Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lawmakers Aim to Roll Back Texas’ 2003 Insurance Reforms
Mar 23 2009 // Reforms to the Texas insurance regulatory system put in place by Senate Bill 14 in 2003 are under attack by a coalition of state lawmakers who have filed bills to, among other things, return the rate setting process for...
Geico to Sell Auto Insurance in Massachusetts
Mar 23 2009 // Geico is entering the auto insurance market in Massachusetts. State Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes confirmed in a statement Friday that the nation’s third-largest auto insurer has filed to begin selling...
Swett & Crawford Names Peterson to Head New Auto Program
Mar 23 2009 // Swett & Crawford appointed Robert Peterson as program manager for a new product, the Swett & Crawford Program for Contractors Auto, to be marketed with its carrier partner, Travelers Companies Inc. Before joining...
Mass. AG Questions Insurer’s High Risk Insurance Auto Rates
Mar 23 2009 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley wants a public hearing to review the auto insurance rates of a new company entering the market in Massachusetts. Occidental Fire and Casualty Insurance Co. of North Carolina is...
Truck Owner Pleads Guilty in 2005 Connecticut Crash
Mar 19 2009 // A Connecticut trucking company owner whose poorly maintained dump truck lost control and caused a fiery crash that killed four people in 2005 has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and assault charges. David Wilcox, 73,...
Mass. Commissioner Reverses Plan to Drop Auto Surcharge Appeals Board
Mar 19 2009 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Nonnie Burnes has reversed her plan to scrap the Bay State’s Board of Appeals — part of the long-standing system through which drivers could appeal insurance surcharges they...
Auto Loan Delinquency Rate Up Nearly 9%
Mar 18 2009 // The percentage of auto loans past due 60 days or more rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared with the prior-year period, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion. And the numbers point to auto...
Michigan Uncovers Agency’s Fake Auto Insurance Certificate Scheme
Mar 18 2009 // Michigan officials have warned consumers that they may have unknowingly purchased fraudulent automobile insurance certificates from a Detroit-based insurance agency named Fender Bender Insurance Agency. The Office of...
Las Cruces Vehicle Impound Ordinance Approved
Mar 17 2009 // The Las Cruces, N.M., City Council has approved an ordinance that will allow Las Cruces police officers to impound vehicles that are uninsured, and those that are driven by drivers who are unlicensed, or whose license to...
Report: New York Fraud Investigations Yielded 755 Arrests Last Year
Mar 17 2009 // Investigations by The New York State Insurance Department Frauds Bureau led to 755 arrests in 2008 — a slight increase over 2007 and and the highest arrest total since 2004, the department said. “Arrests for...
MetLife Auto & Home Names Regional Sales Managers in California
Mar 16 2009 // MetLife Auto & Home has appointed Hemet, Calif., resident Daniel Slaten regional sales manager, to oversee the company’s growth plans in the Inland Empire, Calif., territory, including Riverside, San Bernardino...
Ohio Windstorm Losses in Feb. Reach Nearly $89M; Ike Losses Rise
Mar 16 2009 // Ohio’s Feb. 11-12 windstorm caused at least $88.9 million in damages, based on preliminary insured loss estimates from the Ohio Insurance Institute (OII), an insurance industry trade group. Widespread losses were...
Bills Filed to Roll Back Texas 2003 Insurance Reforms
Mar 16 2009 // Reforms to the Texas insurance regulatory system put in place by Senate Bill 14 in 2003 are under attack by a coalition of state lawmakers who have filed bills to, among other things, return the rate setting process for...
North Dakota Rental Car Insurance Change Fails
Mar 13 2009 // The North Dakota House has defeated a change in how the state’s insurance laws affect people who rent cars. North Dakota law now says if someone has an accident in a rental car, the rental company’s insurance...
Arizona House Committee Considers Mandatory Auto Insurance Amendment
Mar 12 2009 // The Arizona House Banking and Insurance Committee is evaluating a bill that would make changes to the state’s mandatory vehicle insurance requirements. According to bill text, in November 1997, Arizona began allowing...
Michigan Denies Auto Insurance Rate Hikes Because of Credit Scoring
Mar 11 2009 // Michigan’s regulator has reignited a debate over credit scoring by denying auto insurance companies requested rate increases because their proposed rate schemes include discounts for good credit scores. Commissioner...
Japanese Officials Hear About Auto Insurance From Michigan Chief
Mar 10 2009 // Last week, Michigan Insurance Commissioner Ken Ross met with Japanese officials to discuss how the agency regulates automobile insurance in Michigan. The Michigan officials met with Kunio Nakajima, director of Government...
Montana Legislators To Evaluate Auto Repair, Bad Faith Bills
Mar 10 2009 // The Montana legislature will hear bills this week related to auto body repair and what the insurance industry is calling bad faith legislation that could drastically affect the state’s insurance market and insurance...
UK’s Admiral Auto Insurance to Open Virginia Operations Center
Mar 9 2009 // The American subsidiary of a United Kingdom-based auto insurer says it’s going to open an operations center and bring 40 to 50 jobs to the Richmond area. Admiral Americas and the Greater Richmond Partnership...
New Jersey Teen Hurt in Stolen Auto Denied Medical Benefits
Mar 9 2009 // New Jersey’s Supreme Court said a passenger in a stolen vehicle can’t collect medical benefits under an auto insurance policy, even if the person doesn’t know the vehicle was stolen. Last week’s 5-2...
