Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Foreign Accents Drive Smart Cars’ Voice Technology Crazy
Sep 11 2014 // Colin and Rachel Britton have a failure to communicate when they slip into their $95,000 Mercedes GL500. Not with each other, with their car. Its voice recognition system is dumbfounded by their British accents, especially...
U of M, Carmakers Fund Research Toward Communicating Cars
Sep 9 2014 // A group of companies, including several large automakers, have joined a public-private research initiative to lay the groundwork for a system that wirelessly connects vehicles and helps smooth the flow of traffic, the...
Storm Clouds on the Reinsurance Horizon despite Record Capital
Sep 9 2014 // As the reinsurance industry prepares for its annual get together in Monte Carlo next week, a number of analytical reports have appeared, which show that, despite some significantly good numbers for the first six months of...
Report from California Agency Looks at Millennials, Baby Boomers
Sep 8 2014 // Millennials are driving a greater need for a more flexible auto insurance market, while Baby Boomers are proving new opportunities for independent agents, according to a study from a general agency headquartered in San...
Private Equity Firm HGGC Buys Into Florida Non-Standard Auto MGA Pearl Holding
Sep 8 2014 // HGGC, a middle market private equity firm, said it has completed a majority investment in Pearl Holding Group, a managing general agent (MGA) focused on the non-standard auto insurance market in Florida. As part of the...
2017 Cadillacs to Feature Hands-Free Driving, V2V Technology
Sep 8 2014 // General Motors Co., the largest U.S. automaker, will introduce a Cadillac model in two years that can travel on the highway without the driver holding the steering wheel or putting a foot on a pedal. The 2017 Cadillac...
Louisiana AG Files Suit Against State Farm over Auto Repair Practices
Sep 8 2014 // Alleging “a culture of unsafe business practices” in its handling of vehicle repairs, Louisiana’s attorney general has filed suit against insurance giant State Farm. Attorney General Buddy...
Texas Bugatti Owner Destroys Vehicle in Insurance Fraud Scheme
Sep 8 2014 // A Lufkin, Texas, man has pleaded guilty to federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, according to an announcement by U.S. Attorney John M. Bales. According to information presented in court, in October 2009,...
Usage-Based Insurance Overcoming Privacy Concerns, Gaining Traction
Sep 5 2014 // Consumers as well as commercial fleet managers are becoming more accepting of usage-based insurance (UBI) in which a telematics device is used to track driving behavior as safety and savings benefits appear to be trumping...
Group Appeals to Michigan Supreme Court in Auto Claims Case
Sep 5 2014 // A group is asking the Michigan Supreme Court to force an insurance fund that charges drivers a fee to open its books to the public. The Coalition Protecting Auto No-Fault won its case in Ingham County only to see the state...
Hacking Risk and Liability Issues Don’t Deter Makers of Driverless Cars
Sep 4 2014 // A red VW Golf jerks back and forth as it maneuvers into a parking space in the English spa town of Cheltenham. The halting efforts resemble those of a new driver, and in a sense they are — just not from the person...
Chicago Rideshare Law Requires $1M Commercial Auto, $1M CGL Cover
Sep 2 2014 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s veto of legislation that would have implemented statewide regulation of commercial rideshare organizations, or Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), put the spotlight on the Chicago...
Nationwide Eyes Growth in New Jersey Auto Insurance Market
Aug 29 2014 // Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company has begun selling its Nationwide-branded auto insurance in New Jersey this month for the first time since 1981. “So we’ve been writing business now for about two weeks and so...
How Insurance Can (or Can’t) Help You – a True Story
Aug 29 2014 // When it comes to personal lines insurance there are really only two attachment points – acquiring the policy and making a claim. The first is fairly simple, although less so if you happen to be a young driver. It’s...
State Farm Enhances Claims Reporting App with Object Recognition Technology
Aug 28 2014 // State Farm has added object recognition technology to their Pocket Agent app to make submitting an auto claim via a mobile device easier and simplify the claims process. This new technology reduces the need for typing by...
Officials: Texas Man Deliberately Ruined $1M Bugatti Car
Aug 28 2014 // Federal authorities say an East Texas man has admitted to deliberately driving his $1 million car into Gulf waters so that he could collect insurance on the vehicle. Authorities announced that 39-year-old Andy Lee House of...
Third-Party Bad Faith Claims Add $800M to Florida Auto Insurance Costs: IRC
Aug 28 2014 // Florida’s third-party bad-faith lawsuit environment may have resulted in more than $800 million in additional auto liability claim payments in 2013. The industry-supported Insurance Research Council (IRC) in a new...
EFG Companies Launch Extended Vehicle Warranty Product
Aug 27 2014 // EFG Companies has launched a vehicle service contract (VSC) called Simplicity Vehicle Protection that gives agents and brokers the ability to sell an extended warranty to clients after the purchase of the vehicle. With...
Illinois Rideshare Bills Vetoed; Insurance Groups Urge Override
Aug 27 2014 // Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn has vetoed legislation that would have imposed statewide regulations on commercial ridesharing companies, also known as transportation network companies (TNCs). Quinn said he vetoed House Bill 4075,...
Can Prop 103 Handle Driverless Cars?
Aug 27 2014 // Earlier this year, Google announced the introduction of a completely driverless car. On this blog, Eli Lehrer took time to discuss the insurance implications of such a development. Among other things, he posited that, as...
