Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
There’s an App for That: Mobile Phone Quoting
Feb 21 2012 // Don’t be surprised if in the not-too-distant future on a television commercial you see Flo, adorned in her white apron, drop her price scanner and pick up a smartphone, on which she takes a picture of a...
Feds Seek Limit on Vehicle Electronics to Curb Distracted Driving
Feb 21 2012 // The Obama administration wants automakers to put limits on vehicle technologies that permit texting and cellphone calling when a car is moving, as part of a broader effort to stop driving behaviors that could be...
Earthquake Simulator to Be Built at University of Alabama
Feb 21 2012 // There aren’t very many rooms in the world that can successfully reproduce the devastating effects of an earthquake. But come May 1, a laboratory on the University of Alabama campus may be able to do just that. Work...
North Carolina Continues Auto Insurance Deregulation Debate; Rates Stay Same for 2012
Feb 20 2012 // Auto insurers in North Carolina are once again divided over the prospect of changing how the state sets insurance rates with some insurers advocating for rate deregulation while others are supporting the status quo. The...
Long-time California Insurance Lobbyist Looks to 2012 Legislation
Feb 20 2012 // John Norwood is one of California’s best known legislative advocates for the insurance and financial services sectors. Norwood, principal of Norwood & Associates, has garnered recognition for his political work...
Washington Senate Passes $100 Annual Electric Car Fee
Feb 20 2012 // The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to charge electric car owners a $100 annual fee to compensate for the lack of gas taxes they pay. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, the Camano Island Democrat who sponsored the bill,...
State Auto Increases Specialty Business in 2011
Feb 16 2012 // State Auto Financial Corp., headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, reported fourth quarter 2011 net income of $100.6 million, or $2.49 per diluted share, versus $37.6 million, or $0.94 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter...
Trucking Industry Fights Obama Rules on Driver Fatigue
Feb 15 2012 // Trucking companies are going to court to fight Obama Administration rules designed to assure that commercial truckers on the road get proper rest. The American Trucking Association said it filed a petition this week with...
China Agrees to Open Up Auto Insurance Market
Feb 14 2012 // U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that China had agreed to an important financial sector reform by opening up its massive auto insurance market to foreign competition. Biden said that during a meeting with U.S....
Washington Senate Passes $100 Annual Electric Car Fee
Feb 14 2012 // The Washington state Senate has passed a bill to charge electric car owners a $100 annual fee to compensate for the lack of gas taxes they pay. Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen, the Camano Island Democrat who sponsored the bill,...
Florida Lawmakers Weigh Texting While Driving Ban
Feb 13 2012 // Joyce Concklin has 10 good reasons why every state should pass a ban on texting while driving: That’s the number of bones she broke when a texting driver ran into her. That driver died, his mobile phone still...
Virginia Bill to Ban Unauthorized GPS Tracking Advances
Feb 10 2012 // The problem encountered by Del. Joe May’s constituent seemed simple enough to solve. The citizen had taken his car in for service and was shocked when the mechanic found a GPS device attached to the undercarriage....
TomTom Sees Potential in Europe’s Auto Insurance Market; Motaquote Signs On
Feb 8 2012 // TomTom satnavs will in future help insurers tell the difference between a good driver and a bad one under a scheme designed to revive the Dutch navigation device maker’s flagging fortunes. The company, which made its...
Best Upgrades Fremont Ratings; Affirms Auto Club Group, P/C Members
Feb 7 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of Michigan-based...
Fremont Insurance Co. Ratings Upgraded; Auto Club Group Affirmed
Feb 7 2012 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating (ICR) to “a” from “a-” of Fremont Insurance Co. (Fremont) of Fremont,...
Mercury Insurance Launches Commercial Auto Product
Feb 7 2012 // Mercury Insurance has introduced a commercial auto product that offers agents a new point-of-sale system that makes it easy to rate, qualify and issue new business, as well as online service capabilities. The new product...
North Carolina Continues Auto Regulation Debate As Rates Stay Same for 2012
Feb 7 2012 // Auto insurers in North Carolina are once again divided over the prospect of changing how the state sets insurance rates with some insurers advocating for rate deregulation while others are supporting the status quo. The...
Long-time California Lobbyist Looks to 2012 Legislation Affecting Insurance
Feb 6 2012 // John Norwood is one of California’s best known legislative advocates for the insurance and financial services sectors. Norwood, principal of Norwood & Associates, has garnered recognition for his political work...
Paying for Insurance Fraud
Feb 6 2012 // There has been a lot of auto insurance fraud news in recent months, with stories of scam artists going after big payouts from insurance companies. In New York State, such fraud is raising the auto insurance cost for many...
Six Northeastern States Saw Average Auto Premium Rates Fall, NAIC Says
Feb 6 2012 // Six Northeastern states saw their annual average auto premium fall, according to the latest data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. They are: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,...
