By: Gokul Menon January, 14, 2020
The United States of America is among the top five leading exporters of new passenger vehicles and light trucks. It ranks third globally in this list, behind Germany and Japan, in terms of the value of automobile exports. In terms of production, the U.S. ranks second in the world. The top 5 countries in terms of the value of automobile exports are:
By: Gokul Menon January, 13, 2020
The employment of women, African Americans, and other minorities who have been historically oppressed has had a significant impact on empowering them. The insurance industry seems to be at the forefront of progressing towards a more egalitarian society.
While whites occupy 78 percent of the total workforce, African-Americans only occupy a mere 12.3 percent. Hispanics and Asians occupy 17.3 percent and 6.3 percent, respectively. Whites continue to occupy a significant part of the insurance sector as well, but the percentage of African-American Insurance underwriters and Insurance Claims Processing Clerks is a little higher than the percentage of African-Americans in the national workforce.
By: Hemanth Ramesh January, 07, 2019
Smartwatches have becomes one of the most intimate and personal wearable technology that an individual can use in present times. These devices can track a user’s health and lifestyle in more ways than the individual otherwise could. They are also capable of making bank transactions, taking photos, recording audio, and even measuring a person’s heart rate.
Therefore, the privacy and safety of the data shared can be extremely important from an individual’s perspective. Gavop analyzed Fossil’s privacy policy to make a comprehensive list of information collected by the company from customers using their smartwatches and app. The data collected by the company can be categorized into 5 sections.
By: Gokul Menon January, 02, 2020
The data published by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) reveals a staggering increase in annual congestion costs in multiple cities of the country. San Francisco and Los Angeles lead the way in this respect and lays emphasis on the amount of congestion in the state of California. This study, conducted by the USDOT, takes into account multiple factors that add to an auto commuter’s congestion cost. Some of these include:
By: Hemanth Ramesh December, 27, 2019
According to data published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), frontal airbags reduce fatalities by 14% even when seatbelts were not in use. Standard airbags might also help individuals lower their car insurance premiums. In 2017 alone, 2,790 lives were saved due to the deployment of airbags, an increase from 2,422 lives in 2012.
According to the temperature and humidity, vehicles in different states have been categorized under different zones. Vehicles in Zone A are most at risk. The maps below shows the states that have been categorized under Zone A.
By: Hemanth Ramesh December, 17, 2019
According to Gavop’s analysis of data published by the Census Bureau, the number of Hispanic households has seen the most significant increase in percentage among all ethnic minorities. For the first time in history, the number of Hispanic households crossed the number of black households in the country. In 2019, the number of Hispanic households stood at 17.8 million, while the number of black households stood at 17.2 million.
The percentage of Hispanic householders who owned their homes was also higher than the percentage of black householders who owned their homes in 2019, according to the Census Bureau.
By: Hemanth Ramesh December, 16, 2019
According to a report published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), from 2008 to 2017, older male driver fatalities increased by 25%, compared to a 17% increase in older female driver fatalities.
An analysis by Gavop finds that female drivers over the age of 65 were less likely to cause accidents compared to male drivers over the age of 65. For female drivers over the age of 85, 12.41 crashes were reported per 100,000 licensed drivers compared to 34.30 crashes per 100,000 individuals. Compared to younger drivers, senior drivers are more likely to be killed in car crashes where the initial impact point is on the left side (17% vs 11%).
By: Hemanth Ramesh November, 25, 2019
Climate change and the ever-increasing pollution levels have been having a significant impact on people’s health. Gavop compares the average health insurance rates of the 10 most polluted states in the U.S.
The number of people in the U.S. who have died due to pollution-related causes is much higher than automobile fatalities, according to data analyzed from a report published by the National Acadamy of science. About 107,000 people die from air pollution each year, while 36,560 people died from car crashes in 2018 according to the NHTSA.
According to data from Airnow, 39% of the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthy air. Louisiana was found to be the state in the U.S. with the worst quality of air. Moreover, the average health insurance premium was found to be $5,926 in Louisiana, which was about $1000 above the national average. Citizens in Tennessee paid the highest average health insurance rate at $6,318, which was $1,378 higher than the national average.
By: Gokul Menon November, 22, 2019
It is prudent to exercise caution before posting pictures of oneself smoking or chugging down alcohol now that the New York State Department of Financial Services has authorized the usage of “external consumer data and information” to set premium rates, by life insurance companies in New York.
The New York State Department of Financial Services (NYSDFS) recently permitted life insurance companies to use social media posts of consumers to determine insurance premium rates.
By: Hemanth Ramesh November, 22, 2019
A tire bust when driving on a highway could be extremely dangerous, causing the vehicle to go out of control and potentially lead to an accident. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), tire blowouts are estimated to cause around 738 deaths and 78,000 automobile crashes each year.
A safer technology for tires might help lower insurance costs as well as save lives.
By: Hemanth Ramesh November, 21, 2019
The Toyota Mirai, is a hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicle (HFCEV), with a range of 300 miles. While the Tesla Model 3 is a battery electric vehicle, the Mirai is still an electric car, driven by an electric motor, but instead of a battery, it has a hydrogen fuel cell. The car has a tank into which pressurized Hydrogen is pumped, like a petrol or diesel car. Hydrogen is then combined with Oxygen from the air in the fuel cell to generate electricity. It generates electricity on demand, as the driver presses the pedal for the electric motor that drives the car. Newer car technologies have always struggled without an infrastructure that already exists. One reason for higher insurance premiums for such vehicles is because of expensive parts that are produced in limited quantities.