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The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has announced its Top Vehicle Safety Picks for 2012. There are 18 new picks for a total of 115 winners in the following categories: 69 cars, 38 SUVs, 5 minivans, and 3 pickups. The award recognizes vehicles that do the best job of protecting people in front, side, rollover, and rear crashes based on ratings in Institute evaluations. The ratings, which cover all 4 of the most common kinds of crashes, help shoppers pick vehicles that offer the highest levels of crash protection.

Here's a handy list of the 2012 Top Safety Picks with links to the ratings.

If you will be shopping for a new vehicle, you may also want to consult this list: Insurance Losses by Make & Model. And you will also want to talk to your local insurance agent.

How common is computer theft? The 8th Annual BSI Computer Theft Survey has an eye opening list about the real threat computer theft possesses. Here are some of the more compelling findings of the survey:

• There were over 5,500,000 computers stolen in the USA in the last three years. Worldwide statistics are proportionally similar.
• According to the FBI, only 3% of unprotected (those that do not use a software tracking and recovery software) stolen computers are ever recovered.
• More than half (58.7%) of the survey respondents have been the victim of computer theft in the last 12 months.
• Laptops comprised more than two thirds (68%) of those devices reported stolen, followed by desktop computers (10%) and PDAs, iPods, iPhones, etc. (22%).
• Ninety-seven percent of survey respondents that experienced computer theft report the thief was never caught.
• Forty-six percent of respondents report the estimated value of proprietary data on their stolen computing device at $25,000 or less; 46.5 % estimated the value at between @25,000 and $1,000,000. ; 6.5% estimated the value at $1,000.000 or more and 1% estimated the value at more than $10,000,000.

Don't let what happened to Francis happen to you, backup your data and make sure you are insured! Most homeowners and rental policies will cover a computer up to a certain amount - but if you have a very expensive computer or peripherals, or if your data is vital to your livelihood, you should talk over additional coverage options with your agent!

Researchers at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) assessed 72 kids' booster seats to check for the ones that offer a good fit, one of the most important safety criteria. They designated 21 booster models as "Best Bets" and 7 as "Good Bets." That's a marked improvement over last year's list, when only 9 models earned the highest grades. They have also rated 8 models as "not recommended." See the full list: 2010 IIHS Booster Evaluation Ratings.

These ratings are important because they offer guidance on fit. While there are other tests and ratings for boosters - such as crash performance tests and ease of use - there are none that address fit. IIHS says, "Belts do the main job of keeping kids in boosters safe in crashes, but belts along with vehicle seats are designed for adults, not children, so it's important for boosters to lift kids into position for lap/shoulder belts to provide proper restraint. Children 4-8 who ride in boosters are 45 percent less likely to sustain injuries in crashes than children restrained by belts alone."

Photos used with permission of IIHS.

Pop quiz: what car do you think was the most stolen car in 2008? The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) just released its list of the top 10 stolen vehicles for 2008. You can also find out the top 10 most stolen vehicles by state. If you think having an older car is any protection, think again - older models are popular for their parts. Plus, newer models are getting harder to steal since they are more likely to be equipped with anti-theft devices.

The good news is that auto theft continues on its 5-year downward trend, with 2008 being the lowest annual total in over 20 years.

To avoid theft, NICB recommends four layers of protection:

Common Sense: Lock your car and take your keys.

Warning Device: Having and using a visible or audible warning device.

Immobilizing Device: "Kill" switches, fuel cut-offs and smart keys are among the devices which are extremely effective.

Tracking Device: A tracking device that emits a signal to the police or to a monitoring station when the vehicle is stolen is very effective in helping authorities recover stolen vehicles.

View or download a brochure with more tips on how to reduce your chances of auto theft.

Most Americans flunk when it comes to basic insurance knowledge, according to a recent survey conducted for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). Despite this, about 56% of the survey respondents felt "very confident" about making insurance decisions. In a 10-question insurance quiz, the average score was a dismal 40%.

But wait - before you learn more about the results of the survey, why not take the insurance IQ Test yourself and see how you fare?

Having a basic knowledge of insurance can mean the difference between overpaying for coverage and saving money. Misconceptions can also mean that a buyer doesn't secure adequate coverage to protect them in the event of a loss. For example, only 4 in 10 respondents knew that auto insurance doesn't automatically cover a rental car and only 14% were aware of the amount of life insurance that is typically recommended.

Given the test results, it is fortunate to learn that 61% of the respondents said that they use an insurance agency when purchasing insurance outside of employment. And we were happy to hear that 80% of the respondents said they had a good relationship with their agent and that 82% trust their agent to help them make the right choices.

Survey results: Executive Summary (PDF)

A word to the wise: keep to the speed limit. While that's always good advice from both a safety and an economic perspective, it may be even more significant in the light of a recent study:

"A new study to be published in next month's Journal of Law and Economics finds statistical evidence that local governments use traffic citations to make up for revenue shortfalls. So as the economy tanks, motorists may be more likely to see red and blue in the rearview."

The study, which controlled for demographic and economic differences in the sample, included an analysis of data from 96 North Carolina counties over a 14 year period. The study authors stated, "Specifically, a one percentage point decrease in last year's local government revenue results in roughly a 0.32 percentage point increase in the number of traffic tickets in the following year."

Other news reports seem to indicate that the volume of traffic tickets has risen in some states. For example, Connecticut police issued 78,000 speeding tickets in 2008. This 16% increase over the prior year added $327,000 in revenue to the state. And as a way to offset budget shortfalls, some other states are looking to increase fines for traffic violations. Florida basic traffic fines recently went up by $10, with some fines increasing by as much as $35 to $60.

Now many public officials would deny any link between the municipal budget and traffic tickets. Officials in Denver attribute last year's 20% spike in parking ticket revenue not to the economy, but to increased fines, a spate of special events such as the Democratic Convention, and an increase in the number of personnel writing tickets.

It may well be true that any increase in local revenues from traffic-related tickets is coincidental. On the other hand, cash-strapped states and municipalities may see enhanced enforcement as a win-win that increases public safety while helping with a budget crunch. So next time you consider putting more pressure on the gas pedal or pulling into that illegal parking space because "you'll only be a minute," consider the fact that the odds might be working against you. And remember, a moving traffic violation is not just the matter of a one-time fine - in terms of your insurance rates, tickets can be a drain for several years to come since your rates are partially based on your experience.

Related reading
State Traffic Laws from FindLaw
Traffic Tickets, A to Z from FindLaw
How Traffic Tickets Work from How Stuff Works

If you are risk averse, avoid driving on Saturdays in August. According to a recent article in Forbes, those are the most dangerous times to drive. The article is accompanied by a short slide show filled with interesting accident and fatality statistics.

But as Mark Twain was fond of saying, "There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics." In reader comments about the article, several people point out that it is not the sheer number of fatalities that is significant but the relative risk. If numbers alone were significant, then motorcycles would be the safest means of transportation since the sheer number of fatalities is low in comparison to autos. As the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety notes: "Risk is characterized by the bad outcomes for a given level of exposure." To determine the risk, it would be more significant to determine the fatality rate in relation to the number of cars on the road at a given time or in relation to the number of miles driven.

That being said, the Forbes article sheds light on an important topic and notes one indisputable and sobering fact: auto accidents kill upwards of 40,000 people each year or about 110 per day, far too many by any yardstick one might care to use. And most accidents and related injuries are attributable to human error: distractions, speeding, drunk driving, failure to use a seat belt, driving too fast for the weather conditions, and failure to keep a safe stopping distance from other vehicles.

If you want to delve into the statistics yourself to learn the relative risk for specific factors such as geography, demographics, or day of the week, try Traffic STATS, an interactive website developed for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety by the Carnegie Mellon Research department. If that is more involved than you would like to get, John Tesh has collected some interesting data points on relative driving risks from Traffic Stats analysis:

• A cautious 82-year-old woman is more likely to die in a car crash than a risk-taking 16 year old boy. Why? Because the 82 year old is more fragile
• The second most likely group to die in a car accident, after little old ladies, young male drivers between the ages of 16 and 23. Their fatality rate is 4 times higher than average
• Drivers in New England are the safest. They get in the fewest crashes of any region
• The safest passenger in the car? A baby or toddler secured in a car seat during morning rush hour traffic
• The safest vehicle is a school bus
• The most dangerous vehicle is a motorcycle
• The safest driving day is Wednesday. There are the fewest crashes and fatalities
• Saturdays are the deadliest days on the road
• The safest driving month: February
• The deadliest month: October
• And the drivers with the lowest risk of death are adults between 40 and 50 years old

The J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Insurance Customer Contact Study recently surveyed nearly 12,000 home and auto insurance customers to assess satisfaction. Survey participants had interacted with their current insurer within the past 12 months, either through an agency, call center or Web site. The results show that insurance customers who interact with a local agency tend to be more satisfied than customers who interact with their insurer’s call center. According to the study, "...routine service interaction is the most important element driving customer satisfaction, accounting for 38 percent of overall customer satisfaction with their insurer."

Regardless of which method customers use, quick resolution through a single channel is an important element of satisfaction:

“Having a streamlined contact process is most ideal for customers, and in particular, those interacting with their insurer’s call center often have higher expectations than those interacting with an agency,” said Bowler. “For instance, call center customers are most satisfied when their issues are resolved the same day they contact their insurer, while agencies can take slightly longer before customers become less satisfied. Similarly, customers expect an agent to retrieve their information in two minutes or less, while call center representatives have only one minute before satisfaction declines drastically.”

The survey also reports that one-fourth of a customer’s overall impression of their agent, agency staff, or call center representative is driven by their perception of the service channel's courtesy and friendliness.