In the days leading up to Irene, some had expected a $10 billion hit, though as Irene actually made land it appeared the storm was not doing the damage it was expected to do. AIR, whose estimate covers U.S. onshore properties, develops software that insurers use to model exposure to disasters.

Insurance shares rallied sharply on Monday, far outpacing the broader market, on relief the payouts would not be as bad as they could have been.

Even so, some analysts said the storm may have been something of a worst-case scenario for large U.S. property insurers such as Allstate Corp. and Travelers Companies Inc., enough to wipe out some or all of their third-quarter earnings, but not enough to cause an industrywide increase in prices after years of weakness.

Allstate shares rose 8.5 percent and Travelers rose 5.1 percent, in line with European insurers, which rose on relief the damage from Irene was not as bad as feared. Twenty of the 22 companies in the S&P insurance index outperformed the broader market.

Millions of people throughout the northeastern United States were still flooded and without electricity Monday, particularly in rural Vermont and suburban New Jersey. Totaling those losses is expected to take time, as is the process of figuring out how many of the affected had government-backed flood insurance.

By some accounts, the insured losses in the Carolinas were as little as $200 million after the storm made landfall there Saturday.

$10 BILLION EVENT?

Before the hurricane, some feared Irene could be a $10 billion event or more. Analysts and insurance executives suggested something above $15 billion could bring a structural change to the insurance market, pushing prices higher around the world after three years of weakness.

It seemed unlikely Irene would hit that mark, with trade groups such as the Insurance Information Institute and the Property and Casualty Insurers of America saying estimates below $5 billion sounded right.

“The impact to insurers from Irene is probably not large enough to cause increased pricing and will not result in a broad (property and casualty) cycle turn because we estimate there is still least $100 billion of excess U.S. P&C industry capital,” Barclays Capital said in a note Monday.

Between the Caribbean and the Carolinas, AIR competitor Eqecat has estimated losses of no more than $1 billion. AIR Worldwide has previously forecast losses of $1.1 billion just for the Caribbean. The third key player in catastrophe modeling for the insurance industry, RMS, has not weighed in with a figure.

On Monday, RMS did say the damage so far is much more likely to be from flood and storm surge than wind, which would get the insurance industry off the hook for most of the losses and push the payout burden onto the National Flood Insurance Program.

The shares of the world’s top three reinsurers — Munich Re , Swiss Re and Hannover Re — rose 4 to 6 percent as analysts said they did not expect that any losses would force a change to 2011 estimates.

This year already was the most expensive for natural disasters, mostly because of the costs of the March earthquake in Japan.

(Additional reporting by Jonathan Gould in Frankfurt; editing by Derek Caney, Robert MacMillan, Andre Grenon and Phil Berlowitz)

Overall satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies averages 769 in 2011 — improving by 19 points from 2010, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. National Homeowners Insurance Study.

The study examines five factors: policy offerings; price; billing and payment; interaction; and claims. While satisfaction has improved in all five factors from 2010, the greatest gain occurs in the interaction factor.

While customer satisfaction with homeowners insurance companies rebounded from 2010, it still remains below levels achieved in 2009.

Among homeowners insurance customers, those who bundle more than one policy with their insurer are notably more satisfied with price than customers who do not bundle policies.

Among homeowners insurance policyholders, those with flood insurance tend to be significantly less satisfied with their policy coverage, compared with policyholders who opt not to carry it, according to the 2011 survey.

Fewer than one in 10 homeowners insurance customers in New England and the Mid-Atlantic states report carrying flood insurance prior to Hurricane Irene. A higher proportion of policyholders in the Gulf states — more than 25 percent — carry flood coverage either through their homeowners insurance company, state flood plans or another provider.

Among homeowners who carry flood insurance, overall satisfaction with their homeowners insurance company averages 735 on a 1,000-point scale in 2011. In comparison, satisfaction among homeowners with earthquake insurance coverage averages 766.

“So far, 2011 has been a tough year for the property insurance industry due to the occurrence of multiple natural catastrophes — ranging from tornadoes in the southern U.S. in the spring, to massive flooding in the Midwest, to the recent earthquake on the East Coast, followed by Hurricane Irene — which have driven home the necessity among many U.S. consumers of having adequate homeowners insurance coverage,” said Jeremy Bowler, senior director of the insurance practice at J.D. Power and Associates.

The study finds that customers who have filed a claim tend to be more knowledgeable about their policies-and also more satisfied — than those who haven’t had a claims experience.

The study finds that approximately 16 percent of homeowners policyholders indicate they carry less coverage than would be required to fully rebuild their home in the event of a total loss. Among these policyholders, satisfaction averages 739 — more than 40 points lower than among policyholders who say they have sufficient coverage.

If you have a stand alone air conditioner that you want to put in a room of your home or apartment, you can usually handle air conditioner installation on your own. On the other hand, this may be something you should leave up to your landlord to someone who you can hire if you are not sure if you have enough power in the right room or you think you may end up dropping it out the window. Often, it’s best to hire a quality Air Conditioning Contractor.  If you want to have central air, you should have heating and cooling experience, along with electrical training if you want to do it on your own. Otherwise, you may want to leave it to the professionals.

If you think you can attempt air conditioner installation on your own, make sure you can easily lift the unit, have the right window for the unit, and that you also know how to seal things up. For one, not all windows can accommodate an air conditioning unit. You have to have one that closes down on it and also one that will not snap under the weight. Very old windows may have problems. Check out the structural integrity of your window frame before you attempt to put in any air conditioner.

Secondly, make sure the seal is tight before you run your unit for a while. If you have air going around the unit, it is not going to cool the area very well. You should also pay attention to the size of the unit when doing your own air conditioner installation. This is because if you try to cool too big an area with a unit that is not meant for that square footage, it can ice over and even overheat trying to do what it was not made to do. Use what works for your area, and keep doors closed to room with an air conditioner that won’t cool much more than that very room.

If you want to have central air, it is wise in most cases to hire someone to do your air conditioner installation for you, according to Home Insurance Corner. This type of unit is very expensive, and many things can go wrong if you are not sure what you are doing, even if you have done similar projects in the past. For one, a new unit will work well and many come with installation for free or at a reduced rate. If they do not, it is easy enough to find someone to help saving money on your home bills. Also, attempting installation or repair on your own could void the warranty, which is a huge mistake.

Air conditioner installation means a cooler home, but it can also mean a more closed off air environment. If you have central air or spend a lot of time in a room with an air conditioning unit, you could find the air to be a bit stale. Shut it off on cooler days and open a window to get some staleness out of the air. If you can, have an air filter going to help keep the cool air cleaner. Newer models of air conditioners are more environmentally friendly, but nothing will ever beat fresh air.

The study looked at how people shop for a new car insurer and how happy they are with the process. While one in five new sales were processed entirely on the Web, people were generally happier if they dealt with a local agent.
USAA, which only insures the U.S. military community and their families, would have come in first, but was not formally included in the study’s rankings because it isn’t open to the general public.

The study also found consumers’ satisfaction was based on how they bought the policy (through an agent vs. online or at a call center), the price of the policy and the quality of the policy itself.

Not surprisingly, customers will vote with their feet. About 14% of customers said they started shopping for a new insurer because of a poor customer service experience. Among those, 73% switched insurance companies. Also, in the last year, 36% of customers requested an insurance quote, up from 31%.

Possibly the only thing worse than trying to read your own car policy is trying to understand how states regulate them. Regulation can be a complex issue, and is made even more complicated because each state sets its own rules.

But there are many other things that affect how much it costs to insurance your car. How much coverage a state requires you to carry? Do you choose to pay for additional coverage? How much driving experience do you have? What kind of car do you drive? And how many miles do you drive every day?

Often, the Insurance Companies with lower rates make MORE money and can keep rates down. While that sounds crazy, it does make some sense. A quality Insurance Carrier with low rates keeps all their best drivers. The “low risk’ drivers stay because of the terrific price. Meanwhile, another company with higher rates loses some of their best drivers because their costs are too high. As a result, they get “adverse selection” where the higher risk drivers stay and make the rates for everyone with that company rise. That’s why you want to shop your Auto Insurance with a Company that represents many quality Carriers like Auto Insurance Corner.

What else figures into pricing: The Governments have a role.
Basically, experts agree that government intervention impacts car insurance rates. They just can’t agree on how.

On one side, they argue states with a stringent regulatory environment — like California — protect drivers from getting gouged. On the other side, they argue less regulation is better because free markets keep prices down as companies compete with each other for business. Charge too much, and no one will buy, they say.

There’s other factors beyond your control, like, do you live in an urban area? A state’s population density — New Jersey is the densest — and the cost of living — California is the most expensive, also play a role.

Are you are wondering where car insurance is the cheapest? The residents of North Dakota enjoyed an average cost of $554 in 2005, less than half the cost of New Jersey residents.

North Dakota drivers, by the way, spend less time in their cars getting to work — just 15 minutes, the shortest commute of any state’s drivers and half the time of New Jersey drivers.

California drivers spend about 27 minutes getting to work each day, the fifth longest average commute. At 31 minutes, New Yorkers have the nation’s longest average commute, followed by Maryland, New Jersey and Illinois.

So, while both those studies might make valid points about California regulation being the best and the worst in the nation, they’re hardly going to inspire anyone to move there.

and the whole 9 yards. Discover Comegys Marina Insurance and let us use our Custom Programs to protect you as we’ve done for so many Boat Dealers since 1939. We know that you deserve and need protection for your entire boat or yacht inventory, & you need affordable solutions to protect you protection from damage sustained during maintenance and use for the vessels and the autos needed to transport them on your Property.and commercial automobile insurance for vehicles on your property.

and the whole 9 yards. Discover Comegys Marina Insurance and let us use our Custom Programs to protect you as we’ve done for so many Boat Dealers since 1939. We know that you deserve and need protection for your entire boat or yacht inventory, & you need affordable solutions to protect you protection from damage sustained during maintenance and use for the vessels and the autos needed to transport them on your Property.and commercial automobile insurance for vehicles on your property.