These reasons all make sense, but many people don’t realize how much their location affects their rate. This was underscored by a recent survey done by Insure.com showing the most expensive and least expensive auto insurance costs by state. The full list is repeated below.

So why does it matter where you live when it comes to car insurance? You would think that car insurance rates by state would be fairly equal.

Auto insurance rates — insurance rates in general, in fact — are primarily based on risk such as:

• What are the chances (risk) that a particular insured person will make a claim?
• What is the risk that a particular situation can cause a claim?
• What is the risk that a claim on an insured can be very costly?

Location matters because it can vary the amount of risk an insurance company projects. For example, hailstorms can cause significant damage to vehicles. Thus, an insurer may charge a higher rate if you live in an area where hailstorms are frequent. Or, perhaps you live in an area with a high rate of car theft and break-ins. The risk that you will make a claim goes up, and most likely so does your rate.

According to the Insure.com article, uninsured motorists are one of the big factors affecting rates. You see, most states require some sort of uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage when you buy a policy. So if a driver causes an accident and doesn’t have liability insurance (which is also required by law), your policy will provide some coverage to your vehicle and passengers that would have been covered by the other driver had he or she been insured.

As you can imagine, the more claims being made for uninsured drivers, the higher the risk and up goes auto insurance costs.

So, states with a higher number of underinsured and uninsured motorists are going to have higher rates. Also, states where more personal injury claims are filed are also going to drive up costs. The article notes that the economic downturn has caused many people to forego auto insurance. But when someone drives without insurance, we all pay the price.

Here is the list of the most and least expensive states for auto insurance in 2011 based on average annual premium (source: Insure.com):

2) BP oil spill
In April, the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico killing 11 workers and unleashing an oil spill that killed countless wildlife and severely damaged Gulf industries like tourism and fishing. Over 4 million gallons of oil leaked before the well was plugged, and the costs of the response effort to BP hit $8 billion by September according to Reuters. That’s excluding damage and liability claims. Insurance costs for oil companies are expected to go up exponentially.

3) 20 million recalls by auto makers
In April, several major car insurance companies sought to recoup money from Toyota for claims paid on crashes that involved sudden acceleration. Sudden acceleration incidences were the main reason for Toyota’s recall of millions of vehicles. General Motors Co., Honda, Nissan, Ford and Chrysler all had recalls in 2010 according to Insurance Journal.

4) Worst year for bank failures since 1992
According to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., more banks failed in 2010 than any year since the savings-and-loan crisis of 1992. 157 banks failed at the close of this year, with more to come, leaving the FDIC insurance fund in the red.

5) National Flood Insurance Program lapses/extends
The National Flood Insurance Program is a federal government program that provides homeowners with flood insurance who live in flood zones. (Standard property insurance policies don’t provide this coverage.) The U.S. Senate allowed the program to expire on May 31, leaving many homeowners without the ability to renew or obtain coverage. The program was eventually extended until September, 2011.

With this kind of policy, you only need to answer a few questions about your medical history and maybe your family’s medical history. Some of the questions typically include:

• Have you used tobacco in the past x number of years?
• Are you taking any prescription medications?
• Have your parents been diagnosed with cancer, heart disease or other issues before a certain age?

The insurer can check some of your answers against a medical information database. They may also check your driving and credit record.

Once your application is approved, you can get coverage. You can typically choose to pay monthly or annually, though you’ll usually get a little break for paying by the year.

You do pay a higher premium for this type of policy. That’s why many people check out no medical term life insurance. Term life is less expensive than a whole or permanent life policy.

Also, you can try at a later date to reduce your premium by applying for a policy that does require an exam.

Whatever route you choose, be sure to get several quotes to compare life insurance rates as they do vary from company to company. Also, you should only buy from a reputable company with a stable financial background.

According to the IIHS, booster seat safety comes down to how well the lap and shoulder belts are positioned on average booster-age children in most automobiles. Lap belts should be across the child’s upper thighs, and shoulder belts should lie along the mid-shoulder. The belts should not be riding up on the child’s tummy, against their neck or falling off their shoulder.

What the IIHS found was that for the first time in their testing, there were more products with top booster seat ratings than ones that they don’t recommend. This is good news for parents, because it probably means there are more choices out there to help them find the best booster seat.

If you already have a seat but it doesn’t fit perfectly, you should keep using it until you can get a better one. The IIHS notes that children age 4 to 8 who ride in boosters are 45 percent less likely to sustain injuries in a crash, than if they were in seat belts alone. That’s significant.

You can read more about the IIHS review and their ratings here.

For parents, if a child is listed as a driver of your vehicles, but they won’t be driving it anymore because they don’t live at home, notify your auto insurer. It may lower your premium.

Health insurance — If you’re no longer covered under your parent’s health plan, see if your school offers an accident or illness student health insurance plan. You can also shop for full time student health insurance quotes to find a plan for your needs.

Dental insurance — There are a couple of options here if your school doesn’t offer a dental plan. You may be able to find individual dental insurance in your area that’s affordable by comparing quotes. Also, you may consider a discount dental plan. With these types of plans, you pay a membership fee and receive discounts on many procedures at participating dentists.

Personal property insurance — Many of your possessions may still be covered against theft by your parent’s homeowner policy, but double check to see what the limits are for off-premise items. You also may be able to purchase an affordable renters insurance policy to cover your items.

COBRA stands for the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. The is a federal law that was passed in 1986. It allows for the temporary extension of health insurance benefits in the event an employee covered by an employer group plan has their hours cut or no longer has a job.

COBRA allows you to continue under the group plan for at least 18 months, so you can still have health care insurance coverage. Spouses and dependents may also be eligible to receive COBRA coverage.

You will, however, be responsible for the full premium including the portion that your employer may have paid before. Many people who lost their jobs were shocked to find out how big this premium is (or how much of the tab their employer was picking up).

COBRA kicks in immediately after a person loses their job, which can be an initial relief considering the trauma of the circumstances. Employers are pretty much required to offer it, unless the company closes or goes bankrupt and there is no longer a group plan.

Many employer group health plans are quite comprehensive and, depending on the plan, the full premium can be quite high — especially if someone is now without an income. There are some alternatives.

Temporary or short term health insurance can provide you a period of coverage between jobs. The premium is often lower than many plans, but the coverages are also more limited.

You can also get a basic and essential health plan that again provides limited coverages but at a lower cost.

Many people start their own business when they find themselves unemployed. There are many companies that offer health insurance for self employed individuals.

Also, you may just want to shop around and do some health insurance comparisons. You may find a plan that’s right for you at considerably lower cost than the COBRA premium.

Losing a job in these tough times is certainly traumatizing. If you can somehow fit some health insurance protection into your budget, you’ll gain some peace of mind.

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) has created a white paper that highlights some of the lessons from Katrina and analyzes ways insurers, communities and homeowners can reduce the impact of future hurricane disasters. The goal is to lower the financial impact to insurance companies which should translate to lower home insurance costs.

Of course this is a benefit to the insurers, but reducing risk should benefit consumers as well. For example, Florida home insurance rates are notoriously high, and sometimes it’s difficult for some property owners in that state to find coverage. Hurricanes, wildfires and floods have spooked many insurers.

Some of the lessons from PCI’s white paper include:

• The need to encourage communities and homeowners to find ways to reduce hurricane damage risk.
• Insurers have found better ways to communicate in the aftermath of a disaster, including using social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, plus satellite technology.
• Insurers have found better ways to reduce disruptions of service, such as deploying mobile command centers.
• More homeowners in hurricane-risk areas need to be educated about the importance of having flood insurance. Many homeowners may not realize that their policies don’t cover flood. Flood insurance is a special government program.
• The need to improve how to understand risks in disaster-prone areas.

In the meantime, many home owners in Gulf and Atlantic coast states have seen a rise in property insurance premiums. Even if their options are limited, it’s still advisable to periodically check to see if they can lower their costs by getting home insurance comparison quotes.

You should get at least three quotes for a good comparison, and talk to your agent or investigate flood insurance if you don’t have it.

But paying for it can still be tough in this economy — especially if you lost or don’t have group benefits from an employer. So what are some of the ways you can finance dental costs?

Dentists typically take cash, personal checks or major credit cards for payment. If you have no dental insurance and you need work done right away, talk to your dental provider about payment plans if you don’t have the money on hand. They usually work with a third-party finance company, similar to the companies that set up credit accounts with a department store or other retail business.

Once approved, you could then get the treatment done and just pay monthly payments. You may also have the option to get revolving credit so you could finance dental treatment for other members of your family.

Going into debt isn’t always palatable (no pun intended), so another option is a discount dental plan. This is a membership plan, where you pay an annual fee. Dental providers who participate in the plan’s network agree to offer discounted fees on a variety of procedures (with savings of 10 to 60 percent) to members. Many of the plans can activate within three days of joining, so this may be a good option if you need some work done right away. Some discount plans even offer savings on getting braces (orthodontia) or cosmetic dentistry such as teeth whitening.

You can also find affordable dental insurance plans by shopping around. Make sure to compare plans to see if they have the right coverages, deductibles and dental care providers for your needs. Also, note the limits to coverage and yearly maximums. Most dental insurance plans will only cover up to a certain amount each year, and that limit can easily be reached. In that case, many people finance through a payment plan for an additional costs.

According to the department’s press release, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner said, “We want as many people as possible scouring these rate filings to ensure they are mistake-free.”

The idea behind this (as part of Poizner’s pledge to create transparency by posting all health insurance rate filings on the department’s Web site) is to protect consumers by making sure insurers are spending 70 percent of premiums on medical benefits as mandated by state law. Apparently, the more eyes analyzing these rate filings the easier it is to catch a mistake. It’s not apparent what kind of “mistakes” the department is talking about.

Now this may or may not change how you shop for a California health plan. Perhaps it will give you an idea of which health insurance company has lowered their rates, or has lower rates.

The fact that rates are determined by the companies, and consequently rates (and coverages) can vary quite a bit, means that consumers shopping for affordable California health insurance still need to get multiple quotes to find the right plan. It’s often recommended to get at least three individual quotes for a good comparison.

When reviewing a health insurance plan, keep in mind other factors besides rate. For example, what are the coverages and exclusions? How much is the deductible and co-pays? Can you get access to the physicians and health providers you need? Make sure it will provide for your needs and is offered by a company with a good financial reputation.

If you want to sign up for the alerts, just go to the California Department of Insurance Web site.  Basically, all you have to do is provide your e-mail address and select the documents or updates you want to receive.

It’s really a good idea to ask yourself “What has happened in the past year that changes my life insurance?”  (If you don’t have coverage, and you have people who depend on your income, it’s time to get life insurance.)

Think about the following scenario: You change jobs or start a home based business. Maybe you were already getting some life insurance coverage from your employer as a benefit. When your employment ends, most likely so does that coverage. If you factored that in as part of your total life insurance coverages, you may not have enough for your family’s needs.

Another common scenario happens when a couple has a child. That can be a busy time, and life insurance may be the last thing new parents are thinking about. But now there is an extra person depending on your income.

At the opposite end, if you have an adult child who becomes financially independent or you pay off a mortgage, you may not need as much protection.

So many life events can change your life insurance needs: moving an elderly parent into your home, getting a promotion, taking out a second mortgage.

If you think your needs have changed, talk to your agent but also take a few minutes to compare term life insurance quotes to see if you can lower your costs. You should get at least three different quotes.

Also, keep in mind that sometimes it might be just as affordable to get a little more coverage. For example, if you determine you only need $230,000 of coverage a $250,000 policy may cost the same.

You may also be interested in seeing what different types of life insurance are available that can help you reach your financial goals. For example, you can compare whole life insurance vs term.