Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Western Insurance Agents Roundtable: In Uncertain Economy, Change Is Certain
Jan 5 2012 // The economy, the promised-land of a hard insurance market and the need to master technologies dominated discussion at the first annual Insurance Industry Roundtable in Irvine, Calif. The daylong event was attended by 23...
Honda Owner Bypasses Class Action in California, Hopes Others Follow
Jan 4 2012 // A woman who expected her 2006 Honda Civic Hybrid to be her dream car wants Honda to pay for not delivering the high mileage it promised. But rather than joining other owners in a class-action lawsuit, she is going solo in...
San Bernardino County Settles Motorcycle Claim for $3 Million
Jan 4 2012 // San Bernardino County has agreed to pay $3 million to settle a lawsuit that blamed dangerous road conditions for a motorcycle crash that left a passenger with head and neck injuries. The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported...
South Carolina Considers Mandating Motorcycle Helmets for All Riders
Jan 4 2012 // State lawmakers in South Carolina are considering modifying a 30-year old law so that all motorcycle riders in the state must wear helmets. South Carolina State Senator Ralph Anderson (D-Greenville) is sponsoring a bill...
Allstate Offers Claim Satisfaction Guarantee
Jan 3 2012 // Allstate has decided to expand a claims guarantee to their auto insurance customers that will provide a credit to their auto policies if they are not satisfied with their auto claims service. The claim satisfaction...
Maryland Court: Premium Financing Firms Overcharged Auto Policyholders
Dec 30 2011 // A Maryland court ruled last week that the state’s largest premium financing companies were engaged in illegal financing practices against auto insurance policyholders. In Maryland, most auto insurance policyholders...
State Auto Financial: Changes to Pooling Agreement Approved
Dec 30 2011 // State Auto Financial Corp. has received regulatory approval for proposed changes to the intercompany reinsurance pooling agreement for the State Auto Group, the company reports. With all necessary regulatory approvals from...
Propane Truck Crash Spurs Evacuation In Montana
Dec 28 2011 // Missoula, Mont. authorities say part of Reserve Street is closed and the immediate area is being evacuated after a head-on collision between a propane truck and another vehicle. Reserve Street is closed between Mullan Road...
Auto Insurance Claim Costs Rising Again
Dec 28 2011 // Auto insurance claim costs countrywide have recently increased, reversing previous trends of declining or relatively stable costs. A new report from the Insurance Research Council (IRC), “Trends in Auto Injury...
Insurers Divided Over North Carolina Auto Insurance System
Dec 27 2011 // Is it more important to keep overall car insurance premiums low, or to make sure everyone’s paying what they deserve? North Carolina legislators once again examining the unique rate-setting system for the...
Obama Administration Decides Against Lowering Trucker Daily Hours
Dec 27 2011 // The Obama administration decided against a cut in truckers’ daily hours behind the wheel, to the dismay of safety advocates, but made other changes aimed at fighting driver fatigue. The rule issued last Thursday...
Consumer Group Hammers Mercury Rate Increase Filing in California
Dec 22 2011 // A California consumer group is challenging a rate hike bid by Mercury Insurance because the group claims the company is trying to pass along the costs of its political campaigning. But the insurer says those costs are not...
For Florida Gov. Scott, Insurance Fixes Are Legislative Priority
Dec 21 2011 // Gov. Rick Scott wants lawmakers to fix a pair of auto and property insurance issues that are costing Floridians hundreds of millions of dollars but have eluded resolution for more than a decade. The issue facing the...
Insurers May Open ‘Black Box’ Telematics to Escape Gender Ban
Dec 21 2011 // Motor [auto] insurers seeking to get around a European ban on charging male drivers more than women are turning to innovative black box technology that could trigger an upheaval in the way car insurance is...
West Virginia AG Sues Insurer, Auto Repair Shop
Dec 20 2011 // West Virginia Attorney General Darrell McGraw said last week that his office has sued Liberty Mutual Insurance Company and an auto repair shop. The attorney general says the defendants allegedly repaired vehicles with what...
Fact or Fiction? Insurance Tidbits of Known and Little-Known Information
Dec 16 2011 // Have you ever wondered how modern-day fire departments began? Or why agents buy E&O coverage? What about when the first business owners policy launched? These are just a few questions that Insurance Journal and Claims...
National Transportation Board Recommends Ban on Driver Cell Phone Use
Dec 14 2011 // States should ban all driver use of cell phones and other portable electronic devices, except in emergencies, the National Transportation Board said Tuesday. The recommendation, unanimously agreed to by the five-member...
Canada Pulls Out of Kyoto Climate Change Protocol; First Country To Do So
Dec 13 2011 // On Monday Canada became the first country to announce it would withdraw from the Kyoto protocol on climate change, dealing a symbolic blow to the already troubled global treaty. Environment Minister Peter Kent broke the...
Wisconsin Governor Signs Bill Capping Attorney Fees
Dec 9 2011 // Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill designed to limit attorneys’ fees after a well-known lemon law lawyer collected more than $150,000 in an auto-repair dispute. The measure, part of Walker’s special...
‘MythBusters’ Cannonball Rips Through House, Van
Dec 8 2011 // A stunt for the TV show “MythBusters” sent an errant cannonball through a California family’s house and into a parked minivan a few hundred feet away. Producers for the Discovery Channel show fired the...
