Holy cow, Batman, it’s winter again. Sadly, Robin probably never said this to Adam West’s Batman and the lyrics from the song by The Band are not quite right. Which brings me to a Scottish group appropriately called Snow Patrol and their lyrics to Holy Cow include the fabulous line, “The telegraph pole knows where you live.” Yes, friends, it’s that time of the year again. Let’s start with a fact you do not want to hear. Claims arising from traffic accidents in snow are 40% higher than from the accidents when the road conditions are dry and the visibility is good. As you sit behind the wheel of the vehicle with that sense of absolute powerlessness, remember Holy Cow. You can turn the steering wheel this way and that. You can pump the brakes for all you are worth. But if that telegraph pole wants to get you, it will.

So what can you do? Let’s start with pre-snow planning. One of the worst things to happen is walking to your vehicle at night and finding it will not start. Always have your engine retuned to improve cold weather starting. Otherwise you can find yourself stranded waiting for help to arrive. This brings up several pointers. Is your cell phone always charged? You need to be able to make calls for help. Have you programmed in the numbers of your garage and a towing company? Or have you joined a club like the AAA. There are some good emergency roadside assistance packages out there. Look for the best value given the number of times you are forced to drive in poor weather conditions. Is there an emergency kit in your vehicle. You need a blanket to keep you warm and hazard flares to warn other drivers. Finally, check the windshield wipers to keep maximum visibility in sleet and snow and either fit snow tires or have good all-season tires with chains to clip on to the wheels if conditions worsen unexpectedly.

Now the driving itself. The most important rule is not to drive unless it is absolutely necessary. If you cannot avoid going out in icy conditions with snow forecast or falling, always drive slowly, keeping the maximum possible distance between you and the vehicle ahead of you. Expect everyone else to be out of control and about to crash into you – given the accident statistics, this is not an unrealistic expectation. So be prepared to stop or get out of the way of other drivers. Apply these rules and you should arrive at your destination in one piece. The aim should be to avoid making any claim on your car insurance policy and facing the usual increase in the premium rate – insurance companies like to stay in profit and react when you claim. The ability to drive safely in winter also grows with experience. As a new driver or someone moving north from the eternal sunshine of the south, the car insurance quotes are likely to reflect this lack of experience. Be prepared for the worst. The premiums will start and stay higher until you have survived one or two winters. That said, the basic technique is to drive defensively, always assuming the worst of the road conditions and other drivers. Let’s hope you can learn how to survive without too many crashes on the way.

History can surprise sometimes. It’s too easy to assume particular laws must be Democrat or Republican. Take the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 as an example. Better known as COBRA, this provides a safety net for people to keep their group insurance plan in place after leaving employment. Employees can maintain health cover for up to eighteen months if they pay a subsidised premium of 35% of the original cost. The period of cover is extended if the employee is disabled or divorced. This is an excellent bridge between employer-provided health plans and private coverage at the full premium rate. During a period of unemployment, many could not afford to pick up the bill for full private coverage. They have to wait until a new employer provides cover or a sufficient pay check to pay the premium on private cover. Yet for all this law mandates protection for employees, it was signed into law by President Reagan.

Until the latest recession, this law worked well but, as unemployment began to rise and employers stopped hiring, a funding gap began to emerge. With little or no chance of finding alternative employment, too many people were looking at continuing monthly payments that were going to eat away all the family’s savings and add to the already barely manageable debts. In some states, the 35% premium was more than the state’s unemployment benefit. So, when the stimulus package was launched in March, it contained a subsidy representing nine months cover for those entitled to COBRA benefits. That means the subsidy disappears in December and several million of the unemployed will suddenly lose their COBRA benefits.

The expectation is that the Republicans will oppose any attempt to extend the subsidy program. The reasons are not hard to identify. The proposed reform of the healthcare industry motivates the Republicans to oppose anything connected with healthcare that might add to the already massive federal deficit. If the Democrats can maintain some degree of unity, it might be possible to force new legislation through to continue the subsidy, but this may not be a sufficient priority despite the still rising level of unemployment.

Medical insurance is caught in a perfect political storm and instead of discussing issues with a bipartisan spirit, the political class is polarising. Despite the efforts of the White House to focus attention on the plight of the unemployed and their families, it seems likely that a wave of uninsured people will wash up and be left stranded on the beach as the nine month subsidy slowly ebbs away. Given the insurers have been increasing the premium rates on private plans over the last year, even those who remain employed are beginning to struggle.

Although the use of sites like this helps people find the still affordable policies, the percentage of uninsured adults will keep rising. Health insurance should be a basic right for everyone, but it has become a political football leaving people exposed. The hypocrisy of the politicians is ironic. All treatment at emergency rooms for the uninsured is partly paid out of federal funds and partly by the insured. It is impossible to avoid subsidising the healthcare for the unemployed. All that changes is the name on the account sourcing the subsidy.

Insurance business is a very vast one. Don’t ever come to think that there is only one type of policy insurance companies try to sell. There are many different policies that will match your criteria and necessities. Before you get your insurance you need to sit down, relax and think it over. Figure out what it is that you need to obtain from your insurance. Each plan has its own restrictions – provisions, limitations and exclusions. If you are about to go to an insurance office we would recommend you to request a special detailed information meeting during which you can get a scoop on how to treat each insurance type. If you prefer to check WebPages for information, you should get quotes online.

When the subject is the car the insurance word gets very powerful. First of all we would like to tell a few things to you and you need to learn them well enough if you have any situations with rented cars. When you get yourself a rented car the liability coverage limitations you have written in your policy with your own car remain in effect with the same amount of limits you have. When we speak about collision and comprehensive coverage the also remain in effect with the deductibles you have. If you don’t know how to differentiate these two please collect information on collision and comprehensive coverage now.

There is a possibility that you might have additional auto insurance coverage with the help of your credit card but we advice you to check the information on your credit cards before you think too much. There might be certain details you will need to know about. There might be certain limitations. For example, there are credit cards that will only give you coverage if you deal with a particular car rent agency or company. There are also day limitations and certain car class limitations. You must consider them all. There are certain cards that will provide you with only collision or comprehensive coverage which means most of the losses will be left on your shoulders. The agencies that usually have business with cars that are being rented by others allow you to have liability coverage in two parts – the one is called a Loss Damage Waiver and it usually covers everything that has to do with rentals and liability policy that protects you from unwanted claims that other may bother you with. But you also must remember one thing – the Loss Damage Waiver is more of an agreement rather than a type of insurance. It is perfect for not holding anybody responsible for all or part of any destruction to the car.

You should always consider the price you might need to pay when you think of renting a car. If you are a responsible person you will analyze the risks and consider every advantage and disadvantage.

Cheap auto insurance is not hard to find. Internet is full of offers that might look tempting. But please think that you need the one that would suit you more rather that a discount. Cheap auto insurance can benefit you only in the case when it is exactly the coverage you needed. Consider this and make sure your decision is well thought. We believe you will do so.