Ignoring the obvious damage to the brand, the other question for all of us is what will happen to the premium rates on the models recalled. There is a simple answer: nothing in the short term. There is also a more complicated answer. The premium rates for any given make and model of vehicle are set by looking at the accident statistics over the years the vehicles have been on the road. These are already set and will not change significantly. The other factors include the cost of replacement parts which will also not change significantly. So, in principle, there is no reason for premium rates to change. Except there are two important left to discuss. The first is good news and bad news. The good news is that premiums are likely to fall. The bad news is that premiums will fall because resale values will fall as the brand is damaged. When you total your vehicle, you get the value at the time of the accident. If the motor trade mark down the resale value, you will get less. If the payout by the insurers falls, the premiums will be reduced to reflect this saving. The second issue affects your liability if you are involved in an accident. You now know of several problems with different makes and models. If your vehicle is called in for modification or repair, go immediately. If you neglect to go and are then involved in an accident because of the problem, you are partially at fault and your payout from the insurance company will be reduced. Your only remedy will be to claim from Toyota itself. This will be expensive and may only recover a part of your losses.

Dealing with the auto insurance industry is never easy and, when the vehicle manufacturers also get into the act with defective products, this just adds to your problems. For now, there should be no cause of concern so long as you pay the premiums on time and take the vehicle in for modification or repair as soon as you get the recall notice. Then, although it may be for the wrong reasons, you could use this site to look round for cheap car insurance. As the resale values fall, it may start to cost less to insure your Toyota.

You are rolling your eyes. All that hassle. Why bother? Let’s take Massachusetts as an example. Five of the largest companies insuring vehicles all managed to make the same data entry mistake. There is this wonderful “place” called the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange (CLUE). All companies pool information about the drivers they insure. One of the more important pieces of data is whether the driver is “at fault” in a traffic accident. If you are found the “guilty” party, this justifies loading your premium with an increase. What happened in this US state was the five insurers routinely recorded anyone making a claim as being “at fault”. There was no investigation, no court case with a judge deciding one party was at fault. The insurers simply wanted to justify increasing the premiums so assumed fault from the fact of the claim. Fortunately, the people of Massachusetts are well organized. They had a paper trail for every claim and, when they reported the behavior of the insurers to the State Attorney General, this resulted in fines paid by the companies and a recalculation of all the premiums with a full refund to everyone affected.

Sadly, auto insurance is a bear pit and, if you are going to come within range of the bear, you had better be prepared with full information. It does not matter whether you are on cheap car insurance, usually the mandatory liability minimum, or a comprehensive/collision policy with all the bells and whistles, document every aspect of your relationship with the insurer and every detail of any claim you make. If anything goes wrong, every state has a Department or Office of Insurance. Make a formal complaint if you think you are losing out. If you learn of others, complain to the State Attorney General. Failure to fight means the companies will trample on your rights.

Anyway, the latest state to surface in this national debate is Massachusetts. In some ways, this state is also slightly nonstandard because of the dominance of the local agents who handle about 80% of the insurance business. Agents have more to lose if the markets are opened up to competition (and sites like this offer a direct line to insurance companies without having to go through an agent). Not surprisingly, they have been the fastest to the courts in the fight to protect their income. We have just had the decision of the Massachusetts Supreme Court on two rule changes made by the state’s Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes (she has since retired to a university post). Let’s start with the effect of the move to open up the state to competition. Before the rule changes, there were nineteen insurers writing auto insurance policies. Twelve more companies have now entered the markets. In most cases, premium rates have been stable as insurers cut their costs and accepted a reduced profit. But agents have been hit because the opportunities to earn commission have been reduced.

The Massachusetts Supreme Court has supported the reforms, finding the effect of managed competition is sufficiently beneficial that it should represent the prevailing public policy in the state. Put another way, the judges think the many consumers should pay less rather than the few corporate officers and stockholders earn excessive profits. Because one of the agent’s automatic rights to a commission has disappeared, they will be looking to recover their losses in other ways. There are two morals to this story. The first is that, if you want to find cheap auto insurance, support the lawmakers in those states who promise to introduce more competition into the car insurance market. Secondly, always get your auto insurance quotes through a site like this and avoid agents who earn commission.

But besides the HLDI reports every insurance company runs its own statistics regarding insurance costs of all autos on the road, which strongly influence the final car insurance quotes you will get when shopping around. Insurers analyze the costs of repair, theft, maintenance, damage, injuries and the overall claim history of a particular car model before giving our a rate. And sometimes these factors can make your premiums differ in times for two same-priced cars. Why is that? Because some cars are more likely to be stolen than others, some cars have better safety features and cost less to repair, and some cars just can’t leave the top spots of insurance claim ratings.

So before you decide to buy a car, make sure it doesn’t make part of the most frequently stolen list:

• Honda Accord
• Toyota Camry
• Ford F-150
• Acura Integra
• Nissan Sentra
• Toyota Corolla
• Toyota Pickups

Or the most expensive theft claim list:

• Cadillac Escalade
• Chevrolet Corvette Convertible
• Lincoln Navigator

Cars that are known to cause serious injuries to their drivers or passengers frequently will also cost more to insure than safer car models. So think twice before buying one of the following cars, because your rates will be more expensive:

• Suzuki Esteem
• Kia Rio
• Mitsubishi Mirage
• Kia Spectra

Collision coverage and cost is also analyzed thoroughly and cars having the lowest ratings here will likely have lower insurance rates. So pay attention to the following cars, having the least expensive collision costs if you want your premiums low:

• Ford Excursion
• GMC 2500
• GMC Safari
• GMC Yukon XL

Speaking in general, be cautious when buying sports cars and big engine vehicles as they always have high auto insurance quotes. This is because fast and powerful cars are more risky and usually have high damage and injury cost as well as frequent insurance claims. Luxury cars also have high auto insurance premiums due to the high repair costs and infamous popularity among car thieves. Big SUVs can also turn out to be costly to insure due to high damage costs they are known for.

If you want a car that will be cheap to insure think of a medium sized car that has many safety features installed and just enough power to drive safely without the temptation to race on the highway. For a more detailed information on the car makes and models, visit he HLDI site. Or try getting auto insurance quotes on different models and comparing them online, as it is a very popular and accessible option today. And remember that different companies will have different rates for the same car, so if you have firmly decided on a particular auto, maybe it’s better to see what other insurers have to offer first.

But, when the legislature in any other state suggests applying the lessons learned, the insurance industry begins to spend money through the lobbyists and advertisers. Soon, everyone with even half an ear on the issue of insurance knows the Californian approach has broken the insurance industry. Local insurers teeter on the edge of insolvency, barely able to scrape even a few cents of profit from their underwriting. Were it not for the strong profits earned elsewhere, the Californians would be denied insurance altogether. Put the other way round, the rest of the US is subsidising Californian drivers. Except, of course, this is completely untrue. The insurance companies in the Californian market routinely report profits in excess of 10%. This is the lie that proves the automobile insurance industry at large runs on greed. A mere 10% profit margin is chicken feed and close to insolvency.

So what is the Californian approach? It throws out reliance on the zip code and credit scoring. Instead, insurers must focus on the safety record of the individual driver. That ensures the good drivers pay less and the bad drivers pay a bigger percentage of the losses they cause. In most other states, the good drivers subsidise the bad. To complete the package, the auto insurance companies must disclose the basis on which they calculate the premiums. This empowers the Department of Insurance and prevents insurers from trying to cheat on the rate calculations to recover some of their lost profits. If the Commissioner finds evidence of overcharging, he can order the company to cut its premiums and refund the amount overcharged. This is the ultimate sanction and, so far, the Californian courts have consistently refused the appeals of the insurers affected. What better way is there to get full consumer protection? None! That’s why the auto insurance industry would prefer you not to know about Proposition 103 and the beneficial effect it has had. History and current events are off the curriculum in other states as politicians take the money from the insurers and look the other way. Only in states where electors get to vote on the issue or can pressure their representatives is there any chance of improvement.

So what has apparently prompted this rise in the level of satisfaction with the insurance industry? Well, it seems the insurers - kind, caring and sensitive to a fault - have been reducing their premiums. In the earlier years of this century, we were all increasingly unhappy as those premium notices kept coming in with ever higher numbers written on them. But, come the recession and the insurers step on to the mound, they pitch premium reductions. According to J.D. Power, some 42% of all those insuring vehicles found their premiums fell during the twelve months period to April 2009; and that’s without having to change companies! Since we are all price sensitive, we now love insurers because they are saving us money. We all love their websites and find there are real improvements in the way the companies relate to us. That, of course, excludes claims handling which is the most important interaction. It seems no-one worries about the poor service on claims handling.

Which brings us to admit how we arrive at our prejudices. According to J.D. Power, we can all be bought by a few dollars of reduction in the premiums. Before the recession, the majority disapproved the quality of the service provided by auto insurance companies. Now we love them. Well, that’s the result you get when you ask questions about an industry’s image and design the questions to get mostly positive answers. Of course, we can like a company that reduces its prices. We can also admire the quality of its website and marketing materials. But if the questions do not focus on our experience when we try to claim following a traffic accident, the results of this hyped report are misleading. When you are shopping for the best auto insurance companies, do not believe the ads. Check out the companies on the website operated by your state’s department of insurance. Verify their financial stability with the ratings agencies. You do not want to pay your premium and then find the company is insolvent. Use reliable sources of information when looking for a policy.

Let’s start by assuming you are the safest driver on the planet — you have never had an accident. Should you be rewarded with a discount on your premium? Well, that depends on how the insurer would find out about your driving style. It’s all very well to avoid accidents. You might actually drive too fast but, with the reflexes of a cheetah, avoid crashing into other road users. Just relying on your failure to make a claim is not enough. Today, we have the technology and, with the enthusiasm of a camel scenting water and running into the oasis, insurers are offering behavior-based insurance cover over the internet. The idea is to vary rates depending on when your vehicle is driven, how many miles it travels in a week, and how it is driven. It is a customized policy reflecting more directly the risk you will be involved in an accident. So how will the insurer know? The answer is that everyone has a device fitted into their vehicles. This monitors how and when you drive. Safe drivers with low mileages at off-peak times of the day receive up to 25% discount. Those who drive too fast and brake too sharply can find their premiums rising up to 10%.

Yes, we are back to the spy-in-the-car debate. This is a privacy issue for many and they can simply ignore the offer. But for those who have nothing to hide and do not mind proving it, there are significant savings on their auto insurance premiums. All the die-hards will find their own premiums rising as the group of safe drivers stands up to be counted. But there is one further step necessary to force a change of behavior. There are already too many drivers on the road without auto insurance policies in force. We need effective enforcement of the law to remove uninsured drivers from the road. Combine price increases with active policing and our roads will get safer. With this technology now available in the majority of states, we can all vote with our feet and have the devices installed. Let’s make earning discounts our New Year Resolution.

So how has this worked out? All the statistics from 1977 to date prove the initial assumption. Drivers in the age range 65 to 74 have fewer accidents than any other group on the road. This is due to three factors: they tend to drive more slowly, they have more experience than everyone else and they tend to drive at off-peak times when the danger is less. Thus, that group deserves a discount. Whether it should be 25% is not the point. There is considerable social benefit in continuing to encourage mobility among seniors. They go out and spend money in the community. They stay fit and healthy and are less of a burden on the health care services. But drivers aged 75 and over lose their edge. The body is slowing down. Reflexes and eyesight are not what they were. Their claims record is second only to the age group up to 25. This is sparking a debate about whether the discount should be removed for the oldest drivers.

Across the US, the issue is simply stated. Should there be regular testing of a driver’s skills? More importantly, should premiums be set according to the quality of driving? The technology exists to instal a monitoring and recording system in everyone’s vehicle. People of any age could be asked to go through tests of vision, reflexes and cognitive skills as a condition of retaining their licenses. We could reward all the safe drivers with discounts, increase the premiums for the bad drivers and take the dangerous drivers off the road. Or is this an invasion of privacy too far? Which is more important? That people should be judged as individuals when it comes to their auto insurance, or that everyone’s privacy is protected and all the safe drivers subsidize the bad drivers? Massachusetts is discussing a full-scale testing program for seniors over 75 and reducing the discount to the others. At a time when family budgets are under pressure, do we really want to be increasing auto insurance premiums for seniors on a fixed pension?

That means you are likely to get a lower premium than a man just because you are a woman. Except it’s always better to make sure you’re getting the best deal by shopping around. There are many online sites offering search engines. They circulate details about you and the vehicle you drive to all the main insurers for your state. Back comes multiple quotes. Now you can see what the lowest premiums are. Never trust to luck when it comes to the premiums offered by your existing insurer. Always get comparative quotes when it comes to getting your first policy or renewal.

But don’t stop with one set of quotes. There are a number of different ways in which you can get even bigger discounts. As a learner, always take lessons with the instructors recommended by potential insurers. Start off as you mean to go on. After you get your license, continue training with advanced courses and further reduce your premium. As a student, stay in school and get a good GPA. A B grade or better produces savings. Why? The statistics show that responsible students make safer drivers. Now look at the vehicle you drive. Low powered cars which are cheap to repair and less likely to be stolen have the lowest premiums. When it comes to the rates for liability insurance, make sure you tell the insurers that you use public transport as often as possible and drive only a small number of miles a week at off-peak times. Joining a carpool is good if public transport is not available. You need the lowest possible usage and a clean driving record. For collision and comprehensive cover, get details of the vehicles with the lowest claims record. A man may consider them boring to drive, but they are cheap to insure.

Finally, look for discounts on the deductible to accept and for payment on a six-monthly or annual basis. Women drivers with a clean record and excellent credit scores pay the lowest premiums when they buy auto insurance online. It’s just a matter of building on the natural advantage you have as a woman to maximize the savings. Ironically when it comes to auto insurance, you don’t want sex or gender equality. You want to emphasize how different you are from the usual male driver. You don’t want to be treated as if you’re a man. As a woman, you get the best discounts and biggest savings on your auto insurance.

It’s rare to find a stereotype that’s so far removed from reality. In most cases, myths and prejudices are quite limited in geography. Yet the willingness to mock women drivers travels around the world. Whether you’re in China, India or the US, men refuse to allow women to drive them and make jokes about their “poor” driving skills. This goes far beyond the usual sexism and gender prejudices. It seems driving is such a deeply macho activity, women are not supposed to trespass into this male preserve.

So, how do we know driving is a male thing? Well, you only have to go on to the roads. Men drive fast and can be aggressive. It’s like all drivers are in a race to get from A to B. That means never giving way, pushing the limit when it comes to overtaking, taking chances when approaching turns and junctions, and assuming laws and regulations do not apply. The result? More traffic accidents. More importantly, because the average speed coming into a collision is higher, more people are seriously injured and the damage to the vehicles is significantly greater.

All the evidence shows that women drive more slowly and obey all those annoying laws and regulations designed to maximize the chance of arriving at their destination in one piece. So even if a woman driver is unlucky enough to get into an accident, the lower speed and the defensive driving style means fewer injuries and less damage to the vehicles. Now add in some of those stereotypes. Women are more likely to buy less powerful cars. They are less interested in status and do not invest in “babe magnets” (sorry, that should be “hunk magnets”). So however an insurance company looks at the evidence, women drivers are less likely to be involved in serious accidents. That means their premiums are usually significantly lower than those payable by men of comparable age and driving experience.

So here’s a simple statement of fact: women can pay lower premiums on their auto insurance than men! Is this fair? If you ask the majority of men, they would say, “No!”. They prefer everyone to pay the same so that safer women subsidize dangerous men. So many auto insurance policies group all drivers together and divide the risk between them. But if women shop around, they can get lower premiums. The best approach is to go online and use one of the standard search engines to get comparative quotes from all the leading insurers. At a glance, this lets women see the range of premiums offered. The best deals are offered by companies that have separate policies for women or “safer” drivers. Grouping safe drivers together means a lower total pay-out on claims is divided among the group members so all pay lower premiums. Women can make major saving when they buy their auto insurance online.