border

Division Chief Jim Abele. “For that reason, the CHP is working to create public awareness about driving around commercial trucks; and thus, minimizing truck-involved collisions and fatalities.”

The CHP urges motorists to understand these basics of sharing the road with big rigs:



Allow plenty of room when changing lanes in front of a truck;
Pass trucks quickly and don't linger beside a truck;
Pass a truck on the left, not on the right, because a truck's blind spot on the right runs the length of the trailers and extends out three lanes;
Allow a lot of room around trucks. Try to leave a 10-car length gap when in front of a truck and 20-25 car lengths when behind a truck;
Check a truck's mirrors. If you are following a truck and you cannot see the driver's face in the truck's side mirrors, the truck driver cannot see you; and;
Allow trucks adequate space to manuever. Trucks make wide turns at intersectionsand require additional lanes to turn.

Tell the truth to the insurance company

I have had a rash of calls lately. People who have been in car accidents and have panicked. That panic has led them to do something dumb: lie to the insurance company. 

Lying to the insurance company can be insurance fraud. How do you know? If you make a material misrepresentation to the insurance company, it is fraud. Of course, what is a material misrepresentation.

To be material, it must be something that would affect whether a claim is covered or not. So, if Bill is an excluded driver from your policy and drives your car causing a collision, it would not be covered. If you tell Bill that Susie was driving instead, it would then be covered. Of course, now the insurance company would be paying a claim that they would not otherwise pay. This would be a  material misrepresentation. 

So, if that is a material misrepresentation, what is not material? Lets say your child get in an accident today on 14th street. Your child shouldn't have been on 14th street because you did not give them permission to be there. Your child tells you the accident happened on Main Street, where your child did have permission. Your child is covered by the policy. This is not a material misrepresentation to the insurance company, since the insurance company would pay the claim anyway.

Remember, an uncovered claim is not the end of the world. Do not lie. A lie can be insurance fraud and in California that is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $50,000 fine.

Keeping your car after crash

I get this a lot. Someone is involved a car crash. The insurance company for the other side tells them the car is a total loss. They are sure that they want to keep their car. I am sure they do not want to keep their car. 

First, before you take the insurance company's word for it, do a few things. Go to a reputable, independent shop and ask for an estimate. It is not uncommon for the insurance company to call the shop and tell them that if a car is close, they want to make sure it is a total loss. So, go get your own estimate. Of course, you should be doing this anyway, even if you are
going to have your car fixed. After you get an estimate, figure out what your car is worth. Do not take the insurance company's word for it. For a small fee, I assist people in determining the fair market value of their car and preparing a declaration. Just email me and find out about it!
Second, once the car is a total loss, and you are sure of it, give it to the insurance company. Get rid of it! Why, you ask? If your car is declared a total loss, it is reported to the DMV. You end up with a salvaged title. Try selling a car with a salvaged title. And try insuring a car with a salvaged title. Yes, you can clean up the title, but it is a painstaking process that will require many, many hours. Finally, the car is never going to run the same, feel the same, or be the same. Get rid of it!


I know many people are sentimentally attached to their cars. I am. But, once your car is a total loss, you are much better off getting rid of it and finding yourself a new car!

Auto Insurance

Insurance claims from crashes that appear to be staged rose 46 percent between 2007 and 2009, according to recently released statistics from the National Insurance Crime Bureau. California had the third highest number of staged accidents in the U.S. between 2007 and 2009, with a total of 1,619. Only Florida and New York had more.

Ordinarily, these accidents are set up by criminals who work in groups. They sometimes involve several drivers and passengers who claim injuries, paid witnesses, and even medical providers who claim to have provided treatment for the false injuries. According to a recent article, some of the most common types of crashes include luring innocent drivers into crashes, scammers crashing into each other, and completely fabricating non-existent accidents.

According to an expert with the NICB, a non-profit organization that is funded by the insurance industry, a staged accident that results in a payout to victims, including medical and legal expenses, can average between $80,000 and $100,000. Not coincidentally, insurance premiums nationwide have risen an average of 24 percent over the past three years.

Experts recommend that in order to avoid getting scammed, be sure to maintain sufficient distance between your car and the car in front of you. If you are in an accident, take notes on the names and number of passengers in the other car or cars, and pay careful attention to how they are acting. Use your cell phone’s camera to carefully document damages to your car and the other car or cars. Get a police report, even for minor accidents. If someone tries to steer you to an unknown body shop, doctor, lawyer or chiropractor, take notes, and contact the California Department of Insurance’s Fraud Division if you have suspicions.

Low Cost Auto Insurance

Last weekend, the L.A. Times published this article about a state program that helps provide low-income Californians with auto insurance at a reduced cost.

The article pointed out that there are estimated to be millions of California drivers without auto insurance, and the number is growing because of the bad economy. It’s almost impossible to estimate exactly the number of California drivers without insurance, but a 2008 report by the insurance industry estimated about 18% of California drivers at that time did not carry insurance. In addition, since 2008, the unemployment rate in California has more than doubled, so the number of uninsured has most likely risen significantly as families have been forced to choose which expenses to cut.

A lot of drivers are tempted to drop insurance when times get tough. However, getting caught without coverage can result in hundreds of dollars of fines and getting your vehicle impounded.

Many drivers are not aware of a program run by the California Department of Insurance that provides liability coverage for about $400 per year. The California Low Cost Auto Insurance program helps families of four making less than $55,125 per year or individuals making less than $27,075. You can learn more about the program by calling 866-602-8861.

Prevent Illegal Health Insurance Cancellations

California Strengthening Laws to Prevent Illegal Health Insurance Cancellations

On August 18, new regulations go into effect in California that are aimed at preventing illegal cancellations of health insurance policies.

Rescission, which is the practice of canceling health insurance policies for mistakes on the health insurance applications, even minor mistakes, is targeted in the new regulations. According to the government, rescission is estimated to add $300 million in profits to the health insurance industry.

The new regulations require questions on a health insurance application to be clear, specific and understandable. The applications are not allowed to use double-negatives or some types of compound questions. Insurance companies will be required to take into account the level of knowledge an average individual with no medical training may have when formulating the questionnaires. Questions on the application must be relevant to the underwriting process. In addition, applicants must be allowed to check that they are unsure or cannot remember to questions on the application. Consumers must also have the right to respond during rescission investigations.

The California Department of Insurance is going to publish a new approved questionnaire for insurance companies to use in obtaining applicants medical history. Insurance companies that decide not to use the pre-approved questionnaire cannot use unapproved questionnaires as the basis of a rescission later.

Home Protected from Fire Case

Is that Your Home Protected in Case of Fire?

With wildfire season looming in southern California, and an insurance company making news for failing to honor damage claims that resulted from a California fire, now might be the time to review what would happen to your home in the event of a fire. According to California Insurance Commissioner, homeowners should prepare themselves today for what might happen if a fire occurred, which includes both reviewing your insurance coverage and conducting a home inventory of belongings.

When you are initially purchasing home owners insurance, describe your home in detail and ask your agent what will happen in the event of a fire. Does the policy cover smoke and water damage? Do an assessment of how much insurance is needed to cover both the structure and its contents. What contents are covered? What contents aren’t covered? You may be surprised to discover that fire insurance sometimes doesn’t cover home business office equipment, professional equipment and tools, or some valuable paperwork. If you need extra insurance but can’t afford the premiums, it may be worth raising your deductible to get the coverage you need.

To do an inventory, the Commissioner recommends using a Home Inventory Guide and a digital camera to catalogue your possessions. He recommends labeling photos and, if using a video camera, narrating the video. I recommend a video camera and then save the videotape in two locations, one of which is outside of the home. The inventory, pictures, and supporting documentation should be stored in a safe place.