Car through the ice - does insurance cover that?

[bturck]

Yes, but how you insure it depends on the type of fish house. Our company covered a skid house under homeowners. This would also include a porty. A wheel house we endorsed to the auto policy just like a utility trailer or pop up camper.

[Jim Cramer]

I have auto owners car insurance and my agent says that I am covered.

[Big Buck Buster]

Yes, but how you insure it depends on the type of fish house. Our company covered a skid house under homeowners. This would also include a porty. A wheel house we endorsed to the auto policy just like a utility trailer or pop up camper.

I was told by my agent that my fish house was only covered on my auto policy when it was in tow down the road. After it is placed on the lake, there would have to be additional insurance to cover it then. When it is parked at home, and in the shed, it would be covered under my home owners policy.

I am just going to get RV insurance on it, so I am covered no matter where I am.

[PierBridge]

Sounds like I need to switch to American Family!

$150 a month for THREE cars? I'm just under that for 1 truck!

Good Thread!

[bturck]

It was mentioned in one of the original posts to this thread, check with your own agent to find out exactly how you need to cover it. Not all companies will cover them the same way.

I pay $65 per month for two vehicles, full coverage, and if I'm accident free for that six month period they send me a check for 5% of the renewal amount. It buys plenty of minnows, leeches and a case of beer. If I have a brain dead moment and have any At Fault accident no surcharge. And this is not just one accident but multiples. Lots of different things happening in that industry.

[PierBridge]

I've heard I pay more because of the Zip code I live in. 55406 is a supposed high claim area. Trust me its not a high crime area at all probably one of the best neighborhoods in all of MPLS. "No jokes please"....

[Sandmannd]

I have the same deal PierBridge. Pay a price because I live in St. Paul. Yet I've never had an insurance claim on either vehicle in the 8 years I've lived here. It's a joke if you ask me.

[bturck]

Zip codes definitley play a role in rating. We all become part of the law of large numbers, even though I may not have had a claim, the frequency in that rating territory will show a higher propensity for having a claim. The acutaries punch numbers all day in an attempt to forecast that claim frequency. Tell your kids to get their degree in math.

[croixflats]

Want to see a rate decrease jump the boarder. There are areas close to the boarder that almost half of the other side.

[Sandmannd]

Shoot, go back to ND. When I was there I paid $38 a month for my SUV. Come to the land of 10,000 fees and taxes and it's that with another hundy tacked on.

[nofishfisherman]

Zip code is a big factor in your rate. If you live in a high claim area then expect to pay more. Low crime doesn't always mean low claim.

Believe me its not a joke. We adjust rates both up and down all the time based of frequency and severity of accidents in each zip code or territory. If we see alot of recent accidents or an increase in the severity of the accidents we raise rates but we also lower them if we see the frequency and severity go down.

Believe it or not Sandmannd, your current rate is not just a random number designed to milk you for every penny. Its the result of a complex equation designed to calculate the appropriate price for the level of risk you pose. Unfortunately you get lumped into a group based on your age, gender, area you live, whether you own a home, your driving record, etc... If you don't like your rate then blame all the other males living in St. Paul. They are the reason your rate is what it is. If you haven't had a claim you are one of the good drivers who is helping to bring up the curve. I should add that I also live in St. Paul. I've had 1 claim so I apologize I might have had something to do with your rates being what they are (assuming we have the same carrier).

If you see high rates based on your zip code it pays to shop around. Its possible other carriers are seeing different trends in your area based on the clients they serve and the amount of fraud they have been seeing.

Chances are each carrier will have the area rated somewhat closely but its worth a look. An independent agent will be able to run quotes from many carriers for you to make shopping a little easier.

[nofishfisherman]

Shoot, go back to ND. When I was there I paid $38 a month for my SUV. Come to the land of 10,000 fees and taxes and it's that with another hundy tacked on.

You can also go anywhere out side of the major metro areas of MN and find cheaper insurance then you'll find living in St. Paul.

[bturck]

We have a couple of clients in a small northern MN city, I won't say the name. More cars go down 694 in a hour than go through this town in a month. Rates are definitley going to be lower there, less possible risk, less chance of severity.

Yes some neighboring States are cheaper, even with our company. SD for example population no where near Mn or metro TC. Some State also don't require the same limits ie: They may not be No Fault, lower liability requirements. IE: NY 25/50/5, MN 30/60/10 these are minimums. Can't imnagine living in NYC with those low limits. this has certainly been an interesting and hopefully educationsal thread. Great discussion.

[nofishfisherman]

Good point bturck.

MN being a No Fault state does cause higher rates compared to other states that are not No Fault states.

[paul pachowicz]

Now that you mentioned SD and insurance rates I'll give you an idea of what I pay. I just paid my 6 month premium for full coverage on my 09 Toyota Tacoma 4WD 6cyl. Zero comp deductable, 250.00 collison deductable, uninsured/under insured, towing, rent car, 328.00.

[bturck]

Paul are you a No Fault State? In MN its madatory to carry No Fault 20/20. This covers medical and wage loss benefits regardless of who was at fault in the accident. So basically what would happen in MN you rear end me, which is an At Fault accident to you, however if I'm injured my company pays for my medical bills and my loss of work, even though you goofed up. Did not intend for you to be the bad guy here, juse an example. LOL

Thats a pretty good price. I have a nephew who lives in Redfield. He was insured by me when he lived in MN, and he said it is definitley cheaper in SD. Thanks for the info on your pricing.

[nofishfisherman]

Actually I just found some interesting charts from the past 5-6 years showing average premiums in the US. South Dakota, Iowa, and North Dakota are pretty consistently the bottom 3. I saw MN listed anywhere from 7th lowest to 37th lowest.

I don't believe any of the 3 lowest have No Fault laws. They also benefit from low populations and few major metro areas. When the bulk of your state is farm land and when a blind shop teacher named Stumpy can count all the major freeways in the state on one hand you'll probably find relatively inexpensive insurance.

If you look at the places with the highest rates you'll find places like D.C. New York, Mass., Florida, etc... Lots of people, lots of traffic and lots of accidents.

If you want cheaper insurance all you have to do is move.

Some people will foolishly attempt to take out insurance using a an address from a cheaper zip code in hopes of getting a cheaper rate. I wouldn't advise this however. There are ways to validate your address so if you do not actually live at that residence you may run into trouble. Even if you get the policy you may find that when you go to file a claim you may be denied coverage if they find out you are not living in the location listed on the policy.

[bturck]

Nofish: Good info thanks for the update. You kind of blew my bubble though!!!! I was going to set up a PO Box in SD and just drive over each day to pick up my mail. LOL

I found out something interesting a few years ago. I was told that the State of Washington has Pure No Fault. So even if you only carry liability, in and At Fault accident, not you fault, and the other party does not carry insurance your vehicle would be repaired anyway. I'll bet thats not cheap.

Also another point that was made last year in a CE class. Wisc is not a madatory State and yet they have less people driving without insurance than we do in MN even though we require it. Tennessee is another State that does not mandate insurance.

Another point of interest the Federal Govt is now looking at overseeing insurance carriers instead of the States. Since the Maddoff [PoorWordUsage] and AIG, the Feds now think they need to control P and C carriers as well. Geeez lets hope not. We are fortunate in MN to have a very good Commerce Dept whose main concern is the consumer not the companies issuing the policy.

[nofishfisherman]

I recently read an interesting article put together by the Commerce Dept. It talked about No Fault laws in MN and explored the possible reasons why premiums are higher then expected.

At the end of the article it made several recommendations for lowering the No Fault costs. The article is from 2005 so apparently it feel of deaf ears but it would be nice if some action was taken in MN.

Most insurance carriers are fighting to repeal No Fault laws. They just don't work the way they should. They are expensive and lead to fraud.

bturck, atleast with the company I work for we don't care where you get your mail, we only care where you car is garaged at night. So if you build a garage or atleast buy a parking space in South Dakota and park your car there at night then you can probably find a great deal on Insurance. Problem is we don't write in South Dakota.

[bturck]

I hear ya on the garaging issue. Another interesting point from a CE class. The state of Michigan raised the threashold a couple of years ago, so that the attorneys could not jump on the band wagon as quickly. the first $5000 in medical was covered and then the threashold kicked in before litigation. That meant that you were at $9000 before the ambulance chasers slipped the neck collar on you. They said their litagation had gone down by 15%. A huge amount in terms of dollars and cents paid out, not to mention the attorney fees.

[fishersofmen]

Yea like I said I really can't complain even though it went up because of my credit. I know some guys pay less but alot of guys pay more too, sounds like your one of them. I know I'm straying off even further now but ever since I got a commercial drivers license 5 years ago my record is spotless. I have been pulled over several times but I think cops are more carefull to give me a moving violation now. Also, and I don't recommend this to anyone, but if you don't have your seatbelt on and you get pulled over for speeding 9 times out of 10 they will only give you a seatbelt ticket and not the moving violation. Its worked for me the last 3 times.......and others I know as well.

[nofishfisherman]

Yea like I said I really can't complain even though it went up because of my credit. I know some guys pay less but alot of guys pay more too, sounds like your one of them. I know I'm straying off even further now but ever since I got a commercial drivers license 5 years ago my record is spotless. I have been pulled over several times but I think cops are more carefull to give me a moving violation now. Also, and I don't recommend this to anyone, but if you don't have your seatbelt on and you get pulled over for speeding 9 times out of 10 they will only give you a seatbelt ticket and not the moving violation. Its worked for me the last 3 times.......and others I know as well.

How many times have you been pulled over? If you're talking about the last three times it might be time to take a look at your driving habits. Might be time to slow down a little as your luck will run out sooner or later and then your rates will for sure go up and in that case there's not much blame to go around to anyone else.

I wouldn't advise the seat belt "advice" either. Seems to me you're advising people to do something stupid to avoid getting a ticket over another stupid thing.

[fishersofmen]

In case you haven't noticed, 95% of the 5 million people in the state drive over the speed limit nofish including yourself (don't try and tell me you never speed either). Many cops themselves drive 65 in a 55. Most people can attest to seeing that. Any police officer could issue 1,000 speeding tickets a day if they wanted to. If you haven't been pulled over for speeding, consider yourself "lucky". Its now been 3 years since I have been stopped. Also I didn't advise anyone to do anything in fact just the opposite, these were my words "I don't recommend this to anyone". Please read the posts before you start attacking people. All I said is it has worked for me and there is nothing stupid about a spotless driving record.

[Sandmannd]

Out of curiosity, why would you only get the seatbelt ticket and not both the seatbelt and moving violation?

[fishersofmen]

Most cops would rather give you a ticket that is just a payable fine rather than some sort of moving violation that will go on your driving record. If you were to get stopped for a moving violation and they they could give you a ticket for something else that wouldn't effect your record and insurance many would opt to go that route. I was stopped for driving a little fast 3 times in 2 years "yes nofish bad luck, we ALL do it" and all three times that was the case with the ticket. I work with two police officers and have discussed this with them and they were not at all surprised by that outcome.