GAINSCO Auto Insurance Drives into Georgia

Beginning in May 2009, Georgia drivers will be able to purchase high-quality, minimum-limits auto insurance from a new insurance carrier in the state. MGA Insurance Company, Inc., which markets its policies and services using the trade name GAINSCO Auto Insurance, insures drivers across several Sunbelt and southern states. The company specializes in minimum-limits personal auto insurance, which allows drivers to purchase the legally required insurance coverage at minimum cost.
"In difficult economic times, people look for cost savings everywhere," says GAINSCO President and CEO Glenn Anderson. "We offer not only competitive pricing in Georgia, but our customers have the assurance that their policies are backed by a strong, committed company that intends to build a long-term presence in the state."
GAINSCO's Georgia policies will be sold through a network of independent agents across the Peach State. The company already has a wide geographic footprint in the state, with more than 300 agents signed up in over 110 Georgia communities. Anderson expects the number of appointed agents to continue to grow.
GAINSCO's 6- and 12-month auto policies include these benefits: no credit scoring; competitive rates with low down payments; coverage for drivers with previous accidents, tickets or violations; coverage for young drivers or those with no prior insurance; SR-22 and SR-22a documents; non-U.S. driver licenses accepted. Credit card payments are accepted and the company offers bilingual claims and customer service.
About GAINSCO Auto Insurance
GAINSCO, INC. (NYSE Amex: GAN), through its insurance brand, GAINSCO Auto Insurance, specializes in minimum-limits personal auto coverage, which is sold through a network of thousands of independent agents in the states of Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina and Texas, and through an independent managing general agency in California. Established in 1978, GAINSCO's corporate headquarters are located in Dallas, Texas, with key regional field offices in Miami and Phoenix. Its insurance company subsidiary is MGA Insurance Company, Inc. For more information, visit www.gainsco.com.
Some of the statements made in this release may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements reflect current views and relate to future events or future financial performance and may involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Please refer to the Company's recent SEC filings, including the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, for more information regarding factors that could affect the Company's results.
Forward-looking statements are relevant only as of the dates made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect new information, events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made. All written or oral forward-looking statements that are made by or are attributable to the Company are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary notice. Actual results may differ significantly from the results discussed in these forward-looking statements

Why You're Paying An Extra $100 For Car Insurance

Just how easy is it to rip-off New York state's No Fault Insurance program?
Well listen to this Western New York man, who stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from the system through a ring that staged car accidents and then treated accident "victims" at a fake medical mill.
"If it's structured correctly, you send in a bill, they send you a check."
The scam operated for a number of years in the area before it was uncovered by federal and state authorities.
The ring leader, who we'll call Mike, agreed to talk to 2 On Your Side as long as we did not identify him.'
He spent 16 months in a federal prison and had to make restitution of $334,000.
It's estimated that insurance fraud of this type costs every single driver in New York an extra $100 a year on their policies.
Here's how the scam worked:
College students would be recruited at bars to be the victims of a car accident. Here's what they would be told:
"All you have to do is get in this car, we have a guy that's going to bump us in the back and you jump out and the police will be called and you say your neck hurts, and they fill out a police report and we'll get you in therapy," said FBI agent Bill Fallon.
Fallon was a member of the Western New York Health Care Fraud Task Force that helped break up the ring.
The "victims" would never claim anything specific like broken bones, because that would require x-rays.
Scott Brown: "So the easiest thing was to say it was a soft tissue injury and that way nobody could really tell whether it's there or not?"
"Mike": "It hurts and that's it."
Brown: "My back, my neck, something like that?"
Mike: "Correct."
Brown: "Let's say I'm one of the victims, what would I get paid by you?"
Mike: "A one time fee of $200 to $2,000."
Brown: "And for that I would have to show up for therapy or treatments a few times a week?"
Mike: "A few times a week until their (insurance) carrier cut them off."
The "victims" were also promised huge insurance settlements down the road for their supposed pain and suffering.
Their treatments took place at a medical mill on Main Street in Williamsville.
Who worked there?
Mike: "Professionals, medical professionals. From therapists to doctors to chiropractors."
Brown: "And they all had to be in on it right?"
Mike: "They were all after the same thing, money."
The "victims" of the staged accidents would go to the medical mill for therapy up to three times a week, the amount allowable under the No Fault law.
Brown: "Under state law, what are some of the treatments people would be eligible for?"
"Some of them are very exotic treatments- aroma therapy, acupuncture, massages, whirlpool sessions, physical therapy, it goes on and on and on," said Ed Silvestrini of the State Insurance Fraud Department.
Brown: "And all these services are covered until the No Fault law?"
Silvestrini: "That's correct."
Brown: "Would the therapists actually deliver therapy, or not even?"
Mike: "If he wasn't tired he would deliver the therapy, if he was tired, he would just sign the paperwork."
Brown: "Did the insurance companies not really check into whether people were actually getting treated and even had injuries?"
Mike: "No, all they'd ask for is documentation to be mailed, with a bill, and then a check comes back."
Brown: "So it was that simple?"
Mike: "The majority of the time."
And so, at the medical mill, you had fake patients being treated for fake injuries, sometimes by fake medical professionals.
The billing would go on for as long as six months, which was permissible under the No Fault law.
The mill was billing so much business that it eventually caught the eye of the Western New York Health Care Fraud Task Force, which is made up of law enforcement and the insurance industry.
Brown: "Why did you agree to do this interview?"
Mike: "Hopefully people will hear this, the legislature will hear this, and make changes."
Brown: "If you had the governor, or members of the New York state legislature here, what would you tell them about New York's No Fault system?"
Mike: "It needs to be cracked down, it's too easy to manipulate the system. You need to put stronger, more stringent policies on billing, therapy treatments and reimbursements."
Adds Ed Silvestrini of the State Insurance Department, "It's just too easy to commit fraud, No Fault fraud. Not only with regards to the medical, but to the lost wages, household care."
Brown: "What should be done about it?"
Silvestrini: "More enforcement of course. More documentation is needed to prove these expenses.
"We have people come in say 'I was a barber making 50 grand a year and now I can't cut hair,' but there's no income tax W-2s provided. I think it's just too easy to avail yourselves of the benefits when you're not entitled to them."

Car insurance invalidated for 4.7million who miss MOT test date

Each year 4.7million motorists put their car insurance policy in jeopardy by not renewing their MOT on time, research from uSwitch has discovered. As many as 65 per cent of motorists on UK roads are knowingly driving around with invalid car insurance because their MOT certificate is out of date, the statistics from uSwitch have revealed.Not only do they admit to driving without a valid MOT – and therefore without valid insurance – but it takes a third of them up to a month to get around to booking an MOT test after their renewal deadline expires, and more than 10 per cent take even longer. Almost 80 per cent of drivers who miss their MOT renewal date admit it is simply down to their forgetfulness, while 11 per cent say it is due to them changing their car. uSwitch says that with half of motorists putting off buying a new car at the moment as their finances are squeezed, it is more important than ever to ensure their existing cars are up to scratch.Driving without a valid MOT can carry a fine of £1,000, and because it invalidates the car insurance policy, the driver is liable for any costs of repairs to their own car as well as damage incurred by third parties. Being convicted of driving without valid car insurance can lead to a 43 per cent increase in car insurance premiums, and, more than 20 per cent of three year old cars fail their MOT test, so drivers are jeopardising their safety and that of others by driving a car which is potentially un-roadworthy. "Life moves at a pretty fast pace and so it is understandable that many consumers may find themselves losing track of deadlines and commitments," said Mark Monteiro, insurance expert at uSwitch.com. "However, failure to remember your MOT renewal date is not only an offence, but the potential safety and financial consequences are a hefty price to pay for an innocent lapse of memory."

Auto insurance fraud on the rise: Is the economy to blame?

As the nation's economy quickly fell into a recession, the number of auto insurance fraud incidents in the United States has risen dramatically, costing drivers over $6 billion each year in excess auto insurance payments. And according to The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, the number of people that believe committing auto insurance fraud is an acceptable practice is also on the rise.

Auto Insurance Fraud by the Numbers
The statistics are astounding: In Hawaii, there was a 61 percent increase in convictions for auto insurance fraud from 2007 to 2008. Car give-ups -- abandoning a car and reporting it stolen -- rose by almost 33 percent in 2008 in New York, according to the state's fraud bureau.
In Pennsylvania, law enforcement saw insurance fraud and related crimes jump 30 percent in 2008 over 2007, with car insurance fraud accounting for 46 percent of total fraudulent claims. Two-hundred eighty-eight people were arrested for false car insurance claims, including staged accidents.
"Insurance fraud normally increases during a troubled economy. The credit crunch, subprime meltdown, higher gas prices and general economic distress have led more drivers to seek a bailout through insurance money," said Dennis Jay, executive director of the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud. "They're literally being driven to desperation."
It isn't just phony auto accidents or fake car thefts either. Two men in Idaho were sentenced in January for auto insurance fraud and arson. A car owner simply paid a man to torch his car.
"Arson and insurance fraud are becoming more prevalent with the current decline in the economy," said Idaho Department of Insurance Director Bill Deal. "These crimes will not be tolerated and can result in significant jail time for the individuals involved."

Auto Insurance Fraud: An Ethical Grey Area?
Over the past few years, public outrage over auto insurance fraud has become increasingly lax. According to a study by the Coalition Against Insurance Fraud, in 1997, 91 percent of people thought it unethical to misrepresent facts on an insurance application to get a lower premium. Today, only 82 percent believe the same.
The Coalition's study also shows that 4 out of 5 Americans think insurance fraud in general is unethical, but 1 out of 5 (approximately 45 million people) believe defrauding insurance companies is acceptable under certain circumstances.
Public opinion of the morality of other fraudulent acts such as tax and credit card fraud has changed as well, the Coalition points out. People are especially willing to turn a blind eye to fraud when the person committing it is a friend or relative.
Some of those who contemplate auto insurance fraud try to rationalize their decisions by looking at the circumstances of their plan. They will consider if a type of fraud is commonly committed by others, or if it hurts anyone. If they believe the only ones affected by their actions is a faceless insurance company, they are more likely to go through with the insurance fraud when they would normally never commit other crimes.

Insurance Fraud Hurts Us All
Insurance fraud doesn't just hurt insurance companies -- it hurts everyone buying insurance through the increased costs of premiums.
"Claim abuse continues to be a significant problem," said Elizabeth Sprinkel, Senior Vice President of The Insurance Research Council (IRC). The IRC estimates that claim fraud added between $4.8 billion and $6.8 billion in excess payments to auto injury insurance claims in 2007. "The excess payments attributable to fraud and buildup help drive up the costs of insurance for everyone," added Sprinkel.
The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud estimates that insurance fraud costs at least $80 billion each year, or almost $950 per family. The Hawaii State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, which prosecutes and investigates car insurance fraud, estimates that car insurance fraud costs each Hawaiian household $200 to $300 more in premiums every year.
During these trying economic times, have Americans reached a point of desperation? Does the line between right and wrong blur when the stock market plunges? One thing is clear: As the country struggles economically, less people have a problem with crimes where the 'victim' is a faceless corporation. Even though consumers in general end up paying the price for their crimes, fraudsters don't seem to be bothered

Be sure to sort out rental-car insurance in advance

The price of the car was supposed to include all mandatory insurance. I called my credit card and double-checked that we would also be covered. But when we arrived at the Hertz counter in Zagreb, an agent refused to give us the car unless I paid an extra $207 for insurance that was listed as "optional" on the rental agreement.
I said I did not want this insurance and was told that if I did not purchase it, we would not get the car. I would have appealed to a manager, but she was the manager. We decided to pay the fee so we could go on our honeymoon and discuss the issue with Hertz upon returning to the States.
I contacted Hertz, which claimed I was clearly told the insurance was optional (not true) and had signed the rental agreement and therefore they had no obligation to return my money. I think Hertz owes me for the insurance.

Jessica Santangelo, Richmond, Ky
A: Hertz shouldn't have forced you to buy "optional" insurance. In fact, the moment you ran out of appeals, you should have taken your business to another car rental company. Several other agencies have locations in the Croatian capital, including Alamo, Avis, Budget, Dollar, and National.
But did you exhaust all of your appeals? You could have phoned Hertz and AutoEurope before caving in and buying the extra insurance. It's worth the cost of the international call (although AutoEurope has a local number in Zagreb). That might have cleared things up quickly, allowing you to get on with the most important vacation of your life.
Another question: Where was your travel agent? When you take a honeymoon, you must use a travel agent. No two ways about it. Why? Because a trusted travel adviser will help you fix any problems with your vacation. If you'd phoned your travel adviser from the airport, you might have been able to sort this out.
Waiting until you returned made a successful resolution difficult. I'm not surprised that Hertz turned down your request for a refund. But I was curious about why it rejected your appeal. So I asked.
Hertz agreed that insurance in Croatia is optional. But customers refusing insurance are required to sign a document that says they're liable for the full value of the car. When you sign that document, the preauthorization amount to your credit card is "substantially higher," according to Hertz.
The company's records say you signed that document and were advised of the higher pre-authorization. In order to lower that amount, you were offered insurance, which you agreed to buy.
That contradicts your account. You say you were never asked to sign any such document, nor did Hertz ever try to preauthorize your card.

It's possible that you're both right. Maybe the Hertz supervisor in Zagreb thought she had told you about the preauthorization and offered you the insurance, which you accepted. I mean, it's a fair bet that English wasn't her first language. Or maybe your Croatian was a little rusty. Either way, this looks like a simple misunderstanding because of language.
Next time you rent a car overseas, make sure you ask for the terms and conditions in your language. If you have a question, ask a representative — and if you're having a hard time understanding the paperwork, call your agent or the car rental company's corporate office.

Cheap Car Insurance

Auto/Car insurance protects you against financial loss if you have an accident. It is a contract between you and the insurance company. You agree to pay the premium and the insurance company agrees to pay your losses as defined in your policy.Auto insurance provides property, liability and medical coverage:
Property coverage pays for damage to or theft of your car.
Liability coverage pays for your legal responsibility to others for bodily injury or property damage.
Medical coverage pays for the cost of treating injuries, rehabilitation and sometimes lost wages and funeral expenses.An auto insurance policy is comprised of six different kinds of coverage. Most states require you to buy some, but not all, of these coverages. If you're financing a car, your lender may also have requirements.Most auto policies are for six months to a year. Your insurance company should notify you by mail when it’s time to renew the policy and to pay your premium.

Cheap car insurance is no bargain if you don't get the customer service you need. But spending too much on car insurance is no bargain, either. The best cheap car insurance is a policy that's easy to shop for and easy to file a claim with should you need to. Don't spend your time shopping for cheap car insurance with the phone book. You'll only spend your time on hold. Shop for cheap car insurance the modern way-online. Now you can enjoy a cheap car insurance policy with a reputable, financially stable company and have the peace of mind of knowing that whatever comes your way down the road, you're covered. Get a quick two-minute automobile insurance rate quote online to see how our rates would fit into your budget. Once you see how affordable a policy is, you can pay your premium online and even print out your proof of insurance card. For those of you who may have been turned down in the past, have no fear. Chances are, we have a cheap car insurance policy that will suit your needs and your budget regardless of your less than perfect credit or your past history of traffic violations. We specialize in high risk drivers. And with an instant auto rate quote, there's no need to face long lines and embarrassing questions when it comes to submitting your application. Don't take chances on the road. Protect yourself and other drivers with a cheap car insurance policy that will pay for itself time and time again by offering you peace of mind.