Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Maine Denies Progressive’s Appeal to Raise Premiums for Older Drivers
Aug 16 2016 // Maine Bureau of Insurance Superintendent Eric Cioppa has denied Progressive’s request to raise auto insurance rates for new customers above the age of 65. Cioppa stated in the August 10 ruling that the move would...
New Audi Cars to Tell Drivers in U.S. When Traffic Lights Will Change
Aug 15 2016 // German carmaker Audi is rolling out technology that will allow its vehicles in the United States to communicate with traffic signals, allowing for a more stress-free ride in what it says is the car industry’s first...
Pennsylvania Law Requiring Rear-Facing Car Seats Takes Effect
Aug 15 2016 // Motorists in Pennsylvania must now make sure car seats face backward for all children until they’re two years old. The requirement is part of a new state law that went into effect Friday. It directs police to issue...
‘Self-Driving’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Hands-Free’ – Lessons of Tesla Autopilot Crash in China
Aug 15 2016 // Tesla said last week that one of its cars had crashed in Beijing while in ‘autopilot’ mode, with the driver contending sales staff sold the function as ‘self-driving’, overplaying its actual...
Report: Austin Area Car Insurance Rate Hikes Far Above National 5-Year Average
Aug 12 2016 // A recently released report by Austin, Texas-based car insurance comparison firm, The Zebra, shows that car insurance rate hikes in the Austin area over the past five years have far exceeded the national average. Austin car...
32 People, 3 Corporations Charged in Pennsylvania Auto Theft, Insurance Fraud Ring
Aug 12 2016 // Prosecutors in Philadelphia, Penn., say they’ve charged 32 people and three corporations for their participation in what’s being described as a theft and insurance fraud ring that stole and resold 45...
VW’s Keyless Entry Systems Vulnerable to Hacking: European Researchers
Aug 12 2016 // Tens of millions of vehicles sold by Volkswagen AG over the past 20 years, and some current models, are vulnerable to theft because keyless entry systems can be hacked using cheap technical devices, according to European...
Questionable Ferrari Loss Leads to Claim Withdrawal
Aug 10 2016 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv Shannon Navejas, special investigator 2 with Mercury Insurance, shares how a claim for a 2000 collector edition Ferrari valued at $188,000 went up in smoke as a result of a thorough...
Derailed Train Car Hits Iowa Bar, DeRailed
Aug 10 2016 // Police say a freight train car that derailed in northern Iowa rolled into and damaged a trackside tavern called DeRailed. Police Chief Hugh Anderson says the accident occurred around 4 a.m. on Aug. 9 as crews moved rail...
Massachusetts Motorist Injures 5 in Series of Accidents
Aug 9 2016 // Five people were injured after a motorist caused a series of accidents in Holyoke, Mass., that ignited his own vehicle and sent another hurtling into a home. Police said the incident began when a man driving at a high rate...
Urmson Leaves as Head of Google’s Self-Driving Car Project
Aug 9 2016 // Chris Urmson, chief technical officer of Google’s self-driving car efforts, said he’s leaving as the Internet company moves the project from research into the creation of products. “I am ready for a fresh...
North Carolina Tackles Insurance Rate Evasion Fraud, Updates Captive Laws
Aug 9 2016 // North Carolina has made several changes encompassing fraud, captives and flood insurance regulations to its state insurance laws. New legislation, House Bill 287, was approved June 30 by state lawmakers and signed into law...
Houston Police: Men Used Laptop to Reprogram, Steal 100-Plus Vehicles
Aug 8 2016 // Two men jailed in Houston and accused of using pirated computer software to steal more than 100 vehicles may have exploited an electronic vulnerability to advance auto theft into high-tech crime. Michael Arce, 24, and...
N.C. Tackles Insurance Rate Evasion Fraud, Captive Insurance
Aug 8 2016 // North Carolina has made several changes encompassing fraud, captives and flood insurance regulations to its state insurance laws. The legislation, House Bill 287, was approved June 30 by state lawmakers and signed into law...
Allstate Q2 Profit Hurt by Catastrophes, Auto Loss Costs
Aug 4 2016 // Allstate Corp. reported that consolidated total revenue increased by 2.0 percent to $9.2 billion in the second quarter of 2016 compared to the prior year quarter, as higher insurance premiums outweighed declines in net...
State Auto Financial Reports Net Loss of $24.6M in Q2 2016
Aug 4 2016 // Columbus, Ohio-based super regional insurer, State Auto Financial Corp. (STFC), has reported a second quarter 2016 net loss of $24.6 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, versus net income of $2.7 million, or $0.06 per...
‘Star Trek’ Actor’s Family Sues Fiat Chrysler in California over Rollaway Death
Aug 3 2016 // The parents of the late “Star Trek” movie actor Anton Yelchin sued Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV for negligence and product liability on Tuesday over the rollaway crash of a Jeep Grand Cherokee that killed their...
Greenlight Re Seeks Recovery in Mortgage Market After Construction, Vehicle, Florida Losses
Aug 3 2016 // David Einhorn’s Greenlight Capital Re Ltd., the reinsurer seeking to reverse underwriting losses, is pushing into the mortgage-guaranty market after being burned by fraudulent claims on property policies in...
Dog Crashes Owner’s Car Into West Virginia Wal-Mart
Aug 3 2016 // Witnesses say a dog was at the wheel of a car that slowly crashed into a West Virginia Wal-Mart. Shoppers told WSAZ-TV that two dogs were in the car – one in the driver’s seat and one in the passenger’s seat...
Tesla Searching for Explanation of Tesla Autopilot Crash
Aug 2 2016 // Tesla Motors Inc. told U.S. Senate Commerce Committee staff it is considering two theories that may help explain what led to the May 7 fatal crash that killed a Florida man who was using the car’s...
