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HSFPP Weekly Update #35 – Vehicle Insurance

Message from Flashman: This is a continuation of last week’s update, with suggestions related to buying and owning a used vehicle. This week we deal with vehicle insurance.

Two of the most well written sources of information on auto insurance and rate comparisons of companies around Kentucky are published by the Kentucky Department of Insurance: Auto and Home Insurance Rate Comparisons and Consumer Guide to Auto and Home Insurance. (Teachers: You can
request copies of these two publications for your students from your local Cooperative Extension Service office.) Using these two resources as well as helpful websites such as consumereports.org can help you find the lowest insurance available in your area. The Consumer Reports electronic website ranks InsWeb.com the best electronic website in their September report.

Suggested Activity for Teachers:

1. Have students read pages 73-84 in the Student Guide so they will understand the purpose of insurance.
   
   
2. The week before doing the insurance unit in class, break students into groups. If possible, assign to each group one student who drives to school. Have that student bring to class his or her auto insurance policy, or assign them a hypothetical case study, or use such a case study from the Kentucky Department of Insurance publications.
   
   
3. Evaluate the students’ insurance coverage or the coverage in the case study. Is it adequate based on risks facing the student or family? If students have access to a computer lab or computers in the library/media center, they can check out the adequacy of insurance coverage by going to the following website and clicking on auto insurance analyzer. http://www.insweb.com/cgi-bin/gic.exe?id=UzB94xbaYQ-wpGWHlZbh8l8ZtxL&page=/gic/Quicken.htj
   
   
4. Finally, as a take-home activity, have each student in the groups select an insurance company (preferably from those listed in the Kentucky Insurance publication as having the lowest rates) to get a quote over the phone or from the company’s Web site. Use the assignment worksheet on page 79 of the Student Guide. Give out the following instructions to students for this activity.

Student Group Take-Home Activity:

Prices for car insurance vary greatly, sometimes by as much as $2000 for the same coverage. As a group, research what car insurance company has the best rates for each of you and your families; begin by using the Kentucky Department of Insurance publication, Auto and Home Insurance Rate Comparisons. Also find insurance quotes from some of the car insurance Web sites. Discuss why your quotes are similar or different. Use the work sheet on page 79 of your Student Guide to record your information. Be ready to share your findings at the next class meeting.

Website Picks of the Week:

http://www.Insuremarket.com/tools/planner/intro.aia

This site provides insurance quotes, as well as an “Auto Insurance Analyzer” that can help you determine how much and what kind of coverage you need.

Kentucky High School Financial Planning Program

http://www.ca.uky.edu/fcs/hsfp

The purpose of this Web site is to assist county extension agents, credit union educators, and high school teachers in improving the economic well-being of our constituency, beginning with today’s students; and also, to assist teachers in Kentucky in meeting KERA’s goal that all students become technologically literate. Weekly Updates are provided by the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service, and are free to all educators.