Latest Auto Headlines

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

AUTO RATES TO CLIMB

Jan 22 2001 // Claiming they are basing their rates on information more current than that used by the Texas Department of Insurance to set benchmark rates, several of Texas’ largest auto insurers are raising their rates. State Farm...

MetLife Offers Cash, Bonds to Teen Drivers

Jan 22 2001 // MetLife Auto & Home announced that it is introducing the company’s “Teens on the Road to Safety” program to insureds in the states of Alabama, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, Oregon, and...

Auto Arson, Highway Safety Subject of New Mighigan Laws

Jan 19 2001 // Michigan Gov. John Engler recently signed several bills that would help crack down on auto arson, improve young driver training and prohibit passengers riding in open pickup truck beds on the highway. Of special note is...

KKR Unit to Buy Two Reliance Group Auto Insurance Units

Jan 15 2001 // Bristol West Insurance Group, a unit of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., plans to purchase two units of troubled insurer Reliance Group Holdings to beef up its non-standard auto insurance offerings. Bristol subsidiary...

Aggregators are Leading the Charge to Sell Auto Insurance on the Web

Jan 15 2001 // Aggregators in the United States and Europe are leading the charge to sell auto and other insurance over the Internet, but only a few of these sites will survive, according to a Meridien Research report that focuses on the...

ONLINE AUTO PLAN NIXED

Jan 15 2001 // Priceline.com and insurer W.R. Berkley Corp. dropped their combined plan to create a new company to sell auto insurance online, naming current market conditions as the reason. The new company was in early development...

Aggregators Lead Charge to Sell Auto Insurance on the Web

Jan 8 2001 // Aggregators in the United States and Europe are leading the charge to sell auto and other insurance over the Internet, but only a few of these sites will survive, according to a Meridien Research report that focuses on the...

RUSHMORE TO PURCHASE DALLAS AGENCY

Jan 8 2001 // Rushmore Financial Group Inc. announced its planned acquisition of a group of financial services companies located in Dallas. The companies have signed a letter of intent providing for RFGI to acquire Northstar Financial...

Welcome to our First Ever

Jan 8 2001 // The demarcation between years always seems to take on a contemplative aspect. We look back to where we’ve been, and then look forward to weigh our expectations. Will the market continue to harden? Will the dot-coms...

Vesta Insurance Financial Overhaul Includes Acquisitions, Company Stock for Agents

Jan 5 2001 // Vesta Insurance Group Inc. is planning four separate transactions, the centerpiece of which is two acquisitions that will enable Vesta to offer a wider range of personal lines insurance products. Vesta also intends to...

Reminder from the CDI: Rental Car Companies Must License Their Agents

Jan 4 2001 // Monday, Jan. 1, 2001, was the deadline for rental car companies that offer or sell insurance to be licensed by the California Department of Insurance as an insurance agent, broker or as a rental car agent. The CDI has a...

Aggregators Lead Charge to Sell Auto Insurance on the Web

Jan 3 2001 // Aggregators in the United States and Europe are leading the charge to sell auto and other insurance over the Internet, but only a few of these sites will survive, says a report released by Meridien Research that focuses on...

Priceline, W.R. Berkley End Online Auto Insurance Plan

Jan 3 2001 // Priceline.com and insurer W.R. Berkley Corp. have dropped their combined plan to create a new company to sell auto insurance online, naming current market conditions as the reason. The new company was in early development...

Mass. Commissioner Approves 8.3 Percent Auto Rate Cut

Dec 19 2000 // Massachusetts Insurance Commissioner Linda Ruthardt sided with consumer advocates and called for a 8.3 percent overall decrease in personal auto rates for 2001. Following the decision, representatives from the auto...

MetLife Auto Home Enhances Agent Contracts

Dec 18 2000 // MetLife Auto & Home has made several enhancements to its Independent Agency Agreement. The contract changes will be introduced in 2001. The revisions provide for the company to defend, indemnify, and hold the agent...

New Jersey Insurer Issues Dividends to Auto Policy Holders

Dec 7 2000 // New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance is mailing special dividend checks to auto policy holders in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York totaling about $54.6 million. The 324,984 policy holders affected will receive an...

I.I.I. Report: Auto Insurance Rates Expected To Rise This Year

Dec 5 2000 // Automobile insurance rates are expected to rise by 1.5 percent this year, the first increase in three years. Additional increases of 2 percent to 4 percent are likely in 2001. Among the factors driving rates upward are...

New York DOI Releases Ranking of Against Auto Insurers

Dec 5 2000 // New York Superintendent of Insurance Neil D. Levin has released the department’s annual ranking of consumer complaints against New York State’s private passenger automobile insurance companies and announced...

New Mexican Auto Insurance Websites to Help U.S. Consumers, Agents

Nov 29 2000 // A new website will give tourists a chance to purchase Mexican automobile insurance before they venture south of the border. In addition, agents can order policies for their customers through a website designed for...

State Farm Introduces Vehicle Safety Discount

Nov 29 2000 // State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is implementing a new auto insurance discount. Using its actual claim payments for driver and passenger injuries by make and model of vehicle, the company is awarding...