Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers’ Group Urges R.I. Governor to Veto Auto Body Legislation
Jul 8 2013 // The Rhode Island Legislature passed legislation before adjournment on July 3 that could impact the pockets of Rhode Islanders when they have to pay for auto body repairs, according to the Property Casualty Insurers...
NICB Report Ranks Vehicle Theft Rates in Northeast
Jul 3 2013 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau released its report last week on a per capita review of vehicle thefts from the nation’s Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The report, based on 2012 data, shows that California...
California’s Low Cost Auto Insurance Program Reduces Rates
Jul 2 2013 // The California Department of Insurance (CDI) is reducing rates for the California Low Cost Auto Insurance Program (CLCA) for the second year in a row. With annual premiums starting between $226 and $338, the program helps...
San Francisco Bay Area Car Rental Startup Faces Lawsuit
Jul 1 2013 // Out of a tiny, green shack on a parking lot in an industrial area south of San Francisco International Airport, three teenagers are trying to change the airport car rental business. To do it, all they need are your cars,...
Illinois Man Sentenced for Multi-State Auto Theft Scheme
Jun 27 2013 // A Madison, Ill., man faced jail time after being convicted in for an auto theft scheme that spanned Illinois and Missouri, according to federal officials. The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois,...
Car Thefts Up for First Time in Years
Jun 26 2013 // U.S. auto thefts probably rose in 2012 after eight straight years of declines as criminals took advantage of California’s budget cuts and reduced police forces, an insurance-industry group said. Thefts rose 1.3...
Social Media Is Here to Stay, Texas P/C Professionals Say
Jun 26 2013 // The value of social media as a tool for marketing and selling property/casualty insurance may be a matter of debate but one thing is for certain: While the nature of social media may be evolving, it’s not going...
Auto Insurance Customer Satisfaction Drops Due to Rising Rates: J.D. Power
Jun 24 2013 // Due to rising insurance prices and some unhappiness with policy offerings, overall customer satisfaction with auto insurance companies is down in 2013 from an all-time high in 2012, but remains comparatively high relative...
Virginia SIU Investigator Wins Award for Work on Staged Accident Case
Jun 21 2013 // A staged accident investigation in Roanoke, Va., led to an award for a Nationwide Insurance special investigator. Suzy Clingman-Taylor was named Investigator of the Year by the Virginia Chapter of the International...
Industry Group Opposes Massachusetts Proposal to Set Auto Labor Rates
Jun 21 2013 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies is opposing bills currently under consideration in Massachusetts that would require the state to set a minimum hourly labor rate that insurers must pay for auto...
Oklahoma Twister Victims Face Long Recovery, Insurance Woes
Jun 20 2013 // When the big twister hit, Maylene Sorrels huddled with her students in the halls of Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. Cowering, she covered the student’s heads. Then Sorrels, a teacher’s aide,...
Alaska Driver Awarded $375K For Crash With Patrol Car
Jun 20 2013 // A man whose pickup was smashed by a patrol car driven by an Anchorage, Alaska police officer running red light was awarded $375,000 in damages. The Anchorage Daily News reported the jury Friday chose not to award $2.5...
Illinois Motorcycle Fatalities Climb 13 Percent
Jun 18 2013 // Fatal motorcycle accidents are up 13 percent in Illinois, according to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The State Journal-Register reported there were 131 motorcycle fatalities in 2010, a figure that...
Analysts: Travelers/Dominion Deal Makes Sense, More U.S.-Canadian M&A May Follow
Jun 18 2013 // The Travelers Companies’ decision to acquire Dominion of Canada General Insurance, a unit of E-L Financial Corp., for $1.1 billion makes strategic sense, according to analysts. The acquisition now allows Travelers to...
Electronic Proof of Auto Insurance Coming to Indiana
Jun 17 2013 // Indiana drivers who have to show proof of insurance to police after an accident or traffic violation can do so electronically starting July 1 under a new law that signals an increasing use of technology in insurance...
Survey: Texting While Driving Common Among N.J. Drivers
Jun 17 2013 // New Jersey auto insurance group Plymouth Rock Assurance released a distracted driving study that found nearly 50 percent of those polled said they have in the past asked a driver to stop texting while the car was in...
Motorcycle Injuries Rise After Helmet Laws Weakened: Study
Jun 17 2013 // The average medical claim from a motorcycle crash rose by more than one-fifth last year in Michigan after the state stopped requiring all riders to wear helmets, according to an insurance industry study. For more than 40...
Calif. Auto Insurance Down over Quarter-Century, Groups Debate Why
Jun 14 2013 // The average California auto insurance expenditure fell from 1989 to 2010, while every other state in the nation saw substantial increases over that same period, according to a Consumer Federation of America analysis auto...
Ohio May Allow Car Insurance Proof by Smartphone
Jun 14 2013 // Ohio drivers could provide required proof of insurance using smartphones rather than the typical printed card under a proposed change in state law. The bill would allow drivers to prove they are insured through information...
Mass. DOI Proposes Regulation on Auto Glass Repair Steering; Hearing Scheduled
Jun 13 2013 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance said it will hold a public hearing on June 28 regarding the proposed new regulation 211 CMR 135.00, “Requirements Regarding Referrals to Motor Vehicle Glass Repair...
