Insurance agents say it's not unusual to see people struggling to make payments this time of year but this year is worse than most. Agents say they're seeing the impact.

Just months after paying off her car loan, KY3 Human Resources Coordinator Beth Keeling was driving a rental car and shopping for a new vehicle on Wednesday.

"I was at a light, waiting for it to turn, and a guy rear-ended me,” said Keeling.

To add insult to totaled car, the other driver is uninsured.

"I've been hit four times in four years. Three people were uninsured,” said Keeling.

"November, December, January -- you tend to see higher ratios (of lapsed policy payments),” said agent Mark Adkins.

More people are allowing their insurance to lapse. At Adkins’ Farmers Insurance Agency, they're making preemptive calls, trying to catch customers before that happens.

“We're seeing people revisit their deductibles,” said Adkins.

The trend doesn't stop at car insurance. Homeowners are trying to find ways to save on their premiums.

Also, "we're seeing people taking surrenders on their life insurance policies to meet their cash needs,” said Adkins.

Car insurance remains the most pressing immediate concern. Ultimately, someone has to pay the bills after accidents.

"Overall, I'm looking at increased insurance rates, paying my own deductible, taxes on the vehicle I have to purchase now. I will have new car payments and double property taxes in 2010,” said Keeling. "We're going to have to cut back on things we've already been cutting back on because our economy is as bad as somebody else's."

The biggest piece of advice from agents to consumers is to sit down with an agent and look at the coverage you have versus what you need, and know that insurance should be, at worst, the last thing you cut. The consequences of not having it can last well past a season of financial stress.