Latest Auto Headlines

All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.

News Currents

Oct 23 2006 // Insurance issues take back seat in Mass. governor’s race Insurance issues have taken a back seat to crime and taxes but there is evidence that the candidates locked in the race to succeed Massachusetts Gov. Mitt...

Premium rating errors cost auto insurers more than $16 billion

Oct 23 2006 // In 2005, the private passenger auto insurance industry lost $16.2 billion because of premium rating error, according to San Francisco-based Quality Planning Corp.’s annual Premium Rating Error report. Data showed...

P/C market takes hold of rapidly developing identity theft solutions

Oct 23 2006 // Identity-related fraud is a virulent crime, with 3.5 times the aggregate losses of all property crimes, such as burglary, larceny and vehicle theft, reported last year. In today’s technology- information-driven...

Poor stepchild HO market about to smarten up

Oct 23 2006 // It’s worth $53 billion a year but the homeowners insurance market is largely unsophisticated and unloved, according to Brian Sullivan, editor of Risk Information Inc., which publishes the Property Insurance Report....

Brian Sullivan

Oct 23 2006 // Closer Look: Homeowners Poor stepchild HO market about to smarten up Exclusive interview with personal lines guru Brian Sullivan It’s worth $53 billion a year but the homeowners insurance market is largely...

La. Using Bait Cars in Effort to Reduce Auto Insurance Fraud

Oct 20 2006 // The Louisiana Department of Insurance reported it now has a powerful new tool to use in its long standing battle against auto theft and high insurance rates. The tool, known as a bait car, is a motor vehicle fitted with...

Maryland Orders Allstate Return $17.5M to Auto Insureds

Oct 20 2006 // Maryland Insurance Commissioner R. Steven Orr has ordered Allstate Insurance to return $17.5 million to 20,571 of its auto policyholders in Maryland whom he says were improperly charged. This restitution is in addition to...

Wis. Appeals Court Overturns Judge’s Decision in Demo Derby Injury

Oct 19 2006 // A western Wisconsin judge erred in ordering a car insurance company to pay benefits to a demolition derby flagman who was seriously injured when a car slammed into him as he tried to help the driver of a disabled vehicle,...

Wildlife Making Texas Highways Hazardous

Oct 17 2006 // The increasing number of motorists and deer in Texas are leading to a greater frequency of collisions between the two on the state’s roadways. Cooler weather and the annual rut season should make for even more...

Virginia Offers Consumer Guides with Sample Auto, Home Premiums

Oct 17 2006 // Virginia’s Bureau of Insurance has updated its free auto and homeowners insurance consumer guides and corresponding premium comparison pamphlets. The guides are designed to help consumers understand their insurance...

Truck Driver Sentenced for Workers’ Comp Fraud in Texas

Oct 16 2006 // Texas Mutual Insurance Company reported that a Travis County court sentenced Jerry S. Amaya of Cedar Creek, Texas, on workers’ comp fraud-related charges. The court sentenced Amaya to one year of probation and...

Hull & Company Newport Beach adds Market for Commercial Auto

Oct 13 2006 // Hull & Company in Newport Beach, Calif., has added an “A,” IX A.M. Best -rated carrier offering commercial auto in California. Classes written on an admitted basis include public auto (church buses,...

Deer Breeding Season Creates Driving Hazards in Kan.

Oct 12 2006 // Kansas state troopers are urging motorists to watch out as deer breeding season gets under way. The season, which lasts from October to December, causes an increase in car-deer collisions as bucks roam widely in search of...

Direct Seller 21st Century Enters N.J. Auto Market

Oct 12 2006 // 21st Century Insurance Group, one of the pioneers of selling insurance direct to consumers, today began offering private passenger automobile insurance to drivers in New Jersey. The company becomes the seventh auto writer...

La. Motorist Dies in Crash After Fleeing Insurance Checkpoint

Oct 10 2006 // A motorist speeding off from an insurance checkpoint in Louisiana after struggling with a state trooper there was killed in a car crash, authorities said. The driver, Wilson Jackson III, 24, of New Orleans, died about 11...

Calif. attorney general sues automakers over global warming

Oct 9 2006 // Automakers should be held liable for contributions to global warming, according to California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Thus, he recently filed a lawsuit against leading U.S. and Japanese auto manufacturers, alleging...

COUNTRYWIDE LAUNCHES AUTO PRODUCT IN ARIZONA

Oct 9 2006 // Countrywide Financial Corp. has announced that Countrywide Insurance Group’s auto insurance product is now available to consumers in Arizona. Quotes can be obtained by calling a licensed auto insurance agent at...

Trucking benchmarks and best practices

Oct 9 2006 // The number one way to prevent crashes in fleets: hire high-quality drivers with clear driving records. In fact, company fleets in which more than 60 percent of drivers hold clear motor vehicle records had a 42 percent...

Is it private passenger, business use or commercial auto?

Oct 9 2006 // You’re an independent agent, primarily writing property casualty coverages for individuals. A long-time customer comes in and announces that he’s out of the rat race — he’s quit his job and...

GEICO cancels Charo

Oct 9 2006 // Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said that GEICO insurance company has said it will no longer run what Blumenthal claims is “a false and misleading television advertisement” that claims the...