The Fine Print – Presented by Insure.com

Dropping collision or comprehensive coverage from your auto insurance policy can significantly reduce your premiums. Your decision should be based on the value of your vehicle and your tolerance for risk.

You’re legally required to carry auto liability insurance in every state except New Hampshire. Auto lenders typically require comprehensive and collision coverage on the cars they finance. If your vehicle is paid for, the choice normally is up to you.

Determine your car’s value

Here’s how to get past insurance sales pitches to find out what’s right for you. First, find out your car’s current value, which is what your vehicle is worth in the eyes of your insurance company. You can find a ballpark value online at Kelley Blue Book or NADAguides.com.

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As if the obesity epidemic weren’t already a weighty enough issue, it turns out we’re not the only ones getting fat and risking our health.

Our pets are getting pudgy, too, and they’re paying a big price.

Petplan, a pet insurance company based in Philadelphia, says its 2011 claims data show obesity-related illnesses and injuries for cats and dogs are on the rise. (continue reading…)

State insurance regulators are touting the $17 million settlement they negotiated with Prudential in January as “an important step” in getting life insurers to cough up the estimated $1 billion they owe to life insurance beneficiaries. It’s a step, all right, but in the wrong direction.

This settlement gives the states which sign on – seven so far, including California – a small amount of money, but even that pittance will ultimately be divided by at least 20 states, the number which need to sign on for the deal to be approved. And since the money goes straight into state coffers, beneficiaries will never benefit.

Facing fraud charges

But Prudential will. The legal lingo in the agreement says nice things about the second largest domestic life insurer, at a time when it and the biggest, MetLife, face class action lawsuits charging them with fraud. And, thanks to a federal foul-up, the settlement may accomplish nothing at all. (continue reading…)