Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mass. AG Targets 2 More Insurers’ Auto Rates for Hearing
Dec 19 2007 // Mass. Attorney General Martha Coakley has asked for two more auto insurers to defend their proposed 2008 rates at public hearings. Coakley wants Arbella Insurance and Hanover Group to explain their rates for next year when...
N.J. Turnpike Drops Lawsuit Against Deceased Drivers
Dec 19 2007 // The New Jersey Turnpike Authority admits it made a mistake suing two dead motorists for damage to the toll road. Four people died and four were injured when a truck loaded with bricks rear-ended a car last year, triggering...
Colorado’s Van Gilder Adds Three to Staff
Dec 18 2007 // Denver-based Van Gilder has added three persons to its staff. Tony Dodd has joined the firm as an account executive specializing in homeowner association risk management programs. Kyle Krisman has assumed the role of...
Auto Thefts in Ohio Drop by Nearly 10 Percent
Dec 17 2007 // The insurance industry says tracking devices and other measures to foil car thieves are working in Ohio, based on FBI data showing a nearly double-digit decline in auto thefts. A new report from the Ohio Insurance...
State Auto Completes Affiliation with Patrons Mutual of Conn.
Dec 14 2007 // Columbus, Ohio-based State Automobile Mutual Insurance Co. today completed its affiliation with the Patrons Mutual Group of Connecticut, which includes both the Patrons Mutual Insurance Company of Connecticut and...
Arrowhead Offers Package Policy Program for Contractor’s Commercial Auto
Dec 13 2007 // Arrowhead General Insurance Agency Inc. has announced a new package policy program to write contractor’s commercial auto as part of a package with general liability, property and inland marine products. The program...
Mass. Attorney General Says Auto Rates Higher Under Competition
Dec 13 2007 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley says the state’s new managed competition auto insurance system is not lowering average rates for 2008 below what they would have been under the old system where the state...
Farmers Insurance Offers One-Year Auto Policy in Alabama
Dec 11 2007 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies, including Farmers Insurance Exchange will offer an annual auto insurance policy in Alabama that will allow auto insurance policyholders and new customers to choose a full-year auto...
Farmers Insurance Introduces New Annual Auto Policy in Ohio
Dec 11 2007 // Farmers Insurance Group of Cos., including Farmers Insurance Company of Columbus recently announced a new product for its over 256,000 insurance policyholders or new policyholders in Ohio. Beginning December 17, 2007, the...
Willis Names Van der Slikke VP – Canadian Energy Operations
Dec 11 2007 // Willis Group Holdings has appointed Cees van der Slikke to Executive Vice President of the Company’s Energy Business in Canada, as well as Managing Partner of the Calgary office. He will be responsible for the...
Study: Vehicle Crash Tests Predict Car But Not Truck Safety
Dec 11 2007 // Frontal crash tests in laboratories are strong predictors of passenger cars’ safety on the road, though they fail to accurately project driver fatality risks for trucks, according to a recent Virginia Commonwealth...
N.J. Senate Passes Agent-Friendly Auto Insurance Changes
Dec 11 2007 // New Jersey insurance agents would no longer be required to offer auto insurance quotes from all of their companies under a bill recently passed by the state’s legislature. The bill, which carries the backing of both...
Several Mass. Auto Insurers under Pressure to Amend Rates for 2008
Dec 11 2007 // At least three insurers whose 2008 Massachusetts auto insurance rates have been questioned by officials have agreed to revise them and other insurers are under pressure to do the same. Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner...
ERGO Acquires 65% Stake in Korea’s Daum Direct Auto
Dec 10 2007 // German insurer ERGO, Munich Re’s primary insurance subsidiary, announced that it has reached an agreement with Daum Communications and LIG Insurance to purchase a 65 percent stake in the South Korean monoline insurer...
30% of Mass. Agents Expect to Lose Auto Business under New Managed Competition
Dec 6 2007 // Massacusetts insurance agents dealing with the switch to managed competition are expecting a lot of business movement as a result of the competitive system, with almost one-third (30.7%) predicting they will lose accounts...
Pickups, Vans Earn Top Safety Scores in Government Crash Tests
Dec 6 2007 // A dozen 2008 pickup trucks and vans earned top safety scores in government crash tests released Tuesday. The top-scoring pickups in 2008 include: Mitsubishi Raider, Toyota Tacoma, Chevrolet Silverado 1500, Dodge Dakota,...
La. Man Convicted of Insurance Fraud Related to Staged Auto Crashes
Dec 5 2007 // A Ville Platte, La., man recently was convicted on charges of insurance fraud and theft related to alleged staged traffic accidents. On Nov. 29, 2007, a six person jury in the 15th Judicial District Court of Lafayette...
Progressive Adding Second Mass. Auto License
Dec 4 2007 // A second major carrier has begun making inroads to the soon-to-be-deregulated Bay State auto insurance market, although it has stopped short of saying it will sell Massachusetts personal auto policies in 2008. The...
How Mass. Agents Feel About Managed Competition, Credit Scoring
Dec 2 2007 // Insurance agents in Massachusetts support the state’s move to managed competition in private passenger auto insurance but oppose insurers’ use of credit scoring in rating or underwriting. They are expecting a...
Pets to be Covered Under Auto Insurance
Dec 2 2007 // At least one U.S. auto insurance company is now offering coverage for pets. Progressive Corp. is providing collision coverage for customers’ dogs or cats at no additional premium cost. It will pay up to $500 if a...
