State police in Kentucky are finding out all possible means to help eradicate Kentucky’s problem on underage drinking. This problem has long been plaguing young driver’s car insurance in the state. As Kentucky state police serves as the administrator for Underage Drinking Laws grant, it is the task of the organization to come up with projects for the youth and keep them sober while driving on roads and highways. State legislators are also looking into the problem to see if laws can be amended to help remedy this situation.

According to reports, meetings have been ongoing since first of December between police officials and other state authorities. Insiders say meetings focus on seeking projects that will utilize the funds provided by the Underage Drinking Laws grant and will significantly reduce rates of underage drunk driving. Planned projects include seminars, youth oriented projects, sports activities, and many others.

State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer, said in a recent interview that enforcement of activities to lessen drunk driving among the youth must be held together with a series of information campaigns to make people completely aware of the hazards involved in underage drinking. Commissioner Brewer adds that people neglect that. While teenage drinking is already dangerous, the real hazard comes in when drunk young drivers go behind the wheel.

Reports compiled by the Administrative Office of the Courts in Kentucky show that last year, there were 3,067 DUI arrests for teen drivers between ages of 16 and 19. Insurance insiders say that the number of DUI cases in Kentucky constitutes approximately 36% of the total insurance claims in the state. With the already high car insurance premiums for young drivers, claims for DUI caused collisions triggered further hikes in premium rates.

Data from the Insurance Information Institute reveal that more drivers under the age of 20 drive after drinking as compared to more mature motorists. Experts say that young motorists in Kentucky are more susceptible to drinking without regard to the fact that they need to drive home. Insurance companies are worried that if nothing is done to remedy the current issues on drunk driving; insurance costs may increase in the years to come making it more difficult for consumers to afford them.

According to local motorist groups, they are taking part of the regular meetings conducted by state police officials and are very happy that the local government is now taking action regarding this said predicament.

Final reports from state officials will be released on January 15 for final review and possible implementation.

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The Insurance Information Institute has recently conducted a research that the use of mobile phones while driving on the road is starting to be a growing concern in certain states in the US. According to the results of the study, calling or texting while driving can be one of the greatest problems on US roads.

According to industry experts, almost all US drivers own a mobile phone, and all of them are prone to making and answering a call or sending and reading text messages while behind the wheel. Loosing focus because of being caught in an important call or being preoccupied reading long messages can be good enough reason for being involved in a collision. A study conducted a major insurance consultancy firm showed that majority of their respondents were professionals aged 30 to 50 and all of them use their mobile phones while driving. The result of the study showed that the respondents are willing to answer a call or immediately respond to an email or a text messages even if they are driving as they would not want to be reprimanded for not doing so, if the call or message is from their boss or a client.

With these in mind, local groups are worried that if the trends on mobile phone usage while driving does not improve, situations may be worse and may eventually show its effect on the number of car accidents. In Florida and New York, 7% of collisions were caused by drivers distracted while talking on their cellular phones. The rates for Pennsylvania are relatively lower at 5%.

An Insurance Information Institute representative said in a recent interview that they are targeting to release a mass promotional campaign on the fatal effects of motorists getting busy on cellular phones while driving. The organization estimates that the number of accidents resulting from mobile phone usage can go up during the holiday season. As Christmas gets near, people will be busy contacting family members and loved ones. Industry experts say that when a driver on the road received a call from a relative he hasn’t seen in years, the sudden rush of excitement can take over and there is a tendency for the driver to momentarily forget that he is currently driving. In that split-second that he forgets he’s on the road, a collision may have already taken place.

In addition to preventing cell phone use, there is strong support from the organization to fight motorists who hide traffic offences such as exceeding the speed limit in an effort to get cheaper insurance.

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One of the leading auto insurers in Canada, Aviva Canada Inc, wants drivers in Toronto, and elsewhere in Canada, to drive safely this winter, citing historical data as a motivating factor. According to a recent report from Canada Newswire, the insurance provider sees an average increase in claims of more than 38% during months with winter road conditions, as compared to the rest of the year. In addition, winter weather accounted for collision-related claim payments totaling more than $38.5 million (Canadian) between December, 2007 and February, 2008. The blame, Aviva reps say, is due to the first snowfall of any given year.

Jim Haskins, Executive Vice President of Claims and Procurement for Aviva Canada, explains, “While Canadians are traditionally very experienced winter drivers, the first snowfall of the year can be extremely challenging even for the most apt motorist. Icy road conditions result in vehicle sliding and skidding, which are the most common cause of collisions particularly at the start of the season.”

Aviva’s data also shows that roughly 5.6 % of insured drivers file claims in winter, as opposed to 4.1% – the average number of people filing claims during the rest of the year. Again, winter road conditions, are to blame. Black ice, sleet, and snow can force drivers to focus all their attention on the road directly in front of their cars, rather than on everything around them. This focus means that there’s less attention paid to vehicles to the left and right, which, in turn, causes fender benders and side-on collisions to become more common.

In an effort to reduce the number of winter accidents, the customer service department at Aviva Canada offers the following helpful hints:

- Invest in snow tires and new windshield wipers. The tires are especially important, as they allow drivers to stop up to 40% faster than they can when using all-season tires.
- Always keep an emergency kit in your car. It should include a flashlight, snow shovel, thermal blanket, extra windshield washer fluid and anti-freeze, jumper cables, hazard flares, and a few non-perishable food items, like granola bars, or beef jerky.
- Drive slowly, and maintain a safe distance between your car and the one in front of you.
- Program the numbers of your insurance company, and a towing company, into your cell phone, and keep a copy of your insurance card in your car.
- Check the road conditions for your destination before you leave home, and if they’re at all questionable, be sure someone knows your route, and when to expect you.
- Don’t take chances: if the roads are bad, don’t travel at all.

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Motorists in California are now starting to be afraid that auto insurance will soon become a thing for the privileged few who can afford it. As both car insurance premium rates and unemployment rates go in the same upward direction, it’s only a matter of time until drivers run the risk of driving without being insured.

According to reports, the state of California may be facing problems regarding unemployment. In the San Joaquin Valley in central California where a huge number of former employees were retrenched, high unemployment may result to more car owners driving in the state’s public roads without auto insurance because they don’t have enough to pay for it. In Fresno County, the percentage of unemployed citizens last September reached 14.1%; a lot higher when compared to 9.4% last year.

To save the day, the California Highway Patrol and the Department of Insurance are working hand in hand to educate low-income motorists about getting a low-cost car insurance program. Low-cost insurance in California offers basic liability coverage as mandated by state law. The Department of Insurance believes that only in making more drivers understand low-cost auto insurance will they lessen the number of motorists who prefer to not be insured at all simply because they afford it. A report by the Insurance Research Council released earlier this year announced that the impending increase unemployment across the country can cause a whopping increase in the number of uninsured drivers.

According to Department of Insurance state associate deputy commissioner Darrell Ng, the recent statistics from 2007 reveal that about 18% of Californians did not have vehicle insurance. Reports from the Department who that the 2007’s 18% estimate was highest in the past ten years, as it was only back in 1997 that the percentage of uninsured California drivers exceed 15%. Now, insurance experts are afraid that the numbers will go increase even more with the increasing number of job losses across California.

Commissioner Darrell Ng is set to help California Highway Patrol officials in San Joaquin Valley and Fresno in promoting the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program. The said program assists low-income motorists in purchasing insurance that satisfies their legal obligation.

Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said in an interview that day after day around one million uninsured motorists drive around the roads of California. According to Poizner, with the rate of how things are going, driving in California can be very risky – it’s not worth the severe financial risk of getting involved in accident. Poizner also adds that low-cost car insurance give little room for excuses on whether to be insured or not.

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One of the highest expenses you can expect to shoulder when owning a car or vehicle is insurance. Usually, automobile insurance costs far exceed expenses or money spent for gasoline, permits, licenses, registration, routine maintenance and spare parts. Out of all drivers on the road, those who have been driving for a short while can expect higher costs or premium rates, to the extent that the total may even be equal to the price of a car. This is true even for basic insurance coverage or policy.

Some insurance companies or firms offer a type of coverage especially designed for female drivers. Women can avail of this type of coverage and pay lesser premium fees and other expenses. Although this is basically the same as any other car insurance policy, the difference lies on the fact that female drivers are generally known to be involved in less risk than men.

The business of insurance is grounded on risk-taking. If there is a risk, there is insurable interest. If a risk causes loss, an insurer pays up. If a risk does not take place, an insurer gets to keep premiums. Whenever there is a claim made by a client, a company tries to compute how much they are going to lose if they pay the claim. Now, this would depend on risks involved. Insurance companies would often adjust the amount of premiums that will enable them to conveniently make a justified payment without losing profit. Getting to know their clients and finding out who among them poses the highest risk – thus highest expense – is a key strategy in making sure that they will not go bankrupt.

Statistics show that a majority of road accidents have been caused by young and inexperienced drivers, most of them male. This same data shows that women, whether young or otherwise, have been involved in fewer accidents than men. Add this to the fact that there are usually more women than men in the outdoor population. This results in men being required to pay higher premiums. Women are allowed to pay lesser amounts because a company expects to make a profit because there is practically no risk involved. Even if women drivers do get involved in accidents, the amount of claims will almost never surpass the amount of profits.

This is also a reason why insurance companies have been aggressive in selling policies to women drivers. They have to compensate for losses they experienced in paying off claims involving accidents caused by men. It becomes a norm to expect that women are low-risk policy holders. The present trend has evolved to design insurance programs solely for women drivers – one with sufficient coverage albeit a lower rate of premium.

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