AAA will provide auto and home insurance in Hawaii

AAA has been offering auto and travel services to Hawaiians since 1912 but it is the first time that it will make available home and auto insurance to the 120,000 islanders.

It will be done through AAA's affiliate - Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club, rated as A+ by A.M. Best. The later issues yearly over 1 million car insurances in California and also offers such in Maine, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Texas and Vermont.

Hawaiian AAA members, paying their $54 annual membership fee will qualify to apply for the insurance. All others can receive a free auto insurance quote from AAA but will need to become members in order to apply for it.

Average auto insurance costs easing slightly

In 2005 the average annual US auto insurance costs declined by 2% or $60 with Pennsylvania having the largest decline of 9.7%.  Nevertheless the insurance premiums still managed to go up in some states, with North Dakota leading the pack with 15.7% increase.

$250 a month being an average monthly insurance cost in the US leaves many people wishing for the insurance costs to go down much more.  How much more will it decrease – the future will show but so far, with the comparative shopping habits being encouraged by the internet we can look forward for the trend to continue into the future.

Did you know?

In California one out of every four drivers does not have car insurance. That is mainly because of the high costs of insurance. Fortunately there's an expanding auto insurance plan in California, of which I wrote about two weeks ago - that somewhat helps lower income folks with that problem.

Costco continues with Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance

Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance and Costco Insurance Agency Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Costco Wholesale Corportaion renewed their current cooperation, extending it for next five years.

"We are pleased to continue our successful relationship with Costco,"said Ken Ciak, President of Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance. "Like Costco, we are committed to providing best-in-class products and services. We offer premium insurance products and solutions at very competitive prices."

The program is available in 38 US states and available to 17 million Costco memeber households.
Members can get a quote by phone through calling 888-404-5365 or online by visiting www.costco.com/services/auto

Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance offers automobile, home and umbrellea insurance. Headquatered in De Pere, Wisconsin with over 950 employees it currently supplies auto and home insurance to over 450,000 people. Meantime the underwriting of the policies for these services is done by AMEX Assurance Company and IDS Property Casualty Insurance Company. Both IDS Property Casualty and AMEX Assurance are wholly owned subsidiaries of Ameriprise Financial.

Financing - the only profit for GM in 2005

Not everyone knows, but General Motors actually makes money by selling auto insurance and offering mortgages. The company made $2.22 billion doing just that during 2005.

Meanwhile the GM lost $3.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2005 selling their vehicles, or on average - $539 for each of their auto being sold.

The Ford auto company had posted similar figures - it made $2 billion profit in financing while losing $1.4 billion in those first three quarters on their autos ($576 per vehicle sold).

Also, the two companies combined sold $38billion in consumer loans last year.

More market consolidation in the auto insurance industry to come in 2006

It has been noted that after the major natural events like the recent Hurricane Katrina the insurance payouts have risen significantly. That may instigate many smaller auto insurers to sell out in order to protect their profits.

Particularly states with low auto insurance loss rates will be more affected by such larger payouts.

Bigger auto insurance companies with more access to innovative price setting technologies and better advertising coverage will find it easier in the coming years. That would include companies like Geico, the auto insurer of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. (BRKA, BRKB), Allstate Corporation (ALL), Progressive Corporation (PGR) and the United States Automobile Association (USSA). Nevertheless smaller companies with underwriting margin of over 4 percent and positive growth should also find it easy to perform regardless of the major natural events affecting the insurance industry.

Insurance discount for hybrid car owners complementing tax credits

US tax regulations offer up to 10 percent tax breaks for the users of environmentally cleaner technologies which according to Consumer Reports can save up to $4,000 for consumers running cars utilizing entirely alternative fuels.

Along those lines - Travelers, one of America's oldest insurance companies now offers hybrid car owners a 10 percent discount on their auto insurance. It is related to the actuarial pragmatism assuming that hybrid car owners are typically lower risk drivers.

As a side note - the US government is also offering tax discounts to homeowners utilizing energy saving materials such as energy efficient windows.