Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
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...
Mass. Auto Insurers Get Into Gear for Competition
Dec 2 2007 // Most plan to cut rates as state moves ahead with plan for managed competition for 2008 Auto insurance carriers are looking to compete by rewarding drivers with good driving records, good grades, hybrid vehicles, property...
Case Watch
Dec 2 2007 // Actions and Proceedings In Re Madrid Tex. App. El Paso Oct. 11, 2007 Reservation of rights letter protected by work product privilege. A party injured in a motor vehicle accident sued the insured. The injured party made a...
From Insurance Consumer to Commissioner
Dec 2 2007 // While the position of California Insurance Commissioner is elected and there are already rumblings that he’d make a good gubernatorial candidate in 2010, current California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner says...
Calif. Commissioner Files Uninsured Motorist Ballot Initiative
Dec 2 2007 // Proving rumors true, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has filed a draft ballot initiative with the state Attorney General’s office designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists on state roads...
Encompass Adjusts Mass. Auto Rates for 2008
Nov 30 2007 // Encompass Insurance has further lowered its 2008 Massachusetts auto insurance rates for preferred risks by 5 percent, resulting in an overall statewide average decrease of 4.5 percent compared to the 3.4 percent in its...
Mass. Auto Insurers Pressed to Lower 2008 Rates Even More
Nov 28 2007 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley is pressing auto insurers in the state to lower their 2008 rates, arguing that their initial filings last week included more than $200 million in extra profits and payments to...
Arbella, MetLife, Main Street Amend Mass. Rates; OneBeacon Unveils Plans
Nov 28 2007 // Several Massachusetts auto insurers have amended last week’s filings to further lower rates and increase discounts for safe drivers while another revealed its plans for 2008 under the new managed care system. MetLife...
Mapquest Printout Leads to N.Y. Insurance Fraud Sentencing
Nov 28 2007 // A 36-year-old Rochester, N.Y. man, whose Mapquest directions led police to his home, was sentenced to five years probation in Monroe County Court on Nov. 26 for trying to fraudulently obtain a $10,282 insurance...
Calif. Commissioner Files Uninsured Motorist Ballot Initiative
Nov 27 2007 // Proving rumors true, California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has filed a draft ballot initiative with the state Attorney General’s office designed to reduce the number of uninsured motorists on state roads...
State Auto Names Allison Director of Government Relations
Nov 26 2007 // Columbus, Ohio-based The State Auto Insurance Cos. recently named Jon Allison as director of government relations. Additionally, Allison has been elected assistant vice president by the board of directors of State...
