Global Market Reviews

Stop thinking about global warming. The real danger is climate change. So, to prove the point, 2010 has started off with some of the coldest weather we’ve seen for decades. For example, look at Florida. Miami sets a new records for cold. The last time South Florida saw snow was in 1977. And what was true for the South proved equally true the further North you moved. This had an interesting effect on fuel prices. Natural gas was suddenly more expensive and homes with heating systems using oil got a nasty shock. It’s the old story of supply and demand and, guess what, the price of crude oil was lifting gently past $80 per barrel.

So, if the natural gas supplies were under pressure and everyone wanted to stay warm, the refineries switched more production away from gas for vehicles. The result? We’re back up to $3 a gallon for premium-grade gas and the national average for unleaded is creeping up to $2.88. The economists who predict what’s going to happen to the commodities markets over the next six months are predicting the price of gas will keep on rising. Unleaded will soon tip the $3 mark. If we’re lucky, we won’t get back up to the $4 we enjoyed in 2008. We managed to get through that because it was before the recession hit and the credit crunch took away our easy money. Now the credit limits have been downsized and housing equity plans have dried up, there’s no slack left in the household budgets if all the fuel prices stay high.

In “Something’s gotta give”, Mary J. Blige captures the spirit of the current problem: “But it’s a million dollars a gallon for gas to get to work tomorrow. . . can’t swim and carpool, you rob Peter to pay Paul to make due”. With everyone still having to get to work and get everything else done, a vehicle is essential for most families. So you take the decision to keep the old car longer. Hopefully, it won’t cost too much to repair if it breaks down. That saves a monthly instalment on a loan. The only way of balancing the books on running costs if gas prices keep rising is to save money on the insurance. Read the rest of this entry »

We all know that there’s a war between sexes on who are better drivers, men or women? And as men are claiming to be far better at the wheel the statistics are actually on the opposite side. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Report dated 2004 notes men being involved in 27,000 more fatal accidents, 432,000 more injury accidents and 1,369,000 more incidents with damaged property, resulting in total 1,828,000 more insurance claims filed by men in 2004 only. And since then the trend hasn’t changed.

And it’s hard to tell that the most risky drivers – men younger than 25 years old – are contributing to these statistics. These are actually men of all age groups.

As an insurance agent from Ohio, Brad Vermillion has stated: “Men are more aggressive in their very nature and pursue a riskier attitude when driving a car. You see a man not wearing a seat belt, speeding and driving under influence far more often than a woman. The amount of miles driven throughout the lifetime is also quite higher with men than with women, which of course means a greater risk of being involved in a traffic accident and filing an insurance claim. The less you drive the safer you are.”

A righteous question rises consequently, whether do insurance companies take into account the statistics provided by the NHTSA and other organizations? “Insurers know about such statistics very well and they are reflected in their pricing guidelines,” stated Vermillion. “A man will always pay a higher auto insurance premium than a woman, even if he lives in a safe area and has a perfect driving and credit record.” Read the rest of this entry »

Is it true that red car owners have more speeding tickets than people whose cars are colored differently? Does your insurance company set rates according to the color of your car’s body? Have colors have anything to do with the likelihood of car accident occurrence? These are questions you asked yourself at least once.

Is the red car really fast?

You have definitely heard numerous stories telling about red cars being ticketed far more often and costing more to insure than cars of any other color, even if there’s no statistical proof of such information. Because there’s no official data on that matter it’s really hard to say what color is riskier, however insurance companies and police officials state that they never link the color of the car to actual claims or tickets.

Of course, the best idea is driving within speed limits regardless of your car color. Even if you have a red car, respecting the speed limits will prevent you from getting tickets. And chances of your insurance being costly are the same as the other guy driving his green SUV in the next lane.

Color and character

It may be irrelevant to speeding tickets and insurance rates, but what does the color red tell about you as a person? It may not affect the number of tickets you receive, but what does your car color say about your personality? Many psychologists of various schools that work with colors tend to attribute the color of red to aggressive behavior, describing people who like this color as risk-lovers and very active persons. That’s probably where the whole red car insurance story comes from – red means more risk, and more risk means higher premiums. Read the rest of this entry »