Latest Auto Headlines
All the headlines from our Auto Topic Page, ordered by recency.
State Farm Auto Rates in Oregon Driven Up
Oct 9 2001 // State Farm auto insurance policyholders in Oregon, who are accustomed to seeing annual dividend checks, instead will see an average 5.4 percent raise in rates starting Nov. 1, the company said earlier this week. According...
Commerce Group to Take Over Mass. Personal Auto Business from Berkshire Mutual
Oct 5 2001 // The Commerce Group Inc. announced that it had entered into an agreement with Berkshire Mutual Insurance Co. to transfer Berkshire’s Massachusetts personal automobile business to its Mass. subsidiary, Commerce...
Colo. Bill Changing Car ‘Salvage’ Definition Rejected
Oct 5 2001 // The interim Transportation Legislative Review Committee defeated a bill that would have resulted in more damaged cars being sold for parts rather than being repaired. The NAII opposed a similar bill in the legislature this...
Calif. Agents Arrested for Alleged Sale of Fraudulent Auto Policies
Oct 4 2001 // A joint investigation conducted by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Criminal Investigations Branch’s Investigations Bureau and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office has led to the arrest of...
AAA North Dakota Affiliates with Auto Club Group
Oct 1 2001 // During a brief closing ceremony Sept. 25, at its Fargo headquarters, AAA North Dakota officially sealed its affiliation with The Auto Club Group. The 65,000-member statewide organization joined AAA Chicago Motor Club, AAA...
Mileage-Based Auto Insurance’
Sep 30 2001 // Rule makers over at TDI are huddling these days trying to decide how best to promul-gate regulations for the pending implementation of private passenger auto insurance by-the- mile for Texas drivers. The measure was born...
NAII: Auto Rating Discount Proposal Would Penalize Calif. Drivers
Sep 27 2001 // A proposed regulation that would allow only those drivers who renew coverage with their current insurer to receive discounts would stifle competition and unfairly penalize thousands of responsible motorists in the...
Liberty Northwest Insurance Corp. Seeks Purchase of Oregon Company
Sep 27 2001 // Liberty Northwest Insurance Corporation has announced the intended purchase, pending regulatory approval, of Oregon Auto Insurance Company, along with its subsidiary North Pacific Insurance Company. As two of the largest...
Sideswipe Tales Don’t Blindside Insurer
Sep 24 2001 // Three Modesto residents, Johnny B. Slefo, 42; Wylet G. Slefo, 42; and Bernadet Younan, 37, were arrested on one charge each of insurance fraud and booked into the Stanislaus County Jail. Bail was set at $15,000 each. The...
With a Little Help from Her Friends
Sep 24 2001 // Arrest warrants were served on five local Fresno residents last week, concluding a six-month investigation that began with a referral by Geico Insurance alleging fraud on a reported theft and arson of a vehicle. The CDI...
Michigan’s First Auto Theft Forum Examines Auto Theft Trends in State
Sep 17 2001 // Experts from the insurance industry, law enforcement, automobile manufacturers and dealers, as well as prosecuting attorneys and state legislators gathered Tuesday for Michigan’s first Auto Theft Forum 2001, a...
NY Reg 68 Auto Insurance Reforms Stay Blocked
Sep 11 2001 // An Appellate Court in New York has blocked the implementation of the automobile insurance reforms contained in Regulation 68, which were due to go into force on September 1.(See IJ Website Sept. 5) Justice Peter Tom...
The Camera Never Lies
Sep 10 2001 // Following an investigation by the California Department of Insurance (CDI) Fraud Division, Raymond Ellis Wilson, 36, an Orange County resident, pled guilty in Orange County Superior Court to one felony count of insurance...
‘Want Me to Steal Your Motorcycle”
Sep 10 2001 // David Simoes, 26, of San Jose was arrested on charges of attempted insurance fraud and attempted auto theft in connection with a claim on a $9,000 Yamaha racing motorcycle. The charges stem from a CDI undercover...
Ask and You Shall ‘Receipt’
Sep 10 2001 // The CDI announced the arrest of two individuals in unrelated cases, both involving Sacramento residents. Daniel Vikash, 20, surrendered to authorities on two felony counts of insurance fraud. In April 2001, Vikash...
Kingsway Expands Nonstandard Auto in U.S.
Sep 7 2001 // Kingsway Financial Services Inc. entered into an agreement with The Vision Insurance Group to underwrite nonstandard automobile insurance in the U.S., beginning in Virginia, Indiana, Arkansas, Ohio and Kentucky, through...
Insurance Auto Auctions Opens Conn. Site
Sep 7 2001 // Insurance Auto Auctions, Inc., a leading provider of automotive salvage and claims processing services, announced the opening of a new “greenfield facility” in East Windsor, Conn., serving Hartford and other...
Courts Continue to Reject Diminished Value Concept in Class Actions
Sep 5 2001 // In spite of an ongoing influx of litigation, U.S. courts continue to reject class-action lawsuits involving diminished value, a concept referring to the difference between the value of a vehicle before and after it was...
MetLife Auto Wins $3 Million Fraud Judgment
Sep 4 2001 // A Massachusetts court awarded MetLife Auto & Home $2,989,270 in damages for fraud against the owners and operators of numerous auto body repair shops, several former policyholders and one of its former appraisers. The...
Auto Club Says Higher Percentage of Southland Boating Accidents Involve Personal Watercraft
Sep 4 2001 // As water lovers get ready to head out for beach and river trips during the last few weeks of summer, the Automobile Club of Southern California warned boaters to take safety precautions when using boats and personal...
