Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Canada Aims to Finalize Oil Tank Car Standards by End of April: Minister
Apr 8 2015 // The Canadian government would like to finalize specifications for a new version of the tank cars used to transport crude oil by rail by the end of this month, Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt said on Tuesday. In the...
Norman-Spencer Adds Auto Dismantler Program
Apr 8 2015 // The Norman-Spencer Agency, Inc. has launched a new auto dismantler insurance program through its Northern Star Management transportation division. This national program is designed for professional salvage...
Florida Van Crash Revives Concern About Safety of Vehicles
Apr 7 2015 // Federal transportation officials are investigating a crash that killed eight members of a Florida church who were riding in a type of van that has raised safety alarms for many years. It’s unknown what caused the...
Delaware’s Mandatory Motorcycle Helmet Bill in Legislative Limbo
Apr 6 2015 // A bill requiring motorcycle riders in Delaware to wear helmets remains in legislative limbo after members of the House Public Safety Committee could not agree last week to send it to the House floor or to table it. Current...
Leaders in Iowa City Consider Tougher Vehicle Impound Law
Apr 6 2015 // Motorists in Mason City, Iowa could soon have their vehicles impounded for any one of 10 violations, including some misdemeanors. The City Council will consider an impound ordinance at its meeting Tuesday night, the Mason...
Boy’s Jeep Fire Death Results in $150M Verdict Against Fiat Chrysler
Apr 6 2015 // Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV was ordered to pay $150 million to the family of a 4-year-old boy who burned to death in a crash after a jury found the carmaker recklessly designed the gas tank for the 1999 Jeep Grand...
California Bill Fixes DMV Addendum Affecting Broker-Agents
Apr 6 2015 // After decades of broker-agents sharing driver motor vehicle records with insurers to underwrite and rate personal and commercial automobile policies, the California Department of Motor Vehicles late last year began...
Google Takes the Wheel
Apr 6 2015 // When Google stepped into the insurance ring last month, the industry took note. Some said agents and the insurance industry should be concerned. Others said Google Compare, as the new service is named, is nothing new in...
More Miles, Less Cars
Apr 6 2015 // Driverless vehicles may reduce the number of vehicles a family needs, but may lead to an increase in total miles driven. Researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) examined U.S....
N.J. Tops Nation in Auto Insurance Rates
Apr 6 2015 // An annual industry report shows New Jersey has the costliest auto insurance rates in the nation. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners says New Jersey motorists paid an average of $1,220 in 2012. That’s...
ISO Introduces Endorsements to Address Ridesharing Policy Gaps
Apr 2 2015 // ISO has introduced two new personal auto coverage options for ridesharing drivers when they’re logged in but don’t have any passengers – an issue that has been the subject of controversy among insurance...
Lawmakers Likely to Try Again to Reform Michigan’s No-Fault System
Apr 1 2015 // Michigan has some of the highest auto insurance rates in the country and auto insurance rate hikes there were higher than those in any other state over the past two years, according to the insurance consulting firm,...
National General Holdings Acquires Assigned Risk Solutions in New Jersey
Apr 1 2015 // National General Holdings Corp. announced that it has closed upon the acquisition of Saddle Brook, New Jersey-based Assigned Risk Solutions Ltd. from Toronto-based Kingsway Financial Services for a purchase price of $47...
Auto-Theft Task Forces Closing Amid Illinois Budget Crisis
Mar 31 2015 // Officials with police-run auto-theft task forces say they are shutting down across Illinois due to state spending freezes. Separately, the (Peoria) Journal Star also reports that a bipartisan deal reached in the state...
Electronics Enable Michigan Police to Check Vehicle Insurance Quickly
Mar 31 2015 // Police in Michigan are using an easy way to check whether a motor vehicle is properly insured. Starting last year, police got access to information on whether a vehicle is insured by running a license plate number through...
Exit Ramp Rollovers Kill Hundreds of Truckers a Year
Mar 31 2015 // It was almost midnight when Walter Price eased his 18-wheeler into the right lane on Interstate 75 near Atlanta. As he began to bank onto the exit ramp he’d been taking for the past 10 years, Price had no idea he was...
Insurance, Corporate Law Intersect in Louisiana Agent Liability, UM Cases
Mar 30 2015 // Nothing is more exciting than reading the latest updates on insurance law, unless, of course, you can get updates on corporate law at the same time. Fortunately, there are two recent Louisiana cases where the outcome of...
LaRocco to Take Over as State Auto President, CEO in May
Mar 30 2015 // Ohio-based State Auto Financial Corporation and State Automobile Mutual Insurance Company (State Auto Mutual) hired Michael E. LaRocco as president and chief executive officer. Michael LaRocco LaRocco officially takes over...
Light Rail Train Hits Car in California Partially Derails, 21 Hurt
Mar 30 2015 // A light rail train slammed into a car at a crossing in front of the University of Southern California, seriously injuring the driver and the train’s operator. Nineteen passengers on the train suffered lesser...
No Proper Permit for Texas Truck in I35 Bridge Accident
Mar 30 2015 // Regulators say an oversized load did not have the proper permit when the rig snagged an Interstate 35 bridge beam in a deadly Central Texas wreck. The tractor-trailer lacked the proper permit, the Texas Department of Motor...
