According to a recent national survey conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), more than four times as many people are likely to be fatally injured in alcohol-related traffic crashes on New Year's Eve than on other mid -week winter evening. CURE Auto Insurance offers the following tips to help drivers and their families ring in 2010 safely and soundly.
1. Check with your local bars for safe rides home. Safe rides are free and a good way to get home safe. In addition to safe rides from your local bar, some community organizations such as your church or college will offer safe rides home. Research these options ahead of time to have all the phone numbers written down and with you for the evening. If none are offered, look to use public transportation or taxi service.
2. Be alert on the roads and highways. Even if you have not had anything to drink, you must be most cautious on New Year's Eve in the event that you cross paths with someone who is driving under the influence. Call officials if you spot what you suspect to be a drunk driver on the road. Make sure to give the police the location of the driver and his or her license plate number. For your own safety, follow a good distance behind.
3. Plan ahead. When planning your evening make sure to take in to account transportation. Always designate a sober driver before the party or celebration begins or make plans to stay overnight at the location of the party. Planning ahead is not only responsible but is your best defense against drunk driving.
4. Watch the weather. Winter conditions can prove to be dangerous even for sober drivers. Freezing temperatures increase the chances for black ice. Stay alert and obey the speed limit. Also check the weather forecast before you head out to your New Year's celebration to make sure you are prepared.
5. If hosting a party, make sure to set rules on drinking and driving. Offer to provide a ride home or a place for guests who drink to sleep. Always offer alcohol-free beverages during the event, and make sure all of your guests leave with a sober driver.
Source
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Two More Charged with Insurance Fraud
The ongoing investigation by the Pennsylvania Attorney General Tom Corbett into an insurance fraud has resulted in another arrest of a women and her brother. Elsa Perez-Delossantos, 38 , a resident of Pennsylvania and the her brother Antonio Perez-Delossantos, 37, of Brooklyn, have been charged with insurance fraud after she allowed her brother to use her address in order to obtain a cheaper auto insurance rates.
The arrested were among the other 24 people arrested in the ongoing investigation of New York and New Jersey residents providing false residency information to the State Department of Transportation to get a Pennsylvania license or vehicle registration rates and obtain cheaper Pennsylvania insurance rates.
Pennsylvania insurance rates are $2,000 to $4,000 per year cheaper in comparison to other two states.
Claiming a false Pennsylvania address helps some save $4,000 a year in premiums. The practice, better known as rate evasion, annually leads to $12 million to $15 million in claims on Pennsylvania policies that should not have been written, Corbett said.
The defendants have been charged with felony count of insurance fraud that carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years and a $15,000 fine.
The investigation helped break up a scam of a Philadelphia title company that signed up numerous New York City drivers as Pennsylvanians between January 2005 and September 2006 in order to fraudulently obtain cheaper insurance rates.
Source
The arrested were among the other 24 people arrested in the ongoing investigation of New York and New Jersey residents providing false residency information to the State Department of Transportation to get a Pennsylvania license or vehicle registration rates and obtain cheaper Pennsylvania insurance rates.
Pennsylvania insurance rates are $2,000 to $4,000 per year cheaper in comparison to other two states.
Claiming a false Pennsylvania address helps some save $4,000 a year in premiums. The practice, better known as rate evasion, annually leads to $12 million to $15 million in claims on Pennsylvania policies that should not have been written, Corbett said.
The defendants have been charged with felony count of insurance fraud that carries a maximum prison sentence of seven years and a $15,000 fine.
The investigation helped break up a scam of a Philadelphia title company that signed up numerous New York City drivers as Pennsylvanians between January 2005 and September 2006 in order to fraudulently obtain cheaper insurance rates.
Source
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Reading woman, brother charged with insurance fraud
A Reading woman and her brother have been charged with insurance fraud after the woman allowed the man, who lives in New York, to use her address to obtain auto insurance at cheaper Pennsylvania rates, authorities said Thursday.
Elsa Perez-Delossantos, 38, allowed Antonio Perez-Delossantos, 37, of Brooklyn to use her address to obtain a Pennsylvania driver's license and insurance at Pennsylvania rates, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.
[+] Enlarge.
The two were among 24 people arrested in an investigation of New York and New Jersey residents using false addresses to obtain Pennsylvania insurance rates.
Pennsylvania insurance rates are $2,000 to $4,000 per year cheaper than in the other two states, authorities said.
All 24 defendants have been charged with insurance fraud, a third-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine, said Nils Fredericksen, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.
All were arraigned in Harrisburg and released to await further court action.
Fredericksen said agents broke up a scam in which a Philadelphia title company was busing people in from New York and New Jersey to apply for Pennsylvania driver's licenses and registrations for their vehicles in order to fraudulently obtain cheaper insurance.
"After going through the files of that company we came up with this (Perez-Delossantos) case," Fredericksen said.
Insurance fraud drives up the rates Pennsylvanians pay for auto insurance because New Jersey is first in the nation in auto theft and New York is eighth in accidents staged to make auto insurance claims, Fredericksen said.
Source
Elsa Perez-Delossantos, 38, allowed Antonio Perez-Delossantos, 37, of Brooklyn to use her address to obtain a Pennsylvania driver's license and insurance at Pennsylvania rates, according to the Pennsylvania attorney general's office.
[+] Enlarge.
The two were among 24 people arrested in an investigation of New York and New Jersey residents using false addresses to obtain Pennsylvania insurance rates.
Pennsylvania insurance rates are $2,000 to $4,000 per year cheaper than in the other two states, authorities said.
All 24 defendants have been charged with insurance fraud, a third-degree felony that carries a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine, said Nils Fredericksen, a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Attorney General's office.
All were arraigned in Harrisburg and released to await further court action.
Fredericksen said agents broke up a scam in which a Philadelphia title company was busing people in from New York and New Jersey to apply for Pennsylvania driver's licenses and registrations for their vehicles in order to fraudulently obtain cheaper insurance.
"After going through the files of that company we came up with this (Perez-Delossantos) case," Fredericksen said.
Insurance fraud drives up the rates Pennsylvanians pay for auto insurance because New Jersey is first in the nation in auto theft and New York is eighth in accidents staged to make auto insurance claims, Fredericksen said.
Source
Monday, December 28, 2009
CURE scores deal as official auto insurer of New Jersey Nets
Attendees of New Jersey Nets basketball games at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.,will get an eyeful of the team’s new official auto insurer: Citizens United Reciprocal Exchange (CURE) Auto Insurance. The Princeton, N.J.-based insurer signed a deal with the NBA team that makes it the title sponsor of the CURE Courtside Club, an exclusive lounge for courtside ticket holders and the site of a post-game radio show, title sponsorship of the Izod Center’s press room, and various in-arena signage.
Eric Poe, chief operating officer for CURE, said with its roots in New Jersey, a partnership with the Nets “makes perfect sense.
“Aligning with the Nets gives us the opportunity to reach New Jersey drivers and makes them aware of an equitable alternative to the discriminatory practices that they face by most insurance companies in the state,” Poe said in a statement.
Chris Brahe, vice president of sponsorship sales and partnership marketing for the team, said it is “delighted” with the corporate alliance and team state “appreciate that CURE recognizes the powerful opportunities to drive its business forward as a Nets corporate partner.”
For the last 19 years, CURE has served as a direct writer of auto insurance in New Jersey, basing its rates on driver performance.
Source
Eric Poe, chief operating officer for CURE, said with its roots in New Jersey, a partnership with the Nets “makes perfect sense.
“Aligning with the Nets gives us the opportunity to reach New Jersey drivers and makes them aware of an equitable alternative to the discriminatory practices that they face by most insurance companies in the state,” Poe said in a statement.
Chris Brahe, vice president of sponsorship sales and partnership marketing for the team, said it is “delighted” with the corporate alliance and team state “appreciate that CURE recognizes the powerful opportunities to drive its business forward as a Nets corporate partner.”
For the last 19 years, CURE has served as a direct writer of auto insurance in New Jersey, basing its rates on driver performance.
Source
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
N.J. to issue temporary license plates to cars bought from Galaxy Motors
RAHWAY -- Used car buyers caught up in the sudden collapse of a Rahway dealership will again be able to drive their cars legally.
The state Motor Vehicle Commission has agreed to issue temporary plates to owners of cars purchased from Galaxy Motors. As many as 50 of the dealer’s customers may have been entangled in an automotive title disputes that left them unable to operate bring their cars out on New Jersey’s streets and highways.
“It’s not a permanent solution,” said Michael Horan, a spokesman for the commission, “but it will give everyone time to resolve the problem and let the buyers use their cars.”
"That will be a great help,” said Edward Alvarado of South Plainfield. “Finally, someone is doing something about this mess. All we want to do is drive the cars we’re paying for.”
The car buyers have been unable to drive the vehicles since the end of June because they cannot obtain license plates. They need to have proof of title before the commission will grant plates, but the owners haven’t been able to obtain title because the dealership shut down before transferring ownership papers.
Meanwhile, at least one finance company that had extended credit to the owner of Galaxy Motors -- the Indiana-based Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC) -- filed for repossession of the cars in Arkansas and that state granted the firm title to the cars.
The action in Arkansas, based on AFC’s claims of possession of the vehicles, has frozen state buyers out of holding title, even though the cars were never in Arkansas and were fully paid for by New Jersey residents. AFC obtained title after the cars were sold and after Galaxy Motors closed.
"We’re taking this extraordinary action because we recognize this is a serious matter that has to be resolved,” said Horan. "We also recognize the hardship it has caused innocent New Jersey residents.”
Car buyers are usually able to obtain temporary plates for up to 30 days, with one automatic extension. For the victimized Galaxy Motors customers, those temporary tags began to expire in June.
Although they could not drive their cars, the owners still had to pay back car loans -- many with PNC Financial Services -- that the owner of Galaxy Motors, Patrick Dunn, helped arrange. They also have had to pay for car insurance and, in some cases, warranties that Dunn sold them.
“We’re doing whatever we can to help our residents,” said Horan.
New Jersey’s motor vehicle officials were criticized for failing to act in the light of AFC’s actions in Arkansas. Horan says issuing New Jersey permanent certificates of ownership despite the claims in Arkansas "would only have created more problems."
“It would have raised more questions about which title is legitimate,” he said.
Without some intervention by the state, the burden of taking legal action to resolve title problems would fall solely on individual owners. Some have already hired lawyers to help them out of the mess. One owner, Linda Brennan of Rahway, says she has run up nearly $2,000 in legal bills for a car she has paid for but been unable to drive since July.
One lawyer, not involved in the case, suggested buyers join in a class action case against AFC and Arkansas -- and try to enlist PNC and other retail lenders on their side.
Other lawyers have suggested PNC be joined, not as a co-plaintiff, but as a co-defendant because it enabled Galaxy Motors to sell so many cars on credit.
No matter what the constellation of legal disputes, the car owners would still be stuck spending money on lawyers so they can use cars they already purchased.
AFC representatives declined comment on the dispute. A PNC spokesman would only say the bank is working to resolve the problem. The lawyer for Dunn has said his client will not comment.
Source
The state Motor Vehicle Commission has agreed to issue temporary plates to owners of cars purchased from Galaxy Motors. As many as 50 of the dealer’s customers may have been entangled in an automotive title disputes that left them unable to operate bring their cars out on New Jersey’s streets and highways.
“It’s not a permanent solution,” said Michael Horan, a spokesman for the commission, “but it will give everyone time to resolve the problem and let the buyers use their cars.”
"That will be a great help,” said Edward Alvarado of South Plainfield. “Finally, someone is doing something about this mess. All we want to do is drive the cars we’re paying for.”
The car buyers have been unable to drive the vehicles since the end of June because they cannot obtain license plates. They need to have proof of title before the commission will grant plates, but the owners haven’t been able to obtain title because the dealership shut down before transferring ownership papers.
Meanwhile, at least one finance company that had extended credit to the owner of Galaxy Motors -- the Indiana-based Automotive Finance Corporation (AFC) -- filed for repossession of the cars in Arkansas and that state granted the firm title to the cars.
The action in Arkansas, based on AFC’s claims of possession of the vehicles, has frozen state buyers out of holding title, even though the cars were never in Arkansas and were fully paid for by New Jersey residents. AFC obtained title after the cars were sold and after Galaxy Motors closed.
"We’re taking this extraordinary action because we recognize this is a serious matter that has to be resolved,” said Horan. "We also recognize the hardship it has caused innocent New Jersey residents.”
Car buyers are usually able to obtain temporary plates for up to 30 days, with one automatic extension. For the victimized Galaxy Motors customers, those temporary tags began to expire in June.
Although they could not drive their cars, the owners still had to pay back car loans -- many with PNC Financial Services -- that the owner of Galaxy Motors, Patrick Dunn, helped arrange. They also have had to pay for car insurance and, in some cases, warranties that Dunn sold them.
“We’re doing whatever we can to help our residents,” said Horan.
New Jersey’s motor vehicle officials were criticized for failing to act in the light of AFC’s actions in Arkansas. Horan says issuing New Jersey permanent certificates of ownership despite the claims in Arkansas "would only have created more problems."
“It would have raised more questions about which title is legitimate,” he said.
Without some intervention by the state, the burden of taking legal action to resolve title problems would fall solely on individual owners. Some have already hired lawyers to help them out of the mess. One owner, Linda Brennan of Rahway, says she has run up nearly $2,000 in legal bills for a car she has paid for but been unable to drive since July.
One lawyer, not involved in the case, suggested buyers join in a class action case against AFC and Arkansas -- and try to enlist PNC and other retail lenders on their side.
Other lawyers have suggested PNC be joined, not as a co-plaintiff, but as a co-defendant because it enabled Galaxy Motors to sell so many cars on credit.
No matter what the constellation of legal disputes, the car owners would still be stuck spending money on lawyers so they can use cars they already purchased.
AFC representatives declined comment on the dispute. A PNC spokesman would only say the bank is working to resolve the problem. The lawyer for Dunn has said his client will not comment.
Source
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Jamie Court: Insurance Mandates Don't Work
A cornerstone of President Obama's health-care plan is, as he said in his speech to Congress, "individuals will be required to carry basic insurance, just like most states require you to carry auto insurance." But the tarnished history of such laws shows that making insurance mandatory, and even making it more affordable, does not compel the uninsured to buy it.In California, the car capital of America, the injustice of mandatory insurance laws sparked one of the great voter revolts of modern history -- and that still didn't solve the uninsured motorist problem. In 1988, the people of California passed Proposition 103, which required auto insurance companies to seek permission through an elected insurance commissioner for premium increases. It created an intervener system that allows members of the public to challenge unnecessary premium hikes. The law also made auto insurance pricing fairer in various ways, including banning ZIP-code based auto insurance.The Consumer Federation of American reported in 2008 that Proposition 103 had saved Californians $62 billion on their auto insurance. The market is competitive, prices are down, and the number of uninsured motorists has decreased some from pre-Prop 103 levels. Yet in the most competitive auto insurance market in the nation, the uninsured motorist rate is still 18 percent, among the highest. That's true even after California took more punitive measures against uninsured motorists. Stiffer fines, the impounding of cars and the loss of legal rights for uninsured motorist have not significantly impacted the uninsured motorist rate.
Giving consumers more options -- public options, in fact -- seems to make more of a difference. States with extensive public transportation systems tend to have the lowest uninsured motorists rates. Massachusetts has a 1 percent uninsured motorist rate, the lowest. New York's is 5 percent, New Jersey's 8 percent, and Connecticut's 9 percent. New Hampshire, the only state in the nation without a mandatory auto insurance law, has an 11 percent uninsured motorist rate.
If the president must embrace mandatory insurance, his plan should at least include the prior approval, intervener and elected commissioner models that have made auto insurance cheaper. Every state in the nation should be required to have such regulatory components in order to lower health insurance premiums. But even that's not yet on the table in Washington.
Source
Giving consumers more options -- public options, in fact -- seems to make more of a difference. States with extensive public transportation systems tend to have the lowest uninsured motorists rates. Massachusetts has a 1 percent uninsured motorist rate, the lowest. New York's is 5 percent, New Jersey's 8 percent, and Connecticut's 9 percent. New Hampshire, the only state in the nation without a mandatory auto insurance law, has an 11 percent uninsured motorist rate.
If the president must embrace mandatory insurance, his plan should at least include the prior approval, intervener and elected commissioner models that have made auto insurance cheaper. Every state in the nation should be required to have such regulatory components in order to lower health insurance premiums. But even that's not yet on the table in Washington.
Source
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Good news for drivers! New Jersey implements PIP fee schedule
New Jersey drivers have finally caught a break. A recent decision by New Jersey's Appellate Division has ruled in favor of the New Jersey Personal Injury Protection (PIP) fee schedule, which was sitting in legal limbo for nearly two years after the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) made it effective in late 2007. This decision will help keep insurance costs down for New Jersey drivers for decades to come, and may even allow New Jersey to lose the title of having the highest auto insurance rates in the country.
Originally adopted to go into effect on October 1, 2007, the PIP fee schedule was appealed by the medical community, chiropractors, and surgery centers citing that physicians wouldn't receive adequate payment for services most related to auto insurance accidents. The Appellate Division granted a "stay" and issued an injunction while they reviewed the legal challenges set forth by the appellants. On August 10, 2009, the court addressed each of the challenges and validated the methodology used by the Department of Banking and Insurance in deriving the PIP fee schedule.
Drivers should understand that New Jersey operates as a "no-fault" PIP state, which means when people are injured in a car accident their auto insurance pays for their treatment for injuries. This includes anything from chiropractor care to surgeries. When treatment is rendered, auto insurers are billed and must by law pay the medical providers for each treatment. If the treatment is listed on a set "PIP fee schedule" the rates paid are indisputable and not legally challengeable. However, if the treatment is not listed on the schedule auto insurers are obligated to pay the "usual, customary, and reasonable" rates by law. The ambiguity of what is considered "usual, customary and reasonable" has clogged up and raised costs for auto insurance for decades in New Jersey resulting in higher rates for drivers.
Neighboring no-fault PIP states like Pennsylvania and New York have over a thousand procedures listed on their fee schedule, while until recently New Jersey had less than 100 procedures on the list. As a result, certain surgery centers which were created as a low cost alternative to hospitals, routinely over-billed auto insurers for simple procedures cashing in on millions in fees. For example, a surgery center recently charged over $24,000 per procedure for three, 30 minute back manipulation procedures. However, the vast research by DOBI has yielded that this procedure should receive a prevailing cost of $190 per procedure. The costs to litigate this severely inflated claim by auto insurers results in millions of dollars annually.
In late 2007, after years of studies conducted by DOBI, in accordance with legislation passed years earlier, the list of procedures was expanded to over 1,400 of the most common procedures. The amounts paid were based upon comprehensive studies from Medicare, Medicaid and prevailing fees paid for these procedures.
Through the expanded fee schedule, reimbursement of medical costs can be controlled and the old standard of long, drawn out, expensive litigation over payments can finally come to an end. Claims will be processed more efficiently under these new guidelines. DOBI has truly been fundamental in its research of this issue and of adopting the fee schedule, enabling insurers to keep costs down.
This isn't just a victory for the auto insurance industry. Every driver in New Jersey has been impacted by the spiraling costs of surgery centers and certain abusive chiropractor practices. The expanded fee schedule finally puts auto insurers in a position to control costs and pass along savings to our policyholders.
Source
Originally adopted to go into effect on October 1, 2007, the PIP fee schedule was appealed by the medical community, chiropractors, and surgery centers citing that physicians wouldn't receive adequate payment for services most related to auto insurance accidents. The Appellate Division granted a "stay" and issued an injunction while they reviewed the legal challenges set forth by the appellants. On August 10, 2009, the court addressed each of the challenges and validated the methodology used by the Department of Banking and Insurance in deriving the PIP fee schedule.
Drivers should understand that New Jersey operates as a "no-fault" PIP state, which means when people are injured in a car accident their auto insurance pays for their treatment for injuries. This includes anything from chiropractor care to surgeries. When treatment is rendered, auto insurers are billed and must by law pay the medical providers for each treatment. If the treatment is listed on a set "PIP fee schedule" the rates paid are indisputable and not legally challengeable. However, if the treatment is not listed on the schedule auto insurers are obligated to pay the "usual, customary, and reasonable" rates by law. The ambiguity of what is considered "usual, customary and reasonable" has clogged up and raised costs for auto insurance for decades in New Jersey resulting in higher rates for drivers.
Neighboring no-fault PIP states like Pennsylvania and New York have over a thousand procedures listed on their fee schedule, while until recently New Jersey had less than 100 procedures on the list. As a result, certain surgery centers which were created as a low cost alternative to hospitals, routinely over-billed auto insurers for simple procedures cashing in on millions in fees. For example, a surgery center recently charged over $24,000 per procedure for three, 30 minute back manipulation procedures. However, the vast research by DOBI has yielded that this procedure should receive a prevailing cost of $190 per procedure. The costs to litigate this severely inflated claim by auto insurers results in millions of dollars annually.
In late 2007, after years of studies conducted by DOBI, in accordance with legislation passed years earlier, the list of procedures was expanded to over 1,400 of the most common procedures. The amounts paid were based upon comprehensive studies from Medicare, Medicaid and prevailing fees paid for these procedures.
Through the expanded fee schedule, reimbursement of medical costs can be controlled and the old standard of long, drawn out, expensive litigation over payments can finally come to an end. Claims will be processed more efficiently under these new guidelines. DOBI has truly been fundamental in its research of this issue and of adopting the fee schedule, enabling insurers to keep costs down.
This isn't just a victory for the auto insurance industry. Every driver in New Jersey has been impacted by the spiraling costs of surgery centers and certain abusive chiropractor practices. The expanded fee schedule finally puts auto insurers in a position to control costs and pass along savings to our policyholders.
Source
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