Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Pricing Insurance for Autonomous Vehicles
Nov 8 2016 // “This is a new world for insurers. The industry will need a whole new set of data tools to deal with this.” So says Michael Macauley, CEO of Quadrant Information Services, a supplier of pricing analytics to...
3 Ways Auto Insurers Should Adapt to Drivers’ Changing Road Habits
Nov 7 2016 // For a historically slow-moving industry, changes are occurring at a rapid rate in today’s auto insurance world. Drivers’ road habits are shifting and auto insurers should adapt to the changing behavior behind...
Startup Auto Insurer Root Targets Good Drivers with Smartphones
Nov 7 2016 // Root officially debuted in the U.S. market on October 25. The fledgling auto insurer, just 18 months old, relies on telematics and a customer’s smartphone to deliver what it says will be significantly cheaper rates...
Texas Commissioner Approves Rate Changes for Auto Insurance Plan
Nov 4 2016 // Texas Insurance Commissioner David Mattax has approved rate changes for private passenger and commercial automobile insurance provided through the Texas Automobile Insurance Plan Association (TAIPA), which is the...
Allstate, Esurance Take Hit from Losses in Q3
Nov 4 2016 // Catastrophe losses climbed 78 percent for Allstate in its 2016 third quarter, a trend that led to a double-digit drop in net income and higher losses for Esurance, its online auto and home insurance provider. The...
Maryland School Bus Driver Killed in Crash Had Traffic Violation History
Nov 4 2016 // The Baltimore school bus driver who died along with five others in a collision with a commuter bus was found at fault in three traffic-related cases in the last eight years, according to civil and criminal court records...
So Where’s All That Economic Disruption from Technology?
Nov 3 2016 // A funny thing happened on the path to disruption. This decade, most of Silicon Valley’s big societal claims have turned out to be wrong. These claims arguably began around the time this cycle’s real expansion...
Insurance Council: Texas Leads Nation in Vehicle/Animal Collisions
Nov 2 2016 // Texas has twice as many motorists killed in vehicles colliding with wild animals than any other state, the Insurance Council of Texas (ICT) reports. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), more than...
Lockton Adds van Winden as Sr. VP, Energy Property Leader in Houston
Nov 2 2016 // Rene van Winden has joined Lockton as a senior vice president and national energy property leader based in the insurance broker’s Houston operation. He is an expert in onshore property insurance programs and will...
Drivers Leaving Keys for Thieves a Growing Problem, Says Insurers’ Crime Bureau
Nov 2 2016 // Last year, one out of every eight car thefts was a freebie for the thief because the driver left the keys or the car access device inside. It’s a growing problem according to a report from the insurance...
Entrepreneur Shuts Startup After U.S. Questions Safety of Self-Driving Kit
Oct 31 2016 // Self-driving cars are getting closer by the day, but they won’t be coming from hacking phenomenon George Hotz. Hotz, the first person to jailbreak an iPhone and a vagabond of the world’s top tech companies, has...
Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Highest When Agents File Claims
Oct 31 2016 // Eight of 10 customers who purchased their auto insurance policy through a local agent still call their agent first to report or seek advice regarding a claim and customers whose agents file their claim are happier with...
Car Theft, Break-Ins Top List of Most Common Crimes in Kentucky City
Oct 31 2016 // Lexington, Ky., officials say property thefts, especially those involving vehicles, are among the most frequently committed crimes in Kentucky’s second-largest city. The Lexington Herald-Leader reports more than 260...
Confie Acquires Texas Auto Insurance Agency
Oct 26 2016 // Confie, a national provider of personal and commercial lines insurance, has acquired Hulme Corp., dba Alamo Auto Insurance of East Texas. Founded in 2001 and based in Tyler, Texas, Alamo Auto focuses on providing...
U.S. Judge Approves $14.7 Billion Settlement for VW Diesel Car Owners
Oct 26 2016 // A U.S. judge on Tuesday approved one of the biggest corporate settlements on record, Volkswagen AG’s $14.7 billion deal arising from its diesel emissions cheating scandal, and the German automaker said it would begin...
Startup Auto Insurer Root Targets Good Drivers with Smartphones
Oct 25 2016 // Root officially debuted in the U.S. market on October 25. The fledgling auto insurer, just 18 months old, relies on telematics and a customer’s smartphone to deliver what it says will be significantly cheaper rates...
Review of 14 Studies Identifies Risk Factors for Kids’ Bicycle Injuries
Oct 25 2016 // Kids of lower socioeconomic status, those riding in rural areas, and those riding mostly on the sidewalk have higher risk of injury than others, according to a new review. Not surprisingly, injuries related to motor...
This Bud’s for Uber’s Self-Driving Truck Road Test
Oct 25 2016 // A tractor trailer full of beer drove itself down Colorado’s I-25 last week with nobody behind the wheel. Uber Technologies Inc. and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV teamed up on the delivery, which they said is the first time...
Midwest Study: More Lighting Would Cut Farm Vehicle Crashes by 60%
Oct 21 2016 // Traffic accidents involving farm vehicles in the Midwest would drop by more than 60 percent if state policies required more lighting and reflection on those vehicles, according to a study from the University of Iowa...
Automakers, Chipmakers Race to Equip Autonomous Vehicles
Oct 21 2016 // Tesla Motors Inc.’s decision to equip all of its vehicles with self-driving hardware has intensified competition among rival camps of technology and auto companies over what equipment will be on board cars of the...
