Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mont. Jury Awards Nearly $6.7 Million in Car Seat Suit
Jul 27 2007 // A jury this week ordered car seat maker Evenflo Co. to pay nearly $6.7 million to the parents of a 4-month-old Montana boy who died of head injuries in a July 2000 crash. The 12-member district court jury decided Evenflo...
Jury: Ford Owes $6 Million to Fla. Man Paralyzed in Crash
Jul 27 2007 // The Ford Motor Co. should pay $6 million to a Florida man who was paralyzed when the Ford Aerostar van he was in rolled over, a jury ruled Wednesday. Julian Felipe, of Hialeah, was 17-years-old when he was a passenger in...
Central Insurance Returns to Mass. Commercial Auto Market
Jul 27 2007 // Central Insurance is re-entering the Massachusetts commercial auto insurance marketplace after a 17-year absence. Since 1990, Central has been a commercial lines only insurer in Massachusetts, writing primarily commercial...
New Okla. Insurance Verification Program Has a Sizable Hole
Jul 24 2007 // An auto insurance-verification program set to take effect in Oklahoma next summer does not address a growing number of uninsured drivers – those who are illegal immigrants. The new real-time system will allow law...
N.H. Accepts Insurers Use of Credit to Price Auto Insurance
Jul 24 2007 // Most insurance companies doing business in New Hampshire base their customers’ insurance rates partly on their car loans, credit card balances and other debt. Five years ago, the state Insurance Department adopted...
Declining Traffic Deaths Lead to Lowest Highway Fatality Rate Ever Recorded
Jul 24 2007 // The number of people who died on the nation’s roads fell last year, leading to the lowest highway fatality rate ever recorded and the largest drop in total deaths in 15 years, U.S. Transportation Secretary Mary E....
Auto crashes up, workplace injuries down according to Neb. Safety Council
Jul 23 2007 // Deaths from accidents have been increasing in Nebraska, becoming the fourth overall leading cause of death, according to figures from the Nebraska Safety Council. Accidental deaths had not ranked that high since 1998, but...
Pa. therapist not liable for patient’s car crash
Jul 23 2007 // A psychiatrist cannot be sued for a car crash caused by a patient, a Pennsylvania appeals court ruled. The Superior Court ruling upholds a decision written by a Blair County judge dismissing the lawsuit filed by Matthew...
Drinking buddies not liable as social hosts, Mass. court rules
Jul 23 2007 // The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that friends who meet regularly after work for drinks cannot be held liable for injuries caused when one of the members of their group drives home intoxicated. The court ruled that...
Smaller Mass. agencies could be hurt by surprise move to competitive rating for auto
Jul 23 2007 // Massachusetts insurance agents aren’t happy about the decision to introduce competitive rating into the state’s price-regulated private passenger auto insurance system. They enjoy the best market share in the...
Midwestern States Push for Truck-only Lanes
Jul 23 2007 // With truck traffic rising, at least nine states are considering proposals to separate big rigs from cars on interstate highways, hoping to reduce congestion, improve safety and increase commerce by moving goods faster. The...
N.J. agents hope to end auto insurance quote requirement
Jul 23 2007 // New Jersey agents no longer want to be required by state law to provide quotes from all of their auto insurance companies to all auto insurance applicants. The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Inc. and the...
AAA Michigan Partners with Auto Theft Group
Jul 23 2007 // AAA Michigan announced today they have partnered with H.E.A.T (Help Eliminate Auto Thefts) to provide specially trained operators to answer the auto theft tip line, 1-800-242-HEAT, 24 hours a day, seven days a...
Smaller Mass. agencies could be hurt by surprise move to competitive rating for auto
Jul 23 2007 // Massachusetts insurance agents aren’t happy about the decision to introduce competitive rating into the state’s price-regulated private passenger auto insurance system. They enjoy the best market share in the...
N.J. agents hope to end auto insurance quote requirement
Jul 23 2007 // New Jersey agents no longer want to be required by state law to provide quotes from all of their auto insurance companies to all auto insurance applicants. The Professional Insurance Agents of New Jersey Inc. and the...
News Currents
Jul 23 2007 // Drinking buddies not liable as social hosts, Mass. court rules The Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled that friends who meet regularly after work for drinks cannot be held liable for injuries caused when one of the...
Editor’s Note: Driver’s seat
Jul 23 2007 // The last time — January 1977 — Massachusetts tried to introduce competitive rating into private passenger auto insurance, a Democrat, Michael Dukakis, was governor. The experiment lasted about seven months...
Auto crashes up, workplace injuries down according to Neb. Safety Council
Jul 23 2007 // Deaths from accidents have been increasing in Nebraska, becoming the fourth overall leading cause of death, according to figures from the Nebraska Safety Council. Accidental deaths had not ranked that high since 1998, but...
Calif. low cost auto insurance program expanded to nine counties
Jul 23 2007 // California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner announced his determination to expand the state’s Low Cost Auto Insurance Program to Solano, Marin, Santa Cruz, Madera, Napa, Yolo, Mendocino, Kings and Lake counties....
Allstate 2nd Quarter Earnings Rise 16 Percent, Fall Short of Estimates
Jul 20 2007 // Allstate Corp., the nation’s No. 2 property and casualty insurer, said Wednesday its second-quarter profits climbed 16 percent on strong auto insurance sales but operating income fell as the company paid...