Those in the realty business say location is everything. Whether you are buying or selling, a good location always commands a good price. When you apply this to the insurance industry, location is also a vital part of the assessment of risk. Excluding California which had the wisdom to exclude the use of zip codes in calculating auto insurance premiums, almost all the other states allow insurers to price risk based on where you and your vehicle live. If this is a high-crime area where vehicles are more routinely stolen or vandalised, and there is a higher than average number of traffic accidents, the premiums will reflect the higher risks. This will be so even though you are a driver with long exprience and no claims history. When it comes to business insurance, the same principles apply, but the detail is slightly different.

When you are planning a new business or making one of your routine assessments of the prevailing risks, one of the key decisions is the value of the liability coverage you put in place. Although there are some types of liability policy specific to areas of business or trade, the majority of the general commercial policies offer coverage against the risk of injury to employees and third parties who are injured by the way the business is run. Because the cost of medical treatment has been rising faster than inflation over the last five years, premiums have also been rising fast. When you add in the risk of having to pay incidental and consequential damages for losses flowing from the injuries, the total value of coverage may have to be quite significant, particularly if the net worth of people using your business may make them expensive to injure. So where does this leave the assessment of your business location(s)?

Central city areas often have a higher crime rate than suburbs. This can put employees and customers at a higher risk of violent assault, but the more usual reason for premium hikes is the level of petty crime. The rate will also rise if you occupy older premises which represent a fire hazard either because of building materials or a lack of easy escape routes. Look carefully at what your neighbors are doing. If their businesses have a higher fire risk, e.g. as dry cleaners, they produce fumes, your own rates will be high. If there is traffic congestion, how long will it take emergency services to arrive when you call 911? Are there fire hydrants nearby? Where is the nearest emergency room? If you lease your premises, what are the minimum amounts of coverage required and are there covenants for you to insure common parts, the parking lots, etc? There are so many different factors to take into account.

This is something to discuss with your existing insurer or agent. Remember what may look good, e.g. a waterfront location, may come with a flood risk or some other threat that is not so obvious. It may save you a lot of money in premiums if you move to a different location. As always, you should get the maximum possible number of business insurance quotes. If there is any doubt at all, always hold a discussion on site to discuss the detail of the location risks. It is not enough to rely on the business insurance quotes alone. You should always negotiate to get the best terms.

As 2009 turns into 2010, the winter ice and snow has been particularly hard this year. It even snowed in Florida which shows how climate change is starting to affect local weather patterns. Needless to say, the number of traffic accidents has been at an all-time high. No-one is ever ready for ice on the roads. Yet, all round the country, ice is coming through the mail boxes. The insurance companies are sending out notices chilling our desire to drive – premium rates are being hiked (again). And this time, it’s not just a few percent. In most states, it’s averaging at around 10%. So we are not talking peanuts. This is serious money while the US is in recession and millions of people are out of work. What’s the result likely to be? If it comes down to a choice between food on the table and an insurance policy, food wins every time. Everyone has to eat and everyone needs a vehicle – even in the bigger cities, public transport is a joke. So, when push comes to shove, more people will drive uninsured. That’s bad news for the rest of us. Our premiums will rise with fewer policy holders sharing the rising costs of claims. If only the insurers would hold the premiums steady, more people could pay, and rates would stay lower for longer. If only. . .

So why are insurance companies hiking the rates? There are two common problems. The first is the broken healthcare service. Whenever there’s a more serious traffic accident, most people go to hospital. The obvious injuries are treated. Bodies are examined to ensure there are no other injuries. Except, the moment anyone steps through the door of a hospital or clinic, the medical expenses meter starts to run. Despite the recession, the drugs industry and healthcare service suppliers have been increasing their prices. There have been some high-profile disputes between insurers and hospital groups in California and Connecticut. The current fight is between the Continuum Health Partners of New York and United Healthcare. The hospitals have agreed pay increases with the labor unions, new technology is expensive to instal and operate. They want more money. The insurer is looking for a reduction in charges of between 7 and 10%. It’s painful to admit but, in this fight, the insurers are actually protecting us policy holders.

The second problem is equally easy to explain. When we claim, the insurer should have the money to pay. This money comes from cash reserves and all the different state Insurance Departments monitor the amounts held to ensure there’s always sufficient set aside. It’s standard for insurers to hold this money on investment so, when the recession came, they were slow to move out of stocks and bonds, and all the larger insurers lost a slice of their capital. Commissioners are offering their local insurers a choice. Either reduce the number of people holding policies or add more to your cash reserves. This forces companies to raise premiums and so, sadly, it’s getting more difficult to find affordable auto insurance. Even with the use of this site’s excellent search engine, it’s hard to find policies with lower rates. When you get the multiple auto insurance quotes, check through to find those with lower premiums. For good terms, look at the discounts available from these companies. Think about accepting a higher deductible. Using the auto insurance quotes as a starting point, negotiate directly with the insurers. Affordable policies are out there. You just have to work harder to find them.

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.