In the good old days before there were organized police forces, it was left to a few individuals to enforce the law. When they proved inadequate, there were feuds and vigilante action by the victims. Obviously, this fighting disturbed everyone, so states slowly got into the law enforcement business, recruiting and training people to keep the peace and identify criminals. Today, we rely on state and federal policing agencies, supported by CSI and other forensic agencies. But there’s been a fundamental and unchanging truth from the early days. More people avoid detection and profit from their crimes than are caught. That’s why the courts are forced to use deterrent sentencing. What judges are saying to potential criminals is there will be long periods of imprisonment if they are caught. The irony is that, if people were sure they would be caught, lighter punishments would be sufficient. It would cost us less to keep all these people in jail. Our society would be safer.

So why is it so difficult to detect fraud? Surely dishonesty should be obvious to an experienced insurance company? Well, sadly, detecting which claims are fraudulent is not easy. Let’s take a simple question. Both drivers involved admit there was an accident. One driver submits a medical report showing neck injuries. On what basis should the insurer challenge the medical report? Well, detailed investigation might show this particular clinic advertises for people to report accidents to them. Or this clinic may consistently be receiving business through referral networks. Either way, the clinic is found to specialize in the treatment of traffic accident injuries. This could make them highly skillful and deserving professional respect, or it could suggest the clinic exaggerates the injuries for its own profit when it bills for treatment, paying commission to referral agents and passing only some of the benefit on to “patients” who get settlements for their injuries. Is an insurer supposed to get a second opinion from an independent doctor on every patient from suspect clinics? Or suppose someone wants to get out of an auto loan so stages a small accident and pays a repair shop to set off the air bags and certify more serious damage so the vehicle will be totaled. If this is a one-off event and there’s no pattern to suggest this repair shop is dishonest, why should this particular claim set off alarm bells?

There’s no doubt the level of fraud has been at epidemic levels for a decade and more. Several billion dollars a year are being sucked out of insurance companies by criminals. In turn, all these losses are passed on to us in higher car insurance rates. This makes insurance fraud a political issue, albeit mainly in the no-fault states where the levels of dishonesty seem to be higher. Although there’s a National Insurance Crime Bureau established with the task of coordinating the fight against fraud, there’s little sign of success. It will take a major cultural change to deter people from this type of crime when the chances of being caught are so low. Even when staffing levels are improved by the insurers and the law enforcement agencies, there’s little observed change in behavior. The fraudulent claims keep coming in and the auto insurance quotes keep rising.

If you listen to the commentators, they all sing the same song. We’ve now entered the internet age. This is supposed to convince us something new and wonderful has happened. It’s such a complete break with the past it heralds the beginning of a new information age in which, somehow, we can all get ahead and do things never possible before. This is, of course, pure rubbish. The only difference between the digital age and the hard-copy age that went before it is the ease of access. Having a PC or some other online device gives you access to a vast library with a search engine to help you find the pages you need more easily. But, when you have the right page on the screen in front of you, it’s the same words you could have found in a book or some other written material. All that’s changed is the way the words are presented to you.

So, if you go back in time, printed words have always been used to manipulate people. They sell ideas to you. This means real power lies in the power to control access the means of publication. If a group can control what gets printed and distributed, the words can always tell the same story. But if the means of publication is open to other voices, this can give a completely different view of the world. This is why reputations can be made or unmade depending on who has the power to publish.

The problem for modern companies is anyone today can start up a blog or website. Many internet services are free to use. Similarly, the networking sites like Facebook allow people to write their opinions and describe their experiences. In the past, we would never get to hear Anne from Denver bought a steam cleaner that sprayed boiling water over her hands. Now she can write it and thousands of people can tweet it. It makes it very difficult for manufacturers and service providers to protect their reputations. This explains, in part, why insurance companies very rarely allow interaction on their sites. Since they cannot control what sometimes angry customers may say, they try to deny them a voice. Except there are now some very high profile sites on which people can complain about bad products and services. This movement is not yet sufficient to damage the vast insurance industry, but individual companies are finding it more difficult to prevent their reputations from slowly washing away.

This makes the recent announcement of a new online forum all the more encouraging. The intention is to allow people from both sides of the insurance relationship a chance to ask questions and have their say. Instead of a blank screen on which insurers give you the news they think you should hear, you can now ask about how to get more affordable car insurance rates, what to do if a claims adjuster low-balls the fair market value offer, and so on. This does not mean everyone on the forum will be an “innocent” consumer. There will inevitably be anonymous industry experts giving balancing views and opinions. But this is a hopeful sign of change. You may even get cheap car insurance quotes because of pressure through forums like this.

What color sofa are people buying these days? We asked a designer from Home Reserve a leading online furniture site about the color trends. “We’re definitely seeing some new colors emerge,” says Scott Anspach, the stylist for the company. Orange has been huge for quite some time but now we’re seeing the popularity of light blue and dark brown fabrics rise to fever levels as well.”

“Not only are all three colors being widely used separately, but people are also using them in combination,” explains Anspach. “They may use a light blue fabric for the sofa itself and then accent with dark brown and orange pillows. It is a surprising blend, but does create a wonderful contemporary color scheme.”

He says that this color direction is no secret. “You can see them in all the shelter magazines and mail order catalogs. These blue, brown and orange colors are everywhere.” When we asked about the old standbys of beige and neutrals he explained: “Those earth tones are always a safe choice, but sales in those colors haven’t spiked, just kept a steady pace.”

What’s next? According to the research at Home Reserve, don’t be surprised to see pink emerge and for light pastels to return. You can visit their web site at http://www.homereserve.com

It would be better if the world was an easier place, if everything was straightforward. But it’s not. Sadly, the world is a hard place and seller take your money without having to deliver the service whenever possible. The Romans had a saying, “caveat emptor”. It means, “let the buyer beware”. So the good advice from two thousand years ago is always read the small print before you sign the agreement. That way, you avoid the bad deals or, if there are likely to be problems, you can see where they are and work round them. If there’s anything you don’t understand, ask. You usually find companies are obliging before you sign. They want to appear willing so they can take your money.

Let’s start with the good news. The courts in most states operate the rule that any ambiguity in the policy is always resolved in your favor. Courts reckon insurers can afford the best attorneys to write the contracts. If they can’t get the wording clear enough, that’s their problem and they have to pay out on your claims. But if the wording of the agreement is clear, you’re caught by whatever it says. If you never bothered to read the policy or read it and failed to understand, that’s your problem.

As an example, here’s a recent case from sunny Florida. M lived on her own. She owned and insured a car, but allowed her granddaughter to drive it. Her granddaughter lived with her parents at a separate address. On the fateful day, the granddaughter was driving the car with the family as passengers. There was an accident. The driver and passengers were injured. So here comes the first question. Can you say who your “relatives” are? That’s easy, isn’t it. This is anyone related to you by blood or marriage, and it has nothing to do with where they live. So if the policy says the insurer will pay on a claim when the car is driven by the insured and his or her relatives, you know what that means. Does the policy also cover the car when it’s driven by anyone else with the insured’s consent? That can be important if, for some reason, you need a neighbor or friend to drive you around.

So what do you make of this phrase: there’s no coverage for any injuries to an insured or a family member living with the insured. Is the “insured” always M, the policyholder paying the premium installments, or does it include relatives or others driving with the owner’s consent? The Florida appeals court has just held the word “insured” always refers to the driver. This meant the granddaughter and her parents could not claim for their injuries because they lived together in the same house. You would have known that, right? This car insurance policy is unambiguous. You didn’t think M was the insured and so the driver and her passengers could claim?

Courts have a habit of thinking some words have obvious meanings. If you are covered when you drive, you are insured no matter whether you pay the premium. So to prevent being caught, read the policy before signing. Don’t just accept the car insurance quotes on the basis of cost. If you have any doubt, ask what the policy means.

There’s never reliable information on driving habits. Everything changes as the price of gas rises and falls, and as family budgets come under more pressure. All we can say with any certainty is, regardless of the state of the economy, people do try to get together to celebrate the holidays as a family. This can mean traveling significant distances and it’s where the budgets come in. When people have the money, they tend to drive to the nearest airport and board a plane. Even though the new security measures can threaten the privacy of your junk, most people find flying better than sitting in a car for long periods of time. Yet, when you add up the cost of the tickets plus the need to rent a vehicle at the other end, you can save so much money if you all get into a car and share the driving to where you are going.

So let’s say you decide to make the long drive, here are a few basic precautions before you set off. First, the farther you are proposing to drive at a busy time of the year, the higher the risk of an accident. Sadly, the holidays bring out a lot of weekend drivers who suddenly switch from short runs to a long journey. They tend to lose concentration. Some even fall asleep at the wheel. So now is the time to think carefully about collision and comprehensive cover (assuming you don’t already have them), and check your health insurance to ensure there will be enough money to cover any visits to the ER out-of-state should you have an accident. That way, you can avoid unpleasant surprises if your journey is interrupted.

Now spend a little money on some routine maintenance. You trust your vehicle when it’s just running around locally. A long run is a whole different ballgame so check the tires and have the engine serviced. The last thing you want is a breakdown in the middle of nowhere when no local garages want to come out and rescue you. Remember to pack emergency supplies should you be stuck by the road in bad weather.

Now suppose you decide to rent a big comfortable people mover for the journey or you fly and rent at the airport. You need to think carefully about insuring the rental. The rental company must give you the basic minimum liability insurance for the state(s) in which you will be driving. Remember, most of these policies do not cover you if you drive into Canada or Mexico. Now the big decision. Even if you have a collision and comprehensive policy on your own vehicle that covers you when you drive a rental, you can find your premium rates climb if you make a claim. It therefore makes sense to buy the Loss Damage Waiver. This pays all the bills if the rental is damaged or stolen. Finally, check your homeowners insurance to see whether all your possessions will be covered in a rental vehicle. It’s probably better to deal with this before you confirm the rental agreement. Get auto insurance quotes for the different possible types of cover. If you are paying for the rental by credit card, there may be some auto insurance thrown in but check the terms and conditions carefully.