Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Allstate, Encompass Fined for Violating Delaware Auto Law
Oct 17 2011 // Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart has fined Allstate Insurance Co. and its subsidiary Encompass Insurance Co. a total of $50,000 for violations of Delaware insurance law. The Allstate consent order...
Google Secretive About ‘Super Safe’ Robot Car Crash
Oct 17 2011 // In July, an astute observer was driving in Mountain View, Calif., when he came across a multiple car fender-bender. A Toyota Prius had hit a Prius, and that Prius hit an Accord, which hit an Accord, which hit a...
Driverless Car Navigates Berlin Streets
Oct 17 2011 // It can talk, see, drive and no longer needs a human being to control it by remote. The car of the future — completely computer-controlled — is on the streets of Berlin. All summer, researchers from the city’s...
One Frustrated Florida County Decides to Tackle Auto Insurance Fraud On Its Own
Oct 17 2011 // One county in Florida has decided not to wait on state lawmakers’ promise to address the insurance fraud and fix the state’s automobile no-fault law. It has passed its own ordinance to crack down on fraudulent...
Ohio Motorcycle Fatalities Decline This Year
Oct 14 2011 // Ohio is seeing fewer deaths from motorcycle crashes, even as more Ohioans are becoming eligible to drive choppers. State Department of Public Safety numbers show 120 people have died in motorcycle accidents since the...
New Jersey Looks to Put a Lid On Its Auto Insurance ‘Pot of Gold’
Oct 13 2011 // New Jersey’s auto insurance personal injury protection (PIP) regulations are due for an update. The state’s law requires that the Department of Banking and Insurance (DOBI) revisit the rules every two...
FBI Gets Immunity for Wreck of Ferrari in Michigan Insurer Case
Oct 12 2011 // A judge has dismissed a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the wreck of a $750,000 Ferrari driven by an FBI agent, saying federal law grants immunity if property is being held by law enforcement. The wreck of the...
Foremost Launches Upgraded Auto Program in Texas
Oct 11 2011 // Foremost Insurance Group’s enhanced auto program is now available in Texas. The Foremost program features more competitive rates, new discounts, increased coverage options and improved online processing features. The...
Mississippi Lawsuit Against Bar Over Drunk Driving Death Leads to $15M Judgment
Oct 7 2011 // A lawsuit and the state’s dram shop law have led to a $15 million judgment in Mississippi against Slippery Nick’s Saloon and Grill. However those who brought the suit do not expect to collect since the bar had...
Auto Insurers’ Loss Ratios Rise in Q2: SNL Insurance
Oct 6 2011 // Tornadoes and thunderstorms in the South and Midwest made the 2011 second quarter tumultuous for U.S. property writers. The industry loss ratio, before consideration of reinsurance, climbed to 70.6 percent, marking the...
Mass. Agents Gathering Signatures for Insurance Credit Score Ban
Oct 6 2011 // A Massachusetts independent agents group said it is confident that banning auto insurers’ use of credit scores and other socioeconomic factors will become a state law in coming months. The Massachusetts Association...
Number of U.S. Deer-Vehicle Collisions Falls 7 Percent
Oct 5 2011 // For the third consecutive year, the number of deer-vehicle collisions in the U.S. has dropped, according to Illinois-based State Farm Insurance. And the downturn is accelerating. The percentage decline over the last year...
Insurers to Send Refunds to 14,149 Massachusetts Motorcycle Owners
Oct 5 2011 // Travelers, Fireman’s Fund and Electric Insurance are the latest insurers to reach a settlement with Massachusetts attorney general’s office over motorcycle insurance premiums. The three companies are accused of...
California D.A.s Get $23M in Grants to Battle Auto Insurance Fraud
Oct 4 2011 // Maria Ramirez’ job heading the battle against automobile fraud in the state’s most populous county is tough enough. But her division is “operating on fumes” amid a rise in that type of crime and...
Insurance Agency Founder Sentenced for Fraud in D.C.
Oct 4 2011 // An insurance agency founder was recently placed on four years of supervised release and fined $10,000 in Washington, D.C., after earlier pleading guilty to insurance fraud, according to officials. Washington, D.C.,...
Cross Border Claims Frustrate Auto Carriers
Oct 3 2011 // Staged automobile accidents in Canada’s most populated province of Ontario pose a unique problem for American auto insurers that must deal with Ontario’s stringent no-fault benefits. Some U.S.-based adjusters...
People
Oct 3 2011 // State Auto Insurance’s previously announced Austin, Texas, claims facility is now operational, the company reported. The following individuals serve on the claims team at the Austin facility: Sandra Robinson, claims...
Mass. Agents Prepare for Battle Over Credit Ban on Ballot
Oct 3 2011 // A Massachusetts independent agents group said it is confident that a ban on auto insurers’ use of credit scores and other socioeconomic factors will become a state law in coming months. The Massachusetts Association...
Pennsylvania Motorcyclist Rule Upheld
Oct 3 2011 // A Pennsylvania court has ruled that an exclusion in underinsured motorist coverage for injuries incurred while on a motorcycle applies to motorcyclists injured after being thrown off their bikes. An underinsured motorist...
Google Secretive About ‘Super Safe’ Robot Car Crash
Oct 3 2011 // In July, an astute observer was driving in Mountain View, Calif., when he came across a multiple car fender-bender. A Toyota Prius had hit a Prius, and that Prius hit an Accord, which hit an Accord, which hit a...
