Auto-insurance researchers: 'Cell phone bans don't help reduce crashes'

All those fancy in-car docks and voice navigation? Utterly pointless. At least according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, who reckons that it's not the phone that's the issue, but "the full spectrum of things that distract." The IIHS (funded by a group of car insurers) compared crash data between states that had instituted cell phone bans and those that hadn't. According to its research, while the ban had reduced phone use (whoa, really?), it hadn't helped reduce crash rates. The National Transportation Safety Board has presented several studies linking cell phone use to an increased chance of crashing and their latest proposals would ban most hands-free systems found in major car makers' vehicles today. Hear that? That was the sound of hundreds of third-party accessory manufacturers recoiling in horror.

Learning How to Choose Insurance that Meets your Needs

We will all over time need insurance, when you learn to drive you have to have insurance, when you go to work you are insured under your employers workmen's compensation, when you buy your first home you must have insurance on it. While sometimes you may have no choice about the type of insurance that you need, other times you will have to choose your own insurance, learning to choose the right types of insurance depending on the needs you have, is important and a skill you will use over and over again throughout your life.

Knowing how to choose the right insurance starts with understand what insurance does and how much insurance you really need. This will vary depending on your circumstances and what your budget it. For instance if you have a car that is not worth a lot of money, there is no sense in putting coverage on it, however you will still need liability and medical to cover any damages that may arise if you have an accident.

The Same is true for your other belongings, if you do not own a house you may not need home insurance but you may wish to insure your belongings especially if you have a lot of expensive electronics. This insurance is called renters insurance and it protects you even if you are not ready to buy a house.

Other insurance you may wish to consider is insurance on your recreational vehicles, life insurance, health insurance and if you work for yourself you may wish to get business insurance as well. All these types of insurance vary depending on your circumstances, such as age, health and the possessions you want to insure and as always your budget. While you may not be able to buy all of them it is important to get the ones that are most applicable to your life, as well as those that may be required such as home insurance if you are buying a home and car insurance.

It is important to take some time to read about the insurances you are getting ready to buy, you should at least know the differences between liability, collision, comprehensive, as well as when you need them for your car. This is true for all insurances, you can make costly devastating mistakes but not understanding insurance terms such as those that tell you the type of insurance you are buying.

Life insurance is a good example of that, since there is a huge range of prices for the different types of insurance, but how they cover you and how much they pay out ranges just as widely. Does your policy stay the same or can your insurance company change it, does it have a cash value? These are all questions that you will need to know the answer for if you are going to buy life insurance.

There are plenty of resources on the Internet that will give you the basic information you will need, to be able to make choices for your insurance needs. In fact many of the free quote sites that offer you quotes for your insurance needs can give you all the basic information you will need to make informed choices about your insurance. You will also find that many of the insurance company sites will explain all of their policies in full at their websites as well.

You can also go to talk to your agent once you have chosen one, they can answer any questions you have and help you to decide the insurance you should have. If you choose to use one of the quote sites you will have agents in your area contact you with your quotes, before you decide on your insurance be sure to take the time to carefully review the quotes and take care of any research you need to do before you make your final decision.

Once you have an agent or two, they will help you to make your final decisions and take care of all the paperwork. You will have the satisfaction of knowing you took your time and made an informed decision no matter what type of insurance you are trying to buy. One of the best places to start your search for information and for the quotes you will need to complete the process is at Insurance Quotes, we offer a wide range of information about all of your insurance needs and have a free quote form that will allow you to compare your insurance quotes before you buy.

No Job, No Insurance, No Health Care

Workers who lose their jobs in the economic downturn typically suffer a double whammy: they lose not only their incomes but their employer-based health insurance as well. Millions are forced to forgo the medical care that they cannot pay for.

The depressing facts are laid out in the Commonwealth Fund’s latest biennial health insurance survey. An analysis of the data found that nine million working-age adults who lost their jobs between 2008 and 2010 became uninsured. Most of those could not find affordable coverage from insurance companies, and some were turned down when theyapplied.

Of that number, nearly three-quarters delayed needed care because of the cost. They were sick but did not visit a doctor, or chose not to fill a prescription, or skipped a recommended test, treatment or visit to a specialist.

Nearly three-quarters had problems paying medical bills when they did visit a doctor or a hospital. They used up their savings, struggled to pay medical debts over time, took out loans when they could, declared bankruptcy or ended up unable to pay for other basic necessities like food or housing.

Substantial help will not arrive until 2014, when the major provisions of the national health care reforms kick in. The reforms will provide subsidies to help millions of Americans buy insurance on new exchanges and will greatly expand Medicaid coverage for the poor.

In the interim, Congress should extend unemployment benefits to help the jobless pay for health care. It should also re-establish the subsidies provided by the 2009 stimulus package that helped laid-off workers stay on their former employers’ policies while looking for work.