Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
In Conn., Victims, Trucking Firm Team Up Against Insurer to Claim Coverage
Jan 31 2006 // Lawsuits stemming from a deadly crash at the base of Avon Mountain in Connecticut last July have led to an unlikely alliance between the victims and the owner of the trucking company at the center of the litigation. To...
Opponents Claim USG Deal Exposes Fortune 500 ‘Windfall’ from Asbestos Bill
Jan 31 2006 // A group of smaller and medium sized businesses and their insurance companies is using the recent settlement by USG over its asbestos claims to argue that a federal asbestos trust fund would provide a windfall for large...
Mass. to Begin Reassigning 15% of Residual Auto Policies in March
Jan 29 2006 // A plan to redistribute residual market auto insurance policies among insurance carriers and agents in Massachusetts has been approved by state officials. The final plan for Commonwealth Auto Reinsurers will require that...
Mass. Economic Warning: Insurance Market Short on Capital
Jan 27 2006 // Massachusetts is facing a shortage of insurance capital that could jeopardize the state’s entire economy, especially if a major storm hits the metropolitan Boston area, the Commonwealth’s insurance regulator is...
Black Boxes in Cars Monitor How You Drive, Assist Fraud Investigations
Jan 27 2006 // Most people don’t know it, but there is a little black box in your car that tracks the way you drive. According to a recent account in the Kansas City Star, the metal box, about the size of a carpenter’s tape...
Two Suspects Arrested for Auto Insurance Fraud
Jan 27 2006 // Two Elk Grove, Calif., residents were arrested on insurance fraud charges related to the alleged staged theft, arson, and subsequent insurance claim for a vehicle belonging to one of the suspects. According to the...
AAA To Offer Auto, Homeowners Insurance in Hawaii
Jan 27 2006 // Hawaii Insurance Commissioner J.P. Schmidt has granted AAA Hawaii’s affiliated insurer a Certificate of Authority, to allow it to begin offering homeowner’s and auto insurance to AAA Hawaii members. Auto and...
Colo. Drivers Could Pay Extra $10 to Subsidize Ambulances
Jan 26 2006 // Colorado drivers could be asked to pay about $10 extra on their annual car registration renewals in order to subsidize ambulance services under a proposed change to the state’s new car insurance system. First...
Americans More Fearful of Car Crashes, Terrorist Hits than Avian Flu
Jan 25 2006 // A new national survey of 1,000 Americans revealed that Americans are more fearful of car accidents, natural disasters and terrorist attacks than they are of the Avian Bird flu. The national survey was conducted by HCD...
Calif. Commissioner, Auto Club Warn Consumers of Flood-Damaged Cars
Jan 24 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi joined the Automobile Club of Southern California Tuesday to warn Southland used-car buyers who might be duped into purchasing a flood-damaged vehicle hauled from...
Virginia Gov. Unveils Transportation Plan with Auto Insurance Fee Hike
Jan 23 2006 // Virginia Governor Timothy M. Kaine is proposing an increase in the state’s auto insurance premium fee and a hike in the auto sales and use tax as part of a broad multi–year transportation initiative. The $3.7...
Ark. Court: Insurers Don’t Have to Pay for Wreck
Jan 23 2006 // An insurance company doesn’t have to defend or pay the claims of a Pulaski County woman whose 15-year-old son wrecked the family car, the Arkansas Court of Appeals ruled. The court upheld a judge’s ruling that...
Calif. Commissioner Wants to Expand Low Cost Auto Program to 8 Counties
Jan 23 2006 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced plans to expand the California Low Cost Automobile Insurance Program CLCA) to eight counties in 2006. Recent legislation — Senate Bill 20 — recently...
Case Law Watch
Jan 23 2006 // Auto liability Allstate Insurance Company v. Reid (1st Cir. Nov. 30, 2005) Ruling: Coverage Not Available for Damage to Boat Towed by Insured. Defendant and his friend, May, were returning from a fishing trip. Defendant...
Fla. Insurance Council predicts hurricane coverage utmost concern
Jan 23 2006 // Florida Insurance Council Executive Vice President Sam Miller predicts hurricane insurance will be the most significant property and casualty issue in 2006, just as it was in 2005, on the state level. “Congress, at a...
Wash. anti-fraud auto insurance bill wins committee approval
Jan 23 2006 // In Olympia, Wash., a legislative committee amended and passed legislation that is designed to assist consumers injured in intentional “road rage” collisions — and protect insurers against auto insurance...
Garamendi’s proposed auto rate regs will likely cause rate hikes
Jan 23 2006 // Insurers’ estimates say 61 percent of California drivers could pay more. Concern continues to build against California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi’s plan to impose new regulations for determining auto...
Colo. legislators to tackle auto insurance in 2006 session
Jan 23 2006 // The 2006 legislative agenda for property/ casualty insurers in Colorado will be dominated by automobile insurance and regulatory issues, according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI), based in...
ARIZ. SENATOR WANTS TO DENY FUNDS TO DRIVERS WHO LEAVE KEYS IN CAR
Jan 23 2006 // Glendale, Ariz., Republican Sen. Linda Gray is pushing legislation that would allow insurers to refuse to reimburse drivers if companies can prove that the keys were left anywhere in the vehicle, and not just the ignition,...
Mercury Insurance Group CEO proposes voter initiative
Jan 23 2006 // The head of Mercury Insurance is trying to get an initiative on the November election ballot to restore portable persistency discounts. George Joseph, CEO of Los Angeles-based Mercury General Corp., submitted a proposed...
