Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tough New DWI Laws Take Effect in New York
Nov 5 2013 // New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Nov. 1 that individuals who drive drunk with a conditional license will now face a felony, which is the same penalty for those who drive drunk with a revoked license. Previously,...
UPS Driver in Michigan Works 51 Years, No Crashes
Nov 1 2013 // UPS driver Tom Camp from Livonia, Mich., and his big, brown truck have done something no other UPS driver has accomplished: 51 years without an accident. That’s after an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 miles on the road...
ISO Launches Standardized Motorcycle Program for Personal Lines Insurers
Oct 30 2013 // ISO has filings underway for its new standardized motorcycle program. The program consists of forms, rules, and loss costs tailored to fit the specific requirements for insuring a motorcycle. The base policy provides...
Insurance Company Pays $16K to Vermont Auto Customers
Oct 30 2013 // Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation says a Wisconsin-based insurance company has paid nearly $16,000 in restitution to Vermont auto insurance customers whose damage claims were not evaluated properly. An...
Insurers Rated on Customer Satisfaction with Auto Claims: J.D. Power
Oct 30 2013 // Customer satisfaction with auto insurance claims handling is improving, due in large part to insurers’ improvements in managing the first notice of loss (FNOL) process and providing faster payments to claimants,...
Usage-Based Auto Insurance on Road to Becoming Standard Offering
Oct 29 2013 // Technology is spurring innovation and altering risk scenarios throughout the economy including in auto insurance. While advanced auto safety features, the shared economy and driverless cars promise to reshape auto...
Rusbuldt on McKinsey 2: Agent-Carrier Relationships Make a Difference
Oct 29 2013 // Bob Rusbuldt, president and CEO of the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of America – the Big “I”- takes issue with a McKinsey report that claims local independent agents will soon be extinct. In this...
Why McKinsey’s Prediction of Demise of Independent Agents Is ‘Dead Wrong’
Oct 28 2013 // A recent report from McKinsey & Co. had some bad news for local property/casualty insurance agents— many of them will be out of business within the next five to 10 years. McKinsey contends that “the economics...
Texas DPS Touts Success of Border Crime, Vehicle Safety Initiative
Oct 25 2013 // The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced that a multi-agency law enforcement initiative, dubbed Operation Strong Safety, that targeted crime, unsafe commercial vehicles and unsafe driving practices has been...
State Auto’s Restrepo Takes Over As PCI Chair
Oct 25 2013 // State Auto Insurance Companies President, Chairman and CEO Bob Restrepo has been elected chair of the board of governors of the 1,000-member Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). The one-year term began...
GEICO Success Highlights Advertising Dollars vs. Agent Commissions Debate
Oct 22 2013 // Direct writer GEICO’s success in auto insurance sales is due to spending dollars on effective advertising rather than on agents, according to recent research from analysts at Nomura Equity Research, which notes that...
Sixth Circuit Highlights the Importance of Policy Definitions
Oct 21 2013 // In one of the more unusual cases interpreting terms of an insurance policy, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati highlighted the importance of policy definitions, finding in Bennett v. State Farm Mut. Auto Ins....
The Future is Now for Usage-Based Auto Insurance
Oct 21 2013 // Technology is spurring innovation and altering risk scenarios throughout the economy including in auto insurance. While advanced auto safety features, the shared economy and driverless cars promise to reshape auto...
The Robots Are Coming!
Oct 21 2013 // Robots of the future could improve business efficiencies, but companies must implement risk management beyond legal requirements to minimize accidents and damage to their reputation. In recent years, robotics applications...
Insurance Media CEO, an Ex-Cop, Pulls Man From Burning Wreck
Oct 17 2013 // There may be no such thing as a retired cop; it’s more like they are “off duty.” It’s a mindset that many former police officers and emergency response professionals seem to share. After spending 16...
Premium Finance Firm to Pay $160K for Prematurely Canceling Mass. Auto Policies
Oct 17 2013 // A New York-based premium financing provider has agreed to pay $160,000 to resolve allegations that it illegally cancelled certain financed auto insurance policies affecting close to 100 Massachusetts customers, according...
Study: Michigan Auto Costs Can Drop if Lifetime Care Stays
Oct 16 2013 // Michigan can lower auto insurance premiums without making major changes to the state’s no-fault system proposed in legislation that has stalled for months, according to a nonpartisan report issued Oct. 14. The...
Fatal Crashes Seem to Be Decreasing in Wisconsin
Oct 15 2013 // Traffic fatalities appear to be decreasing in Wisconsin, in large part because of a drop in motorcyclists’ deaths, traffic officials said. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation said 396 people had died in...
Progressive: Investment Income Slips; Premiums and Auto Policies Up
Oct 10 2013 // Progressive Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. auto insurer, said profit dropped 16 percent as investment income declined for a 12th straight quarter. Third-quarter net income decreased to $232.4 million, or 39 cents a share,...
Georgia Auto Parts Plant Cited 18 Times by OSHA Since 2009: Report
Oct 9 2013 // Representatives of a car parts manufacturing company say they’ve remedied several issues and have increased training after receiving the most federal safety violations in Georgia. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution...
