Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Parent-Centric Auto Insurer, Apparent, Launches in Texas
Feb 4 2019 // Apparent Insurance, a new auto insurance company designed for parents by parents, has begun offering coverage in Texas. The company has been established to provide specialized coverage and services for parents at every...
CAUTION: Safety U-Turn for Truckers with Animals
Feb 4 2019 // Hours of Service, Other Safety Exemptions for Livestock Haulers Raise Concerns Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting It was sometime around 4 a.m. on a cool, spring morning when James McGilvray lost control of his...
An Old Dog Up to New Tricks
Feb 4 2019 // For the seventh consecutive year, commercial auto is losing money. Despite rate increases in 23 of the past 25 quarters, the combined ratio topped 111 percent in 2017. The line has been a weak spot for many insurers,...
Big 3 Drive Personal Auto Insurance Recovery;
Feb 4 2019 // Signs of Rate Hike Fatigue Ahead Steady improvement for U.S. personal auto insurance companies has culminated in the sector’s best underwriting performance in 10 years, according to Fitch Ratings in a report. The...
Michigan Senate GOP: Cutting Car Insurance Rates a Priority
Feb 4 2019 // Michigan Senate Republicans have proposed legislation that would make it optional for Michigan drivers to buy what is now mandatory unlimited medical coverage. Senate Bill 1 was the first to be introduced by GOP senators...
U-Haul, Former Manager Plead Guilty After Food Truck Blast in Pennsylvania
Feb 1 2019 // A U-Haul subsidiary and the former general manager of one of its Philadelphia stores have pleaded guilty after a food truck explosion that killed a woman and her teenage daughter. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the...
Federal Safety Investigators Sidelined by Shutdown Begin Heading to Crash Scenes
Feb 1 2019 // It’s been four weeks since a van carrying children from a Louisiana church to Disney World in Florida collided with a swerving tractor-trailer, igniting diesel fuel and killing seven people in a fiery crash. Now,...
Insurtech Geared to Autonomous Vehicle Coverage Grabs $5 Million in Funding
Jan 30 2019 // A startup focused on rewarding drivers and fleet owners that use autonomous vehicles and semi-autonomous car safety features has raised $5 million in seed funding. California-based Avinew’s technology uses artificial...
China’s Ping An P&C Unveils Credit-Based Smart Auto Insurance Claim Solution
Jan 30 2019 // Ping An Property and Casualty Insurance Co. of China has launched a credit-based smart auto claim solution in China, to make it easier for car owners to make claims and encourage good driving habits. The credit-based...
Octo Telematics to Provide Commercial Fleet Telematics to Mexico Auto Insurer
Jan 30 2019 // Octo Telematics, the Rome-based provider of telematics and data analytics solutions for the auto insurance industry, has partnered with Qualitas, Mexico’s largest auto insurer with operations throughout Mexico, Latin...
Allianz Enters Formal Negotiations to Buy Malaysia Car Insurer: Sources
Jan 29 2019 // Allianz Malaysia Bhd. has been chosen to progress in talks to acquire Malaysia’s second-biggest car insurer after edging out Japanese rival Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., people with knowledge of the matter...
Prime Property & Casualty Insurance Enters Kentucky Commercial Auto Market
Jan 29 2019 // Prime Property & Casualty Insurance Inc. (PPCI) has entered the Kentucky commercial auto market as an admitted carrier specializing in insurance products for distressed and substandard risks. PPCI offers the capacity...
Southeast Officials Focus on Curbing Fraud, Rising Auto Rates, Flood Insurance, Distracted Driving
Jan 29 2019 // For the seventh year in a row, the Florida insurance industry, regulators, and consumer advocates will push for reforms to the state’s assignment of benefits issue that has now become an insurance crisis, according...
Texas DOT Creating Connected, Autonomous Vehicle Task Force
Jan 28 2019 // Texas Department of Transportation says its Connected and Autonomous Vehicle (CAV) Task Force will soon become a central point for CAV advancement in Texas. The task force is designed to be a one-stop resource for...
Progressive Takes Aim at Multi-Line Insurers
Jan 25 2019 // With much of the property/casualty insurance industry’s attention focused on external threats from insurtechs and digital native companies, perhaps the greatest disruption is coming from within. Following the last...
Former Farmers, AIG Direct, 21st Century Exec DeSantis Named President, CEO of The General
Jan 18 2019 // Nashville-based auto insurer The General has appointed veteran insurance executive Tony DeSantis to the new position of president and chief executive officer, joining Chief Operating Officer Steve Tjugum as the...
Florida Jury Awards Family $500M in Wrongful Death Suit Over Car Shooting
Jan 18 2019 // A Florida jury has awarded nearly $500 million to the family of a woman fatally shot during an argument in a car in 2011. The family of 20-year-old Kalil McCoy of Jacksonville filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the man...
Michigan Senate GOP Priority: Cutting Car Insurance Rates
Jan 17 2019 // Michigan Senate Republicans have signaled their intent to make lowering high auto insurance premiums a top priority in the two-year session, proposing legislation that would make it optional for Michigan drivers to buy...
Mass. SJC Says Police Can Make Drugged Driving Arrest Based on Observations
Jan 17 2019 // The Massachusetts Supreme Court has ruled that a state police officer was justified in arresting a suspect for driving under the influence of marijuana based on the officer’s observations of the driver’s...
Finchum Named Head of MetLife Auto & Home
Jan 17 2019 // MetLife has named Darla Finchum as head of the company’s U.S. property/casualty business, MetLife Auto & Home. Finchum has been serving in this role on an interim basis since August, 2018. She will be responsible...
