Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Seat Belts Not Buckled in 59% of Alabama Car Crash Fatalities
Apr 4 2013 // Alabama Department of Transportation officials said more than half of the people killed in car crashes last year were not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. State officials released a report based on...
Risk Point, LLC Seeks Agents for New Auto Dealer Physical Damage Program
Apr 3 2013 // New managing general agency Risk Point, LLC, is now accepting applications from independent agents and brokers throughout the United States to provide automobile dealer physical damage coverage for qualified franchised and...
Mass. Regulators Received Over 10K Auto Insurance Complaints, Inquiries in 2012
Apr 3 2013 // Massachusetts regulators said 10,729 consumers had contacted the state’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation and its insurance division in 2012 with questions and complaints regarding their auto...
High-Tech Personal Lines: Technology Changing the Way Agents Do Business
Apr 3 2013 // Many believe there is still opportunity for independent insurance agents and their carriers to grab personal lines market share. But to do so they must find a way to compete against the giant direct response and captive...
Georgia Residents Recall Tornado of 40 Years Ago
Apr 3 2013 // Like many people who lived in Athens, Georgia at the time, Anne Shepherd clearly remembers March 31, 1973 — the day the tornado hit. Shepherd, owner of downtown’s Chick Music store, had gone out to a house on North...
19 States Approve ISO’s Telematics-Based Auto Rating Tool
Apr 2 2013 // Insurance technical and policy services organization ISO said it has filed its first vehicle telematics-based rating rule with insurance regulators in 33 states and received approvals in 19 states. The GeoMetric rating...
Everest Re, Arrowhead Agree to Offer Non-Standard Auto Coverage
Apr 1 2013 // Everest Re Group, Ltd. wholly-owned primary insurance subsidiary, Everest Security Insurance Company, (ESIC) has entered into a definitive agreement with Arrowhead General Insurance Agency, Inc., a subsidiary of Brown...
4 Insurers to Reimburse Mass. Drivers to Settle Allegations of Overcharges
Mar 29 2013 // Four auto insurers have settled allegations that they overcharged Massachusetts consumers relating to auto insurance surcharges that were overturned by the state’s Board of Appeal, or otherwise removed from state...
Ex-New Orleans Policeman Pleads Guilty to Criminal Mischief in Car Crash
Mar 29 2013 // A former New Orleans police officer accused last fall of falsifying a police report to cover up an alleged hit-and-run accident in his personal car has pleaded to a lesser charge. The Times-Picayune reports 39-year-old...
10 Things to Know About Home and Auto
Mar 29 2013 // There are more than 132 million housing units in the United States, more than 80 million of which are detached, single-family homes, and roughly one-in-four of those homes were built prior to the 1970s. (U.S. Census...
North Carolina Bill Would End Motorcycle Helmet Mandate for Adults
Mar 28 2013 // Legislation that would end North Carolina’s mandatory helmet law and make it optional for riders age 21 and over won support from the majority in a divided state House panel this week. On a voice vote, the House...
North Carolina’s ‘Other’ Auto Insurance Market
Mar 27 2013 // I’ve already covered in these pages some of the things the editorial pages of North Carolina’s leading newspapers are getting wrong about S.B. 154, legislation to modernize the state’s system of setting...
SeaFire Insurance Services Seeks Agency Partners in Wisconsin, Illinois
Mar 27 2013 // Overland Park, Kan.-based SeaFire Insurance Services announced it is actively seeking new agency partners in Wisconsin and Illinois for its exclusive auto dealer and repair insurance program. SeaFire will consider...
2012 Insurance M&A Snapshot
Mar 25 2013 // Here is a snapshot of the property/casualty insurance industry merger and acquisition activity reported byInsurance Journal in 2012. Major carrier transactions included Nationwide’s acquisition of Harleysville, The...
Massachusetts Sees Dramatic Dip in Car Thefts
Mar 24 2013 // Car thefts in Massachusetts have dropped by 88 percent since the mid-1970s, when the state had the dubious distinction of being the country’s car theft capital. Insurance experts and law enforcement officials credit...
Alaska Insurance Division Offers Car Accident App
Mar 22 2013 // The Alaska Division of Insurance is offering a free app that officials say can help drivers involved in car accidents. Officials say the WreckCheck app was developed by the National Association of Insurance...
State Auto Introduces Data Compromise Plus
Mar 22 2013 // The State Auto Insurance Cos. have created a new data breach policy called Data Compromise Plus to address this growing coverage need faced by small businesses. Data Compromise Plus automatically includes coverage for...
Esurance and Walmart Team Up for Auto Insurance Discount Program
Mar 22 2013 // Esurance is launching a pilot program offering auto insurance discounts to customers at select Walmart stores in Illinois. Through the pilot program, drivers may obtain a savings card from Esurance kiosks located in...
Colorado Could be Next to Allow Phones To Prove Car Insurance
Mar 20 2013 // License, registration and proof of insurance. The officer’s request could soon be met in part using a smartphone in Colorado. The Colorado Senate voted unanimously Tuesday for an update to the state’s car...
West Virginia Senate Committee Backs Higher Auto Minimum Limits
Mar 20 2013 // A West Virginia Senate committee advanced a bill this week that would likely increase car insurance premiums for drivers who can least afford it, but also expand liability coverage for the highest-risk drivers. The bill...
