Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
No April Fool’s Prank: Mass. Drivers Really Can Shop Around Starting Today
Apr 1 2008 // Today — April Fool’s Day — is the day when competitive rating in the Massachusetts private passenger auto insurance market becomes real. No kidding. For the first time in more than three decades, the state is...
Farmers Offers New Auto Package in Ohio and Indiana
Mar 31 2008 // Farmers Ins. of Columbus, Inc. and Indiana Farmers Insurance Co. are introducing Farmers FlexSM, a new package of options that can reward drivers for being accident-free. “Our research shows that many policyholders...
California Trio Arrested for International Auto Insurance Fraud
Mar 31 2008 // Three individuals have been arrested in California for allegedly being involved in a five-person conspiracy that resulted in a vehicle owned by one of the conspirators driven to Mexico where it was “chopped”...
North Carolina Insurance Agent Ordered to Hide his Fire Truck
Mar 31 2008 // State Farm insurance agent Darin Morton has had a fully functioning fire truck parked in front of his office in the Charlotte, N.C. suburb of Pineville for six years. But The Charlotte Observer reports that...
New Jersey Weighs Mandatory Car Seat Belt Requirement
Mar 27 2008 // New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine on Wednesday will officially receive a recommendation that the state require all motor vehicle passengers to wear seat belts. It’s part of a report on teen driving safety and comes...
Texas’ Minimum Auto Liability Limits to Increase on April 1
Mar 25 2008 // The minimum amount of automobile liability insurance Texas drivers are required to carry for bodily injury/property damage will increase on April 1 from the current $20,000/$40,000/$15,000 (“20/40/15”) coverage...
Rhodebeck Elected State Auto Insurance Cos. Vice President
Mar 25 2008 // Lyle D. Rhodebeck was recently named director of operational effectiveness of the State Auto Insurance Companies and was elected vice president by the Boards of Directors of State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co., State...
The Long and Short of the New Mass. Auto System
Mar 24 2008 // The new managed care auto insurance system that is underway in Massachusetts should benefit most consumers as well as the state’s local insurers in the short run, according to a new report by Fitch Ratings. However,...
Group Criticizes California Commissioner For Not Dropping Uninsured Motorist Initiative
Mar 24 2008 // Consumer advocacy and public policy research group The Greenlining Institute is questioning whether California Commissioner Steve Poizner made a “masked attempt to target the poor.” According to a letter sent...
California Auto Club Affiliate, Settles Suit, Will Refund $22.5 Million
Mar 24 2008 // The insurance affiliate of the Automobile Club of Southern California (the Interinsurance Exchange of the Automobile Club) will issue $22.5 million in refunds to approximately 120,000 policyholders to resolve lawsuits...
Study: Repealing Colorado’s No-fault Auto Law Reduced Claims
Mar 24 2008 // The repeal of Colorado’s no-fault automobile insurance law in 2004 has helped to reduce claims costs in the state, according to a recently released study by the Insurance Research Council. In 2004, the first year...
First Auto Policy Sold 110 Years Ago Today
Mar 24 2008 // Feb. 27, 2008, marked a significant anniversary in the history of insurance: 110 years since the first auto insurance policy. That policy was sold in 1898 by Traveler’s Insurance Co. to Dr. Truman Martin of Buffalo,...
Mass. Agents Find Out What Their Auto Customers are Thinking
Mar 24 2008 // As Massachusetts independent agents enter a new era in auto insurance, they can’t help but be a bit anxious. After all, they have for years had a lock on more than 85 percent of the auto market under the previous...
When it Comes to Insurance Cycles, Mutuals and Stocks Behave Differently
Mar 24 2008 // Difference is tied to how mutual insurers build market share, says Conning researcher When it comes to managing through a soft cycle, it turns out mutual companies behave in a way that’s different than their...
Car Crash Deaths Increase Starting at Age 12, Study Finds
Mar 24 2008 // Child passengers, ages 12 to 16, are more likely to die in a car crash than younger children, according to a study released in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. This risk increases with each teenage...
Progressive Insurance Sponsors $10M X-Prize for Fuel Efficient Vehicle
Mar 21 2008 // The X Prize Foundation, best known for its competitions promoting space flights, is offering $10 million (euro6.37 million) to the teams that can produce the most production-ready vehicles that get 100 miles per gallon or...
Conn. Bill Banning Credit Scores for Auto Insurance Dies in Committee
Mar 19 2008 // A Connecticut bill that would have banned insurers in from rating Nutmeg State drivers using credit scores has died in committee. The bill has passed a procedure deadline set by the General Assembly’s Insurance and...
Allstate Lowering Auto Rates in California
Mar 19 2008 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced a 15.9 percent decrease in auto insurance rates for customers of Allstate Insurance Co. and Allstate Indemnity Co. This $244 million reduction culminates months of...
Man Critically Injured in Fiery Connecticut Crash in 2005 Dies
Mar 18 2008 // A commuter bus driver who was critically injured in the 2005 crash involving a runaway dump truck at the base of Connecticut’s Avon Mountain has died at his Torrington home, family members and colleagues said. Frank...
High Metal Prices Spur Car-Towing Schemes in Pennsylvania
Mar 18 2008 // Harrisburg, Pennsylvania police say a woman recently noticed that her car had been tagged as abandoned and rushed down to the state transportation building to clear up the problem. When she got back, the tag was gone...
