Insurance Companies Fighting for Your Business!

J.J. Chapa puts a high value on family and the decisions that can affect each and every member. As one of the Metroplex area's leading insurance professionals, J.J. easily relates to other area families and their goal of finding the best insurance coverages for the most affordable prices. His expert knowledge of the countries best insurance companies, strong work ethic and keen business insights will be invaluable when it comes to searching for your insurance.

SHOP YOUR INSURANCE NOW and put your insurance needs into the hands of true professional who understands how much is riding on your insurance investments. J.J. Chapa is Putting Your Family First when it comes to making the most of your insurance needs. Call J.J. today for a complimentary consultation.

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Chapa Insurance Agency can also handle your:

• Life insurance
• Disability insurance
• Commercial insurance
• RV insurance
• Motorcycle insurance
• Renter's Insurance

E-mail: Insurance@JJChapa.com (for quotes)

Five ways to save money on auto insurance

1. Take a driver safety course. If you've been ticketed for an accident or some other violation, the state will remove it from your driving record when you take a driver safety course. The required course length, content and limitations vary from state to state, but if you want to keep your driving record as clean as possible, this is a relatively easy route to take. In addition, almost all insurance companies will lower your premium just for taking the course. So even if you haven't been ticketed, you can still take a driver safety course to save money.

2. Increase your deductible. Ask your insurer for premium quotes using different deductible levels to see how much you could save by covering a greater portion of an accident cost out of your own pocket. It may be worth it to go with a higher deductible, particularly if you're a safe driver who is less likely to be in an accident or if you've got the financial capacity to pay a higher deductible in the event of an accident.

3. Forgo comprehensive and/or collision coverage. If the value of your vehicle is not that high, you might want to consider going without comprehensive and/or collision coverage. For instance, if your car is more than 10 years old or if it already has significant body damage, the cost of these coverages over a year or two could exceed the value of the vehicle entirely.

4. Compare prices regularly. Shop around by getting premium quotes from other insurers every year or two. You don't necessarily have to change companies, but this is generally a worthwhile exercise. It's relatively easy to do, and you could find another insurer that will save you a significant amount of money on your auto insurance.

5. Use the same company for homeowners and auto insurance. Almost all insurers will give you a discount on your premium if you purchase insurance for both your home and your car from them. Be careful though. Sometimes, even with this discount, you could end up paying more than you would by shopping for the least-expensive coverage from two separate,

Quotes from last week

I went on four insurance appointments last week and was able to save 3 of the 4 clients up to $600 a year. The one that I couldn't help had recently received a ticket. I have to report it but they had already been billed at their old rates and their current carrier hadn't updated (and probably won't) traffic violations.

With this information, I told her (and she is a close friend) that she needed to stay with what she had. When my service doesn't make sense at the moment, I will let potential customers know. I am not high pressure. I want your business but I want it in the right way. Let me know who you may know that needs to get more affordable insurance on their auto or home.

State Farm Rate Hike

Florida insurance chief rejects State Farm rate hike

Florida's insurance commissioner denied State Farm's 47.1 percent rate hike request, but the insurer may turn to state court of appeals.

Florida's insurance commissioner has again rejected State Farm Insurance of Florida's request for an average 47.1 percent rate hike.

Kevin McCarty's order issued Monday reaffirms a decision issued last month by Administrative Law Judge Daniel Manry that denied State Farm's increase request. Manry determined that much of the evidence the company presented to support its demand for higher rates was at times ambiguous, contradictory and lacked credibility.

State Farm, the largest private insurer operating in Florida, filed the rate request last summer.

After Florida's insurance commissioner rejected State Farm's initial 47.1 percent rate hike request, State Farm, Florida's largest private insurer, appealed to the Division of Administrative Hearings.

There was a public hearing in late October.

The insurer said its analysis of its risk and projections of losses supported a 67 percent increase in rates.

Chris Neal, a spokesman for State Farm, said the company is obviously disappointed that the Office of Insurance Regulation didn't grant the insurer the rate increase it had requested.

''Our goal is to get an adequate rate and we'll continue to do whatever we can to reverse OIR's decision,'' said Neal, adding that the company could turn to the First District Court of Appeals.

Florida law would allow State Farm to petition the court of appeals to review the OIR ruling.

State Farm has repeatedly told insurance regulators and Manry that it needs higher rates to rebuild its cash reserves so it would have enough money to pay future claims, especially after a catastrophic storm.

Neal said the company also plans to take ''a long hard look at how we operate'' in Florida due to its deteriorating financial condition.

The company already has filed a notice that it intends to reduce its exposure to about 675,000 policies. It now has about 845,000 policies.

State Farm's last rate change was a 9 percent reduction that took effect Oct. 1, 2007. It remains in effect.

Material from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Insurance advice...