Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Industry Group Opposes Massachusetts Proposal to Set Auto Labor Rates
Jun 21 2013 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies is opposing bills currently under consideration in Massachusetts that would require the state to set a minimum hourly labor rate that insurers must pay for auto...
Oklahoma Twister Victims Face Long Recovery, Insurance Woes
Jun 20 2013 // When the big twister hit, Maylene Sorrels huddled with her students in the halls of Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla. Cowering, she covered the student’s heads. Then Sorrels, a teacher’s aide,...
Alaska Driver Awarded $375K For Crash With Patrol Car
Jun 20 2013 // A man whose pickup was smashed by a patrol car driven by an Anchorage, Alaska police officer running red light was awarded $375,000 in damages. The Anchorage Daily News reported the jury Friday chose not to award $2.5...
Illinois Motorcycle Fatalities Climb 13 Percent
Jun 18 2013 // Fatal motorcycle accidents are up 13 percent in Illinois, according to data from the Illinois Department of Transportation. The State Journal-Register reported there were 131 motorcycle fatalities in 2010, a figure that...
Analysts: Travelers/Dominion Deal Makes Sense, More U.S.-Canadian M&A May Follow
Jun 18 2013 // The Travelers Companies’ decision to acquire Dominion of Canada General Insurance, a unit of E-L Financial Corp., for $1.1 billion makes strategic sense, according to analysts. The acquisition now allows Travelers to...
Electronic Proof of Auto Insurance Coming to Indiana
Jun 17 2013 // Indiana drivers who have to show proof of insurance to police after an accident or traffic violation can do so electronically starting July 1 under a new law that signals an increasing use of technology in insurance...
Survey: Texting While Driving Common Among N.J. Drivers
Jun 17 2013 // New Jersey auto insurance group Plymouth Rock Assurance released a distracted driving study that found nearly 50 percent of those polled said they have in the past asked a driver to stop texting while the car was in...
Motorcycle Injuries Rise After Helmet Laws Weakened: Study
Jun 17 2013 // The average medical claim from a motorcycle crash rose by more than one-fifth last year in Michigan after the state stopped requiring all riders to wear helmets, according to an insurance industry study. For more than 40...
Calif. Auto Insurance Down over Quarter-Century, Groups Debate Why
Jun 14 2013 // The average California auto insurance expenditure fell from 1989 to 2010, while every other state in the nation saw substantial increases over that same period, according to a Consumer Federation of America analysis auto...
Ohio May Allow Car Insurance Proof by Smartphone
Jun 14 2013 // Ohio drivers could provide required proof of insurance using smartphones rather than the typical printed card under a proposed change in state law. The bill would allow drivers to prove they are insured through information...
Mass. DOI Proposes Regulation on Auto Glass Repair Steering; Hearing Scheduled
Jun 13 2013 // The Massachusetts Division of Insurance said it will hold a public hearing on June 28 regarding the proposed new regulation 211 CMR 135.00, “Requirements Regarding Referrals to Motor Vehicle Glass Repair...
Hands-Free Voice Messaging Behind Wheel More Dangerous Than Phoning: Study
Jun 12 2013 // Using voice-to-text messaging, included in systems such as Ford Motor Co.’s Sync and Toyota Motor Corp.’s Entune, is more distracting to drivers than making calls with handheld mobile phones, a study by AAA...
The Hartford Ordered to Pay $20M to Auto Body Shops
Jun 11 2013 // A Connecticut judge has ordered The Hartford insurance company to pay $20 million to auto body shops for an unfair trade practice related to hourly labor rates for vehicle repairs. The judge’s decision last week for...
Chrysler’s Recall Refusal of 2.7M Jeeps Could Invite Major Liability
Jun 10 2013 // A defiant Chrysler is refusing to recall about 2.7 million Jeeps the government says are at risk of a fuel tank fire in a rear-end collision. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration sent Chrysler a letter asking...
H.E.A.T.: Unconventional Auto-Related Crimes Increasing in Michigan
Jun 7 2013 // Auto thefts in Michigan are in a five-year decline, but other forms of vehicle-related crime are on the rise, according to Help Eliminate Auto Thefts (H.E.A.T.), a statewide insurance industry-funded theft prevention...
Motorcycle Injuries Rise After Helmet Laws Weakened: Study
Jun 5 2013 // The average medical claim from a motorcycle crash rose by more than one-fifth last year in Michigan after the state stopped requiring all riders to wear helmets, according to an insurance industry study. Across the nation,...
No Guns for Some Pennsylvania Police, Radar Guns That Is
Jun 3 2013 // Jeff Streeter, chief of the Lone Tree Police Department in Colorado, was surprised to learn of a longtime tradition followed by local police in Pennsylvania. So were Brian Bossio, public information officer for the Stuart...
NetRate Systems Introduces Value-Add Modules to Commercial Auto Rating Product
Jun 3 2013 // Okemos, MI, 6/3/13 – NetRate Systems, Inc., a leading supplier of ISO® Commercial Lines Rating software for the MGA and carrier marketplace, has announced the availability of several add-on modules which provide...
Federal Safety Officials Look to Accelerate Self-Driving Cars, Vehicle Technologies
May 30 2013 // Self-driving cars being developed by Google Inc. and some automakers are getting a lift from U.S. auto-safety regulators eager to accelerate automation that they predict could prevent many crashes. Transportation...
Third Person Sentenced in New York Auto Insurance Scam
May 30 2013 // Federal authorities say a 67-year-old central New York man has been sentenced for his role in staging a motor vehicle crash to collect insurance money. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says Joseph Demme of Whitesboro was...
