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Drive Safe this Valentine’s Day

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 02/14/2013

Make sure you arrive safe for all your Valentine’s Day fun this year.

Valentine's day

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Each year Valentine’s Day is greeted with mixed reactions depending on your current situation in life. Some love it, some hate it, and others just don’t care. Regardless of how you feel about the day though, if you plan on celebrating it do so safely.

Keep Those Valentine’s Day Treats Secure

Many people will be taking Valentine’s Day treats to work or their kid’s school today, so while they are in transit make sure they are secure. Never, ever put them on the floor under your legs while you are driving as they can get in the way of being able to brake or accelerate your vehicle.

Also don’t let them slide around the backseat. Hearing your treats slide round the backseat increases the odds that you will turn around to try and secure them while you are driving, to prevent them from getting all over the place. Instead, have someone else in the car hold them, place them on the ground in the backseat, or on the ground in the front seat; any place where their area of movement is restricted but out of your way.

Valentine’s Day Balloons Under Control

I love Valentine’s Day balloons. What’s not to love about them?

Unfortunately, if you purchase balloons for someone and don’t have them delivered it becomes your responsibility to have them delivered safely. (The most important word in that last sentence was “safely”.)

The best way to deliver balloons in your car is by not filling up your vehicle to capacity with the floating gift. Yes, if you were to get into a car accident bouncing off a bunch of balloons would be safer than bouncing off a window, but you probably never would have got in that car accident in the first place if you had been able to see out those windows. So make multiple balloon delivery trips between the store and your destinations if needed.

Second, anchor balloons below your line of site. When you pick up balloons bring someone with you to hold them down so that you can still see out your windows. If travelling alone, find something to wrap the balloon’s ribbon to in order to shorten its floating range.

Don’t Ruin Another’s Valentine’s Day Because You Hate It

Even if you hate Valentine’s Day, don’t go out to drown your sorrows and then drive home drunk. Find other friends that have the same feeling for the holiday and go out to have a fun anti-Valentine’s Day night. You just may end up having more fun than many of the couples out celebrating Valentine’s Day.

2013 Lexus is250 Insurance Analysis

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 02/13/2013

Safety matters when insurance companies create premiums, and the 2013 Lexus IS 250 has a lot of room for improvement.

2013 Lexus IS 250

Lexus IS 250 F-Sport

One of the changes in the 2013 Lexus IS 250 was that this model of vehicle will no longer be available in a manual transmission. While this was a nice easy change for Lexus to make, they should have also spent some time improving the safety of this 2013 model also.

Safety Information for the 2013 Lexus IS 250

The 2013 Lexus IS 250 is not one of Lexus’ safest vehicles, per the ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). While it is not a metal death trap, there are many other safer vehicles in Lexus’ line of cars; which makes it surprising that this vehicle had such low ratings.

For the 2013 IS 250, it did rate “good” for the front crash test and the side impact tests. So there are aspects that are safe in the event of a crash.

The roof strength test, this tests the strength of the roof if you were to ever be in a rollover accident, was rated as “acceptable” by the IIHS. An “acceptable” rating is just a step below the “good” rating.

The front corner crash test on the 2013 Lexus IS 250 was only given a “poor” rating, which is the lowest rating that the IIHS gives in its testing.

2013 Lexus IS 250 Recalls

There were no recalls found for the 2013 Lexus IS 250 at the time of this writing.

Insurance Thoughts on the 2013 Lexus IS 250

The 2013 Lexus IS 250 will be one of the more expensive sedans to insure. With the price of the vehicle ranging from $35,000 to over $37,000 the comprehensive and collision coverages are going to come in higher than the other comparable sedans that are priced in the low $20,000s. This higher price means that parts and total loss costs are going to be higher for the insurance companies if you were ever in an accident. This higher potential cost is passed on to you in the form of higher premiums.

With the less than stellar safety rating, the 2013 IS 250 is also most likely going to have medical and PIP premiums that are higher than other safer vehicle. The lower safety ratings increase the chance that the insurance company is going to have to pay for medical bills for you or passengers in your car.

The good news is that the liability coverage will be about average for a sedan. There is nothing about the 2013 Lexus IS 250 that I could see that would classify it as a higher liability for the insurance companies.

Earned USAA Insurance Coverage

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 02/10/2013

This is a very personal USAA Insurance commercial of where some families earned the right to be USAA members.

Commercial

This USAA Insurance commercial opens with two adorable kids telling us where they became eligible for USAA. With each scene change we see a new person or family telling us where they earned their USAA eligibility.

Kids: Ours was earned in Djibouti, Africa 2004.

Middle-aged woman: The Battle of Bataan 1942.

Three sisters sitting on their front porch: Fort Benning, Georgia 1999.

Announcer: USAA Auto Insurance is often handed down from generation to generation, because it offers a superior level of protection and because USAA’s commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. Begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. USAA, we know what it means to serve.

Point of the USAA Insurance Commercial

USAA Insurance is only for military and their dependents, a lot of people may find that this is not fair when they mistakenly contact USAA for an insurance quote. This commercial offers a justification to people that may not understand why USAA only serves the military and their families. That it is not just an exclusive club that you can pay your way into, but that it was earned through military service and even possibly with the life of a military member.

It is also shows the wide span of different generations of military that USAA offers coverage for.

What USAA Insurance Wants You to Do

I am sure USAA would like those that don’t qualify for USAA coverage, because they were not in the military or have immediate family in the military, to understand what those that do qualify had to do. USAA is also reaching out to those with connections to the military or immediate family in the military that may not have known that they may qualify for coverage through USAA.

My Opinion of the USAA Insurance Commercial

I know that most of the USAA commercials talk about eligibility and the coverage being generational, but this commercial has a different feel. Instead of just talking about those that are eligible, it shows how and why they are eligible.

I like this new approach that USAA Insurance took with their commercials. We didn’t just have to see pictures of people in uniform, but we got to hear where they were in the military. From my own experience with USAA, so far I like the commercial better than the experience I have had trying to qualify for USAA so far.

I give this USAA Insurance two thumbs up.

Insurance Analysis of the 2012 Lincoln MKZ

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Research Last Updated: 02/06/2013

Lincoln can thank their Super Bowl commercial for drawing our attention to the 2012 Lincoln MKZ.

2012 Lincoln MKZ

The Lincoln MK

The commercial we all saw during the Super Bowl was not for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ, but for the redesigned 2013 MKZ. Since the 2013 MKZ is fairly new on the road there is not a lot of information available for this vehicle yet. Without information, it is hard to analyze how much the insurance is going to be, even for the insurance companies.

Normally with the lack of information the insurance companies have to rely on the insurance rates from the previous year to set the premium. So we are doing something similar and just analyzing the 2012 instead.

2012 Lincoln MKZ Safety

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rated this vehicle as being fairly safe. It is not a Top Safety Pick, but it is close. Of all 5 tests that the IIHS conducted on the 2012 Lincoln MKZ it rated “good” on 4 of the 5 tests. The only area that the MKZ did not rate well on was the crash test on the front corner of the vehicle where it only received a “marginal” rating.

To give you an idea of where these ratings rank, here are the IIHS ratings from best to worst as they rank them:

  • Good
  • Acceptable
  • Marginal
  • Poor

2012 Lincoln MKZ Recalls

There were no recalls found for the 2012 Lincoln MKZ at the time of writing this article.

2012 Lincoln MKZ Insurance Thoughts

With the fairly decent safety ratings, the medical payments and pip coverages are going to be about average. If the 2012 Lincoln MKZ had better safety ratings the premium would probably be lower for these coverages.

The liability coverage will be average as it is a sedan and can’t cause as much damage as other larger vehicles. The driving statistics for a Lincoln are very wide spread though, with the Lincoln popular with both drivers that have families, as well as elderly drivers.

The coverage that is most likely going to be higher than other comparable sedans on the road today is the comprehensive and collision coverage. The 2012 Lincoln MKZ cost about $34,000 to $36,500; making it more expensive to replace in the event of a total loss, and also more to repair because the parts are more expensive.

Overall, the 2012 Lincoln MKZ is going to be a little more expensive to insure than other sedans, but if you can afford the car, you can probably afford the slightly higher insurance.

Happy Super Bowl Commercial Day!

Written by Michele Wilmonen. Posted in Advertising, Research Last Updated: 02/03/2013

For many across the nation, today is more about the Super Bowl commercial than the actual game.

Today is the big day! Which one will come out on top as the best? Which one will flop? No, I am not talking about the 49ers or the Ravens I am talking about all of the commercials that debut this afternoon.

While today is a big day for football fans, there are some that are even trying to petition to make Super Bowl Sunday a national holiday, not everyone will watch the game today for the sport. Many sit to watch the commercials and then take a break to get more food and stretch when the game comes back on.

So for those that come for the commercials, here are a couple of Allstate Mayhem football commercials and one Allstate Super Bowl commercial from 2011 to tide you over until this afternoon.

Allstate Mayhem 2011 Super Bowl Commercial


Mayhem brings his much expected car insurance problems to us, this time as snow.

Allstate Mayhem Flies High as a Team Flag


With how hard he hit the car windshield behind him, it made me hurt; it makes you wonder if he does his own stunts.

Allstate’s Mayhem Leads a Lost Team


Are you hoping the lost team this year will be the Ravens or the 49ers? As a Seahawks fan, but a San Francisco native I may have to sit this Super Bowl out.

Streaking with Allstate’s Mayhem


It just wouldn’t be a Super Bowl to talk about without someone streaking, landing, or general disrupting the game for their 15 minutes of fame.

Keep your eyes open today for any new Super Bowl commercials for other car insurance companies this year and let us know what you find after the game.

 

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