This year, 2011, will enter the record books as one of the most expensive for the insurance industry. There has been an unprecedented range of natural disasters around the world and the cumulative effect has been a major disruption of the supply chains. It might not seem very important to us as we sit in relative comfort in the US but, as an example, the floods in Thailand have been catastrophic and they have been having a direct effect on what we can buy here and the prices at which we can buy. To explain we need to reflect on the reality of global trading. To earn savings in low-cost labor and manufacturing, work is farmed out to different countries around the world. In some cases, the whole product is fabricated and assembled abroad. In others, the parts come from multiple manufacturing sites to be assembled in one of our own factories. When the world is at peace, everything arrives “just in time” and we find everything we want when we want it. But this year has been Japan suffer a major earthquake and tsunami in March, there were extraordinary tornadoes in the US, Hurricane Irene hit in September and then came the floods in Thailand.

When you put all these together, the disruption to the supply chain has been immense. Globally, the claims on Business Interruption Insurance has been more than $70 billion so far this year. The problem for the insurance industry is simple. Suppose one factory in Thailand owned by Toyota suddenly finds itself several meters underwater. That may be only one factory out of action, but suppose it supplies parts to fifty other factories around the world. Now there are fifty-one claims for business interruption. As it happens, Thailand is the world’s second-largest producer of hard-disk drives, has factories owned by Honda and Toyota, and so on. The highest rainfall in fifty years flooded some 1,500 factories. Now scale up the disruption. It’s affecting every major manufacturing country around the world.

If your own business is in manufacturing, assembly, logistics or distribution, and you depend on moving complete products or parts around the country, you need to review all those parts of your insurance cover for events affecting your supply chain. This is both direct and contingent interruption, i.e. your exposure depends on where you are in the value added chain and how easily replacements can be found. Insurers are now going to ask for a lot more transparency. In the past, this type of insurance was underwritten with a minimum of information. After this year’s experience, insurers are more likely to ask for detailed disaster plans to show how your business will respond if key suppliers are unable to supply on time. A failure to produce such a plan is likely to lead to a refusal of cover or very high business insurance rates.

The changes in the weather patterns are becoming more obvious and all business insurances rates are going to rise, both to cover property damage and business interruptions. This is not the time to sit back as winter approaches and assume there will be no problems with winter storms whether here in the US or elsewhere in the world. Proper planning will keep your insurance affordable.

What about Antique Auto Insurance?

If you have a classic car you may be hesitating about an appropriate auto insurance policy to get for your needs, and wether your coverage enables the right protection.. If you are thinking about buying a new policy for your classic car or an antique one you need some answers to help you see if you need such insurance.

It is rather hard to determine what coverage is best for a classic car. Such car owners definitely wish to be covered and certainly do not wish to overpay for premiums. There’s no reason naturally to pay fabulous-priced premiums if you simply do not have to. Learn some basic ideas about insuring vintage autos to make a solution right hrere.

The first aspect you are recommened to consider when trying evaluate a better insurance for your antique vehicle is the actual age of the car. Typically any car which is 25 years old or older is considered an antique car, though there are sometimes exceptions. But you realize a 25-year-old car used as a primary vehicle at the moment isn’t the 100% candidate for antique auto insurance. The main part of antique and classic insurance policies are to cover driving your vehicle to and from the topical events (fairs, competitions, shows) rather than for everyday use.

Another enforcement in such policies will be in limiting the miles your car is able to be used per year. But you should certainly discuss any of these questions directly with your insurer or agent before the new auto insurance purchase.

The second thing to be taken into account is the question: how does the right insurance for your vintage vehicle refer to the actual market value of the vehicle. You know many older models lose value, but the costs for the upkeep and restoration wouldn’t decreaes as a matter… So as you car got depreciated, don’t be surprised that most antique car insurance providers will be happy to help insure it and earn money from the air. To avoid unfair deals always check the actual market value of yor car and even if it stays your loved one think twice berfore insuring.

As a matter of fact your insurance provider will typically require a careful inspection of the vehicle to determine its value and to see if your car will be covered under an antique car insurance policy. Remember that companies covering antique cars will normally stick to to precise rules and restrictions for mileage as well as storage in order to maintain your coverage. This is indeed a complicated process usually, however it is by all means advantageous in helping you maintain the coverage you need.

The numbers are in and AIG, Allstate, Metlife, State Farm, and New York Life are not going to be happy-their industry continues to decline in profitability. This slide began in 2007 and shows no sign of letting up in 2010.

The numbers come from industry data collector and analyst SNL Financial, who showed that the industry lost over $900 million in quarter-two of 2010. Their net income, not profit, is down from this same time last year.

The bright side, the better capital and surplus numbers that are 17% higher than second-quarter 2009, are not enough to restore confidence in share-holders and brokers on Wall Street either.

However, the big shots at AIG, New York Life, etc, are still talking quite a game. They claim that the present market is an opportunity to grow stronger. They see that 2/3 of Americans are uninsured and think that they can capitalize on it. It’s tempting to dismiss this as bombast meant to boost the company’s stock prices. However, they are backing it up with action.

Tens of thousands of new agents are being hired this quarter. And hiring shows no signs of slowing down.

The economy scared these people away from life insurance in the first place and it certainly hasn’t gotten much better, so why are they so confident?

There is a formula of sorts that is very popular among these companies. It’s something along these lines: the economic crisis + tax hikes (end of tax cuts) = more customers.

If this equation doesn’t quite make sense to you, that’s normal. It doesn’t really make sense. It is kind of optimistic, but that’s good for you. We’ll get to that. For now, here’s another piece of information that might make sense.

They are going to rebrand.

Instead of just something you need to have in case you die so your family is secure, they are going to try to convince the public that life insurance is a financial investment-something that will allow the policy-holder to hedge their bets in a risky economy and be certain they don’t lose money while covering their butts.

This still might not make sense to you if you’re not a finance guru, and that’s okay! Because here’s the bottom line for the consumer is coming up. Fast ball, down the middle. Hit it out of the park now!

It’s never been a better time to buy life insurance.

They decrease in profits and the mass hiring of agents means one thing: they are as close as desperate to get you on a policy as they are likely to get. Given that Americans need life insurance more than ever before, you should be in the market.

You’ll get a better price on good coverage than you have ever gotten in the past and are likely to get in the future as the economy recovers.

You don’t have to talk to an agent though. Whittle the prices down even lower by comparing quotes online. Free life insurance quotes in this market will save you more money than you thought possible.