Latest Auto Headlines

All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Uninsured Driver Legislation Filed in Texas

Mar 14 2005 // State Representative Bill Callegari, Katy, filed House Bill 2573 to establish a motor vehicle financial responsibility program in Texas. According the House Media Services Division, HB 2573 is a version of a similar...

N.Y. Counties Receive Insurance Anti-Fraud Funds

Mar 10 2005 // New York Governor George E. Pataki has announced the recipients of $5.3 million in grants for programs to combat motor vehicle theft and insurance fraud in communities across the state. “These grants will help give...

Biker’s Choice of Motorcycle Reveals Taste in Body Art, Food and Employment Habits, Insurer Finds

Mar 10 2005 // What can one tell about a person by the kind of motorcycle they ride? Plenty, according to a recent countrywide online survey conducted by The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, the number one seller of motorcycle...

Brothers Arrested in Auto Insurance Premium Scam

Mar 9 2005 // Carlos Vasquez-Marquez and Jose Miguel (Mike) Marquez, of Rancho Palos Verdes, have been arrested and charged with seven felony counts of grand theft. The arrests are the result of a 20-month investigation conducted by the...

Berkshire Hathaway Chairman Warren Buffett on Insurance Economics and 2004 Results

Mar 8 2005 // By Chairman Warren Buffett’s own admission, Berkshire Hathaway Inc. did not have one of its best years in 2004. Last year, Berkshire’s book-value gain of 10.5% fell short of the S&P 500 Index’s 10.9%...

Ga. Cracks Down On Uninsured Motorists: New Regulations In Effect April 1

Mar 8 2005 // Two new regulations tightening up on uninsured motorists driving in Georgia go into effect April 1 for drivers with a second or subsequent suspension during any five-year period: The Department of Motor Vehicle Safety will...

Western General Enters Maryland Auto Market

Mar 8 2005 // Maryland Insurance Commissioner Alfred W. Redmer, Jr. today welcomed to Maryland Western General Insurance Company, a California-domiciled, property and casualty insurer, to the state. Western General will market...

Ga. Authorities Still Looking to Park Tow Truck Operator

Mar 8 2005 // Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine and Savannah-Chatham Metropolitan Police Chief Dan Flynn announced recently that an arrest warrant has been issued for suspect Russell Lee Scruggs, owner of a Savannah towing...

Progressive Drives Into S.C. Commercial Auto Insurance Market; Signs 430 Agents

Mar 7 2005 // Progressive Insurance’s Drive Group (Drive Insurance) has announced it will offer its commercial auto product in South Carolina through more than 430 agents. Drive(SM) Insurance is The Progressive Group of Insurance...

Travelers Assists Employers Offering Auto, Home Insurance Benefit from Multiple Carriers

Mar 7 2005 // Travelers is making it easier for companies with more than 5,000 employees to offer a choice of providers for auto and homeowners insurance through payroll deduction. A member of St. Paul Travelers, Travelers has dedicated...

Warren Buffett Praises N.J. Auto Insurance Market Turnaround and Outgoing Chief Bakke

Mar 7 2005 // Star mogul Warren E. Buffett loves New Jersey, at least its auto insurance market. In his annual letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. of which he is chairman, Buffett has high praise for the turnaround in the...

Horace Mann Exit of Mass. Market in 2001 Upheld

Mar 7 2005 // Horace Mann Educators Corp. did not violate any law or regulation in 2001 when, as part of its plan to exit the state’s auto insurance market, it transferred its best exclusive representative producers and their auto...

Farmers to Lower Rates for Colo. Auto Customers

Mar 7 2005 // Farmers Insurance Group of Companies announced Monday it will lower rates for its auto customers in the state of Colorado. Effective April 1, 2005, Farmers’ customers in Colorado will see a rate decrease that will...

Auto Task Force, Industry PR Effort Herald Busy Summer Ahead in Mass.

Mar 7 2005 // A task force appointed by Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney last spring has concluded that the state’s private passenger auto insurance system is heading for a crash and has promised to produce a legislative reform...

COPART OPENS OCALA AUTO SALVAGE YARD; 19TH IN REGION

Mar 7 2005 // Copart Inc. a large provider of vehicle salvage disposition services has opened its seventh salvage yard in Ocala, Fla., its 19th in the Southeast region. The 21-acre Greenfield facility will add needed capacity in the...

22 S. Floridians Arrested in Fraud Ring

Mar 7 2005 // The arrests of 22 of 29 ring-members believed to be involved in a widespread racket, which bilked insurance companies for more than $1 million by staging at least a dozen auto crashes and making false claims to area...

Man Arrested for Auto Insurance Fraud

Mar 7 2005 // On Jan. 13, 2005, Victor Morales Delgado and his brother-in-law, Jose Guerrero, both of Sacramento, self-surrendered to investigators with the California Department of Insurance Organized Auto Insurance Task Force for...

CSR Reported Fraudulent Auto Theft

Mar 7 2005 // On Nov. 18, 2004, Cameron Antonio Wilkins, of Colfax, self-surrendered to CDI investigators. Wilkins was booked into the Sacramento county jail on one felony count of insurance fraud associated with the reported theft of...

Father, Son Arrested on Auto Fraud Charges

Mar 7 2005 // On Dec. 16, 2004, Virgil Ray Blackmer and his son, Brian Blackmer, both of San Jose, were arrested on one felony count each of insurance fraud. The suspects were booked into the Santa Clara county jail after they were...

Study Shows Tort-Based Auto System Provides Savings for Colo. Drivers

Mar 7 2005 // A Colorado study shows that since the state scrapped its ailing no-fault automobile insurance program in favor of a tort-based system, rates for some consumers have dropped between 19.5 percent and 27.1 percent. The study,...