Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
A.M. Best Downgrades Ratings of State Auto Insurance Companies
Jun 2 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A+ (Superior) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “a+” from “aa-” of Columbus, Ohio-based State Auto Insurance...
Driver of Car Hit by Train is Billed for Damage
Jun 2 2011 // Metro-North plans to bill a 40-year-old woman for the damage one of its trains suffered when it struck the woman’s car in Milford, Connecticut on Sunday. Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders says the commuter...
Senator Looks to Halt Rentals of Recalled Vehicles Over Safety
May 31 2011 // U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer of New York said he will introduce a bill to stop car rental agencies from renting automobiles that are under recalls for problems that aren’t yet fixed. The industry this month proposed a...
Smaller Cars Improve Safety Performance
May 27 2011 // As automakers are building more small cars, they are managing to make them safer than ever, new car safety tests show. Six of 13 small cars recently evaluated by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) earned the...
Massachusetts AG Urges Rate Reduction for Commercial Auto
May 24 2011 // Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley claims insurers have overcharged commercial auto customers by $1 billion over the last seven years and has asked the state’s insurance commissioner to slash premiums for...
U.S. Refuses to Pay Michigan Insurer for Ferrari Wrecked by FBI Agent
May 23 2011 // The U.S. Justice Department has refused to pay $750,000 to a Michigan insurance company for a Ferrari that was wrecked in Kentucky while driven by an FBI agent. In a recent response to a lawsuit in Detroit, the Justice...
State Auto Companies Elect New Officers
May 20 2011 // Kyle B. Anderson, Diane M. Dierna, Winford (Win) L. Logan and Jeffrey (Jeff) D. Wilson have been elected assistant vice presidents by the boards of directors of State Automobile Mutual and State Auto Property &...
Suit Says USAA Unfairly Denied Car Crash Claims
May 18 2011 // A Salem, Ore., attorney has filed a lawsuit accusing USAA Insurance Co, which represents military members and their families, of fraudulently denying claims after car crashes. The Salem Statesman Journal reports the suit,...
Reik Named Vice President at State Auto
May 18 2011 // State Auto Financial Corp., based in Columbus, Ohio, has elected Timothy (Tim) G. Reik a vice president following his appointment as director of Risk Evaluation and Design (RED) Operations. Reik was also elected vice...
State Auto Estimates April Storm Losses of $75M to $85M
May 17 2011 // State Auto Financial Corp., based in Columbus, Ohio, has estimated its second quarter 2011 earnings will include between $75 million and $85 million in pre-tax catastrophe losses related to April storm activity, net of...
Three Convicted in Massachusetts Auto Fraud Ring Case
May 17 2011 // A Massachusetts jury has returned guilty verdicts against three men — including a lawyer and a chiropractor — accused of staging several fraudulent motor vehicle accidents, according to the attorney general’s...
Florida Nabs 53 Suspects in Staged Car Crash Scheme
May 16 2011 // Authorities say a five-month investigation into staged car accidents and insurance fraud culminated in arrest warrants for 53 people in the Tampa area. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that search...
Progressive’s Mileage-Based ‘Snapshot’ Car Insurance Goes National
May 16 2011 // Progressive has launched national advertising for its “Pay-As-You-Drive” program, Snapshot, which offers drivers discounts of as much as 30 percent based on real-time analysis of their driving habits. Over the...
How the Young Salesperson Beat the Veteran
May 16 2011 // The Sales Story of How I Bought My Cool New Car I just acquired a shiny new car. I bought it from a relatively young salesperson instead of from the veteran who sold me my last one. This column points out seven basic sales...
Cost of Fatal Car Crashes by State
May 13 2011 // More than 30,000 people are killed in car crashes each year in the United States. In addition to the toll on victims’ families and friends, crash deaths result in some $41 billion in medical and work loss costs,...
Safety Advocates, Industry Spar Over Bus, Truck Safety Rules
May 13 2011 // On a clear June afternoon, a tractor-trailer truck crested a small rise on a stretch of interstate highway in Oklahoma. Plainly visible in the distance were more than a dozen cars and trucks that had stopped while a...
FEMA Asking for Return of Disaster Aid
May 12 2011 // After Iowa’s raging Cedar River filled his home with 13 feet of water and ruined most of his possessions, Justin Van Fleet pleaded for help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to get back on his feet. Dead...
Goose Crashes Through Car Windshield on Michigan Driver
May 11 2011 // A 12-pound Canada goose crashed through the windshield of a sport utility vehicle as a woman drove on the highway in Bay County. Williams Township assistant fire chief Craig Pickelman said the unnamed 35-year-old woman...
Van Gieson Promoted in State Auto’s Western Regional Office
May 5 2011 // State Auto Insurance announced that Erin Van Gieson has been promoted to Personal Lines sales manager in the company’s Western Regional office, located in Austin, Texas. Van Gieson has served as a personal insurance...
Cat Losses Rise but State Auto Q1 Income Nearly Even with Last Year
May 4 2011 // State Auto Financial Corp., based in Columbus, Ohio, has reported first quarter 2011 net income of $12.7 million versus net income of $12.9 million for the first quarter of 2010. STFC’s GAAP combined ratio for the...
